Immigation sense and nonsense.......

Of all current political topics none generates more heat than light than immigration, so in trying to make sense of it all, I have not the  slightest doubt that in response to this piece the ‘no more’ proponents will be out in force, we shall hear the sound of mass knee-jerking, and spittle-flecked denunciations from  the usual suspects.

 

So here we go.

 

The plain truth is that one thing that Obama and Dave have in common is not merely that their immigration policies – if they can be dignified by the word – are a damaging shambles. They are just plain stupid.

 

Take the US first.

 

A large part of the population and of the Republican Party is paranoid about Hispanics flooding across the border, stealing honest (white) Americans’ jobs, lowering wages, adding to the crime wave and the drugs problem and all manner of other sins. Keep them out, strengthen the borders, deport them –these are the constant refrains that we hear from Republican politicians and many others.

 

A reality check is overdue.

 

Border crossings are at a low ebb. Security seems to be working, but also the growth in the Mexican economy is creating more jobs at home.

 

There are at least 11,000,000 ‘illegals’ in the US, mostly Hispanics but many from the  Caribbean and elsewhere. If they were all deported at the same time the queue would stretch to the Arctic circle. So many are employed in various agricultural jobs that the industry could face severe problems if they were no longer available. They don’t generally poach jobs from Americans because they are largely replacement labour; for the same reason they have little impact on wages.

 

Many were brought to the US as children and have little or no knowledge of their countries of origin.

 

They have no standing, little protection, and pay no taxes.

 

Now to the other end of the scale.

 

Some of the best Universities in the US educate some of the world’s best brains. One previous benefit of this is that many of such immigrants remained in the US to the great benefit of both. The majority of Silicon Valley-type companies were launched by Asian entrepreneurs.

 

The present state of play is that the US operates an absurd quota system that appears to be based solely on numbers, regardless of the needs of the economy. The upshot is that these young people are awarded their Masters or their PhDs and then packed off home. Small wonder that India in particular is becoming a serious competitor in many forms of high-tech industry.

 

The present number is a seemingly random  65,000. This is filled very quickly, regardless of the demands of business.

 

Then there is the daftest aspect of all; the allocation of green cards by a national quota - so many for Canada, so many for Pakistan etc. The logic of this completely defeats me. The acid test for a green card must surely be the contribution that the applicant can make to the economy in particular and society in general (e.g., fluency in English).

 

And America has an astonishing talent for transforming immigrants into true American, unlike the UK policy of ‘multi-culturalism, which has been a disaster).

 

The national quota must be ditched completely. It is completely out-of-kilter with America’s national interests.

 

Fortunately, the tectonic plates are shifting right now.

 

Both the Senate and Obama are formulating proposals to legitimise the position of the illegals, so that they can be properly absorbed  on the TINA principle, Obama because it is a matter of principle and  the Republicans on a matter of  votes.

 

It’s a start. Let’s see what they do about quotas.

 

(For those who whinge here about the AS population being outbred into minority, try opening the doors to immigration from Europe. You might find that Polish artisans and Czech engineers to be a welcome addition to your numbers).

 

Now for Dave.

 

He has much comment in the media about his speech about Indians being welcome ‘without limit’.

 

Here is what the actually said.

“The fact is today, as we stand, and this is going to be the case going forward, there is no limit on the number of students who can come from India to study at British universities, no limit at all,”

“All you need is a basic English qualification and a place at a British university. And what’s more, after you’ve left a British university, if you can get a graduate-level job there is no limit to the amount of people who can stay and work, or the time that they can stay at work.”

I have no quarrel with that.

British universities depend heavily on foreign students financially. The present daft system, based on the ’baby and bathwater’ principle, is making this increasingly difficult because the Home Office ran scared of press reports – grossly exaggerated, as usual – about immigrants getting here via fraudulent language schools,  yet another case of focus group policy.

And as in the US, on graduating they are sent packing when they graduate, and sometimes before, such as the Indian student who was refused re-entry for his final year. But then I suppose if you have a stupid policy it gets implemented by stupid people

So when we talk about ‘no more immigration’ who exactly do we mean?

In my book this group would include these from countries having no linguistic or historical connection with the UK and which pose a security threat, chiefly Somalis, Yeminis, and  Pakistan, plus those from non-Anglophone countries in Africa.

Britain was built on immigration, although rather amusingly the same objections to Asians heard now are almost identical to those against the Jewish influx in the 19thCentury. The little town of Boston in Lincolnshire has been getting its share of media coverage lately because  of the fear of the agricultural industry there being taken over by Romanian and Bulgarian gang-masters.

But that particular abuse has been stopped, we are assured.

Boston has a high population from the Baltics. They came because the farmers needed labour and the locals didn’t want  to provide it despite having a very high rate off unemployment.

We should welcome those who have qualifications that we need and who are fluent in English (just make them fill in an entry form in English on arrival and if they can’t do it out they go).

Regulations should include a requirement for a clean health certificate for arrivals from countries where certain diseases are endemic. Many countries once required a TB-free certificate. That was ditched when we thought that we had pretty well eliminated the disease. Now it is back in some third-world countries in a virulent antibiotic resistant form. There is, of course, the certainty of forgery, but the response to that should be the refusal of treatment and immediate deportation.

We should not grant a permanent residence permit  until a person has paid five years’ taxes. Neither should they be entitled to benefit during the same period.

Work permits should only be granted in the country of origin.

Arrivals should need to prove that they have sufficient means to support themselves for a given period. Refugee status should only be granted if the applicant has not passed through another risk-free country en route.

And let’s acknowledge that we want to keep out the scum of the earth, not decent people seeking a better life who can become good and loyal citizens.