Immigration Policies of Host Countries Countries use 2

Immigration Policies of Host Countries • Countries use 2 main policies to control the arrival of foreigners seeking work • The US uses a quota system • In Europe and the Middle East, they permit guest workers

US Quota Laws • Quotas- maximum limit on the number of people who could immigrate to the S from each country in a 1 year period – First established in 1924 – Updated in 1965, and replaced with hemisphere quotas instead of country quotas – 1978, changed to a global quota of 290, 000, with a max of 20, 000 per country – Today, 620, 000, w/ max of 7% from one country

continued • Get more applications for immigration per year than the quota allows • Congress has set preferences – 480, 000 family sponsored immigrants – 140, 000 employment-related immigrants • Currently about a 5 year wait for a spouse to gain entry • Quotas do not account for refugees

continued • Brain drain- large scale emigration of talented people – In 2005, 84% of Haitians w/ a college degree lived abroad • 47% Ghana • 45% Mozambique

Temporary Migration for Work • Guest workers- citizens of poor countries who obtain jobs in W. Europe and the Middle East – Take low-status and low-skilled jobs that local residents won’t take – Low paid by European standards, but far more than could make at home – Helps the native country too • Lowers unemployment and large % of pay gets infused in local economy as money gets sent home to families

continued • Most guest workers in Europe come from N. Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia

continued • Millions of Asians migrated in the 19 th century as time-contract laborers, recruited for a fixed period to work in mines or on plantations – many stayed after their contract was up

Distinguishing Between Economic Migrants and Refugees • The 2 groups are treated differently • Economic migratns must possess special skills or have a close relative already living their to be accepted • Refugees receive special priority in admission to other countries because of persecution from undemocratic governments – Read about Cuba, Haiti, and Vietnam p. 99 -101

What about refugees? • UN definition – A person who has well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political group. • UN reports 24 million refugees worldwide

What about refugees? UN definitions • International refugees: – Those who have crossed one or more international borders and are encamped in a country other than their own • Intranational refugees: – Those who have abandoned their homes but not their homeland

It is difficult to identify refugees. • No mention of natural/enviromental disaster • UN must distinguish between refugees and voluntary migrants before granting asylum. • Three general characteristics, individual or aggregate (collectively): – Most refugees move without any more tangible property than they can carry or transport with them. – Most refugees make their first “step” on foot, by bicycle, wagon, or open boat. – Refugees move without the official documents that accompany channeled migrations.

Regions of Dislocation • Sub-Saharan Africa – Several of the world’s largest refugee crises plagued Africa during the 1990 s and early 21 st century -8 million “official” refugees – Civil wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, and Sudan – Hostilities between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes in Rwanda

Other regions of dislocation… • North Africa and Southwest Asia – Israel and the displaced Arab populations that surround it – Exhibits qualities that are likely to generate additional refugee flow in the future – The Kurdish population following the Gulf War (1991) – Taliban rule in Afghanistan – Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion during the 1980 s

Regions of dislocation continued… • South Asia – Pakistan accommodated forced emigrants from Afghanistan – Major refugee problem stems from a civil war in Sri Lanka

Regions of dislocation continued… • Southeast Asia – “Boat people” who fled communist rule in Vietnam – In the early 1990 s, Cambodia generated the region’s largest refugee flow – Today--largest number of refugees come from Myanmar (Burma)

Regions of dislocation continued… • Europe – After the collapse of Yugoslavia, over 1 million were displaced n South America n Colombian illegal drug violence, especially in rural areas

Cultural Problems Faced While Living in Other Countries • Citiznes of host countries are not always accepting of newcomers’ cultural differences – Immigrants are often used as scapegoats by local politicians to explain local economic problems

US Attitudes Toward Immigrants • The Germans and Irish had only mild prejudice against them because they helped expand the frontier • Russians, Italians, Poles, faced much more hostility after the frontier was closed – They were deemed less intelligent, less trustworthy, and more inclined to violence • Recent immigrants face many of the same prejudices today