Immigration and Europe

1797 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Challenges of immigrants

Immigration within and into Europe has increased in recent years, with local populations' anxieties raised(Pilcher 2010, p445). I will look at the socio-cultural challenges which immigration introduces. These include the real and perceived impacts on native populations, and the policy responses which stem from the issues. Next, economic well-being is an aspect of the immigration question that will be examined. I will consider soem of the various problems which are encountered in tackling this subject. While attempts to reach conclusions of the de facto effects of immigration in terms of the economies are not made, considering the arguments made may help in gauging the extent of the challenge that immigration poses. I will also examine some of the structural changes which immigration makes in the political sphere, with electoral and representative politics being affected. With constituencies changing significantly throughout several countries, the resultant shifts in terms of policy and governance are concerns which need to be taken seriously.

Social and Cultural Challenges

The social and cultural tensions which arise from hosting immigrant communities are often expressed as a failure to integrate or assimilate immigrants into society. Yet cleavages can be amplified due to the liberal and egalitarian doctrines which underpin European states. Provisions have to be made for immigrant citizens which may cause resentment in the existing population as a consequence of competition for diminishing resources, as well as the overarching factor of cultural stability(Lahav 2004, p1167). Yet this difficulty may be eased by the inclusion of non-EU immigrants in a reformulation of the European identity. If, as Diez & Whitman(2002) arg...

... middle of paper ...

...ect individuals on the micro-level but research suggests that there are context-dependent issues in societies. This means that the challenges which immigration pose cannot be met by assuming that macro-economic scenarios fit different solutions. Countries from both ends of the spectrum face problems with managing immigration and its consequences on different strata within the existing society. Again, the challenge here is one in which the political leaders and mass media are still themselves unsure of. If the effects of immigration on the economy are to be ascertained, then the implementation of appropriate policies needs to be pursued without deference to political and ideological pressures. The biggest challenge facing the states of Europe regarding immigration is to pinpoint the causes of insecurity, in both the immigrant and native communities, and address them.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Irish Immigrants: The Unassimilable American

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    Immigrants have been a key part of The United States’ development into a first-world nation. Their impact on the nation is dichotomous; parts of society have actively sought to increase immigration, while other parts have actively fought against its expansion. The types of immigrants have changed throughout American history - the perception of immigrants has not. Economics has dominated the argument of immigration, as pro-immigration individuals seek to financially benefit from the influx of immigrants and anti-immigration individuals seek to limit the financial damages caused by immigration. The arguments made by opponents of immigrants reveal strong economic fears, while also revealing fears

    Read More

  • Immigration and Nativism in the United States

    2109 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the United States, the cliché of a nation of immigrants is often invoked. Indeed, very few Americans can trace their ancestry to what is now the United States, and the origins of its immigrants have changed many times in American history. Despite the identity of an immigrant nation, changes in the origins of immigrants have often been met with resistance. What began with white, western European settlers fleeing religious persecution morphed into a multicultural nation as immigrants from countries across the globe came to the U.S. in increasing numbers. Like the colonial immigrants before them, these new immigrants sailed to the Americas to gain freedom, flee poverty and famine, and make a better life for themselves. Forgetting their origins as persecuted and excluded people, the older and more established immigrants became possessive about their country and tried to exclude and persecute the immigrant groups from non-western European backgrounds arriving in the U.S. This hostile, defensive, and xenophobic reaction to influxes of “new” immigrants known as Nativism was not far out of the mainstream. Nativism became a part of the American cultural and political landscape and helped to shape, through exclusion, the face of the United States for years to come.

    Read More

  • Analyzing David Miller´s Opinion on Immigration

    2274 Words  | 5 Pages

    Firstly to justify why countries limit their immigrations, there should be knowledge of the different types of immigrants as there are different reasons to leave from one country and move into another. In the last 30 years, the number of international immigrants has been estimated 191 million worldwide, two times as before. As ...

    Read More

  • English Should Be the Official Language of the United States

    1713 Words  | 4 Pages

    Perea, Juan. Immigrants Out! The New Nativism and the Anti-Immigrant Impulse in the United States. New York or London: New York University Press, 1997. Print.

    Read More

  • immigration

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    Without a doubt, the European continent has been through a lot over the last few decades. From World War 2, to the iron grip of Soviet Russia on half of the continent, many problems have arisen and been dealt with. Unfortunately, Europe has had a rough few years when it comes to the somewhat newer issue of immigration and immigrant groups. While some countries have managed immigration better than others, nations such as France and Italy have had their fair share of problems and continue to pass legislation that is flawed and draws criticism from other countries. The issue has gotten better in recent years, and various European countries have made great progress towards their immigration policies. In addition, various ethnic groups have been the target of government profiling and discrimination. Most notably the Romani people, who have faced discrimination for hundreds of years and continue to do so at the hands of various Eastern and Western European governments. The many setbacks and gains towards immigration are more clearly visible when looked at on a case-by-case basis, such as the individual policies of Italy, France, and the European Union as a whole.

    Read More

  • Impact On Immigration

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    Immigration practices, both historical and current, has had various types of impacts on immigration policies and processes, as well as on people who have immigrated. According to Nilsson, Schale and Khamphakdy-Brown (2011) the various issues that face immigrant populations is pre and post immigration trauma, the acculturation process, poverty and low education and training levels. Immigration also impacts family relationships and possible language barriers. Immigration policies have always been exclusionary and biased against various cultural groups (Sue & Sue, 2013). For example, historically, European immigrants were granted citizenship more

    Read More

  • Assimilation into the United States

    1819 Words  | 4 Pages

    The distance between the new arrivals and the natives fosters a sense of distrust on both ends. However, the concern that the growing population of immigrants will compromise America’s national identity undermines our national reality. Historically, those who have willingly immigrated to the United States have had a desire to become part of American society, crossing borders and seas t...

    Read More

  • Guest Workers in Germany

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...presses her conflicting self-identity stating that “there you are not a real Turk, and here you are not a complete German. We are somewhere in between.'' Though Inci grew up in and is emotionally attached to Germany, she is not accepted as a legitimate citizen despite having very little affiliation to Turkey, a place she knows only through vacation. Like her, many Turks feel unwelcome in both countries reinforcing individual self-identity crises. The combination of this identity confusion and the strong ethnocentrism of Germany lead to insecurity and lowered self-esteem in the Turkish community eventually becoming a cause of negative self-image. Ultimately, because Germany has repeatedly treated the immigrants as an inferior social class, they will have begun to view themselves as such, reinforcing the negativity associated with their image and identity in society.

    Read More

  • Immigrants In The Netherlands

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    For a long time, the Netherlands in the world renowned for tolerance and cultural diversity, the loose immigration policy has attracted many immigrants and asylum seekers from all over the world. Due to the Netherlands have long faced an aging population, low birth rate, and the problem of labour shortage immigration has always been an important factor of economic development in Holland. The number of immigrants increased sharply in the 80s and 1970s. Over the years, the Netherlands as an immigrant country, the number of legal immigrants in 60000 people a year or so. With the increase of legal immigrants and illegal immigrants, Dutch government faces more and more social problems, especially the worsening of rising unemployment and social order to immigration, make public sentiment against immigrants in rising. In parliament, xenophobia momentum is also rising, concentrated in the 2002 parliamentary elections opposed to continue to accept immigrants emerging far-right parties have played an important influence. In addition, the environment and the influence of the domestic economy remains sluggish across Europe, since the ...

    Read More

  • Immigrants Do NOT Increase Crime Rates

    2225 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...in European countries and countries. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 52, 115-131. http://cos.sagepub.com/libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/content/52/1-2/114. Desmond, S. A., & Kubrin, C. E. (2009). THE POWER OF PLACE: Immigrants.

    Read More

  • Switzerland: Economics and Business Culture

    2605 Words  | 6 Pages

    Population continues to increase due to immigration. 1 in 4 wage earners in Switzerland is a foreign resident. These foreign residents are mainly manual and service industry workers. In 2002, Switzerland negotiated a bilateral agreement with the European Union (of which Switzerland is not a member) allowing for free movement of workers between Switzerland and countries in the European Union and European Free Trade Area. In the decade since, the workforce in Switzerland has expanded 10% (Bradley, 2012). The Swiss people are generally aware of the economic advantages of immigration. However, there is a growing anxiety regarding the negative side effects (traffic jams, urban sprawl, housing shortages and rising cost of living). Immigration reform is something that might be looked at on the horizon, but it comes with a high cost. Revoking the bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the European Union regarding immigration would endanger all other bilateral agreements and have a catastrophic impact on the Swiss economy.

    Read More

  • Immigration And Crime

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    It has become common for political campaigns and media outlets to stress that immigration leads to higher crime. However, research does not always reveal this to be the case, with relatively few instances of higher crime rates being caused by immigration existing. The following essay will look at these situation; focusing on economically motivated crime, violent crime, crime committed against immigrants and crime committed by undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers. Ultimately, issues surrounding the labour market prevail as the primary driver behind crime caused by immigration, although even these mostly account for

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Immigration

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    Immigration poses an ongoing debate in which people are becoming increasingly unsure as to whether immigrants are benefiting their society. This paper will examine three of the main benefits of immigration: the increase in diversity it provides, the rise in skills and labor and the benefits to the economy. Immigration leads to cross-cultural integration, therefore increasing ethnic variety. This increase in diversity is beneficial as it leads to improvements in society, as well as educational development. Increased immigration also means there are more skills and experts available to the hosting countries, as well as extra workers to take up jobs that need filling. Immigration also leads to improvements in the economy as taxes are paid and employment and wages increase.

    Read More

  • Positive And Negative Effects Of Immigration Essay

    1587 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Europe, immigration has always been a part of its history, but large-scale migration has been in more recent years. In a 13-year span from 1960 to 1973 there was a major increase in the number of foreign workers in the work force. The percent doubled from 3 percent to six percent of workers in the

    Read More

  • The Failure Of Multiculturalism By Kenan Malik

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    It would be nice to allow people to adhere to their own styles, but doing that excludes them from the already existing nation’s practices. On the other hand, requiring immigrants to completely conform to society, will result in taking away all of their beliefs. According to Malik, “‘multicultural’ has come to define both a society that is particularly diverse, usually as a result of immigration, and the policies necessary to manage such a society” (22). With the immigration that European nations have faced, there is undoubtedly diverse culture present, but the policy aspect of that multicultural definition still needs to be redefined in order to create a balance between diversity and inclusion within

    Read More

More about Immigration and Europe

Open Document