Why Do Countries Not Adopt Open-Border Policies?

The Question

Policy, borders, and refugees

The world is currently facing the worst refugee crisis in history, the conflicts in the Middle East have caused large numbers of people to flee. The war in Syria has displaced half the countries’ population across the globe (Latta, 2017). The consequences of the war have put into question the policies and obligations of other countries, especially European countries, in helping refugees. The crisis has divided people and countries into those who are for refugees and those that are against. Both sides have arguments and concerns as to why countries should or should not open their borders to those seeking asylum, some of those arguments are fueled by ethical and humanitarian reasons while others are fueled by fear and protectionism of countries own people.

The current refugee crisis, while a divided subject, is very much a problem that has yet to find a permanent or long-term solution. One of the reasons for this is the numbers, the large and continuously growing numbers of people who take to borders or dangerous and illegal measures to try and find safety for themselves and their families. No one country is capable of offering asylum to all the people who are currently displaced, and the EU’s migration quota is being rejected by countries (Rankin, 2016), further showing the divide between countries and their leaders on how to deal with the crisis.

Understanding the different points of view of those who are for refugees and those that are against refugees is equally important. Both sides need to be heard and understood so that a middle ground can be reached, and long-term solutions can be thought out and implemented. Long-term solutions will help those displaced, and will ideally reduce the number of refugees turning to illicit methods to find asylum, this is something that is becoming more important as media coverage shows the rising numbers of deaths due to illegal migrating activities.

Illustrative Example

German and Canadian Migration Policy

Migration is defined as the movement from one location to another. Migration policies are the specific rules and regulations that countries specify for individuals to in and out of their borders. Migration policies are important to the current refugee crisis since they dictate who can and cannot be accepted into the country as a refugee. The policies also direct refugees towards countries where they have a better chance of being granted asylum. Germany and Canada have been praised in the past few years for their efforts to help in the refugee crisis, however, the two countries have approached the problem differently from one another.

Under Angela Merkel Germany has offered an open-door policy to refugees, one that has been met with criticism from political parties in Germany as well as other countries (Verkaik, 2017). One of the reasons for Merkel’s open door policy is a gesture coming from the countries’ Nazi regime past (Joffe, 2016), it is a step in the opposite direction. In contrast with other European countries like Hungary or Croatia who are opting for strict limits on the numbers of people they will allow crossing their borders, Germany is a beacon of hope for those displaced.

Canada under Prime Minister Trudeau opened its door and helped resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees in early 2016, a feat that has been praised by the media and the international community. By the end of 2016 Canada had resettled 40,000 refuges (Payton, 2017), while Jordan has over 655,000 and Lebanon over 1 million. Currently, Canada is doing more than other countries to help refugees especially compared to some European countries, but the country can do more. Between 1979 and 1980 Canada 60,000 refugees from the Indochinese refugee crisis, the Canadian government also put in place a policy that the government would sponsor one refugee for every refugee sponsored privately (Enright, 2015).

General Responses (3 pages)

Protection vs. Inclusion

In the discussion of immigration, there are arguments for it and arguments against it. Immigration is when a person moves to a country other than the one they were born in to live. People migrate for labor or economic reasons, as well as persecution and natural disasters. Countries have rules and regulations regarding immigration, some have very strict rules and regulations on who can immigrate. For example, a person trying to immigrate to Canada needs a clean criminal record, a DUI can stand in the way of immigration, work or study permit, or as a family member of a Canadian citizen (Canada DUI Entry Law)

Some argue that immigration needs to be stopped altogether for reasons like protecting the countries citizens from having their jobs taken away by immigrants, or using taxpayer money to help ‘freeloaders’ get settled. On the other hand, there are people say open borders is the solution to ending poverty (Caplan, 2012), diversity makes for more productive and innovative workplaces, and offering asylum to refugees that have nowhere else to go is the humane thing to do.

Both sides of the immigration argument present valid points and real concerns that people have, this is because open borders are not an attainable reality, and while in writing some may think they are the best option that may not be true in practice. In times of crisis, like the one currently facing the world, it is important to review things like our borders and question whether it is still relevant to today’s problems or if it is time to move on to a different approach.

Reasons against immigration

One of the most prominent arguments against immigration and refugees specifically is they would be a burden on the economic resources of a country, economic resources that are paid for using taxpayer money. This first argument directs attention to the welfare programs that immigrants would need and make use of, things like healthcare, education, language education, etc., the money required to pay for these programs comes from taxpayers (Caplan, 2012). A country giving healthcare and education to the population is not outlandish, people that present this argument bring up the point that immigrants and refugees would not contribute as much as they use.

Another argument presented is that countries need to protect the labor opportunities of their own citizens first (Simon, 1998). Allowing more immigrants into a country could cause the demand for labor would drop since there would be more workers widely available. People could find themselves unemployed and get paid lower wages due to this increase in the labor