Immigration has been front and center of the news cycle as of late; not a lot of it very positive. Interestingly, contemporary migration has been going on for almost two decades particularly since the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq followed by the Arab Spring and the Syrian ‘Civil War’ (kind of an oxymoron) as well as the proxy war in Yemen having displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Global media have documented this migration of refugees to the European continent as a whole, but disproportionately to several countries as illustrated below.
To be sure there is significant migrant/refugee resettlement within the Middle East, too, but like Europe it is not uniform. (1)In 2015, among some of the Persian Gulf states, migrants make up an overwhelming majority of national populations in United Arab Emirates (88%), Qatar (75%) and Kuwait (74%). Most of these migrants are non-displaced, international migrants. The migrant share of the population is smaller but still substantial in countries like Jordan (41%), Syria (40%) and Lebanon (34%), with most being displaced migrants, of whom some were born in these countries and others have crossed international borders as refugees or asylum seekers.
It’s instructive to make a distinction between migrant and refugee. (2)What is a migrant? The simplest definition is a person who moves, either to another country or within their own. This blog post combines international migrants and people forcibly displaced from their homes but remaining in their country of birth to estimate the size of the total migrant population. (Internal migrants moving within their countries for reasons other than conflict – jobs, family and education – are not included because reliable data for this group does not exist.) This approach provides a comprehensive view of the intensity of movement occurring in the region.
(3)Often, people cross international borders when migrating. Many of these international migrants move for job opportunities, to join family or to study. They are not forcibly displaced from their homelands, but voluntarily leave one country to live in another. However, some international migrants move to another country to escape violence or persecution. These forcibly displaced persons (refugees and asylum seekers) also cross international borders. They are considered both displaced and international migrants. This is very similar to what is happening now along the U.S. southern border.
(4)People also move inside their country’s borders when fleeing conflict. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates the number of people who are internally displaced within their countries due to armed conflict, persecution, violations of human rights or natural disasters. This is an important group to include when looking at recent global immigration for the reason(s) articulated above.
Historically, migration seems to be an inherent part of the human condition. (5)The human (homo sapien) has been around for about 200-thousand years. From our ancestor’s earliest beginnings in south-eastern Africa humans have migrated in a global diaspora. Here’s a timeline look at how this unfolded.
Fast forward to the Renaissance, Europe and Marco Polo’s expeditions east and those of the Norse and Spanish (Columbus, although Italian was financed by Spain) exploring to the west; behold – the new continents of North and South America. Since the discovery of North America this land mass was to be fought over by the British, Dutch, French and Spanish; the British ultimately won the battle, but lost what is now known as the Revolutionary War leading to the establishment of the United States. It’s ironic that conflict, too, seems to be an inherent part of the human condition. While as humans we biologically have more similarities than differences, it seems that the latter, whether these seeds of discontent are grounded in the seven deadly sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath or sloth; add in real estate and religion for good measure) migration has caused discord for millennia.
The issues faced by the United States along its southern border are rooted in the generally positive way the country is viewed from the outside, coupled with unfavorable conditions in other countries. It should be acknowledged that except for Native American Indians (including Eskimos) every single person living in the United States is the ancestral progeny of immigrants. (6)The Pilgrims were essentially refugees, fleeing persecution as a Puritan religious cult. There existed a xenophobia when my Italian grandparents came to the U.S. over 100 years ago. The same social circumstance existed for any number of immigrant foreign nationals coming to America near the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. During this time the American economy was transitioning from it’s agrarian roots to one of manufacturing. Labor force skills demanded little more than a strong back and a willingness to work hard and long regardless of age. Demand existed for this type of labor, a far cry from the technological and/or trade-oriented skill set required in today’s economy. The ‘Golden Door’ opened by the words of Emma Lazarus on the Statue of Liberty in 1883 while inspirational, is not closed, but open more narrowly, letting in those with a workforce skill set more aligned with the needs of America in the 21st century. And, currently, though being challenged legally, even more narrow for certain ethnicities and religions.
For readers wanting to gain some additional insight into the one generation removed immigrant genius character (think Steve Jobs [Apple], Sergy Brin [Google], etc.) you’ll enjoy this podcast from Bloomberg Radio’s Barry Ritholtz. He interviews former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. Truly non-partisan, his perspective is illuminating. While the interview is extremely engaging much of the immigrant discussion may be found toward the last quarter or so.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2018-06-14/george-mitchell-discusses-the-mechanisms-of-american-politics-jiempir1
This author does empathize with the frustration of those who express annoyance at having to press 1 for English when calling a U.S. company’s customer service number within the U.S. The ability to communicate in one of two (French or English) languages is a prerequisite for Canadian citizenship; (8)English is a prerequisite for Australian citizenship (no mention of a propensity for Foster’s lager), (9)same for New Zealand.
(10)One of the basic tenants of a sovereign nation is the ability to control access through its borders and ports of entry. The Heritage Foundation has provided a thoughtful analysis of the complex immigration issues that require all three branches of the federal and state governments to address. Here’s a link to the report:
https://www.heritage.org/report/the-principles-immigration
Unfortunately, the current lack of bi-partisanship and political polarization makes this cooperative effort unrealistic. There is also a case to be made that the issue of both legal and illegal immigration to the U.S. is a function of this same political dysfunction. (11)Inconsistent application of enforcement standards exist at federal and state levels.
While this writer remains truly politically agnostic I have long reflected in my professional and personal life on the axiom “Although I have the right to do it (the ‘it’ is open-ended) doing it may simply not be right.” This speaks directly to the separation of children from their parents from those families illegally and in some cases legally crossing the U.S. southern border. The political paralysis in the U.S. has led to a judicial system that is short on immigration judges, lacking in adequate immigrant housing facilities while being processed and the will to address an issue that no longer insulates America because of large bodies of water. The answers lie with those elected officials who job it is to represent each of us, to work together to solve problems, to understand that decision-making can be strong while having empathy for those who are effected by those decisions and most importantly, understand that our immigration issues are a symptom. The cause lies with other sovereign nations whose social, economic and political infrastructure fail to provide a safe and prosperous way of life for their citizens. Until that changes the diaspora will continue.
(1) Pew Research Center
(2) Ibid
(3) Ibid
(4) Ibid
(5) www.universetoday.com/38125/how-long-have-humans-been-on-earth/
(6) Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
(7) https://settlement.org/ontario/immigration-citizenship/citizenship/apply-for-canadian-citizenship/how-do-i-apply-for-canadian-citizenship/
(8) https://cruxmigration.com.au/our-services/citizenship/
(9) https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/move-to-nz/new-zealand-visa/citizenship
(10) Heritage Foundation
(11) https://immigration.findlaw.com/immigration-laws-and-resources/federal-vs-state-immigration-laws.html
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Please feel free to enjoy this song by the late Tom Petty as you read this blog post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFnOfpIJL0M