A worldwide excess of demand for immigration means that Western countries cannot accommodate more than a small proportion of immigrants without severe social dislocation, says Helen Hughes. The world has a long history of unintegrated migration. 'Where immigrants failed to integrate into the societies to which they moved, centuries of civil and international wars persist today, notably in Northern Ireland and the Balkans.'
Professor Hughes, a Senior Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies, points out that unbalanced development has created substantial middle classes in developing countries. They are thwarted in their home countries by lack of progress and want to emigrate for the future of their children.
About 10 million people would be willing to move from developing countries now and their number would rise ten fold if immigration to the West were free.
Potential immigrants are no less deserving of places for having some money, but they must wait their turn in the queues that all countries of immigration built up in trying to manage overwhelming demand.
There are only three million legal immigration places in the West and they are shrinking under illegal immigration pressures. The situation has created 'business' opportunities which drug and arms smugglers are turning into huge profits of up to $12 billion dollars annually.
People smugglers recruit potential migrants, for extortionate fees, by promising them that they can beat immigration restrictions. Hundreds, including children, die on the way. Some are forced into drug trafficking and prostitution to pay the smugglers.
People smugglers use asylum seeking to elicit compassion. They include some refugees (people in danger of political or religious persecution in their own countries) to bypass legal immigration controls. Nevertheless, only 12 % of asylum seekers world wide have been recognized as refugees during the last decade. Most refugees apply legally for refuge and some 50,000 are being settled annually in Western democracies.
Illegal immigration, and in particular, the vicious practices of people smugglers, have led to severe social and political problems in many countries of immigration. Illegal immigration is leading to opposition to immigration even in countries which had successful immigration programs in the past. Legal immigration has hence been curtailed and border controls have been greatly strengthened.
Taking on people smugglers requires stringent border controls and improvement in the transparency and timeliness of immigration processing. If people smuggling is curtailed, and if immigrants are integrated into their new societies, in some countries at least, voters will increase the total number of immigrants they accept.
But even major increases in immigrant intakes cannot accommodate all those who want to move from developing countries. The only solution is for these countries to improve their economic performance to enable their people to reach higher living standards and live secure lives.