Immigration

The images are frightening. We see caravans of migrants crossing Central America on their way to the United States. We see boats filled to the brim off the coast of Florida or in the Mediterranean. In border towns, we see hordes of young men on the streets, destitute, jumping the barriers of detention centres, living in squats, sometimes addicted to drugs.

European countries and the United States claim to be so overwhelmed that they delegate their borders to Mexico, Turkey and the countries of North Africa. They pay them to process asylum applications before the migrants have set foot in the destination country. The detention centres are inhumane and the migrants jump the barriers to get to their destination. The barrier is very easy to jump. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has only 2,100 agents to guard 20,000 km of border.

European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) – European Union: https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/institutions-and-bodies/search-all-eu-institutions-and-bodies/frontex_en

Migrants enter countries illegally because it is inhumane to ask to enter legally. So, they do not stand up for their rights.

Faced with these terrifying images, we hear the Right telling us that these illegals must be punished more severely, and we hear the Left telling us that there are no problems with migrants. These migrants work for a tenth of the price and cannot assert their rights before a judge. The people most affected by migration are the rural and poor. The result of this situation of irregularity is to create an extremely cheap labour force that cannot compete with European or American labour who must respect proper social and environmental conditions. Immigrants take jobs away from local people, who aspire to be paid decently and to assert their rights (safety at work, common law, etc.) Western countries draw up lists of jobs in labor shortage that the inhabitants of these countries supposedly no longer want to do. Western governments give visas for these jobs, forcing the current inhabitants to accept poor working conditions. It’s shameful, given the GDP of these countries. It is legitimate to feel helpless when faced with these migrants. The fields and the restaurants in the United States and Europe are full of illegal workers and the fields and the restaurants are not controlled. Cleaning and public roads are also affected. There are no more labor inspections. A lot more work inspectors are needed.

The current policy simply creates more margins for employers. The people living in rural areas are concerned, and only the right wing is addressing them.

They lose their jobs and have to deal with a destitute population: they cannot afford housing, they do not have enough money to buy food, they cannot access healthcare, and some turn to drugs because they have no support for their physical or mental suffering. Some immigrants start squatting wherever they can or live in slums and may resort to theft to get what they need to survive. They cannot assert their rights, so they may be subjected to violence or not be paid at all for their work. Who can they complain to? Some become depressed because of the mistreatment they suffer and because they are far from their loved ones. There is a lot of psychological suffering and they have little support. They do not have access to medical care and cannot turn to the police. Some crack and become violent. It is normal in these circumstances that rural residents no longer want immigration. This immigration is illegal and the state is not fulfilling its protective role. Everyone knows where these illegal immigrants are. The state turns a blind eye and abandons these areas. They protect employers who break the law in both urban and rural areas, with complete impunity. Furthermore, in France, for example, François Hollande sent migrants by bus to rural areas without giving local authorities any means to integrate them.

Governments say they want to reduce immigration, but they only want to reduce legal immigration. Illegal immigration provides them with a population that can be exploited at will, that cannot stand up for its rights, and that works for low wages, competing with legal workers who are working under acceptable social conditions, safe working conditions, and acceptable environmental conditions. If they really wanted to limit immigration, they would hire labor inspectors, provide development aid, and condemn companies that violate laws on their own soil or abroad. Since 2023, Italy has redeployed labor inspectors and developed the Sahel region, especially Libya, with good results. It also promotes small-scale and organic farming.

Human trafficking represents a huge reputational risk for producers. Immigrant workers labor under such conditions and without access to healthcare, so much so that some break down and turn to drugs to cope. This creates real insecurity, and people are right to be afraid.

These are not risks taken by those who think in the long term. These are people with financial means who can move their capital with two clicks of the mouse.

In the short term, many migrants are arriving at the borders of the West and there is no reason why their treatment should not be organised in humane conditions. Those who wish to assert their right to asylum do not deserve prison. Europe’s right-wing parties are calling for an end to medical aid for migrants. Migrants are at greater risk of contracting infectious diseases because of the ordeals they have been through. Looking after their health means looking after the health of everyone. Health is a human right (article 25 of the universal declaration of human rights). The right also accuses immigrants of occupying housing, thereby reducing the supply of housing and driving up rents. And that’s without counting all the empty homes that have been securitized or on which there is speculation and investment money.

In the long term, the European and North American powers have largely contributed to making the countries of the South unliveable. We must stop actively destroying these countries. Multinationals must be held criminally responsible when they commit an act in these countries that would be a crime in the West. They must be tried in the West for pollution, subversion, corruption, forced labour, child labour, etc. On the other hand, the West can and must support democratic regimes when they emerge in these countries. African revolutionaries have all been killed. This has to stop.

It is only under these conditions that development aid can be effective. If we give development aid when these conditions are not met, it feeds corruption. Only effective development aid will create decent living opportunities in these countries and reduce the number of migrants.

Taking stronger action on climate change is also important to ensure that these countries do not become hellholes.

If these countries end up receiving a fair income from their resources and labour, they will become long-term customers and trading partners and will be able to deal with the sanitary problems that threaten us all.

History should prevent us from repeating the mistakes of the past. The fall of the Roman Empire was due to the mistreatment of its immigrants. The emperor had granted protection to the Visigoths (who lived in what is now Ukraine) who were fleeing the Huns. However, the border residents of the province of Dacia (now Romania) abused these migrants and enslaved them. “Chased by the Huns, thousands of Goths were welcomed by the Empire in 376. Mistreated, the refugees revolted and eventually crushed the Roman army on August 9, 378.” Quand Rome a été vaincue par des réfugiés – Le Monde: https://www.lemonde.fr/series-d-ete/article/2021/08/17/a-andrinople-rome-vaincue-par-des-refugies_6091674_3451060.html

General Fritigern saw red and instead of calling on the emperor for justice, he simply used force against his own citizens, i.e. the Romans living on the border. As a result, the emperor punished Fritigern instead of the bad citizens who were enslaving immigrants, and this degenerated into hundreds of clashes that brought down the Roman Empire. They did not realize that the collapse of the civilization in which they lived would only recover after a thousand years of terrible regression. They would have been better off taking the time to let justice take its course, even if it is so slow and sometimes poorly administered. It is important that laws be respected. Letting employers who do not respect the laws get away with it is dangerous.

Comment l’Europe sous-traite à l’Afrique le contrôle des migrations (1/4) : « Frontex menace la dignité humaine et l’identité africaine » – Le Monde: https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2023/09/06/comment-l-europe-sous-traite-a-l-afrique-le-controle-des-migrations-1-4-frontex-menace-la-dignite-humaine-et-l-identite-africaine_6188169_3212.html

Mexico makes agreement with US to deport migrants from its border cities as one mayor warns his city is at ‘a breaking point’ – CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/23/us/mexico-us-border-patrol-agreement-migration-surge/index.html

L’intégration des travailleurs migrants sur le marché du travail:
Les politiques et leur impact – ILO: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_protect/—protrav/—migrant/documents/publication/wcms_201037.pdf

Immigration : le Conseil de l’Europe dénonce un “système hypocrite” qui appuie son économie sur plusieurs millions de “travailleurs invisibles”– France TV: https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/europe/migrants/immigration-le-conseil-de-l-europe-denonce-un-systeme-hypocrite-qui-appuie-son-economie-sur-plusieurs-millons-de-travailleurs-invisibles_5896273.html#xtor=CS2-765-%5Bautres%5D-

‘A lot of abuse for little pay’: how US farming profits from exploitation and brutality – The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/25/us-farms-made-200m-human-smuggling-labor-trafficking-operation

À qui profite l’exil ?: https://www.editions-delcourt.fr/bd/series/serie-qui-profite-l-exil/album-qui-profite-l-exil#:~:text=En%20adoptant%20une%20vision%20humaine,de%20la%20fermeture%20des%20frontières%20%3F

L’appel de 3 000 soignants : « Nous demandons le maintien de l’aide médicale d’Etat pour la prise en charge des soins des personnes étrangères » – Le Monde: https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2023/11/02/l-appel-de-3-000-soignants-nous-demandons-le-maintien-de-l-aide-medicale-d-etat-pour-la-prise-en-charge-des-soins-des-personnes-etrangeres_6197818_3232.html

VIDEO. ” Vous vivrez une colère du secteur médical comme jamais vous n’en avez vécu”. Face à la suppression de l’Aide médicale de l’Etat, les médecins menacent: https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/occitanie/haute-garonne/toulouse/video-vous-vivrez-une-colere-du-secteur-medical-comme-jamais-vous-n-en-avez-vecu-face-a-la-suppression-de-l-aide-medicale-de-l-etat-les-medecins-menacent-2869469.html

Champagne, l’envers d’un terroir | ARTE Regards: https://youtu.be/tMjoCKKzqPM?si=PG96jKeMGquI0x1K