A migrant is a person who is to be engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a state of which he or she is not a national.
Migrants must face problems such as:
§ Problems of adjustment: Migrants are seen as illegal, but they still contribute to the country’s economy.
§ In most cases, migrants don’t have the same rights that national people have.
§ Problems with the re-unification of families
§ Migrant’s children don’t have the rights for education
§ Without status, migrants are a natural target of exploitation.
To help migrants with these problems there are some conventions aiming to protect migrant’s rights. The International Migration Convention and the UN Convention on the rights of migrants are good examples. These conventions are trying to play a role in preventing and eliminating the exploitation of all migrant workers and members of their families through the whole migration process. The Committee on Migrant Workers is the one monitoring the implementation of the international rights.
The impact migrants have over the economy depends on the sector they are working. The economy on migrant workers is different depending on their distribution among economic sectors. As a consequence of economic crisis many people may decide to look for better opportunities in cities and countries with higher living standards and incomes, this means that the host cities and countries have to deal with new cultures brought by migrants, which creates sub cultures.
There are several reasons for people to migrate; there can be economic, social or political reasons.
Illegal immigration in a rising problem, and sometimes it means death for migrants. Every day is more difficult for those living in developing countries to migrate legally to developed ones; the increasing security and blockades to illegal migrants has caused them to look for more dangerous ways to enter the countries. Illegal migration is a crime, it means it can be controlled but it cannot be eliminated.
It is important not to blame migrants for the host country’s problems; migrants pay taxes and spend money and they are willing to work in those tasks most of the people don’t want to do.
VIDEO
QUESTION
¿Do you think the Points System in Canada is meant to protect the country’s sovereignity?, or ¿is it just a deliberated form of discrimination? ¿why?
I think the points system in Canada are a way of protecting their own sovereignty because they are looking for the best candidates for their country, otherwise immigration could become a problematic issue difficult to manage that threatens the national security. I don’t perceive it as deliberated discrimination because according to the points system is not based on prejudices about gender, age or race; the points system implies discrimination in the sense of knowing what best but not in the sense of basing rejection in things a person cannot change. The points system may encourage some to prepare better and then gain the possibility to make a living in the country.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Verbeeten, David. 2007. The Past and Future of Immigration to Canada. Journal of International Migration & Integration