Nations Around the World Look to Reduce Immigration Levels and Target Illegal Immmigration

The United States is not the only nation that is focused on immigration reform these days. Nations around the world have been reducing immigration levels, adopting zero-tolerance approaches toward illegal immigration, increasing enforcement measures, and introducing tougher penalties for supporters of illegal immigration.

The European Union has taken the lead in battling illegal immigration, proposing, for example, an array of stringent civil and criminal sanctions for European employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. (European Parliament Website, February 19, 2009). The EU’s new sanctions coincide with an uptick in national and local enforcement efforts, which are aimed at curtailing the growing problem of immigrant smuggling. (Adnkronos International, March 18, 2009). The illegal immigration problem in continental Europe has pushed EU member nations, such as Spain, to pay the travel costs and provide other financial incentives to encourage illegal immigrants within their borders to return to their points of origin. (Spiegel Online International, March 18, 2009).

Beyond the EU, Great Britain — which has witnessed its own substantial influx of Indian, Irish, and Polish immigrants in recent years — has instituted a so-called migrant tax, which charges foreign workers and students originating from outside of the European Union fees of £50 (50 British Pounds) in order to offset the economic impact of mass immigration on the nation’s domestic social services. (Telegraph, March 15, 2009; and Spiegel Online International, Chart: “Europe’s Migrant Workers”). Australia’s Immigration Ministry has also recently announced plans to curtail the number of immigrants it will allow into the country by approximately 14 percent, largely in an attempt to reduce the number of immigrants who would be able to compete with native Australians for employment. (The Straits Times, March 16, 2009).

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