There’s an old Chinese saying that goes “may you live in interesting times,” a curse that – rightly – puts forth that it’s better to live in tranquil, peaceful “boring” times rather than an age of upheaval and chaos. Would anyone disagree that that is the world we’re living in now? No matter what you think about Donald Trump’s politics, there’s no denying that he has been divisive. People on the left disagree with him even on the points that Bernie Sanders would agree with (say, that NAFTA is a terrible trade agreement. It Is.). But of all the points that Trump has thrust into the political narrative, none have been quite as loudly contested as immigration. It was, in many ways, the silver bullet that took him to the White House. People can’t really remember much about the policy positions he put forward, but everyone can talk about building walls and such, can’t they? And then there was the whole “travel ban” fiasco of his first few months.
So yes, immigration has been a hot topic in the States these days, a bubble that is so big that it’s hard to get any perspective on it. There is one to measure America’s current immigration policies, however, and that is to take a look at the rest of the world, and see how they’re doing it. While many of the immigration policies have been criticised by outsiders, we might just find that rather than being strict, the USA’s immigration stance is actually one of the more lenient systems.
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Neighbors to the North
Canada has a lot of space and not all that many people, so it makes sense that they would also have an open immigration policy; actually, they’re not just open, they outright plea for people to come to their country. But of course, this plea is conditional: they must be skilled. Canada has a skills shortage problem, and the best way to combat it is to let people who have the skills into the country, at least until the nation’s education system can catch up with things. Across the country, some 20% of the population are foreign-born. If you go into metropolitan areas like Toronto and Vancouver, that figure jumps to a staggering 50%; that’s a mind-boggling number that, in this day and age, just wouldn’t happen in any US city. They’ve also started issuing startup visas to entrepreneurs across the world in an effort to get more innovation in the country. As we said, however, Canada is big in space, short of people. It makes sense that they can be a little more open with their borders.
Land Down Under
Australia’s position is comparable to Canada’s. There’s an awful lot of land down under, but not too many people. But there’s a snag: much of the country in unlivable, so the space consideration has to be downgraded slightly. Australia’s immigration works on the points system, as a starting point at least. If you score highly (as in, you get enough points from your answers, which will include things like: what is your profession? A valued, needed job gets more points than, say, a delivery driver), then you’ll have a good shot of being granted a visa. It’s also possible for spouses to join their partners if they have a visa, but the process can be confusing, so many need to use a service like those offered by FISA Immigration. Perhaps the primary difference between Australia and the US, with regards to immigration, is that the mass influx of people hasn’t yet happened in Australia, whereas the USA saw their surge in the 19th and 20th centuries when the population grew exponentially.
To the East
If you ever think that the immigration policies of the United States is tough, spare a thought for the people who want to move to Japan. Historically an isolated country, they adopt less of a ‘tough’ immigration stance and more of ‘no’ immigration stance. However, even this is beginning to pose problems. It’s all good and well when you’ve got a young and vibrant population making the country tick, but that’s not going to be the case in the not too distant future. Japan’s people are aging, and they’re going to have no choice (unless they’re ready to decline as a nation) than to let more people in. There are already signs that they’re planning for this, with a new points system coming into effect that will allow high-flying professionals to emigrate to the country.
In the UK
You could talk about immigration in the UK as it stands now, but it would be irrelevant because once they exit from the European Union (“Brexit”) has been finalized, all the rules will change. What makes this country interesting to look at is that they clearly voted for anti-immigration measures. Though there were various arguments to be made for leaving the European Union, a big part of those who wanted to leave did so because they thought there were too many foreigners in the country. So as an attitude, it’s generally clear. In recent years, there have been many more people arriving in Britain than those leaving, which has caused a spike in the population. At some point, the conversation regarding how to make the UK a liveable space (the UK, contrary to popular opinion, has a lot of empty space; it’s just that it’s mostly owned by private landowners, so people are crammed into cities).
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Around the World
It might feel like we’re living in a period of unrest, where immigration is on everyone’s lips. But actually, we might be living in relatively peaceful times compared with what’s to come. As climate change ramps up, there’s going to be a lot of people who are displaced from their homes because of rising tides or food shortages. And these people will come from places that have not been historically migratory. As such, we might see tighter immigration rules from countries across the world, places that never had to deal with the issue before. There’s a chance that the problem might level out, as countries who haven’t previously taken immigrants share the load, but we’ll see.
Attitude
We’ve taken a look at the numbers and entrance requirements for countries around the world, but they don’t tell the whole story. The numbers never do. Rather than just focusing on how many immigrants arrive at border control each year, it’s important to look at how they’re treated once they’re there and living in the country. On this front, America falls short, or at least it does in the period since Trump moved into the White House. There’s been a sharp increase in attacks against outsiders who live in the country, even legally. So you have to go beyond policy. People may be lawfully granted the right to live and work in a country, but are they on their own once they’re inside the borders? Trump’s rhetoric about the USA being soft on immigration might be right or wrong. But if you’ve freshly arrived, and you’re not from one of the accepted countries (like the UK or Norway), then it’s right that you’d feel worried about what kind of greeting once you’re inside, especially if you’re due to live in the heart of Trump Land.
The Problems
There’s another matter that has to be discussed in relation to the US, immigration, and other nations, and that is that America isn’t like the other countries mentioned in this list, and never has been. In fact, there hasn’t been another nation in the history of the world that compares with America’s current position. For starters, we’re talking about a nation that was built by immigrants. That they turn around some time later (in some cases, not all that much time later: just one or two generations) and become anti-immigration is suspect, but much of the view comes from a flawed understanding of their country. To begin with, some of these people think foreigners are taking their jobs. They’re not; trade deals like Nafta have done much, much more damage to workers rights in the States than immigrants. Second, there’s the idea that America is “full,” or reaching capacity for the number of people who can comfortably live there. Again, this isn’t true. There’s a lot of space in America; you could triple the population and still have more land than you’d ever need left over. In any case, and this problem aside, you don’t have to go very far to see that the immigration stance of another country is moot; because of America’s unique position, it wouldn’t work.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that America’s immigration policy is unique because so many people want to live there. Most countries have tough immigration policies that they never have to enforce, because people don’t live there. But then, when you appoint yourself leaders of the free world, then you have to shoulder the responsibility that goes along with that, which includes raising the bar for immigration stances.
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