tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/economic-migration-16740/articlesEconomic migration – The Conversation2024-02-29T21:10:19Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2213862024-02-29T21:10:19Z2024-02-29T21:10:19ZHow open source tech can make Canada’s immigration system fairer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576272/original/file-20240216-18-bub7fp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C58%2C5573%2C3673&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Even modest contributions to open source technology can result in substantial value and high societal return on investments.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Federal immigration minister Marc Miller recently announced the government is implementing a <a href="https://theconversation.com/international-students-cap-falsely-blames-them-for-canadas-housing-and-health-care-woes-221859">two-year cap</a> on the number of international students admitted into Canada. </p>
<p>This comes amid the government’s broader changes to the immigration system to streamline the types of people who can settle in Canada. Last year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada introduced <a href="https://www.canadavisa.com/eecategories.html">category-based draws</a> for permanent residence applicants. The new requirements are designed to prioritize applications from health-care and STEM professionals, and other in-demand workers.</p>
<p>While Canada has plans to welcome <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/notices/supplementary-immigration-levels-2024-2026.html">485,000 permanent residents this year</a>, these recent policy shifts signal the government wants to restrict the type of people who can come here. </p>
<p>However, does Canada’s immigration system unfairly exclude the people who could make meaningful contributions to our society and economy? </p>
<h2>Immigration policies favour the rich</h2>
<p>Governments, businesses and universities might be tempted to roll out the red carpet for richer immigrants who bring their wealth to Canada and benefit the country by simply spending their money here. However, policy should be focused on attracting smart and innovative people, regardless of their net worth, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-5890.1999.tb00001.x">as they are far more valuable in the long term</a>. </p>
<p>Research shows that skilled workers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2015.04.002">boost the productivity of their local peers</a>. It is also well known that immigrants play an important role in creating value for firms and can also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2019.1331">attract foreign companies</a> to a country. </p>
<p>Research from the United States indicated that more than <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=990152">25 per cent of tech companies established between 1995 and 2005</a> had an immigrant as a key founder. Similarly in Canada, semi-skilled and high-skilled immigration have a <a href="https://doi.org/10.54609/reaser.v26i2.423">positive effect on our economic growth</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576270/original/file-20240216-20-vytbjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman works on a laptop holding a book in her hand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576270/original/file-20240216-20-vytbjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576270/original/file-20240216-20-vytbjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576270/original/file-20240216-20-vytbjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576270/original/file-20240216-20-vytbjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576270/original/file-20240216-20-vytbjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576270/original/file-20240216-20-vytbjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576270/original/file-20240216-20-vytbjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Despite Canada’s points-based system that ranks potential immigrants, smart, capable people can easily fall through the cracks if they don’t meet financial, employment or formal educational requirements.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Canada has a number of immigration streams. Perhaps the most straightforward is <a href="https://ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=653&top=6">Canada’s investor visa</a>, which allows foreign entrepreneurs to gain permanent residency and, eventually, citizenship. Immigration programs <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/proof-funds.html">like Express Entry</a> require applicants to demonstrate they have a minimum amount of money. Others like the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/eligibility/federal-skilled-workers/six-selection-factors-federal-skilled-workers.html">skilled worker program</a> favor those who have attained certain levels of higher education.</p>
<p>This means that current immigration policy can often favor the rich because it is easier to assess a person’s bank statements than it is to assess their talents or intelligence. </p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://ircc.canada.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/crs-tool.asp">Canada’s points-based system that ranks potential immigrants</a>, smart, capable people can easily fall through the cracks if they don’t meet financial, employment or formal educational requirements. These are people who lack the money and educational certificates to earn a lot of immigration points.</p>
<p>Yet some of them may have already created millions of dollars of value with their contributions to open source (OS) technology that you and I use every day.</p>
<h2>Open source to the rescue</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.jims.e-migration.ro/Vol17_No2_2023/JIMS_Vol17_No2_2023_pp_80_118_QIAN.pdf">A new study</a> by my colleague Jun-Yu Qian from Western University and I shows that there is another way to find the value of contributions of people wishing to come to Canada. Immigrants could be assessed based on their contributions to open source development.</p>
<p><a href="https://itsfoss.com/what-is-foss/">Free and open source software</a> (FOSS) refers to programs that can be used, studied, copied, modified and redistributed with few or no restrictions. The core idea of open source development is that if you make an improvement in software or hardware, you must share it back with the community. The result is often rapid churn in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/MRA.2016.2646748">innovation</a> in a <a href="https://www.appropedia.org/Create,_Share,_and_Save_Money_Using_Open-Source_Projects">wide array of areas</a>.</p>
<p>Open source tech developed by people from all over the world has enormous impact on the economy. Today, open source software is in <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/supercomputers-all-linux-all-the-time/">supercomputers</a>, <a href="https://www.rackspace.com/en-gb/blog/realising-the-value-of-cloud-computing-with-linux">90 per cent of cloud servers</a>, <a href="https://www.idc.com/promo/smartphone-market-share">82 per cent of smartphones</a> and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/open-source-ai">most artificial intelligence</a>. </p>
<p>More than 90 per cent of Fortune 500 companies <a href="https://fortune.com/2013/05/06/how-linux-conquered-the-fortune-500/">use the open-source software</a>. To put it plainly, if you use the internet, you use open source technology every day. </p>
<p>On the hardware side, there are now <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechatronics.2013.06.002">millions of free designs</a> that consumers can download and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies5010007">3D print</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2020.e00139">digitally manufacture</a> to save money compared to conventionally manufactured products. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576271/original/file-20240216-20-olb4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A sign saying Canada arrivals in english and french" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576271/original/file-20240216-20-olb4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576271/original/file-20240216-20-olb4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576271/original/file-20240216-20-olb4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576271/original/file-20240216-20-olb4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576271/original/file-20240216-20-olb4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576271/original/file-20240216-20-olb4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576271/original/file-20240216-20-olb4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Canada has a number of immigration streams, but immigration policy often favours those who are wealthy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>In our paper, we calculated the value on an individual open source project based on how many times it was downloaded and multiplied that by what the substituted cost is on the open market. Similarly, we calculated the fraction of the total value an individual contributor made to a massive collaboration project, like <a href="https://www.linux.org/">Linux</a>, <a href="https://www.android.com/intl/en_ca/">Android</a>, <a href="https://www.arduino.cc/">Arduino</a> or <a href="https://theecologist.org/2010/jul/20/will-reprap-machine-bring-new-manufacturing-and-end-consumerism">RepRap</a>.</p>
<p>We found that even modest contributions to open source technology can result in substantial value and high societal return on investments. These values could be used to determine the contribution an individual has made to open source tech development when assessing their ability to live in and support themselves in Canada.</p>
<h2>Investing in immigrants</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1973162">Studies have shown</a> how immigrants are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9914.2007.00389.x">consistently</a> providing <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2138164">positive return on investment</a> for their adoptive countries. Simply put: immigrants bring more economic value than they cost. </p>
<p>In the study, we found the median contributor to <a href="https://www.openoffice.org/">Open Office</a> (a free office suite that can replace Microsoft’s offerings) made only a tiny contribution to the code (0.00716 per cent) but provided significant financial savings.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.jims.e-migration.ro/Vol17_No2_2023/JIMS_Vol17_No2_2023_pp_80_118_QIAN.pdf">mechanisms we introduced</a> could serve as tools to utilize contributions by potential immigrants. Making this kind of change to immigration policy would go some way to benefiting smart people willing to work hard and make open source contributions, and the countries lucky enough to attract them.</p>
<p>With the help of the open source development, countries like Canada can widen the net and attract highly innovative people to come and live here, even if they don’t have the formal qualifications.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221386/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua M. Pearce does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Valuing open source development is a way to attract talented people that are major drivers to economic growth.Joshua M. Pearce, John M. Thompson Chair in Information Technology and Innovation and Professor, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2149582023-11-01T19:54:40Z2023-11-01T19:54:40ZCanada’s refugee pilot programs risk making refugees prove their worth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557163/original/file-20231101-27-nsb8h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C139%2C2973%2C2106&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Admitting refugees based on their skills risks setting a dangerous precedent, and Canada would be wise to proceed with caution.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/canadas-refugee-pilot-programs-risk-making-refugees-prove-their-worth" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Canada’s <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/economic-mobility-pathways-pilot/immigrate/eligibility.html">Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP)</a>, intended to settle skilled refugees to fill urgent Canadian labour shortages, risks commodifying refugees and humanitarianism. A shift towards using <a href="https://theconversation.com/canada-needs-to-stop-wasting-the-talent-of-skilled-immigrants-182005">an asylum claimant’s economic potential to judge their claim</a> risks blurring the lines between humanitarian- and economically-driven migration to Canada. </p>
<p>Canada has garnered international praise for the way it has welcomed refugees. The country has a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/canada-role/timeline.html">long history of granting protection to individuals fleeing persecution, war and violence</a>. Since 1980, <a href="https://www.unhcr.ca/in-canada/refugees-in-canada/">Canada has welcomed over one million refugees</a>, and takes pride in their contributions to the Canadian economy and its multicultural milieu. </p>
<p>Canada’s welcoming approach, and its <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-story-behind-the-worlds-first-private-refugee-sponsorship-program-126257">private refugee sponsorship program</a>, have been touted as a model for other countries to follow. Canada has also been celebrated for its <a href="https://www.fmreview.org/latinamerica-caribbean/dustin-ferreira">proceedings involving refugees who have suffered due to their sexual orientation or gender identity</a>.</p>
<p>Finding durable solutions to global refugee crises is a persistent challenge. However, admitting refugees based on their skills risks setting a dangerous precedent, and Canada would be wise to proceed with caution.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556956/original/file-20231031-29-iqfv1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of people holding signs that say welcome to Canada" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556956/original/file-20231031-29-iqfv1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556956/original/file-20231031-29-iqfv1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556956/original/file-20231031-29-iqfv1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556956/original/file-20231031-29-iqfv1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556956/original/file-20231031-29-iqfv1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556956/original/file-20231031-29-iqfv1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556956/original/file-20231031-29-iqfv1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A family waits to welcome Syrian refugees at Toronto Pearson Airport. The EMPP risks jeopardizing Canada’s welcoming reputation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/economic-mobility-pathways-project-labour-mobility.html">The EMPP</a> was launched in April 2018 in collaboration with refugee-focused organizations like <a href="https://www.talentbeyondboundaries.org/">Talent Beyond Boundaries</a> and <a href="https://www.refugepoint.org/">RefugePoint</a>, and is designed to combine refugee resettlement and economic immigration. </p>
<p>Through the EMPP, around 10 to 15 “skilled refugees” in the Middle East and East Africa were referred to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/provincial-nominees/works.html">provincial nominee programs</a> in Canada. Through these programs, Canadian provinces are able to nominate people for permanent residence. The EMPP was intended to be another avenue for refugees seeking to come to Canada. </p>
<p>In the summer of 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced two new immigration streams under the EMPP. Refugees who secured a full-time job offer could come to Canada through the EMPP Skills Job Stream. Those without a full-time job offer, but who <a href="https://www.unhcr.ca/in-canada/other-immigration-pathways-refugees/economic-immigration-skilled-refugees/#:%7E:text=To%20date%2C%20a%20software%20developer,other%20applications%20are%20being%20processed.">possessed skills that match with employers’ needs</a>, could apply through the EMPP Federal Skills Without a Job Offer Stream. </p>
<p>These newer pathways apply a skills distinction to refugee selection and admission in Canada. Essentially, they distinguish refugee applicants based on their perceived skills, education, training and experience. Such a practice is counter to <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-relating-status-refugees">international</a> and <a href="https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-2.5/page-1.html#h-274085">national</a> protocols that state refugees must be protected based on their fears of persecution. </p>
<p>More importantly, distinguishing refugees in this way only serves the private interests of employers and businesses, and not necessarily those of asylum seekers. </p>
<h2>Making refugees prove their worth</h2>
<p>The government states the EMPP gives Canadian employers access to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/economic-mobility-pathways-pilot.html">“a new pool of qualified candidates”</a> who can meet ongoing labour shortages.</p>
<p>Migrant-receiving countries in the Global North have long relied on immigration to enhance their economic competitiveness. This economic basis for immigration has a long history in Canada and can be traced back to the <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/immigration-policy">1967 introduction of the points system</a>. Under this system, people seeking to immigrate to Canada are ranked and assessed based on their skills and human capital.</p>
<p>This kind of skilled immigration has become the <a href="https://theconversation.com/immigrants-could-be-the-solution-to-canadas-labour-shortage-but-they-need-to-be-supported-194613">preferred solution</a> to Canada’s ongoing labour shortages, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-pandemic-created-challenges-and-opportunities-for-canadian-immigration-194490">particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>These immigration systems can often create power imbalances between companies and their workers that are ripe for abuse. They can often give employers significant say in <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-regulations-on-migrant-farm-workers-should-tackle-employer-employee-power-imbalances-198489">who gets to stay in Canada and who does not</a>.</p>
<h2>Risks of abuse</h2>
<p>Inserting labour market objectives into refugee policy means the federal government risks not fully considering the dangers of exposing already vulnerable refugees to increased trauma and exploitation by <a href="https://theconversation.com/canada-the-good-myth-exposed-migrant-workers-resist-debt-bondage-90279">employers or unregulated recruiters</a>. </p>
<p>Assessing a refugee based on their employment or economic prospects fails to consider their other needs, <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/fr/magazines/mai-2016/from-newcomer-to-canadian-making-refugee-integration-work/">such as health care, housing and language training</a>. The current EMPP pathways remain small and are intended to complement, rather than replace, the humanitarian impetus driving Canada’s refugee policy. </p>
<p>Now is the time to stop, think and apply caution. There is a need for more dialogue on the potential risks for refugees if Canada starts to assess their applications based on their economic prospects rather than the depth of their humanitarian needs. </p>
<p>This is especially important as Canada could serve as a model for other countries, which it has done in the past, and shape the lives of global refugees.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214958/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Romeo Joe Quintero does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Canada has cultivated a reputation for being welcoming toward refugees. However, a new pilot program risks jeopardizing that reputation by making asylum seekers prove their economic worth.Romeo Joe Quintero, PhD Student, Human Geography, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1965582022-12-20T21:22:22Z2022-12-20T21:22:22ZMost Canadians welcome immigrants, but anti-immigration sentiments persist<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501647/original/file-20221217-19-5xyi3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=56%2C7%2C4625%2C3109&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While most Canadians do not reveal strong anti-immigrant sentiments, they are less immigrant-friendly than we might expect.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/most-canadians-welcome-immigrants--but-anti-immigration-sentiments-persist" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Hostility towards immigrants has become a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2020/08/26/fact-check-and-review-of-trump-immigration-policy/">powerful component</a> of right-wing populism in several <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64024461">western countries</a>. But for the time being, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/world/canada/canadas-secret-to-resisting-the-wests-populist-wave.html">Canada has not succumbed</a> to this wave. </p>
<p>In Canada, attitudes towards immigration have never been a particularly divisive or salient election issue. Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada is the only federal party whose platform includes <a href="https://www.peoplespartyofcanada.ca/immigration">radical reform of Canada’s immigration system</a>. Nonetheless, the party has <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/peoples-party-election-2021-1.6182680">twice failed</a> to gain any seats in parliament.</p>
<p>Reinforcing the idea that multiculturalism lies at the centre of Canadian identity, a recent <a href="https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:92e101c4-428a-49e5-a34d-abfcc31fd012">Focus Canada report</a> finds that the public “has never been more supportive” of immigrants. </p>
<p>Our ongoing research into anti-immigration attitudes is primarily motivated by recent xenophobic attacks which expose a resurgence in anti-immigrant feelings. For instance, the 2021 London, Ont. hit-and-run, described by the prime minister as a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-london-terroris-attack-1.6057480">“terrorist attack,”</a> which killed four members of a Muslim family, shocked many Canadians. A man facing <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/trial-of-man-charged-in-killing-of-muslim-family-in-london-ont-to-be-held-in-different-city-1.6531656">terror-related murder charges</a> is scheduled to stand trial in September 2023.</p>
<p>In 2020, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00005-eng.htm">Canadian police</a> reported 2,669 criminal acts motivated by hatred —the largest number recorded since 2009.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501997/original/file-20221219-24-ubcb28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a pen next to an application form that reads: application for permanent residence in Canada" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501997/original/file-20221219-24-ubcb28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501997/original/file-20221219-24-ubcb28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501997/original/file-20221219-24-ubcb28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501997/original/file-20221219-24-ubcb28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501997/original/file-20221219-24-ubcb28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501997/original/file-20221219-24-ubcb28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501997/original/file-20221219-24-ubcb28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Canadian government recently announced plans to welcome 500,000 new permanent residents a year by 2025. Research shows that despite rising hate crimes most Canadians are supportive of immigration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Anti-immigrant sentiments exist, but no province stands out</h2>
<p>We conducted a survey in September 2022 with Canadian polling firm <a href="https://abacusdata.ca/">Abacus Data</a> on a sample of 1,000 respondents across Canada. We asked four questions:</p>
<p>1) Whether immigration hurts the economy.</p>
<p>2) Whether the number of immigrants should be reduced. </p>
<p>3) Whether immigrants increase crime.</p>
<p>4) Whether cultural diversity limits opportunities for Canadians. By “opportunities,” we mean in areas such as jobs, education and housing. </p>
<p>Previous studies revealed that some provinces were less welcoming to immigrants than others. In 2019, pollsters <a href="https://www.ekospolitics.com/index.php/2019/04/increased-polarization-on-attitudes-to-immigration-reshaping-the-political-landscape-in-canada/">EKOS politics</a> found that 40 per cent of Canadians were apprehensive about “visible minority” immigrants. </p>
<p>EKOS reported that 56 per cent of Albertans, 46 per cent of Ontarians and 31 per cent of British Columbians echoed this sentiment. Only residents of Atlantic Canada were more immigrant friendly. Similarly, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/poll-canadians-living-in-alberta-climate-change-1.6272645">a 2021 report</a> by Maru Public Opinion found that only half of Canadians believed that Alberta was a welcoming place for immigrants. </p>
<p>However, we found no significant differences across Canadian provinces in anti-immigrant sentiments. Furthermore, our research suggests that the majority of respondents do not hold strong anti-immigrant views. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501616/original/file-20221216-37196-szvchf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501616/original/file-20221216-37196-szvchf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501616/original/file-20221216-37196-szvchf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501616/original/file-20221216-37196-szvchf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501616/original/file-20221216-37196-szvchf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501616/original/file-20221216-37196-szvchf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501616/original/file-20221216-37196-szvchf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501616/original/file-20221216-37196-szvchf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Four questions to measure anti-immigration beliefs. Left-side percentages show tolerance; middle percentages show neutral feelings; right-side percentages show strong anti-immigration feelings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Author provided)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When asked whether “immigration hurts the economy,” 53 per cent disagreed. While Canadians do not reveal strong anti-immigrant sentiments, they are less immigrant-friendly than we expected. We found that 24 per cent of the respondents do not have an opinion on immigration, while 23 per cent agree that immigration hurts the economy.</p>
<p>Moreover, 34 per cent of Canadians agreed that “immigration should be reduced.” Twenty-four per cent agree that “immigrants increase crime” and 20 per cent agree that “cultural diversity limits their opportunities.”</p>
<h2>Attitudes within the immigrant population</h2>
<p>Our study shows that recent immigrants to Canada are more tolerant to immigration than those who immigrated in the distant past, but the differences are rather small. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/678388">Other researchers</a> have arrived at a similar conclusion when examining immigrants’ attitudes toward immigration. </p>
<p>Those who have acquired citizenship in their host countries tend to be more skeptical about immigration than newer non-citizen immigrants. There could be several hypotheses that explain this trend, however, more research is needed to shed light on why that might be. </p>
<h2>Anti-immigrant attitudes stronger among convoy supporters</h2>
<p>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the truckers’ protest in Ottawa in early 2022 as imbued with <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/justin-trudeau-covid-canada-convoy-b2004245.html">“symbols of hatred and division”</a> and accused protesters of “abuse and racism.” In contrast, the convoy was endorsed by prominent American right-wing figures including <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/donald-trump-voices-support-for-truckers-convoy-protest-in-ottawa-1.5760331">Donald Trump</a> and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/09/media/right-wing-media-canadian-truckers-reliable-sources/index.html">Fox News</a> commentators.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501601/original/file-20221216-23-gd4x3c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501601/original/file-20221216-23-gd4x3c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501601/original/file-20221216-23-gd4x3c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501601/original/file-20221216-23-gd4x3c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501601/original/file-20221216-23-gd4x3c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501601/original/file-20221216-23-gd4x3c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501601/original/file-20221216-23-gd4x3c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501601/original/file-20221216-23-gd4x3c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supporters of the ‘freedom convoy’ tend to hold stronger anti-immigrant views.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Author provided)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found that stronger support for the convoy movement is associated with stronger anti-immigrant feelings. This finding lends some credence to Trudeau’s sentiment that racism and xenophobia were present among the convoy protesters. </p>
<p>We found that moderate anti-immigrant sentiments exist in Canada, but without noticeable differences between provinces. The trucker Convoy protest supporters showcased stronger anti-immigrant attitudes than those who opposed these protests. This might challenge Canada’s all-encompassing tradition of diversity and tolerance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196558/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Constantin Colonescu receives funding from MacEwan University (Internal funding). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Andrea Wagner received funding from MacEwan University's Scholarly Activity Support Fund </span></em></p>Research finds that while some anti-immigration attitudes persist in Canada, no provinces significantly stand out for being more hostile to immigrants.Constantin Colonescu, Associate Professor of Economics, MacEwan UniversityAndrea Wagner, Assistant Professor, Political Science, MacEwan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1790972022-03-31T07:33:13Z2022-03-31T07:33:13ZNkrumah and football: how Ghana’s top players ended up in North America<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452389/original/file-20220316-19-e015zo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Black Stars were an extension of Nkrumah's political ideology </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ghana_football_team_1960s.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>African footballers have been migrating overseas since the 1920s, when French leagues attracted some West African players. The migration of African talent to Europe intensified from the 1980s to the 2000s as football became more globalised and economically viable. </p>
<p>Thousands of African footballers have since found their way to Europe. Many have succeeded in carving a niche for themselves, like <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abedi-Ayew-Pele">Abedi Pele</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Didier-Drogba">Didier Drogba</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Weah">George Weah</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Etoo">Samuel Eto'o</a>. The performances of these stars have reinforced the perception that the African continent has some of the best football talent.</p>
<p>Less is known about the history of African footballers moving to North America. My own <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17532523.2022.2047282">study</a> of the migration of Ghanaians to leagues in the United States from 1967 to 1984 shows interesting connections between political, social, and economic influences and sports. In particular it highlights the influence of the country’s first post-independence president, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kwame-Nkrumah">Kwame Nkrumah</a>, on the state of football in Ghana. </p>
<p>The knowledge and experience of former footballers is a useful resource for those who wish to promote the game and support the development of players.</p>
<h2>Nkrumah’s vision for football</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17532523.2022.2047282">research</a> used a qualitative research method. We tracked down several players who played under Nkrumah’s regime and migrated to the United States to join the North American Soccer League. We also studied documents. </p>
<p>Nkrumah viewed the national football team as an extension of his pan-Africanist vision. He appointed an administrator who shared that vision in the person of <a href="https://www.cairn-int.info/journal-staps-2019-3-page-49.htm">Ohene Djan</a>. His role was to grow sports in general and develop a national football league capable of producing a national football team to fulfil Nkrumah’s objectives.</p>
<p>He did this successfully as Ghana’s national football team became the best on the continent, winning<a href="https://www.cafonline.com/total-africa-cup-of-nations/news/four-black-stars-in-the-sky#:%7E:text=For%20over%20two%20decades%2C%20Ghana,attempt%2C%20at%20home%20in%201963."> two continental titles</a> in 1963 and 1965 . Domestic club sides like <a href="https://www.ghanafa.org/football-club/asante-kotoko">Asante Kotoko</a> were also a force.</p>
<p>The popularity of football in Ghana brought enormous prestige, social respectability, and fame to football stars, especially to national team players. They were seen as international stars and were the “pampered darlings” of the general public. Former national goalkeeper Dodoo Ankrah described the feeling.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We were proud of wearing the national colours because it was not easy to be invited to play for the team … anybody who plays for the national team was regarded as a hero and even the chief in the community takes you as a hero.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>By 1968, two years after Nkrumah’s overthrow, the country experienced an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17532523.2022.2047282">economic crisis </a> which affected sports development. Unemployment increased and social welfare was drastically reduced, making Ghana unattractive to foreigners and citizens alike. The country experienced a long period of economic difficulty, political instability and civil unrest. Conditions became counter-productive to the growth of football and national team players were left to find their own way of surviving. </p>
<p>Some players embraced migration opportunities to the North American Soccer
League, where they met other African footballers. </p>
<h2>Greener pastures</h2>
<p>A number of factors led to the American league becoming the destination of choice for the players at the time. With the economic situation in Ghana showing no signs of improvement and football no longer the focus of attention for the new government, these players felt the need to look for greener pastures. The USA made sense as a destination because most of them had friends who had migrated there. The burgeoning football market was also a factor.</p>
<p>Footballers relied heavily on their social relations and networks acquired through fame and social status. One of them, Wilberforce Mfum, recapped his journey to the United States via Italy, where a former management member of Asante Kotoko SC – who was then an ambassador – hosted him.</p>
<p>This player explained the circumstances surrounding his migration after Nkrumah’s topple. At age 29, Mfum was still scoring goals in African competitions but the media put pressure on “ageing” national team players, leading to their exit. </p>
<p>He told of his final move to the North American league:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I left Ghana on July 24, 1968. That time, we had played a match against Morocco’s national team for a World Cup qualifier and we lost 0–1 at Accra Sport Stadium, so other sportswriters including Kofi Badu were saying the Black Stars players are old so we should be sacked from the team. I was so lucky that three days after that match, I flew to the United States and was met by Boye Lomotey(a Ghanaian resident in the states) at the New York airport and he took me to Washington.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The pioneers of the North American Soccer League included Gladstone Ofori, a former Invincible Eleven FC player. Brothers Sam and Oliver Acquah played for Kumasi Asante Kotoko SC before moving to North America. </p>
<p>Most Ghanaian players played for Rochester Lancers Club between 1970 and 1978. Out of the total, only four were former Black Stars players. Others were Wilberforce Mfum, Abdul Razak and Frank Odoi, a former player of Great Olympics, who stayed 12 years in the North American Soccer League. They all enjoyed a reasonable level of success during their playing career in the United States. Back home, football went through an intermittent period of success but the focus that Nkrumah placed on the national team was not replicated.</p>
<p>The study of the migration of some of Ghana’s biggest football stars to the US after the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah in 1966 adds to the literature on African football migration. This process continues today in the steady flow of football talents to the Major Soccer League in the US.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179097/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ernest Yeboah Acheampong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ghanaian footballers chased migration to the US after the removal of Nkrumah as president.Ernest Yeboah Acheampong, Lecturer/Researcher, University of Education, WinnebaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1093902019-01-21T15:08:21Z2019-01-21T15:08:21ZRefugees and family migrants more likely to feel British than other immigrants<p>Public anxiety over immigration was a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/brexit-latest-news-leave-eu-immigration-main-reason-european-union-survey-a7811651.html">key factor</a> in the Brexit referendum result. The government’s recent proposals for a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46613900">new post-Brexit immigration system</a>, which will put an end to the free movement of people from the EU, are intended to ease this same anxiety. </p>
<p>Yet, the emphasis of the new proposals is on meeting the future skills requirements of the domestic labour market. Commentators quickly pointed out that concerns over immigration are not always strictly economic in nature, and perceived <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9f8bfe2a-0471-11e9-99df-6183d3002ee1">threats to British culture and identity</a> may be equally important.</p>
<p>The perception that people in some minority groups lack a sense of belonging in the UK has led successive governments to introduce policies <a href="https://theconversation.com/promoting-british-values-opens-up-a-can-of-worms-for-teachers-27846">explicitly promoting British values</a>. Unease around these issues has arguably also increased opposition to the admission of <a href="https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/reports/thinking-behind-the-numbers-understanding-public-opinion-on-immigration-in-britain/">refugees and family migrants</a>, who tend to arrive from countries that are culturally quite distinct from the UK. </p>
<p>Official nervousness around refugee arrivals was apparent during the refugee crisis in the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/11839283/David-Cameron-Britain-should-not-take-more-refugees.html">summer of 2015</a>, and again in recent weeks, as the government declared a “major incident” over the small number of people trying to reach the UK in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46705128">boats across the English Channel</a>.</p>
<h2>Feelings of Britishness</h2>
<p>My recent <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11150-018-9439-8">research</a> suggests that people who came to the UK as refugees or family migrants are much more likely than economic migrants to feel that they have a British national identity. A family migrant is anyone who said they originally migrated to accompany other family members, or to join family members who are already here. My analysis was based on data from the UK Labour Force Survey, which contained interviews with more than 76,000 migrants between 2010 and 2017. While 25% of economic migrants reported feeling British, this rose to 53% for refugees and 62% for family migrants. </p>
<p><iframe id="HlSsA" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/HlSsA/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Even when comparing only migrants who came to the UK from the same countries of origin, and accounting for differences in their age at arrival, time since migration, ethnicity, and educational background, refugees and family migrants still stood out as the most likely to say they felt British. </p>
<p>This type of descriptive research only attempts to analyse patterns of British national identity over the relevant time period. It cannot be used to establish definitive explanations for these patterns, or to make predictions about what would happen in different future immigration scenarios.</p>
<p>Yet, the most simple and general explanation for my finding is that refugees and family migrants are more likely than economic migrants to plan to stay in the UK long term. The defining characteristic of an economic migrant is their pursuit of employment, which may or may not be viewed as a long-term arrangement. In contrast, a family migrant is defined by their attachment to family members in the country, and a refugee is defined by their having arrived in the country after fleeing war or persecution. In both these cases, a migrant’s anticipated length of stay in the UK is likely to be longer term.</p>
<p>It’s possible to more or less eliminate some other possible explanations for this finding. For example, I show in additional <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11150-018-9439-8#Tab3">analysis</a> that the result is not driven purely by a higher uptake of legal citizenship among refugees and family migrants, or by a higher proportion of family migrants arriving from countries in the British Commonwealth. Although citizenship and Commonwealth origins do seem to matter for identity, among people who are not British citizens, refugees and family migrants are still more likely to report a British identity. The same is true among migrants who come from countries outside the Commonwealth.</p>
<h2>Longer stays</h2>
<p>A large body of <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jel.54.1.98">previous research</a> suggests that other important aspects of migrant life – such as language learning or completing new qualifications – are shaped by how long a person intends to stay in their new country. This makes sense: learning the language to an advanced level or completing a qualification that is only recognised in the new county may simply not be worthwhile if one intends to leave before long. </p>
<p>The same logic could apply in the case of adopting a new national identity: for many who intend to stay for the foreseeable future, it is natural to develop a sense of feeling “British”, while for others it isn’t. A change in national identity may be more difficult than physically crossing an international border. </p>
<p>There’s no need for the UK to wish all migrants to feel British. All sorts of people migrate to the UK for different reasons, hopefully improving their own lives in the process, as well as contributing to the domestic economy and culture in different ways. It would be strange to suggest that a short-term migrant should or could adopt a British national identity, though it would perhaps be a sign of a healthy, inclusive national culture if a proportion of longer-term migrants did so. These matters of culture and identity are worth considering alongside strictly economic criteria in response to public anxiety over immigration.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109390/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article is based on research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The author declares previous research contracts at the UK Home Office, and data access at the UK Home Office relating to an earlier version of this research.</span></em></p>New research suggests that refugees and family migrants are more likely to report a British identity than economic migrants.Stuart Campbell, Research Associate, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/797002017-06-20T04:42:25Z2017-06-20T04:42:25ZRefugee or migrant? Sometimes the line is blurred<p>A dozen years before the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-heartbreaking-images-from-aleppo-could-actually-change-international-norms-70697?sr=13">influx of refugees and migrants to Europe’s shores</a> would force policymakers to take heed, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 docudrama <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310154/">In this World</a> brought the inside story of international migration to the big screen. </p>
<p>In charting the risky, clandestine journey to Europe of two Afghans – the teenage Jamal and 30-something Ineyatullah from the Shamshatoo Refugee Camp in Pakistan’s northwest – the film demonstrates the simple but not uncontroversial truth: Jamal and Ineyatullah are at once refugees and migrants. </p>
<p>Like so many immigrants, they simply seek a better life, one of freedom, opportunity and dignity. At the same time, these Afghans are also refugees – people displaced by conflict and poverty – seeking a better life.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VhR-w5b-LYg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 film ‘In This World’ follows the journey of two Afghans trying to make it to Europe.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From languishing in Peshawar and nearly suffocating in the back of a truck during the crossing into Europe, to working without papers in London, theirs is a story of displacement, struggle and marginalisation. </p>
<p>It’s also a story of the economic and political borders that fence people in. Transcending these invisible frontiers requires taking inordinate risks. For Ineyatullah, doing so cost his life. </p>
<p>Jamal’s tale has a happier ending: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2003/feb/28/artsfeatures.immigration">after applying for asylum in England</a>, he was adopted by a British family who’d seen Winterbottom’s film, finally giving the boy a place to call home. </p>
<h2>World Refugee Day</h2>
<p>June 20 is World Refugee Day, a time to reflect on not just refugees but on those people who, like Jamal and Ineyatullah, are both refugees and migrants. </p>
<p>The day of commemoration comes at a historic moment: for the first time ever, all United Nations member states are working together to develop <a href="https://theconversation.com/global-compact-on-migration-should-focus-on-harnessing-its-win-win-benefits-72967?sr=2">two new global compacts</a>. The first is on shared responsibility for refugees and the second on more humane, coordinated and dignified approaches to governing global migration.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"877095694443708416"}"></div></p>
<p>The project began in September 2016, when the UN adopted the landmark <a href="http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/71/L.1">New York Declaration</a> to forge a coordinated architecture for global governance of both refugees and migrants within two years.</p>
<p>Both compacts are scheduled for completion by 2018. For them to work, policymakers must consider the many millions of people currently in transit whose situations confound the conventional demarcation between refugee and migrant. </p>
<p>Under international law, the rights of refugees – those forced to leave their country because of war or persecution – are enshrined in the <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/1951-refugee-convention.html">1951
Convention for Refugees</a> and its subsequent 1967 protocol.</p>
<p>People who are perceived to have pulled up stakes by choice, on the other hand, lack any comprehensive global rights or protections. Migrants do benefit from the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/udhrbook/pdf/udhr_booklet_en_web.pdf">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a>, which was signed in 1948 to respond to the refugee flows resulting from the second world war. </p>
<p>But beyond some basic protections, many displaced people today defy the parameters used by policymakers to define who is entitled to what rights. And this legal limbo puts many migrants in grave danger. </p>
<h2>Migrant or refugee?</h2>
<p>All people who cross international borders without papers, whether they are Central Americans <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-wall-and-the-beast-trumps-triumph-from-the-mexican-side-of-the-border-68559?sr=1">riding the trains through Mexico</a> to get to the United States or <a href="https://theconversation.com/famine-creeps-in-on-africa-while-the-worlds-media-looks-elsewhere-76340?sr=1">Ethiopians</a> escaping hunger in unseaworthy dinghies, face myriad risks. They include the underworld of smugglers, inhumane treatment by authorities and the mental and physical dangers of invisibility and exploitation. </p>
<p>A recent article in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/15/un-says-film-of-migrants-held-captive-in-libya-seems-authentic">Guardian</a>, for example, reported that criminal gangs in Libya have been holding hundreds of migrants to ransom. </p>
<p>Since 2015, the waters of the Mediterranean have been replete with such traumas, as migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Syria and Afghanistan <a href="https://theconversation.com/libyas-illegal-migration-the-urgent-need-for-a-new-strategy-78364?sr=1">try desperately</a> to get to Europe. </p>
<p>Some of these people may well fit the legal definition of a refugee. Others have set off on their dangerous journeys as migrants, in pursuit of jobs and opportunities. </p>
<p>Too many never make it. In 2016, it’s estimated that <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/mediterranean-migrant-deaths-2016-pass-5000-161223130357172.html">over 5,000 people died</a> crossing the Mediterranean, highlighting the dire need to offer some form of humanitarian protection to migrants, legal status aside. </p>
<h2>Children on the road</h2>
<p>Minors are among the most poignant examples of this quandary. </p>
<p>Take Abdallah, now 19. In February 2017, he was being supported at the <a href="https://www.bayt-al-thaqafa.org/">Bayt al-Thaqafa Foundation</a> in Barcelona, an organisation that helps resettle young immigrants.</p>
<p>A decade ago, when he was just nine years old, Abdallah’s family in Morocco made a choice for him about his future. His uncle smuggled him from a village in the Rif mountains into the Spanish colonial city of Ceuta. </p>
<p>Abandoned on the streets, Abdallah begged for several weeks until he was picked up by local authorities. After spending some time in a centre for minors, he was sent to Barcelona, where he lived the next nine years in a residence for children who, like him, who had crossed an international border without papers. </p>
<p>Over time, peers and mentors there replaced Abdallah’s family back home. He learned Spanish and Catalan, learned computer skills and earned a high school degree.</p>
<p>On his 18th birthday, time ran out. His residency permit allowed Abdallah to stay in Barcelona, but not to work. It was Spain’s legal right to send Abdallah back “home” to a family he no longer remembered well. </p>
<p>But where is home, really, for someone like Abdallah, who spent his formative years far from his birthplace through no choice of his own? And what obligations do countries have to protect these young people?</p>
<h2>Just “ordinary immigrants”</h2>
<p>As Hannah Arendt, the preeminent political theorist and herself a refugee, wrote in her 1943 essay <a href="https://www-leland.stanford.edu/dept/DLCL/files/pdf/hannah_arendt_we_refugees.pdf">We Refugees</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the first place, we don’t like being called ‘refugees’…. We did our best to prove to others that we were just ordinary immigrants…. We wanted to rebuild our lives, that was all.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That same idea fuels the struggle of displaced persons today. Whether driven by hunger, violence or poverty, they arrive in their host country hoping to become ordinary – different in ethnicity and culture, perhaps – productive citizens. </p>
<p>As the UN and its member states aim to tackle the policy needs of human mobility in its entirety, developing one compact each for refugees and migrants, let them not forget that millions of migrants and refugees experience blurred and interconnected situations, and everyone is just seeking a place to call home.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79700/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Parvati Nair does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are refugees, there are migrants and then there are the millions of people who live in legal limbo because they defy easy categorisation. But everyone is just looking for a place to call home.Parvati Nair, Director of United Nations University Institute on Globalisation, Culture and Mobility and Professor of Hispanic, Cultural and Migration Studies at Queen Mary University of London, United Nations UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/708522017-02-12T10:02:18Z2017-02-12T10:02:18ZHow strong family ties play a role in sex trafficking in Nigeria<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155907/original/image-20170207-30934-1dxcexf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nigerian former sex worker "Beauty" at a social support centre for trafficked girls near Catania in Italy. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Tom Esslemont</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Discussions about <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35244148">human trafficking</a> between Africa and Europe are frequently blurred by generalisations about villainous traffickers and their naïve young victims who have been misled into prostitution. But the world of sex trafficking is far more complex.</p>
<p>For example, several studies have shown that Nigerian sex trafficking rings are dominated by women, known as madams, and use of black magic rituals, known as <em>juju</em>, to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284419256_Human_trafficking_for_sexual_exploitation_from_Nigeria_into_Western_Europe_The_role_of_voodoo_rituals_in_the_functioning_of_a_criminal_network">keep their victims captivated</a>. But little or no work has been done on other important dynamics. Two in particular are important.</p>
<p>The first is the active role that extended families play in helping women secure work in Europe. The second is the fact that women themselves are nowadays increasingly aware of the work that awaits them, even though they cannot imagine how brutal and miserable it actually is.</p>
<p>The lack of research has resulted in an incomplete understanding of the much more complex reality of the circumstances under which victims fall into the hands of traffickers. This has also compromised the effectiveness of prevention and rehabilitation projects in Nigeria, which seldom take into account the involvement of family members.</p>
<p>As part of my doctoral research I recently conducted interviews in rural communities outside Benin City, the capital of Edo State in southern Nigeria. Recruitment of women for work in Europe is <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-italy-trafficking-idUSKBN13301I?il=0">rife</a> in the area.</p>
<p>Many of the young women I interviewed knew that prostitution lay behind vague offers for work as hairdressers, cashiers or domestic workers in Europe. Nevertheless, out of desperation, some are prepared to take up the offers driven by the need to provide a <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12117-013-9199-z">better life for their families</a>.</p>
<p>In rural Nigeria, widespread emigration aspirations are often fuelled by the high levels of joblessness, corruption, poor infrastructure and family <a href="http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/nigeria-multiple-forms-mobility-africas-demographic-giant">struggles to make ends meet</a>.</p>
<p>My interviews with communities members and NGO representatives indicate that many young Nigerians see the opportunity of finding work abroad as their best, if not their only, means to a better future for themselves and their families. The dire economic situations which their families face, combined with a sense of obligation, is an important factor in the decision making process. Added to this complexity is the fact that extended family members often act as the link between human trafficking syndicates and their victims.</p>
<h2>The Nigeria/Europe nexus</h2>
<p>Nigerian sex traffickers have developed a highly organised and wide web of <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/italian-and-nigerian-gangs-a-deadly-alliance-2361393.html">criminal contacts throughout Europe</a>. Over the years this has grown as they have found new ways of overcoming logistical and law enforcement obstacles.</p>
<p>Italy serves as the primary gateway for Nigerian migrants entering Europe.
In 2016, almost 38,000 landed on Italian shores. Just under 10,000 <a href="https://qz.com/885170/the-number-of-nigerian-women-arrivals-to-italy-via-sea-from-libya-has-increased-almost-tenfold-since-2014-says-the-international-organization-for-migration/">were women</a>. </p>
<p>This number represents the largest jump in the yearly total of Nigerian women arriving in Italy in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/aug/08/trafficking-of-nigerian-women-into-prostitution-in-europe-at-crisis-level">last 10 years</a>. In August 2016 the International Organization for Migration reported that 80% of the Nigerian women who arrive in Italy would ultimately be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/aug/08/trafficking-of-nigerian-women-into-prostitution-in-europe-at-crisis-level">trafficked for sex</a>.</p>
<h2>The role of the family</h2>
<p>There is high awareness of sex trafficking in Nigeria thanks to the work of international organisations, local NGOs and the National Agency for the Prohibition of <a href="http://www.naptip.gov.ng/">Trafficking in Persons</a>. </p>
<p>But women continue to leave in large numbers to seek a brighter future in Europe. This is exacerbated by pressures put on them by their own families. </p>
<p>Family pressure is often the deciding factor in their leaving home. The struggle to make ends meet often leads families to view sending young women off to Europe as an investment, leading to future income for the household. Thus family members are involved in the recruiting phase of trafficking. </p>
<p>Women migrants – unlike their male counterparts – don’t have to finance their own trips to Europe. They are sponsored by their future “employers” and once in Europe are forced to work until they repay the debt incurred for passage. This can take years as the inflated sums can amount to as much as €60,000. This indebtedness also means that women are less likely to report their situation to the police. </p>
<p>Extended family members often mislead women into believing that their migration process will be different as their contact in Italy is a trusted one. </p>
<p>Unlike the Western “extended family”, Nigerian families are tightly knit through ancestral ties. This makes the closeness of the biological connection irrelevant in determining the <a href="http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/4596/1/Mama2.pdf">importance of the relationship</a>. This creates a very profound sense of moral and financial obligation among family members, a factor which has great importance in the dynamics of sex trafficking. </p>
<p>In Nigerian families, for instance, the wealthier family members are both expected and feel obligated to provide financially for those who struggle. Nigerian “madams” use this to their advantage. For example they allow women to keep a small sum of money to send back home occasionally. </p>
<p>These remittances become a double-edged sword. They provide a financial incentive to the family in Nigeria to do whatever they can to discourage the women from escaping. </p>
<p>As long as the woman keeps sending money home, neither the community nor the family is likely to question the source of her income. Being unable to find success abroad and to live up to her financial responsibility to her family would be perceived as a failure and the source of significant shame and dishonour on a personal, family and community level. </p>
<h2>Fighting sex traffickers</h2>
<p>Several major international police operations and intelligence gathering projects funded by the EU and various EU member states are in place to fight Nigerian transnational sex trafficking.</p>
<p>But the increasing number of Nigerian women arriving in Europe suggests that their success is limited. The Nigerian criminal groups have proved to be very adaptable and to be able to quickly reconstitute themselves when put <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/nigeria-italy-crime-trafficking-idINKBN134018">under legal pressure</a>.</p>
<p>Law enforcement operations should be combined with prevention and rehabilitation strategies for a more effective and holistic approach to address the Nigerian sex trafficking problem. </p>
<p>In Nigeria, projects to reintegrate the women back into their societies are often focused mainly on the re-empowerment of victims through either work training or access to micro credit grants for business start-ups. Too often little or no attention is given to the reintegration of the women in their families. </p>
<p>It’s undeniable that families play an important role in the sustainability of external sex trafficking. But the power of strong family ties could also be a great asset in preventing the women from joining the sex trade in the first place. Family based interventions and family counselling could play a pivotal role in the success of reintegration strategies for the victims as has been the case in addressing other issues such as <a href="https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-adolescent-substance-use-disorder-treatment-research-based-guide/evidence-based-approaches-to-treating-adolescent-substance-use-disorders/family-based-approaches">drug and alcohol abuse, bullying and gambling</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70852/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Valentina Pancieri receives funding from the University of Cape Town.</span></em></p>Nigerian women migrating to Europe are increasingly aware that work hidden in the form of menial jobs is actually sex work, even though they cannot imagine the brutality that comes with it.Valentina Pancieri, Ph.D. Candidate in Criminology, University of Cape Town, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/410932015-05-07T05:34:36Z2015-05-07T05:34:36ZWithout immigrants, none of us would be here<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80296/original/image-20150504-23520-yzkcbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Most of the migrants desperately crossing the Mediterranean from Africa are refugees.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/STR</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><strong>Foundation essay</strong>: This article is part of a series marking the launch of The Conversation in Africa. Our foundation essays are longer than usual and take a wider look at key issues affecting society.</em></p>
<p>In almost every country across the globe anti-immigrant sentiment is high. Already this year it is estimated that more than 1750 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean. Last weekend, ten people died and an <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32573389">estimated 5800 migrants</a> were rescued off the Libyan coast. Yet Europe’s callous attitude to immigrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa is not only unethical but also ill-informed and <a href="https://theconversation.com/europes-war-on-migrants-while-we-argue-thousands-perish-in-the-mediterranean-40330">counterproductive</a>. </p>
<p>It’s a hostility echoed 7000 kilometres away in South Africa, where <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2015-04-29-xenophobia-the-past-comes-back-to-haunt-us">deadly attacks</a> on immigrants have been contained by <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2015/04/21/Xenophobia-Defence-force-to-be-deployed-to-Alex">the military</a>.</p>
<p>Yet, without immigration from Africa, none of us would be here. Experts now believe that <a href="https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/human-journey/">migration across Africa</a> between 60,000 and 70,000 years ago saved homo sapiens from climate-induced extinction. </p>
<p>The migration of these early Africans into the Middle East, then across the Mediterranean into Europe and Asia – and eventually into the Americas and Australia and the Pacific Islands – is the origin of today’s humanity. It will be our attitudes to the continuing movement of people that will define our national and collective futures.</p>
<h2>Opposition to migration – and why it’s wrong</h2>
<p>It is not difficult to understand why people blame foreigners for their troubles. High unemployment, rising inequality and increasingly unaffordable homes are among the legitimate concerns of citizens everywhere.</p>
<p>A key part of the explanation for these troubles is the <a href="http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/about/director/books/butterfly-defect/">rising impact</a> of foreign influences on all our societies. Globalisation has been a positive force for human progress. It has raised average living standards, improved health, and led to political change – not least across Africa. But it also is the source of cascading financial crises, rising inequality, pandemics, climate change, the wrecking of ocean systems, increasing antibiotic resistance and diabetes and other health challenges.</p>
<p>People around the world are kicking back against this rising uncertainty by supporting <a href="https://theconversation.com/geert-wilders-is-back-and-he-has-european-domination-on-his-mind-15775">extremist</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukips-immigration-plan-is-not-realistic-but-it-really-doesnt-have-to-be-38405">parties</a> who wish to bring back protectionism and reverse globalisation. But blaming foreigners for our problems is a mistake. </p>
<h2>Migration should not be a scapegoat</h2>
<p>In the first place, average migration rates remain fairly low. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago the barriers to the movement of ideas, finance, trade and services have gone down, but the barriers to the movement of people have gone up. As a result, the <a href="http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/why-more-migration-makes-sense">share of migrants</a> in the world has remained roughly constant at 3% throughout the current era of globalisation.</p>
<p>Migrants are seldom the source of our societal ills. On the contrary, immigrants are a key contributor to the dynamism and growth in our societies. </p>
<p>Immigration is desirable for at least four reasons:</p>
<ul>
<li>It is a source of innovation and dynamism; </li>
<li>It addresses labour shortages; </li>
<li>It can address demographic imbalances; and </li>
<li>It provides an escape from poverty and persecution. </li>
</ul>
<p>By contrast, limiting migration slows economic growth and undermines societies’ long-term competitiveness. It also creates a less prosperous, more unequal, and partitioned world.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80294/original/image-20150504-23497-1ojnceg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80294/original/image-20150504-23497-1ojnceg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80294/original/image-20150504-23497-1ojnceg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80294/original/image-20150504-23497-1ojnceg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80294/original/image-20150504-23497-1ojnceg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80294/original/image-20150504-23497-1ojnceg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80294/original/image-20150504-23497-1ojnceg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Anti-migrant sentiment continues to rear its head across the world, including recently in South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Nic Bothma</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The cost of migration</h2>
<p>There are short-run, local costs to higher rates of migration that must be addressed if societies are to enjoy the much larger long-term benefits. These include the pressure on local housing and schooling arising from migration and the challenge to cultural homogeneity that migrants often pose. </p>
<p>Migrants can also take locals’ jobs, but the evidence suggests that because they also bolster growth and consumer demand, they tend not to depress overall wage levels or reduce the overall levels of employment of local workers.</p>
<p>The challenges posed by migration must and can be addressed through an honest and open discussion of the issues, but not become an excuse for shutting the frontier to migrants. Ensuring that all migrants are legally recognised and part of society, with all the necessary rights and also responsibilities that this implies, is a vital part of this process.</p>
<p>Despite domestic opposition in recipient countries, the number of international migrants has doubled over the past 25 years, and will double again by 2030. This is due to a combination of <a href="http://geography.about.com/cs/countries/a/newcountries.htm">new countries and borders being created</a> (34 have been created since 1990), population growth and migration pressures. Rapid economic and political change and, increasingly, environmental change threatens people and encourages the bravest to seek opportunity and security in new homes. </p>
<p>If this migratory process is allowed to take its course, it will stimulate global growth and serve to reduce poverty. However, it requires careful management to ensure that the benefits are harvested and the backlash of recipient societies does not lead to further polarisation.</p>
<h2>The economic case for greater migration</h2>
<p>While the incremental reduction of barriers to cross-border flows of capital, goods and services has been a major achievement of recent decades, international migration has never been more strictly controlled. Classical economists such as John Stuart Mill saw this as both economically illogical and ethically unacceptable. Adam Smith <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=rBiqT86BGQEC&pg=PA84&lpg=PA84&dq=the+free+circulation+of+labour+from+one+employment+to+another.&source=bl&ots=Zz25XfRHLW&sig=rUadLaI5szMUp372x5_rWTGqFaM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kVxHVf-MEYGE7gbHzYCIAw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=the%20free%20circulation%20of%20labour%20from%20one%20employment%20to%20another.&f=false">objected</a> to anything that obstructed:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the free circulation of labour from one employment to another.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>By the 19th century, the development of steam and other transport meant that one-third of the population of Scandinavia, Ireland, and parts of Italy emigrated. Mass migration gave <a href="http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/europe-on-the-road/economic-migration/irial-glynn-emigration-across-the-atlantic-irish-italians-and-swedes-compared-1800-1950">millions of Europeans</a> an escape route from poverty and persecution, and fed the dynamism and development of countries like the US, the United Kingdom, and various colonies.</p>
<p>The rise of nationalism prior to the outbreak of the first world war led to the widespread introduction of passports and ushered in stricter controls on the international movement of people. One hundred years later, despite falling barriers to trade, finance and information, more than 100 countries have been created and the walls to free mobility have never been higher.</p>
<p>Approximately 230 million people now live in countries in which they were not born. These are the orphans of the international system.</p>
<h2>Migration helps alleviate poverty</h2>
<p>For the countries they leave, migrants do often <a href="http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/about/director/books/exceptional-people/">represent a brain drain</a>. Even so, they contribute significantly to their home countries. Taiwan and Israel are testimony to the role played by migrants abroad, with their diasporas providing crucial political support, investment flows, and technology transfer which has ensured the survival of these countries.</p>
<p>However, migration has historically been the most effective measure against poverty. Remittances sent home by migrants <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/10/06/remittances-developing-countries-five-percent-conflict-related-migration-all-time-high-wb-report">exceeded US$580 billion</a> in 2014. More than $430 billion of these flows went to developing countries.</p>
<p>In Africa, remittances are vital sources of income for many countries. Lesotho, Liberia and the Gambia received about 20% of their GDP from remittances.</p>
<h2>Everybody wins</h2>
<p>Both rich and poor countries would benefit from increased migration, with developing countries benefiting the most. It is estimated that increasing migration by just 3% of the workforce in developed countries between 2005 and 2025 would generate global gains of $356 billion, more than two-thirds of which would accrue to developing countries. </p>
<p>Although politically unrealistic, opening borders completely could produce gains as high as <a href="http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/about/director/books/globalisation/">$39 trillion</a> for the world economy over 25 years.</p>
<p>At certain times, such is the case in <a href="http://www.dw.de/lampedusa-suffers-under-weight-of-europes-refugee-crisis/a-18273580">Lampedusa</a> off the toe of Italy, or <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/8405312.stm">Slough</a> in England, the geographical proximity to a gateway may account for a disproportionately high share of migrants. </p>
<p>Places which have unusually high shares of migrants due to accidents of geography and history should not be forced to pay the costs for society as a whole. It is society as a whole that benefits and much more needs to be done to support places and people under stress from high levels of immigration.</p>
<p>But there is no magic threshold beyond which migration is unacceptable. In the thriving Dubai and other cities in the United Arab Emirates, migrants are <a href="http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/labor-migration-united-arab-emirates-challenges-and-responses">more than 90%</a> of the population. Cities such as Toronto have <a href="http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=dbe867b42d853410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=57a12cc817453410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD">more than 50%</a> migrants and have been voted among the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/10/07/most-livable-city-toronto_n_5944330.html">best to live in</a> globally for many years. In the UK, London is the most dynamic and popular city – <a href="http://www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/briefings/migrants-uk-overview">more than 30%</a> are migrants.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80298/original/image-20150504-23483-1hduyac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80298/original/image-20150504-23483-1hduyac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80298/original/image-20150504-23483-1hduyac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80298/original/image-20150504-23483-1hduyac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80298/original/image-20150504-23483-1hduyac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80298/original/image-20150504-23483-1hduyac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80298/original/image-20150504-23483-1hduyac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Migrants make up more than 90% of the population of the United Arab Emirates, represented here by Dubai.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Ali Haider</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Targeting people smugglers doesn’t work</h2>
<p>Most of the migrants desperately crossing the Mediterranean are refugees. The dangers they face in the crossing reflect that, for many, their lives at home are so desperate that they are prepared to endure the terrible dangers associated with leaving. </p>
<p>The idea that clamping down on smugglers or destroying the smuggling boats would stop migrants fleeing is not borne out by the evidence. Other means will be found, perhaps even more dangerous. </p>
<p>The most ethically perverse of all the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/oct/27/uk-mediterranean-migrant-rescue-plan">suggestions</a> is that if the migrants are left to drown it will somehow reduce the desire of migrants to attempt the crossing. </p>
<p>The tragically cynical arguments made by British and other officials justified ignoring frantic requests to support Italy’s stretched lifesaving efforts and led to a dramatic rise in unnecessary deaths. But it did not stop the flows of migrants. On the contrary, it led to the predictable rise in deaths at sea.</p>
<h2>Fresh thinking and bold action</h2>
<p>Citizens are understandably concerned about the failure of our politicians to show effective leadership on migration. The resulting failures are a cause of daily death. But not only are migrants suffering terribly. </p>
<p>So too are our economies and societies who would benefit enormously from more but also more effective management of migration. The public debate is too urgent and it is too important to be left to politicians. We urgently need fresh thinking followed by bold action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41093/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Goldin is the author of 19 books, including Exceptional People: How Migration Shaped our World and Will Define our Future (Princeton University Press, 2011), Globalization for Development: Meeting New
Challenges (OUP, 2012) and The Butterfly Defect: How globalization creates systemic risks, and what to do about it (Princeton University Press, 2014). He is a trustee of the charity organisation Comic Relief.</span></em></p>The migration of early Africans into the Middle East, then across the Mediterranean into Europe and Asia – and eventually into the Americas and Australia and the Pacific Islands – is the origin of today’s humanity.Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development; Director of the Oxford Martin School, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.