Should we close our borders?

Fear-mongering poster in Beziers

Throughout the developed world, immigration has been the number one topic for the past few years, creating a climate of insecurity and concern about what our future holds. In some people's mind, there's nothing more urgent than closing our borders, even if it actually means closing in on ourselves. At a time when Europe is indeed experiencing a significant migratory crisis, people are getting worried, to such an extent that our fundamental principles and policies are called into question. This ever-recurring fear of “invasion” is one of the main reasons that has driven British people to vote to exit the EU (June 2016), as well as a majority of Americans to elect Donald Trump President of the United States (November 9th 2016), in both cases with the aim of regaining full control over borders. Is that fear justified? Are we indeed being invaded? Is it really in our interests to shut down our borders? Well, I, for one, am not so sure…

First of all, this so-called invasion is nothing more than a political fantasy. Figures are very easy to manipulate and it's no secret that some ill-intentioned people are trying to agitate and get people worked up. So, let's get things straight, using the example of France. French elections are now just around the corner and our presidential candidates keep bringing up what is considered as France's main issue: immigration. Not a single day goes by without the press talking about it, using sensationalist headlines to dramatize the situation.

Let's begin with the basics: how many immigrants and asylum seekers enter our territory? According to the French government around 200,000 migrants get into France each year, which is less than 0.3% of the population (against an average of 0.6% for the other members of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). Basically, we host half as many migrants as other developed countries do. Hold on, there's more: according to the French INSEE (national institute for statistical and economic studies), 110,000 immigrants either die or move to another country each year, which means that France only receives an extra 90,000 migrants. These figures give us a little more perspective. Now what about the extent of the burden on taxpayers? Well, what a  surprise, immigrants are a pretty good deal for the French economy: sure they receive €47.9 billion, but they also bring in €60.3 to the State through taxation in return. The study, from which these figures were drawn, also reveals that immigrants mostly take the "unwanted" jobs: for instance, 90% of our motorway network was built and is today maintained by foreign workers. So no, immigrants do not “steal our jobs”, period.

It is also important to remember that immigration to the West is a small-scale phenomenon, compared to "south to south" migration. According to data from the United Nations, immigration to the West accounts for less than 50% of all global migration. Journalism about immigration focuses overwhelmingly on those coming to North America and Western Europe, even though individuals who move within the Global South make up the majority of refugees and migrants.

Now you know that we are not being invaded my migrants. Figures “proving” otherwise are completely fanciful, unrealistic and pure electioneering. Nationalist leaders have made this subject their main campaign argument, feeding people's irrational fears in their demagogic speeches. Marine Le Pen, the leader of the xenophobic Front National, is really good at it and has been for a very long time. She even said in 2011 that we should "push migrants who want to come to Europe back into international waters." Far-right parties profit from people’s anxiety. The political poster (above) from Bezier, France, is a good example of how ultra-nationalist parties feed xenophobic fears to win votes. Such radical parties also tend to suggest unrealistic security measures: just think of Trump's wall to "keep Mexicans out".

As I've just explained, immigration has nothing to do with invasion and figures should be taken with a grain of salt, especially when used by people with political motivation. Furthermore, closing borders would be useless and even more dangerous than it already is. It won't keep migrants out, it will only make their conditions of movement more precarious and more expensive. Also, it will surely result in an increase in smuggling and human trafficking, since immigration is inevitable and won't stop, given the current situation in Africa and the Middle East. Immigration has become a reality of the century we have to come to grips with and deal with, in the most humane way possible.

Indeed, rescuing migrants is a moral duty for every developed country. Welcoming them with open arms is the least we can do. It is never an easy thing to leave one's country for another. Let's be assured of one thing: migrants have good reasons to emigrate and would obviously rather not have to. As an article from The Economist reminds us, "refugees are reasonable people in desperate circumstances […] and most people would rather not abandon their homes and start again among strangers". Their choice to leave is just rational. Also, Europeans seem to have a short memory. As Amnesty International points out, by mistreating refugees, Hungary seems to ignore history. Indeed, over 200,000 Hungarians fled their country as refugees, after the Hungarian Uprising had been brutally put down by the Soviets in 1956, and were welcomed by other European countries. We have to keep in mind that one day we may be in need of a host country too…

Finally, receiving migrants is something that we CAN do. As previously discussed, hosting them is not a burden and could even benefit us economically. We just need to facilitate their integration and work together with other European Union countries to manage the flow. To this end, worldfinance.com gives us the keys to "successfully assimilate refugees into a society". It starts with helping them earn a living by integrating them into the market legally and effectively, as well as giving them the opportunity to acquire language skills.

Let's not dwell on immigration and let's focus on integration.

Sources:

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21690028-european-problem-demands-common-coherent-eu-policy-let-refugees-regulate

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/10/hungarys-mistreatment-of-refugees-today-ignores-history/

http://www.worldfinance.com/infrastructure-investment/government-policy/refugees-are-an-economic-benefit-not-burden-to-europe

https://www.amnesty.be/decouvrir-nos-campagnes/migrants-et-refugies/10-prejuges-sur-les-migrants/prejuges

http://www.alternatives-economiques.fr/tribune/migrants-dix-raisons-et-plus-de-les-accueillir-dignement-en-europe-201508311800-00001999.html

http://www.courrierinternational.com/article/2010/12/02/les-tres-bons-comptes-de-l-immigration

https://www.oecd.org/els/mig/World-Migration-in-Figures.pdf

Etienne BUTIN wants to work in the humanitarian field.