Immigration is a Politcal Football

Politicians have too often felt anti-immigration to have been an important lever to win elections.  Easy for us to blame vote seekers, but much blame should be laid at voters. 

Yet we in Canada and the United States are nations of immigrants.  Even the indigenous are immigrants from Asia.  The development of needles was essential for Asian migrants to sew together furs to survive the bitter bold of the Arctic.  Immigrants are always looking for something better and most of them deliver benefits for most of us.

Migration is a very complicated.  We have a good idea how many people legally cross a border and a crude idea how many sneak across.  Stats aren't kept for how many people return to their home base or pass onto another destination.  There has always been internal migration, usually from rural areas to the bigger cities or between cities.  Life can be pretty rough for many and a few are determined enough to migrate.

Migration started before the very beginning of history.  Our earliest ancestors soon found a need to move either to find a more reliable source for food or to escape danger. 

America is a classic example of migrations.  When the Europeans first encountered the indigenous they were at first co-operative and later different European leaders aligned with different indigenous tribes.  Over time they overwhelmed the indigenous partly by force of arms, but just as important by disease.   America had been a dumping ground for undesirable Brits (also done to Australia).  Others saw America as an opportunity to get rich or at least get a new start.

Migration is essential for western societies that all have declining birth rates and aging populations.  Immigrants tend to be hard working, innovative and entreprenurial.  Their crime rates are lower than established citizens.  They end up paying taxes at least when they purchase items, but get very few benefits.

As happens the establishment resents intruders, especially if they are "different".  Slavery wasn't invented by Americans, but some ambitious people saw it as a vehicle for riches.  It was morally justified by the notion black Africans were inferior beings.  A driver of migration is the desire for cheap labor by wealthy individuals.  Chinese workers were brought to North America to help build national railways, but forbidden to bring women.  Although Mexicans bravely sneak across the southern American border there is a demand for their willingness to do menial jobs cheaply.  Britain brought large numbers of people from India and the West Indies to provide medical services.    

Another motive for empire nations is to control outlying areas.  Watched a film "Everything will be Alright" (2023) about a third generation family living in Latvia.  This was from a Russian attempt to control other nations within the Russian empire.  This has also been the case in Ukraine and the Russians have found sympathetic reception from some parts of Ukraine.

Donald Trump who had hired illegal migrants identified immigration as a big issue and has succeeded in stirring up hatred which helped win two elections.  Fertility rates and migration had indicated that whites would be in a minority position within a few decades.  He has gone so far as shipping some "illegal" immigrants without due process, but recently allowed a group of white South Africans refugee status.

Unlike the recent Trump regime some Canadian politicians see immigration as a tool for development.   I recall reading about Clifford Sifton encouraging Ukrainians  (and others) to settle western Canada before Americans moved in.  From my youth I remember my country welcoming Hungarians and later Vietnamese and Syrians and more recently Ukrainians.  Personally I benefited from them all.  But too much rapid immigration has caused problems for providing housing and education. 

The future is unpredictable with climate change and tumultuous global politics.  Many people will try to move to safer places.  We all need to understand migrants also have things to offer us.  It is unfortunately a global need, but there is competition between countries and different strategies and ignorance.  

"The Shortest History of Migration" (2024) carries lots of details.  It is not a particularly "short" account, but explains an important part of world history.  The author's family had traveled from Lithuania to England to South Africa and back to England.  He has a very good understanding of migration which will be an ever increasing world phenomenon.