The very notion of a nation state, imagines for many people, feelings of warmth and protection, a home, groups of people all tied through social, ethnic, economic, and historical bonds. To protect these associations, borders in combination with judicial powers give the nation-state authority to decide who can enter the country. This essay looks closely at the connections between a nation states immigration and border procedures and whether these policies are just and fair, or they in fact, incompatible with the concepts of equality, rights, and justice. Looking specifically at the policies and border controls of those countries now known as the EU and the UK. Whilst also evaluating the experiences of the various categories of migrant, for instance, …show more content…
In his book The Rights of Men Paine suggested that “Every generation is equal in rights to the generations which preceded it, by the same rule that every individual is born in equal rights with his contemporary” (Paine, 1998 [1791], p. 117, cited in Morris and Shipman, 2015, p.20). This passage evokes a sense of liberty for individuals and a sense of unity for groups of individuals that make up what are known as states or nation states. The free movement principle is the foundation upon which the European Union has used to create parity and a sense of unity between nations and the citizens that make up the Union. Has this law managed to deal with the issue of immigration in a just and fair manner or has it, in fact, created, inequalities and, social justice issues? The Schengen Agreement, (1986) is a supranational level of policy, allowing for the free movement of European people anywhere within the Union (Garner and Watson, 2015, p.215). This legal entry system allows those categorised as economic …show more content…
An umbrella of opportunity is open to everyone sharing in the ideals of equality, justice, and rights, the open borders policies of the state characterise these three concepts naturally. However, as Nancy Fraser points out, those on the outside of this policy, such as those seeking asylum and refugees have difficulty accessing these natural concepts, they are restricted, the state’s decision to differentiate has created clear human rights violations. Punitive policies such as those used in the UK, directly conflict with the concepts of justice, equality, and rights, denying freedom of movement and participation in civic society. The idea of open borders, promote global economic equality, positive cooperation, and accessibility to prosperity. International migration means states must change, develop more inclusive policies concerning who can enter. Modernisation and consistency in migration policies will ensure the state will carry out its natural duty to protect the inalienable Human Rights that all men, women, and children are bestowed
Giving into the demands of upset citizens, different political parties began to campaign with planks in their platforms dedicated to legally destroying immigration. The Austrian Freedom Party, for instance, campaigned to increase the amount of laws that prevent immigration and to make it more difficult for non-Austrians to live and work amongst the Austrian people (Doc 6). By creating a platform to change a country’s laws, it is clear Europeans were so upset with immigration that they wanted to make fundamental changes in their governments’ policies. People were unhappy with how their society was transforming and they wanted to put official rules in place that would allow Europe to return to its former state. Enoch Powell, a member of the Conservative Party, brought this common desire to light by explaining that people did not want to live in a country filled with immigrants, so action needed to be taken in order to curb the high immigration levels (Doc 2). The fact that many Europeans wanted politicians to take a stand against immigration shows how upset people were with the rising numbers of immigration, which became roughly 500,000 immigrants per year. By involving the government, European citizens were able to project their anti-immigration sentiment into the rest of the continent. Involving politicians and political parties shows how adament some Europeans were about keeping foreigners out of
The United States have long battle immigration issues over the years with immigrants who take whatever measures necessary to make it to the United States. They take boats, hike across the border at night, are smuggled across the border in vehicles and are stow away on vessels and trains. The law that was passed in Alabama regarding immigration policies went into effect September 1, 2011. In addition, it will review the historical framework on this issue, the political context, the role of the media, the effect on the United States economy and labor force, and management strategies to promote inclusion in the workplace.
In a more liberal and democratic country, the immigration issue is greater with ‘unwanted migrations’. For example,
There needs to be reform not only the issue of illegal immigration but also on legal immigration and refugee and asylum policies; the three main reforms that I will cover in this paper. Current immigrant policy allows for around 1 million immigrants allowed into this country every year. Although this may seem like a low number compared to the current population of nearly 300 million people who currently live in the unites states the
When immigration policy is discussed, typically, it is discussed within the confines of egalitarian notions and sentiments, and inside the boundaries and parameters set by generally Marxist-influenced social democracy. Characteristically, it is not discussed pertaining to the concept of a social order built on the rights of property owners, sharers, and contributors to and of the common stock- which at their discretion- may exclude bad apples, lazy contributors, rotten characters, trespassers, and terrorists. Once egalitarian sentiments and notions are rejected full-scale- (only giving credence to those that have empirical weight or logical consistency) more proper, more substantive interdisciplinary analyses may reveal that the current investigative techniques employed by current mainstream political theorists are- in the context of reality, incorrect, superficial and quite shallow.
Globally, the United States has been known as "a nation of immigrants" almost from its inception. Beginning in the 1600s with English Puritans and continuing today, America is a melting pot of culture and ethnicity. In fact, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, immigration was the major source of U.S. population growth. Looking over our 200+ years we find that to clearly be true, with approximately 1 million immigrants coming to America during the 17th and 18th century. Almost 3 million arrived during the 1860s, and another 3 million in the 1870s. In the next four decades, the number of immigrants rose to over 25 million people, most from various European nations, most arriving in New York or one of the Eastern seaports (Damon, 1981). Despite the politicization, as of 2006, the United States actually was the number one country globally to accept legal immigrants into the country, with a current immigrant population of almost 40 million (Terrazas and Batalova, 2009). In fact, the peak of immigration was 1907, when over 1.2 million Europeans entered the country beginning a push towards legislation limiting immigration in the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1924 and the 1921 Congressional Quota Act. These immigrants came for two sociological reasons: the push factor (wars, famine, persecution and overpopulation) and the pull factors (jobs and the promise of freedom). Most came by ship, and a passage often cost the equivalent of an entire life's savings causing many
The border control issue and illegal immigration focus can be traced back to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. While the act did impose limited employer sanctions, the legalization component set the stage for illegal immigration as a priority in political campaigns (Andreas, 2009). Many previous legal and illegal immigrants returned to the United States to take advantage of the opportunity to become legal residents. This fueled the illegal immigration patterns by providing a stronger base of support and additional networking for documents, jobs, and housing (Andreas, 2009). This influx of illegal, cheap labor became particularly noticeable in California, prompting the passage of Prop 187 to reduce the availability of social services to illegals in 1994. Each of these elements contributed to the beginnings of illegal immigration as a component of political campaign platforms.
“I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind to whatever nation they might belong” this quote is by George Washington, but A Country is for all is another quote by Jorge Ramos. Everyone of any culture should be aloud in every country they want. There shouldn't be a law that doesn't let people out of a country to find a great new start for them. In this essay we will be talking about immigrants in the late days, border crossing, and families being separated.
Migration policies are often designed with the sole objective of influencing international migration by either restricting or encouraging circular migration, immigration or emigration(Ripsman & Paul, 2010). Open border policies have contributed to the uncontrolled to the flow of illegal immigrants into countries and in turn generating challenges to the host countries. The fundamental basis for arguments has been whether open immigration policy or restricted immigration policy
In the attempts to “manage the immigrant crisis” several strategic mistakes have been made, which have shaken the functioning of migration policy in the European community. Particular controversy was stirred up by a plan for the relocation of 120,000 refugees suggested in September 2015. Some months later (April/May 2016), the European Commission came up with the idea of fines for those countries which would not receive the relocated refugees. The fine for one unaccepted foreigner was supposed to be €250,000. The attempt to impose a quota of immigrants on member countries together with high fines contributed to further divisions inside the EU.
Migrants are defined as all those who were born outside the UK and were known as ‘aliens’ or ‘foreigners’. Kostakopoulou calls this assumption into question, arguing that ‘aliens’ are by definition outside the bounds of the community by virtue of a circular reasoning which takes for granted the existence of bounded national communities, and that this which takes for granted the existence of bounded national communities, and that this process of collective self-definition is deeply political and historically dated. The composition of the current UK migrant population has of course been conditioned by immigration policy over the past 50 years. Immigration has become a major debate across the UK, with many different reasons given for and
In recent decades, countries around the globe have experienced a rampant increase in immigration and as a result, it has become a highly controversial talking point. Much of the debate revolves around the implementation of quotas: systems that attempt to limit the number of immigrants entering a country due to their origins, nationality, or any other bias. Both proponents and opponents on the implementation of quotas often have similar arguments, and consequently, most of their arguments tend to refute each other. the quota system was originally implemented in the United States and it has since diffused throughout the world, to places like Europe, not only increasing its significance as a global issue, but also paving the way for debates on the question: Should countries implement immigration quotas?
Stepping up the fight against illegal immigration and zero tolerance for trafficking in human beings
In recent years, the concept of borders has become focused on the movement of people, with an increasing number of countries opting for a protectionist approach to immigration. Yet, the increasing number of casualties as a direct result of these borders calls into question the continuation of strict border control. States use borders as a defence mechanism in the hope of protecting citizens from criminals and terror. But, history has shown that borders have repeatedly caused significant human suffering. Borders are also used as an economic tool to defend a countries market. However, economists suggest borders may be preventing a doubling in world GDP. The border control of states is ineffective. It is morally and economically flawed.
International migration today is closely associated with state sovereignty. States would engage in international cooperation through a wide range of transnational issues, but when it comes to immigrants and refugees, nation states claim that the sovereign right to control one’s own boarders to be the primary responsibility (Sasson 1996). Even if cooperation were recognized as useful or necessary, in properly managing