Immigration Stamp

When we think of the burgeoning immigration crisis here in the U.S., we think we are the only ones who are struggling with this all too human and highly charged political problem.

This is also a major political issue of upcoming local elections in Spain, it affected the recent national elections in France, and with the public killing of Theo van Gogh in Holland for making a ten minute movie about violence against Muslim women, immigration and the radical views that often come with it have become an ever increasing concern in Europe. What’s even more scary is the addition of Islamic law making its way into German courts. The New York Times reported “A German judge has stirred a storm of protest here by citing the Koran in turning down a German Muslim woman’s request for a fast-track divorce on the ground that her husband beat her.” What is driving all the mass migration, and why should we be concerned?

Even with a possible passage of legislation including national ID cards and supposed tighter border control, mass migration into the U.S. is likely not to stop. Why? It is the same drive that causes immigrants to board small flat boats in open seas with no food or water to reach the shores of Spain — extreme poverty and the lack of opportunity in their home country. According to an article by Thomas G. Palaima in the Austin American Statesman, the World Bank estimates that…

Of the 2.6 billion people in developing countries (or about half of their populations) live on less than $2 per day, and more than 6 million young children in these countries die each year of malnutrition and hunger-related diseases.

Palaima goes on to recount the horrors of violence and exploitation in India where some people are so desperate that they sell their children into prostitution or are maimed to better exploit them as beggars. It is estimated that about 300,000 children live on the streets of Bombay alone.

Cars lined up to pass a border checkpoint.

Then there are the horrific atrocities of war, hunger and poverty in Africa in such nations as Mauretania, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal and Algeria, that drive parents to use their last resources to buy their children’s illegal passage to Spain. In Spain, even though they repatriate many desperate illegals once they land, they predict that by 2015, one out of every three people in Spain will be foreign-born. The poor of the world are desperate and will not stop coming until they find opportunity no matter the cost.

In Spain, they worry about the same things we worry about — increased costs of social services, affects on labor and wages, businesses and schools, and their foreign language and culture. Reported in this article is that in one town near Girona, 63 percent of the children born in 2006 were born to immigrants, but the most worrisome of all, is that the Islamic immigrant population in Catalonia is the main recruiting ground in Spain for al Qaeda-type suicide terrorists.

What is important to remember and what Holland and Spain’s experience is telling us, is that immigration is not only a territorial issue, but it is a geopolitical issue as well with potential dire consequences. With these geopolitical issues there arises a form of xenophobia that belies the mistrust of the invading foreign-born. America is already seeing a type of xenophobic attitude in some localities such as in Escondido, California where they have approved an ordinance prohibiting landlords from renting to illegal immigrants and in a Dallas, Texas, suburb where citizens approved a similar ordinance. Even though this is more of an issue with the illegality of the immigrants, it does have the tendency to create a sort of xenophobia to all immigrants, especially in regards to speaking English and fully assimilating into the American culture.




According to an article by Paul Treanor entitled, Immigration: What is happening in the Netherlands?, being that Europe was basically created as a continent of nation states as a result of a long historical process, a lot of it quite bloody, these European nationals feel it is a mockery of their national ideal to allow the invasion of immigrants. In the Netherlands, their xenophobia has created an environment that enforces assimilation through a ban on speaking foreign languages in schools, public transport, on the street, or even talking to their doctors. They’ve even gone as far as banning Islamic headscarves or burqas, and boot camps for immigrant youth.

An article from Radio Free Europe, the Netherlands has the most stringent requirements for would-be immigrants. They have to pass a civic-integration examination, a Dutch-language test administered at the Dutch Embassy in their country of origin and a compatibility test with Dutch liberal values such as homosexuality and nudity. All of this is an attempt not only of assimilation, but to potentially discourage immigration. In fact, they have used their democratic principles enacted by the majority democracy to not only stop, but reverse the flow of immigrants. They see the democratic process as a defensive instrument against the immigrant flow. One Dutch analyst says, “it’s more a measure of controlling immigration than of promoting integration.”

We have been fortunate so far in this country in that the majority of immigrants assimilate into our culture, but with the sheer multitude of legal immigrants, illegal immigrants, and their higher birth rates, we will probably find it more and more difficult to achieve assimilation. There is a lot at stake in this immigration issue. There is even more to it than legal vs illegal. If we are to learn anything from Europe, we must be very careful in deciding the future of our immigration laws. There’s one thing we can be certain of, the motivation that is creating these mass migrations won’t go away by trying to accommodate all of them. We simply can’t. What would make more sense, would be to concentrate all our resources in finding ways to help these people in their own countries instead of trying to accommodate them here. By taking away the incentives for them to leave their home countries, the mass migrations will stop. Then finally, countries can concentrate on stability and sustainability and all will benefit.