Immigration in Denmark

Immigration and Crime in Denmark…

Immigration in Denmark

Immigration and Crime in Denmark, Anti-Immigration and Real Crime Changes, associated with Middle East Immigration to Denmark"

Immigration and Crime in Denmark, Anti-Immigration and Real Crime Changes, associated with Middle East Immigration to Denmark"

Immigration to Denmark has had a remarkable upswing over the last twenty years. Many of the immigrants to Denmark are from the Middle East. The sentiment of the nation at least according to the media and public has been a growing sense of anti-immigration sentiment and one of the reasons that some of these opponents to immigration give is the rise in crime associated with Middle Eastern immigration and all immigration in general. This proposal will look at real crime rates in two source countries (Turkey/Iran) and in Denmark to attempt to discover is there is any merit in this argument, or if it can simply be connected to a general population growth or diversity conflicts. According to the CIA world factbook on Denmark there is a net migration rate to Denmark of 2.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.). (CIA World Factbook "Denmark") This proposal will first introduce the general anti-immigration movement in Denmark, and a few reasons given for it. It will then discuss the political development of the situation, i.e. The Right wing majority turn in representation and finally will propose a real comparison of crime rates between Denmark and the two largest origin nations, Iran and Turkey.

Introduction to anti-immigration sentiment

Individuals immigrate to Denmark for a number of reasons, the most important of which is the Danes have one of the best standards of living in the world and as Danish population expansion is relatively flat there are serious concerns about the fact that many Danes are retiring with not enough new workers to fill the jobs they are leaving. Though Denmark has not joined the EU its currency value is to some degree dictated by the Euro and the nation is highly invested in European trade and interconnectivity. For the most part the economy is strong, after a significant upturn in 2004 but has been seriously challenged by the international recession, housing boom end, increased borrowing costs, lower export demand, reduced consumer confidence, and decline in investment and the nation like all others is poised to continue to slow/stagnate for a while before any recovery becomes evident. (CIA World Factbook "Denmark") In general in times of economic crisis all immigration policy is questioned, even with the retiree job vacuum unemployment will likely rise as trade continues to decreases. On the heals of an already vocal minority challenge to immigration, for many reasons, the stress of the economy will likely also hamper efforts to come to terms with any of the reasons given for anti-immigration challenges. Yet, the real question here is not why exactly the population, notorious for isolationism is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with immigration, and especially middle east immigration, but that Danes see and are responding to a real social fear, i.e. crime as it is evident and perpetrated by Middle East immigrants. To look at this issue one must clearly address public perception and sentiment and then seek out real crime statistics. ("Taking on the Islamists;," 2007, p. A21)

Political Shift to the Right as a result of Immigration