Political & Economic Tensions of Migration
Geography: Edexcel A Level, topic 11.2.3
Tension Caused by International Migration - Political
International migration can result in local and national tensions between countries.
International borders
- International borders can be areas of conflict between border control authorities from different countries.
- The border between France and Britain at Calais had the 'Calais Jungle' full of migrants held at the border between the two countries.
- Who is responsible for monitoring illegal migrants and human traffickers is often unclear.
Asylum seekers
- Asylum seekers may not live in the best conditions whilst awaiting asylum. They can be held in detention centres, are not allowed to work, and get very small financial sums to spend on food, sanitation and clothing for the duration of their application.
- In 2018, child migrants in the USA were reportedly kept in caged enclosures in an abandoned Walmart in Texas.
Refugees and populist parties
- The EU supports the free movement of labour within its members.
- However, when migrant ships arrive at the border or coast, many countries refuse to let the boat land, forcing them to continue their journey on often dangerous ships.
- Viktor Orban, Hungarian Prime Minister has argued against EU money going to migrants and does not support the EU's stance on migrants.
Tension Caused by International Migration - Economic
International migration can result in local and national tensions between countries.
Positive for enterprise
- Economic opportunities are created because many migrants set up their own businesses. This can increase a country's economic growth and the tax revenues that the government receives.
Remittances
- Migrant remittances can increase inequality between families who receive them and those that do not in the source country.
- Remittances have been made easier in recent years with digital banking solutions like TransferWise and Revolut.
Controls on Migration
Security fears and a reluctance to help migrants and refugees can lead to immigration controls. People with capital (money) and valuable skills still find it relatively easy to migrate. Those without skills, but escaping prejudice or oppression may find it more difficult.
The USA
- In the early 20th century, the USA had an 'open door' policy.
- Albert Einstein migrated to the USA from Germany for political reasons in 1933 as the Nazi Party grew in power.
- Sergey Brin (founder of Google) moved to the US from Russia.
- Green Cards are the permanent resident's cards that the US introduced in 1950. These are hard to get and allow someone to live and work in the USA.
- The USA now has strong immigration controls (finger-printing and retina photographs) and deportation policies.
- Donald Trump proposed building a wall at the Mexico/USA border in his 2016 election campaign to reduce the number of migrants entering the USA.
Australia
- Before 1973, Australia operated a racial/ethnic selection process called 'White Australia'. This effectively barred people of non-European descent from entering the country.
- Currently, there is a points-based system for economic migrants that assesses migrants' skills and Australia's skills gap.
- Australia has immigration detention facilities for refugees on islands (like Manus Island on Papua New Guinea).
Test yourself on Political & Economic Tensions of Migration
In 2018, where in Texas, USA were child migrants reportedly kept in caged enclosures?
What is the camp at the border between Britain and France called?
Who can remittances increase inequality between?
What can services like Revolut and TransferWise help international families with?
Where is Australia's immigration facility off the coast of Australia?