Originally Published: Winter 2018 edition
The following by SMU Political Science Prof. James F. Hollifield, Director of the John Tower Center for Political Science, first appeared in the Winter 2018 edition of the Bush Institute’s The Catalyst, and he was interviewed on the subject by KERA public radio’s Think on March 8, 2018.
For the last several years, the United States has been gripped in a sharp debate over the flow of immigrants into the United States. The fierce exchanges include squabbles over issues like what to do with a large population of unauthorized immigrants and how to manage refugee flows. And the debate comes complete with political landmines that make it difficult to modernize immigration systems to meet the needs of the times.
It is easy to get demoralized about the inability to reach a consensus on immigration policy, but understanding the complexity of the challenge could help us appreciate what stands in the way of reform — and what needs to happen before change can occur. And make no mistake: We must resolve these issues if we are to experience a virtuous cycle of greater openness, wealth, and human development, rather than falling back into a vicious cycle that leads the world into greater anarchy, poverty, disorder and war.
It is easy to get demoralized about the inability to reach a consensus on immigration policy, but understanding the complexity of the challenge could help us appreciate what stands in the way of reform.
The rules of entry and exit pose a problem
Since World War II’s end, migration has steadily increased in every region of the globe. The United Nations estimates that in 2015 roughly 244 million people reside outside of their country of birth. That represents about 3.5 percent of the world’s population. Every day, tens of millions of people cross borders, adding up to roughly two billion annually. Managing those flows is a huge challenge for nation-states.
The rise is partly a function of market forces. As demand increases for immigrant labor, more people move in search of employment. The rise is also a function of family networks. People have a family member in, say, Chicago, and they want to reunite with them and have a shot at a better life.
Still, nation-states determine the rules of entry and exit. This is where politics come into play. Governments have to make choices about who can enter — and exit — and on what terms.
This is where politics come into play. Governments have to make choices about who can enter — and exit — and on what terms.
Dynamic economies need immigrant labor, and open societies are stronger than closed societies. But openness comes with a price. We must be willing to grant foreign workers and their families a basic package of human and civil rights that enables them to flourish, settle, and become full members of our society.
Further complicating the picture is the reality that not all migration is voluntary. Each year, millions of people move to escape war, political violence, hunger, and deprivation. As the accompanying chart shows, they become refugees, asylum seekers, or internally-displaced persons.
In 2017 the number of ‘people of concern’ to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) was 65.6 million. That includes 22.5 million refugees, 2.8 million asylum seekers, 40.3 million internally displaced people, 10 million stateless persons, and about 1 million others.
The European Union, Germany in particular, has struggled to cope with a wave of forced migration — almost 1 million asylum seekers arrived in Germany alone in 2015. In the past decades, the U.S. has accepted about 75,000 refugees per year, but that number fell last year to approximately 53,000. It is likely to fall further under the Trump administration’s harsh policies. READ MORE