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Migration effects positive: new study
June 24, 2005
Migrants can bring benefits that outweigh costs to both their countries
of origin and their countries of destination, according to a report released
Thursday by the International Organization for Migration.
The report finds that fears prompting concern over migration -- loss of
jobs, lower wages, increased welfare costs -- are unfounded and inaccurate,
and that in real economic terms, migrants are not only helping the countries
where they reside, but the countries where they have come from.
"We are living in an increasingly globalized world which can no
longer depend on domestic labor markets alone. This is a reality that
has to be managed," said IOM Director General Brunson McKinley. "If
managed properly, migration can bring more benefits than costs."
The IOM cited a study conducted in Britain in 2000 that determined migrants
contributed $4 million more in taxes than they received in benefits.
They also cited that in the United States, the National Research Council
found that the national income had expanded by more than $8 billion in
1997 due to migration.
The study estimated that the number of migrants across the world is between
185 and 192 million, roughly 2.9 percent of the global population and
up from 175 million in 2000.
Research by the IOM uncovered that migrants fill the voids in the market
by taking relatively unwanted jobs that are either low skill or extremely
dangerous. The report found that in Western Europe, there is rarely competition
between the local workforce and immigrants for jobs.
Migrants send large amounts of aid back to their own countries the report
said. In Mexico, where citizens frequently migrate to the United States,
the study found that remittances accounted for nearly 1.73 percent of
the entire Gross Domestic Product. In the Philippines they accounted for
10 percent of GDP.
Total remittances reported through official channels totaled over $93
billion in 2003. By 2004 the number was larger than $126 billion, rivaling
foreign aid amounts in some countries.
One of the ambitions of the report is establish facts about migration
to inform government policy makers. "Exploring the myths and establishing
more clearly the facts about migration is a sure way of enabling the designs
and debates of migration policy to be more informed and reasoned,"
it said.
After Sept. 11, 2001 America became conscious of issues surrounding immigrants
arriving in the country, particularly as it related to terrorists slipping
in through open borders. Earlier this year, Congress passed a tough immigration
bill that included the construction of a wall between San Diego and its
Mexican border to prevent immigrants from illegally entering into the
United States.
Immigration legislation passed since Sept. 11, 2001 includes The USA Patriot
Act, The US-Canada Smart Border Declaration of 2001, the US-Mexico Border
Partnership Agreement of 2002, The Enhanced Border Security Act, The Visa
Entry Reform Act of 2002 and the Homeland Security Act of 2002. These
measures were taken by the government to tighten border security in hopes
of reducing the probability of illegal immigrants entering the country.
"These are legitimate concerns about illegal immigrants," said
Dan Griswold of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington.
"Nobody is happy about the 10 million people living with illegal
documents. The situation needs to be addressed."
Efforts are currently underway to tighten the nation's immigration system
with two different plans proposed to handle the estimated 10 million illegal
immigrants living and working in the United States.
The first, proposed by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward Kennedy
(D-Mass) is structured to offer illegal workers a temporary guest worker
pass, and ultimately put them on the path to citizenship. Illegal workers
would have to pay a fine before being allowed to sign up for a pass according
to the bill, but are allowed sign up within America.
The other, in the process of being drawn up by Sens. John Corny (R-Tex)
and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz), also allows for guest worker passes, but mandates
that workers return home to their countries upon expiry of the pass.
Their bill incorporates a large increase in border security programs,
including 10,000 additional border patrol agents and an extra $2 billion
in spending for increased surveillance equipment. Workers would not be
allowed guest passes until after the implementation of security measures
were complete, although they would not have to return home to sign up
for the pass.
The Bush administration has pushed hard for an overhaul of the immigration
system, and with the momentum of the two bills, supporters are hopeful
that a change will be made.
In the past, the United States has relied primarily on enforcement to
prevent illegal immigration said Griswold. He says this has been a problem
because lawmakers need to find a way to make illegal workers legal, and
cites that enforcement has not worked in the past.
"Of the two, the McCaine-Kennedy bill is the most comprehensive,"
said Griswold. "The Corny-Kyl bill is incomplete. It almost entirely
addresses enforcement issues, and a bill without real emphasis on changes
within the system is doomed to fail."
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration
Studies, said enforcement is precisely what needs to be addressed, adding
that neither bill will appropriately address the concerns.
"The McCain-Kennedy bill is unrealistic. It embraces amnesty outright
by putting immigrants on the track to citizenship and has no meaningful
enforcement," he said. "The Kyl-Corny bill will include more
serious provisions on enforcement, but it is likely to fall short too."
Source : http://www.wpherald.com
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