IMMIGRATION

 Immigration in the modern sense refers to the long term movement of people from one nation-state to another, where they are not citizens

Facts….  UN: 190 million in 2005, about 3% of global population.  High-income developed countries have 65% of international immigrants  Low and lower-middle income countries have 35%

 The number of international immigrants is highest in the United States  The European Union allows labor migration between member states but inter-EU migration is relatively low

Why people immigrate?  Two main factors: –Push factors  Economic –Wage rates –Living standards –Escape from poverty  Non economic –Persecution (i.e. religious, political) –Personal reasons

 Pull factors. –Economic  Availability of jobs  Expats –Environment (climate, people) –Education

The Issue  Immigration is a politicized issue, and in some countries it is a major political issue. (US)

 Support –Economic (free global labor market with no restrictions on immigration would, in the long run, boost global prosperity. ) –Cultural diversity

 Anti –Xenophobia –Economic issues (costs of immigration, and competition in the labor market) –Environmental issues (impact of population growth) –The impact on the national identity

I. Current Situation II. International Aspects III. Special Problems IV. The Future

I. Current Situation

 “ Determining the impact of illegal workers on employment rates, GDP and health care costs, among other numbers, is tricky because of the nature of their being undocumented. Government and private industries can't track numbers ­­— productivity, purchasing patterns or wages, for instance — like they would for legal sectors of the economy, because the underground market is just that.” - Greg Simmons, FOX News

Pros of Immigration  Diversify economy and contribute to economic growth

Pros of Immigration  Increase labor supply –Perform in unskilled labor jobs –US is switching to a society with higher education and high tech and producing fewer janitors, farmers, and low wage, low education workers

Pros of Immigration  Not a drain on public funds –Brent Wilkes, executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, says immigrants pay property and sales taxes as well as spend money here. Produce and spend about $800 billion

Pros of Immigration  Spending more money on border control with fewer results 1985-$1 billion 2002-$4.9 billion

Cons of Immigration  Economy may not be able to handle growth from immigration  "Fiscal drain" of billions of dollars in education and urgent health care, among other services –In a study by Jack Martin, special projects director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, he found that Californians pay an average of 1,000 dollars per year for illegal immigrants

Cons of Immigration  $15 billion or more is sent home to Mexico every year in the form of remittances, or cash and wire transfers to family members

Cons of Immigration  Growing class division and wage gap between those living in the US  Hurting the unskilled workforce of Americans –Reduce their wages by 5%

Cons of Immigration  Creating a permanent group of working poor  Not all immigrants pay taxes, contributing to the heath care and education them and their families may receive

II. International Aspects

Why Immigrate to different countries?  Education  Opportunities  Famine  Unemployment  Poverty  Crippling Taxes  Wars  Religious and political persecution

Immigration around the Globe

Legal Immigration to the United States

Economic Consequences  Source country- “brain drain”, economic development will suffer  Adverse effect of labor market, public finances, social conditions and the distribution of income.

Proposals to solve the issue internationally   Intercept unauthorized immigrants at the border   Stop employers from hiring undocumented immigrants   Stop government services to unauthorized immigrants   Expand the number of legal immigrants to fit the existing job market

Old Approach Old Approach   Border Patrol agents   building high fences across the border   making illegal immigration a felony   Punish employers who hire undocumented workers

New Approach New Approach  Tougher approach has failed  New approach is needed that can be enforced  Must accommodate the reality of the situation

III. Special Problems

Special Problems  Some sources say that without immigration, more jobs would be outsourced overseas such as linens. With cheap immigrant labor, the United States economy is able to keep jobs in the United States. Nearly one third of U.S. garment workers are immigrants. If it weren’t for immigration we would likely be importing even more clothing.

Potential Winners  Entrepreneurs- able to find low cost, low skill workers who don’t need to speak much English, such as construction, landscaping.

Potential Winners  Entrepreneurs- able to find low cost, low skill workers who don’t need to speak much English, such as construction, landscaping.  Illegal immigrants and their families-- - illegal workers earn 8 times as much as the average worker in Mexico.

Potential Winners  Entrepreneurs- able to find low cost, low skill workers who don’t need to speak much English, such as construction, landscaping.  Illegal immigrants and their families-- - illegal workers earn 8 times as much as the average worker in Mexico.  Workers seeking government jobs--- government employees needed to provide government services that the low income population of immigrants would need.

Potential Losers  Teenagers—usually seek low skill, after school and summer jobs at restaurants, construction, and retail outlets.

Potential Losers  Teenagers—usually seek low skill, after school and summer jobs at restaurants, construction, and retail outlets.  General Public– Rising HealthCare Costs

IV. The Future

There are indications that there may now be some type of compromise which would implement the legalization and guest worker concept. The House leadership postponed any serious consideration of the issue until after the November 2006 elections. Opposition to any form of "amnesty" remains fierce among many immigration opponents. There are indications that there may now be some type of compromise which would implement the legalization and guest worker concept. The House leadership postponed any serious consideration of the issue until after the November 2006 elections. Opposition to any form of "amnesty" remains fierce among many immigration opponents.

 Economic globalization and trends in information technology will affect economic migration.

 Congressional actions that increase the number of "temporary" skilled workers may be a signal of change in policy that will increase the number of skilled immigrants

 Economic globalization and trends in information technology will affect economic migration.  Congressional actions that increase the number of "temporary" skilled workers may be a signal of change in policy that will increase the number of skilled immigrants  There is great uncertainty. It is difficult to project from where future waves of refugees will come

The latest….  President Bush signed a bill that would authorize the construction of 700 miles of fence along the southern U.S. border a bill that was not what Bush originally planned. Instead, he had pushed for a plan that would include guest-worker programs and the possibility of citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States.

“ A fence will slow people down by a minute or two, but if you don’t have the agents to stop them, it does no good.” - T.J. Bonner (President of the National Border Patrol Council) - T.J. Bonner (President of the National Border Patrol Council)

Compromise? Compromise?