Ruminations about the Anti-Immigration Tendencies
One of the most visible effects of globalisation has been the migration of people across borders. This can be state borders within India or national borders across the world. From an individual’s perspective, migration gives them a chance to achieve greater economic gain for the economic activities they can perform. This might be in terms of a relatively better pay, quality of life, social status or even just personal safety. What about a destination’s perspective? How does US State think about migration in the 21st C? How does Bengaluru?
Admittedly, the American rhetoric has been unwelcoming of immigrants in recent times. Being a popular migrant destination, the US stands to economically gain from migration. This economic gain is accompanied with social costs. New peoples with varied cultures entering the social fabric of American cities bring with them new preferences, tastes and behaviour that cause cultural frictions with the locals. This has a bearing on electoral and therefore political decisions.
Like any developed economy, the US has also thought about ways to maximise its economic gains from migration while minimising social costs. The system this resulted in seeks out global talent. High-skilled immigrants have legal pathways to live and work in the US. Low skilled immigrants—not so much. One of the popular ways this has materialised is through educational institutions. Students with talent potential from around the world apply to and get filtered into American universities. They seek employment afterwards, some finding jobs and getting a chance to stay in the country while others don’t.
In his newsletter, Noah Smith outlined three points for why America needs its foreign students:
- Their high tuition payments subsidize the education of native-born American students.
- . The money they spend in America helps keep the economies of small towns and cities going.
- . They are crucial for American innovation and technological strength.
All valid points that I agree with. In fact, this is an important pillar in the structure that has sustained the American power around the globe for nearly a century.
Thinking about ways to deal with the social costs is the key to sustaining the engine that drives the economic gains to be had. This is something I think about often.
The German example shows that they create conditions that necessitate the learning of the German language by immigrants to get permanent residence and to enter citizenship pathways. This possibly reduces the social costs, to a degree.