A world without borders

Human migration is now a global phenomenon. There are more people on the move around the world than at any previous time in human history.

Not since World War II has our world experienced population flows of such size and complexity. Millions of people are moving across international borders every year in the search of employment, education, a new life or simply to escape from political violence, persecution and the impact of natural disasters.

The number of international migrants has more than doubled over the last 30 years from 103 million to more than 250 million today and could quite possibly reach 400 million by 2050.  Since 1950 the number of international migrants in the developed countries of Europe and North America has increased by around 60 million.

Today more than 60% of international migrants reside in developed countries and the numbers flowing into Europe have grown from 56 million in 2000 to approximately 80 million today.

People smugglers are having a field day transporting tens of thousands of Africans across the Mediterranean to Italy and Spain. Thousands of refugees from Syria are sailing in small rubber and wooden boats from Turkey to the Greek islands of Kos, Lesvos and Samos. 

So far more than 3,000 migrants have perished in their attempt to cross the Mediterranean. Half of all international migrants live in just 10 countries.

The largest number, more than 46 million, currently live in the USA. In Europe, Germany and France host the largest migrant populations while large numbers of migrant workers from Southern Asia live and work in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. 

Every major city in our world now has its significant immigrant population. German cities have their Turks, Paris and Marseilles their Algerians and Africans, London its West Indians and Sydney its Italians, Greeks and Chinese.  

But migration is much more than the international flood of refugees. Today there are more people abandoning rural areas and moving to towns and cities than in any previous time of human history. China in particular is witnessing one of the greatest rural-urban movement of people the world has ever seen and more than 260 million have made such a journey over the last few decade

So what has migration delivered?

On one hand it has offered education, employment, safety and a new life to many hundreds of thousands insulating many from hunger and poverty. It has also seen vast sums of money remitted by migrants back home to families and relatives. Migration has also played an important part in bolstering lagging labour force numbers in many developed countries and in some cases produced a surge in local birth rates.

But migration also has a dark side. Recent arrivals in developed countries run the risk of being exploited or discriminated against.

Sometimes recent migrants are paid well below minimum wage rates, are expected to work long hours and denied the right to move to another location or job. In some parts of the world migrants are employed on restricted job contracts, only allowed to stay for a rigidly defined period and denied the tax and social security benefits of other workers.

There is little doubt that migration has siphoned off the better-skilled and educated sector from many developing countries.

Many Caribbean and Pacific countries have lost more than 75% of their tertiary educated population. Today, almost 10% of all tertiary educated persons born in Africa now live in OECD countries.

Some of this downside can be mitigated by the eventual return of migrants with newly acquired skills and other resources. Remittances sent home by migrants have become a critical resource for many developing countries with the total sum remitted annually now exceeding $US350 Billion, far outweighing the global total of foreign aid.

International migration is also a significant health challenge for our world.

And what of the almost 2 Billion people who cross international borders by air or ship every year on vacation, in pursuit of employment or education.

In almost every case their journey is far shorter than the incubation period of all infectious diseases meaning that airport vigilance and immigration and health checks count for nothing.

SARS, Avian and Swine Flu revealed how easily infections move around our world accompanying such travellers. Once infections burnt themselves out on the long shipping voyage around the world followed by formal quarantine on arrival but air travel and short shipping cruises have changed all that.

The influx of migrants particularly over the last 10 years raises a host of critical questions.

Do immigrants benefit the economy of the receiving country, bolster lagging labour force numbers and pursue jobs that no one else wants to do, or do they edge out local workers and place an undue burden on the housing market, social welfare and public resources? Do immigrants add to cultural diversity or do they serve to fragment national identity? Are all immigrants easily assimilated, enthusiastically adopting local customs and way of life or do some become marginalised and see themselves as isolated, bereft of rights and benefits and forced back into their particular immigrant fold as is the case in the Northern suburbs of Paris?  

Perhaps we have to wait for the next generation to display a new allegiance while their parents and grandparents cling to old traditions and linkages.

Are many developing countries suffering from the loss of skilled workers and the better educated or is this compensated by the inward flow of remittances and the eventual return of people who have acquired new skills and education? Do migrants contribute to global terrorism and drug trafficking?

The threat of terrorism raises many critical issues and the recent Paris terrorist act revealed the ease with which terrorists can cross international borders along with other migrants.

Finally, is it possible to control migration in a largely borderless world?

A major debate is currently raging throughout Europe and elsewhere has to how to control national borders and manage migration flows. The US-Mexico border illustrates how even the most sophisticated forms of border control can be avoided by desperate people.

There is no doubt that highly desperate people can escape current border controls by taking more risks, finding remote and isolated crossing points or by relying on people smugglers. In many cases the sheer weight of numbers alone overwhelms border security as was the case in June 2015 when more than 1,000 migrants stormed the razor-wire border fence in Melilla a Spanish enclave in Morocco in their attempt to get across the Mediterranean to Spain.  

Is “Fortress Australia” an answer where boats are turned back or arrivals sent to special transit camps for observation and processing?  Rural-urban migration also has potential security implications.

Most of those who move are young adults and many now argue that a disproportionate number of young, poor, unemployed and disconnected adults in urban areas can predispose a country to social unrest and violence.

Today all these questions dominate the migration scene and remain at the top of the agenda of national and international debate. There is little doubt that migration has become a major global issue with an enormous influence on politics, economics and social welfare not only in receiving countries but also in countries of origin.

So far many countries remain in a state of confusion as to how to address the flow of migrants. Many are torn between recognition of the need for unskilled and semi-skilled workers but divided on whether they want them to stay permanently and retain their cultural and ethnic distinctiveness.

There is little doubt that there is a need to assess the effect that cross-border flows can have on state security. Migration flows can have serious effects for weak or struggling states whereas more developed and secure states have shown the ability to adapt to the large scale movement of people despite the threat of violence and terrorism. While distance and isolation provide a certain degree of security, in many ways we live in a borderless world which requires us to find a new way of looking at cross-border flows and the role of immigrant groups.

Determining who to let in and who to keep out remains a key challenge for most states today. Migration in many parts of the world threatens to overwhelm a state’s capacity to maintain its sovereignty. Border control requires high levels of interstate cooperation and in some places due to isolation and remoteness is almost unmanageable.

Primarily a state has two basic responsibilities. In the first place it needs to maintain control over its borders and determine who can enter. In the second, it needs to decide of those permitted to enter who can stay and ultimately enjoy citizenship.

In some parts of the world such as Australia and New Zealand this may be easier to achieve. In a large part of the world, however, the porous nature of borders and the sheer volume of migrant flow severely challenge state sovereignty. In the case of Europe are we looking at the re-institution of formal border controls and the impact that this would have on tourist flows and the movement of goods and services.

Many currently argue that we also need to find new ways to address migrant issues. In the context of very low birth rates and rapid population ageing throughout the developed world we need to fully appreciate what migrants can offer.

Gone should be the days when migrants were simply recognised as a cheap unskilled labour force, allowed in for a limited time to do jobs that no local wanted to do, and then expected to leave. We now need to appreciate their critical contribution to both the unskilled and skilled sector of our economies as well as the contribution that well educated migrants can make and how ethnic and cultural diversity substantially add to a nation’s culture.

Critically we also need to try and fully integrate them into our society, provide training, ensure access to education, housing, and social and health benefits and make sure that their children are allocated slots in day-care facilities or local schools.

Without any doubt migration is changing our world and the way we view security.