6.7.4.1  Immigration

(This is an archived extract from the book Patterns of Power: Edition 2)

Immigration is unavoidable.  At a minimum it will include filling skills shortages and providing sanctuary for refugees.  It is going to increase as a result of economic pressures – with broadly positive effects on the economy (3.4.3.3) in the medium term – but, especially when large numbers of people are involved, immigration creates short-term social issues:

·      Immigrants have to be housed immediately, at least on a temporary basis.  If this results in them ‘jumping the queue’ for social housing, those who would otherwise have been re-housed are understandably upset.

·      Immigrants also create an immediate pressure on public services, as they may need access to medical care and their children need schools.

·      They need jobs if they are not to need benefits; many are keen to work and, if permitted to do so, quickly find employment. 

At the point of arrival these problems are pressing, so there is a case for some control over numbers of immigrants, but over time they can be absorbed as the society adjusts around them. 

Immigrants need an induction into society.  They may find that it is easiest for them if they settle near to people from the same ethnic group, so that they can receive moral and practical support and can speak the same language.  They need different lengths of time to adjust, but it is preferable that they don’t remain separate from the rest of society for any longer than necessary because that undermines social cohesion and can form the basis for identity politics, as examined in the next section (6.7.4.2).

There are people who see immigration as a threat to their existing culture – as a form of dilution or unwanted change.[1]  Unfamiliarity might cause disquiet, but it cannot be a valid justification for hostility towards another person:

·      Some immigration is inevitable, as people seek refuge from natural disasters or political persecution.

·      Some movement of people is necessary, to fill skills shortages.

·      The Golden Rule argument (4.2.2.2) applies: anyone might suddenly be displaced for some unforeseen reason, so one should consider the perspective of those who have recently arrived.

·      People don’t need to lose their existing culture just because they see other cultures in their midst.

If the authorities have made insufficient provision for receiving people, they can be legitimately criticised; that, though, is not a basis for directing hostility towards the immigrants themselves – who deserve our sympathy.

© PatternsofPower.org, 2014