Padrão de Resposta

Due to the persistent gap between industrialized and underdeveloped countries, migration remains a vital issue in contemporary world politics. As humanity evolves towards a near-consensus on the inevitability of this phenomenon and its potential to generate global progress, the topic gradually becomes less controversial. Notwithstanding this trend, numerous disagreements regarding migration policy still exist. The debate concerns three complex subjects above all others: the economic consequences of human mobility, the risks involved in terms of trafficking and terrorism, and the impact of migration upon national cultures and identities.
The economic side of migration, if examined through the lenses of sheer and cold rationality, would seen to be utterly simple: while some countries have a diminishing workforce, others can barely feed their ever-expanding population, so it would be logical to encourage human flows from the latter group of nations to the former. Unsurprisingly, the issue is not that straightforward. Not all developing states are willing to cede their best and brightest citizens, as they fear the impact of an unequal flux of skilled workers, the so-called brain drain. Conversely, some industrial countries do not feel they can accommodate every potential migrant. Hence, limits and quotas are often established.
Secondly, the security threats possibly linked to the increasing migration flows are manifold. As the United States painfully learned on September 11th, 2001, not all foreigners legally settled are harmless. Beyond terrorism, other risks may be ushered by the uncontrolled movement of humans, namely drug trafficking and the clandestine trade of arms and other goods. Even diseases, such as the swine flu from Mexico, can be transmitted freely through migration.
Last but not least, it is evident that the cultural features of some countries, such as their language, religion and habits, will be partially under pressure if and when large inflows of migrants arrive. This is a delicate issue in Europe, where it often leads to prejudice and even xenophobia. Two opposite sets of policies claim to offer the best solution in this sense: the British usually allow foreigners to gather and form their own separate communities, whereas the French prefer to assimilate all migrants by imposing the so-called “Republican values” upon them.
Whether we study it from the economic perspective, the security angle, or the cultural point of view, migration continues to raise concerns and generate opportunities. One thing is clear, though: no country or society will be able to design and implement sound migration policies without paying the utmost attention to the quintessential human values of tolerance, respect, and cooperation.