IMMIGRATION

Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. An immigrant is someone who intends to reside permanently, and not a casual visitor or traveler. Immigration means "in-migration" into a country, and is the reverse of emigration, or "out-migration." The long term and or permanent movement of human population in general, whether into, out of, or within countries (or before the existence of recognized countries) is regarded as migration

The great majority of immigration occurs for economic reasons of one sort or another. Wage rates and living expenses vary greatly between different countries; poor individuals of third world countries can have far higher standards of living in developed countries than in their originating countries, as not very well off but financially independent people from highly developed countries can live better in a less developed country where living standards are lower. A good example of the former is all the immigrants from Mexico and Central American counties who live in the United States, while a good example of the latter is the many retired British ex-pats who choose to make their life in Spain. For the poor in undeveloped countries the economic pressure to migrate are so high that when legal means are restricted, people immigrate illegally. In general, people are considered as an immigrant if they keep staying in the new country for more than one year.

Some free-market libertarians believe that a free global labor market with no restrictions on immigration would, in the long run, boost global prosperity. Major corporate interests have been among the strongest advocates of liberalization of immigration laws since movement of personnel is essential to creation of true multinational corporations. Among those on the opposite side of the issue are nationalists who propose militarizing borders; protectionists who prefer closed labor markets or who see liberal immigration practices as a form of corporate welfare where corporate interests use inexpensive or free government immigration benefits, rather than corporate resources, to compensate employees; and xenophobes who fear the presence of foreigners, though these views are not shared by all or even most immigration reductionists. Still others feel that the focus should be taken off of immigration control and placed on the importance of equal rights for immigrants to avoid what they believe to be corporate exploitation of immigrant poverty. Immigration is often forced on an unwilling population by politicians who wish to gain politcal advantage.

In practice, no country operates without basic immigration controls. Some countries, such as Japan, allow for little immigration. In countries that do allow immigration there is disagreement over the numbers, policies, and implementation. Those who support more restricted immigration believe that the current levels of immigration serve to depress wages and circumvent unionisation, and contribute to unsustainable levels of population growth. Others disagree, believing that overly restrictive immigration policies and practices would not address the economic demand for work emanating from wealthier countries, would not harm the security or cohesiveness of the country, and would endanger the lives of legitimate refugees from political or racial oppression.

Immigration has become an increasingly controversial topic among environmental activists in recent years, especially within the Sierra Club in the United States. Some environmentalists concerned with overpopulation favor limiting immigration as a means of isolating the effects of human population growth, while others argue that overpopulation and environmental degredation are global problems that should be addressed by other methods.

Events, such as the November 2005 riots in France, have led some to conclude that, although immigration is unwelcome in most societies, large numbers can cause immigrants to form closed ethnic ghettos that lead to social confrontation and seclusion. Others, such as The Economist, have noted that more important than the level of immigration are the policies of the recipient country aimed at integrating immigrants into the political, social, and especially economic environment - something that might explain the relative success of immigration in some countries, such as Canada.