As the title suggest in and of itself, this subject is a sensitive one. As a writer with an open mind, I ask that you read the article past the title and think with an open mind; not immediately running for a baseball bat to hit the streets in anger.
The words “Asylum” and “Immigration” have been hotly contested, debated, argued over (to include fist fights and gun shots), have caused civil unrest (riots) for hundreds of years in every country around the globe.
In the world of politics and mass media, these two words have been used as emotional pawns to sway the perception of the general population of every country. More times that not, the general population will devout about one second of time before passing judgement.
As the old wise words say “there is more than one side to every coin.” The intention of this writing to take you to that other side of the coin to look at the rest of the story that no politician or mass media conglomerate would dare to speak about as that would not align with whatever agenda they were attempting to instill into you the reader.
Migration of animals and people have been going on since the beginning of time. The Canadian Geese migrate south to warmer climates every year, only to return in the spring.
The same holds true for many other birds and animals as they know they will die (seeking asylum) in the harsh winter months of Canada, above the 49th parallel.
People also migrate for a variety of reasons. Some migrate from a large city to a rural area to escape the noise and traffic, and there are some that migrate to another county to escape an oppressive government, while others migrate out of necessity, there are others that migrate out of greed, and this is what we are going to concentrate on in this writing.
For decades, the US has – in the minds of those from other countries – been the shinning light of Hollywood stars; the promise land of the rich and famous and unfortunately, those visions come with a very dark undertone that is hard to penetrate through in the minds of those thinking. As with many other countries, those that make the journey to the US in search of a better tomorrow often end up being abused or worse by those making the promises.
But what if there was a way to come to the US without the fear of being abused? This is where the politics and greed comes into play. I’m sure you are thinking “how unusual that anything with a government would not involve greed.”
There is also other reasons for migration. To escape a war torn country or to further studies that were started on one country. For example if a person attends a university in one country, but the university is not equipped to teach the rest of the subject. For example a doctorate or an advanced nursing degree.
We all love nurses. Lets face it, they are the marines of the hospital staff doing all of the grunt work, while the doctors do all of the digging around in the guts of a person.
With all of the migration that has taken place in the last three decades, there is one thing that nobody seems to think about. The economy. Sure, a doctor or nurse will continue their studies in the US, they will also contribute to the economy. Doctors and nurse require special uniforms and medical equipment. They also buy food, pay for transportation, rent and bills like anyone else. They also pay taxes.
Some of the most educated people come from other countries. Not to say that someone born in the US could not become highly educated, but it is worth noting that other countries produce well educated people too.
One might say “so what’s the problem?” The answer to this question is multifaceted.
One. While it is true that people that migrate to further their profession, they also have a back-of-the-mind pressure from family members back home to send money back to where they came from.
Two. Most, if not all asylum seekers from war torn countries receive some kind of social assistance, if they are not completely being funded by the government.
Three. Those that come here under the radar in hopes of a better dream and remain in the US without proper paperwork also have a tendency to send money back home.
As you can see, there is and has been a trend for many decades for migrants to come to the US for the sole purpose of generating money to send back home.
On a global scale, there is a bleaker picture to take into consideration when thinking about an economy and world markets as a whole.
335.5 Billion bleaker pictures to be exact. That is 335.5 billion dollars that will not be going back into the economy. Small and large businesses rely on that money to stay in the US. Banks, Wall Street and the wealth of a country is also measured by how much of a countries money stays in the country.
As recent as last week, the president of Mexico “demanded” that the US open it’s boarders so a mass flood of millions of migrants from the south to be allowed to enter the US. While the hostile reaction of many was to think “Are you nuts!? There’s already 15 million people from the south here.” Very few took the time to consider the implications of such a demand.
It only takes one minute to think about the social and economic impact of such a migration (you could quite literally bankrupt a country this way) and it doesn’t have to be a migration solely from the south. This implication is far reaching to every country.
There are some countries that have very strict rules about migration of this magnitude and rightfully so, they would also never allow such a migration to take place, setting aside all of the greed of political power and greed of money.
Migration for the most part can be a necessity, for example to remove people from a devastating war, but the thought that those removed, should only be considered temporary or with the knowledge that only a small percentage of them be allowed to stay. Say to further their studies in science and or engineering.
In conclusion, mass migration from one country to another for the sole sake of political and money greed creates a mass imbalance of talent and economy.