As people are exposed to the various unfair practices encompassed by immigration law, they start to question the purpose of these laws. In turn, many advocate for completely open borders, allowing the free flow of people between countries. They argue that immigration laws limit the potential of countries by preventing workers from entering the country. However, this is easily countered by the fact that data has shown that over time, an increase in immigrants has led to a decrease in jobs among less educated natives of the country. However, this is not always seen as a bad thing. Immigrants are able to fill job gaps and provide boosts to the economy. Distinct borders are needed to maintain the very idea of a country, and immigration laws serve to uphold these borders and represent the distinction between countries.
The lengthy and complicated immigration processes in many countries have been subject to scrutiny, however, many believe they are quite necessary for many reasons. They help those who wish to be a part of the country and regulate who is actually able to. It serves as a guard for a country, allowing them to maintain their safety and security by investigating each immigrant to make sure they will not pose a threat to the country. This is done for the safety of the people in the country. However, this model only works in an ideal world. Realistically, there are many biases that prevent innocent people from entering the country including race and gender, but that doesn't necessitate the removal of these laws, rather reforms are needed to prevent this type of discrimination.
Additionally, some countries have other reasons for not allowing in people. In many cases, overpopulated countries have to be careful in letting in new people. If resources need to be conserved in order to ensure the survival of the citizens of that country, there might not be space for other people to use those resources. Therefore, in order to protect its own citizens, a country will often restrict immigration for fear of furthering overpopulation. In other cases, countries try to limit cultural influence. Saudi Arabia is one of these countries, choosing to restrict immigration in order to preserve its culture and social structure. They prefer to limit foreign influence, making it very hard to immigrate to Saudi Arabia. Similarly, Kuwait only allows immigrants that are Muslim, in order to preserve their religion.
So, while there are harms to the current immigration systems around the world, they are still necessary for the purpose they were created. With proper reforms made in the coming years, as politicians are moving towards, the current discrimination and inhumane treatment present in the system will be reduced significantly.
Sources:
Comments