IS THE WEST OVERCROWDED?

Last week’s landmark ruling by the British House of Lords in favour of Indian doctors comes on the heels of growing...

Last week’s landmark ruling by the British House of Lords in favour of Indian doctors comes on the heels of growing demands in the US, including by Bill Gates, to raise the cap on H1-B visas, which are much sought-after by skilled professionals, including Indians. Last week, a Republican caucus urged the Democrat leadership in the US House of Representatives to approve a Bill to increase the number of H1B visas from 65,000 to 115,000 and a 20 percent built-in annual increase. Immigration is a hot issue in almost the entire western world, with governments seeking to control the same and industry urging that more be allowed in. And this at a time when Leicester and Birmingham are all set to become the first European cities with non-White majorities — thanks largely to contemporary migration from India and its neighbouring countries:

UNITED STATES: Traumatised by a tidal wave of illegal immigrants, Arizona last year enacted the nation’s most pitiless law to punish employers who hire undocumented workers. The outcry from companies warning of severe labour shortages prompted lawmakers to water down the Bill somewhat, but immigrant neighbourhoods soon started emptying out. Arizona is now looking for a way out, having decided it badly needs low-skilled labour after all. A similar story was earlier seen in Riverside, New Jersey, after it pushed through a series of aggressive anti-immigrant laws in 2006. One year later, the town had voted out the local politicians behind the laws, repealed the same and initiated efforts to build better connections with its immigrant community.

However, immigration laws have only become stricter. The federal government has shifted to increased border security — beefing up the Border Patrol to 18,000 and building a fence along the Mexico border. According to one estimation, more state immigration laws were passed in 2007 than in 2005 and 2006 combined. With raids against illegal immigrants continuing across the US, a trade and immigration roundtable conference held in Washington last week agreed on one thing: US immigration policy is sapping trade.

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UNITED KINGDOM: It introduced new sections to the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act of 2006 in February to curb the growth of workers entering the country illegally, making it more difficult to appoint non-EEA (European Economic Area) workers. Thousands gathered in London last fortnight to protest against the new rules, which make it more difficult to bring skilled foreign cooks and chefs for curry houses and Chinese eateries, because of its bias towards migrants with top educational degrees.

Earlier this month, in a victory for immigrants, the British Government’s move to amend rules regarding a Highly Skilled Migrants Programme (HSMP) was struck down by the high court. The HSMP Forum, which appealed against the government move, represents highly skilled workers — including doctors, engineers and technocrats, mostly from India — who had come to the UK under one of its most popular schemes. Under the changes which the Government sought to make, HSMP visa holders would have been required to reappear for an examination to have their visas extended, and applicants had to have a high annual income and a fixed age limit.

CANADA: Prime Minister Stephen Harper has introduced controversial reforms to Canada’s immigration laws, intended to fast-track sorely needed skilled workers into the country. The changes would place highly coveted immigrants — like doctors or other skilled labourers — on the fast track. But while their papers would get processed quickly, other immigrants would be forced to wait behind them in the queue. The Government would be allowed to set annual limits on the number of applications Canada processes. The changes have been denounced as mean-spirited and anti-immigrant by opposition parties.

According to the Federal Immigration Department, there are about 900,000 people in line to get into Canada, of which roughly 250,000 are accepted as permanent residents any given year. Among those annually accepted, roughly 135,000 are skilled workers, the remainder are made up of refugees and relatives of families already in the country.

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FRANCE: President Nicolas Sarkozy took office last year promising to be tough on illegal immigration and immediately set the police targets for expulsions of anyone staying without authorisation. Last July, employers were told they had to check with local administration offices to make sure that their staff had all the documents they needed to be working in France. This led some firms to lay off staff. However, last week, France’s hoteliers and restaurant owners warned the Government that the tourism industry faced a disaster unless it agreed to give work permits to hundreds of illegal immigrants who operate in the sector. Up to 500 immigrants working across a range of industries held a strike — the first of its kind — last fortnight to demand that the Government relax laws preventing them from getting residency in France. French Immigration Minister recently went on a tour of EU capitals to prepare the ground for a “European immigration pact”, to be endorsed by heads of state at a summit in October.

AUSTRALIA: In October last year, Australia introduced a controversial citizenship test, which has seen applications for citizenship plummet to half in the first few months compared to the same time last year. The 42-page booklet — from which the citizenship test questions are drawn — is considered too “impenetrable” for newly arrived migrants, and includes stuff like the uses of the stump-jump plough, the emergence of the Heidelberg school of art, and the location of Phar Lap’s heart.

The previous John Howard regime was volubly tough on illegal immigrants, introducing a controversial but popular policy of turning away boatloads of asylum seekers before they could reach Australia’s shores. It was under his regime that Mohd Haneef of India had his visa withdrawn despite terror charges against him being dropped. An inquiry in the case is still on.