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Information AboutMigrants |
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Immigration is the act of relocating to another country or region, whether temporarily or permanently. An immigrant is a person who intends to stay permanently, in contrast to a casual visitor or traveler. Why do people immigrate? People immigrate for the following reasons:
Note that many of these refer primarily to the motive for emigration from the country of origin. It may be assumed that those who emigrate to escape a problem do so in the hope that they will not face the same problem in the destination to which they immigrate. The great majority of immigration occurs for economic reasons of one sort or another. Wage Rate s and living expenses vary greatly between different countries; poor individuals of Third World countries can have far higher standards of living in developed countries than in their originating countries, as not very well off but financially independent people from highly developed countries can live better in a less developed country where living standards are lower. A good example of the former is all the immigrants from Mexico and Central America n counties who live in the United States , while a good example of the latter is the many retired British ex-pats who choose to make their life in Spain . For the poor in undeveloped countries, the economic pressure to migrate is so high that when legal means are restricted, people immigrate illegally. In general, people are considered immigrants if they reside in the new country for more than one year. Differing perspectives on immigration Some Free-market Libertarian s believe that a Free Global Labor Market with no restrictions on immigration would, in the long run, boost global Prosperity . Major business interests have been among the strongest advocates of Liberalization of immigration laws since movement of personnel is essential to the creation of true Multinational Corporations . Another school of thought is offered by where business interests use inexpensive or free government immigration benefits, rather than corporate resources, to compensate Employees . Also among those on the opposite side of the issue are Nationalists who propose Militarizing borders; and Xenophobe s who fear the presence of Foreigners , though these views are not shared by all or even most Immigration Reduction ists. Still others feel that the focus should be taken off of immigration control and placed on the importance of equal rights for immigrants to avoid what they believe to be corporate exploitation of immigrant poverty. In practice, no country operates without basic immigration controls. Some countries, such as Japan , allow for little immigration. In countries that do allow immigration there is disagreement over the numbers, policies, and implementation. Those who support more restricted immigration believe that the current levels of immigration serve to depress wages and circumvent unionisation, and contribute to unsustainable levels of population growth. Others disagree, believing that overly restrictive immigration policies and practices would not address the economic demand for work emanating from wealthier countries, would not harm the security or cohesiveness of the country, and would endanger the lives of legitimate Refugees from political or racial oppression. Immigration has become an increasingly controversial topic among environmental activists in recent years, especially within the Sierra Club in the United States . Some Environmentalist s concerned with Overpopulation favor limiting immigration as a means of isolating the effects of human population growth, while others argue that overpopulation and environmental degradation are global problems that should be addressed by other methods. Events, such as the . See also General immigration topics
Australia n immigration Mexican immigration Canadian immigration
Brazilian immigration French immigration German immigration Puerto Rico immigration
United Kingdom immigration
United States immigration
Legal instruments External links See individual "Immigration to..." articles for country-specific links.
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