Immigration Policy

The last fortnight, I attended a talk on Geo politics by a distinguished and knowledgeable professor from the world reputable French school HEC. Demographics obviously became part of the main topic. The anguish of some European countries is the aging of the population and the low birth rate of  nations which would endanger the future of the respective countries.

We discussed lengthily on the progression of some ethnic groups who will impact France in the near future. 2025 Forecasts of nations like Germany and Italy give a decreasing population. The economic impact of these nations will be affected. Countries having today a birth rate below 2 per head will in a very short time be in diminishing population. You could image the impact on the economy, on the social aspects, the geopolitical might and more importantly on the vitality of the country with an ageing population.

Immigration policy and laws then is one of the tools which economical rich countries may use to resolve the issue of demographics. The United States of America, a nation of 300 million inhabitants is vibrant today which was created out of thinking and implementation of strategies. As recently as 80 years ago, when immigration was free in the US, the leaders of the time passed in 1924 a discriminatory immigration law to control their population growth. By way of the 1965 Immigration and nationality act the US is still controlling the growth of the population and the quality of the population.

This is the case for the European union of nations which is not a single nation will a common policy. Immigration in the Schengen area is in havoc with the different policies of the different countries. Immigration is an issue and the integration of the various factions is yet another issue. Many European nations fear unrest in parts of Europe caused by sudden change in social balances. Is there an invisible hand playing on the chess board of Europe in this respect?

We know for sure that the immigrations flow of today determine the state of the nation of tomorrow. As easy demonstrated in our laboratory small Mauritius, the acts of the later part of the 1800 have determined the population of our island.

What should be the immigration and nationality policy of our country? Is it done in thinking of the future generation? Are we thinking of ethnic, religious, racial balances as was the case of the US in 1924?