No land for Immigrants: Reforms in progress to curb Border Crossing

The June 23 referendum by which voters approved Britain exiting the European Union was fueled by escalating costs of entitlements for unauthorized migrants
Political leaders are deadlocked how to handle rescued migrants
The cost of removing a resident migrant in the United Kingdom has been estimated at £25,000

A survey from Gallup of several years ago reported that about one out of six world's adults, close to 900 million globally today, would immigrate to developed countries if they had the chance. And 80% of those in the less developed countries who would like to immigrate said they would prefer moving to a more developed country. The United States is the top desired destination with 24% desirability rate followed by Canada, the United Kingdom, and France, with 6% desirability each.

Now that the British people have voted to leave EU, it is hoped that shutting the door would reduce migration. The figures released by the Office for National Statistics puts the net migration to the UK at 330,000 in the year ending March 2015 and the size of the foreign-born population at 8,277,000. A 2007 report by the London School of Economics puts the illegal immigrant population at 670,000 in 2007.

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But the governments are in a predicament. The deportation of unauthorized migrants doesn't come cheap. The cost of identifying, detaining and repatriating large numbers in a legal and humane way are enormous, says the Scroll.in report. The cost of removing a resident migrant in the United Kingdom has been estimated at £25,000.The June 23 referendum by which voters approved Britain exiting the European Union was fueled by escalating costs of entitlements for unauthorized migrants.

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In the United States, the legal procedure lets the unauthorized migrants apprehended at the US/Mexico border to be released and allowed to remain while awaiting immigration hearings. But the cost of simply detaining an unauthorized migrant is also about $100 per day.

Political leaders are puzzled at how to handle rescued migrants. Some people advocate open borders granting people the right to cross borders freely. They argue that it would reduce world poverty and eliminate illegal immigration, human smuggling, risky crossings and deaths of migrants.

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But some are against it and wish to stop unlawful entry by reinforcing border controls with walls, barriers and armed guards and immediate deportations for any who might have entered illegally. They maintain that illegal migration threatens national sovereignty and security, adds the Scroll.in report.

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Government's effort to discourage likely migrants from attempting illegal border crossings have met with limited success. A new approach to deter the inflow of unauthorized migrants is the EU-Turkey agreement which is viewed by some as bribes, extortion and as a clear violation of international law.

The proposed deal promises Turkey approximately $6.6 billion and visa-free travel in exchange for restricting migrants from reaching Europe through Turkish borders, says the Scroll.in report. EU countries are also funding other less developed countries, such as Libya, Sudan and Eritrea, to deter illegal migration. Additional countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger and Uganda, also seek funds to deal with illegal immigration.

The illegal migration case is also a major debate in the upcoming US presidential elections. Donald Trump, the Republican Party nominee has vowed, if elected, to order removal of unauthorized migrants by building a wall along the Mexican/American border and strengthen enforcement to end unlawful entry into the United States and residence. But Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party nominee wants to push for a comprehensive reform that is founded on an amnesty and a path to citizenship for most undocumented immigrants.

-This report is compiled by a Staff-writer at NewsGram.

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