Immigration policy in the United States and Italy compared

Immigration

A Comparison of Immigration in the U.S. And Italy

Immigration is a serious issue facing most countries in today's globalized world, and especially those that are more developed and thus present attractive locations to anyone in the world seeking to make a better life for themselves and their families. While immigration can be an important source of labor and economic growth and provide excellent cultural growth and stimulation as well, it can also present a significant burden to nations and their native populations. This has led to often changeable and highly variable immigration policies in the different nations of the world, and a comparison of two countries and the ways in which they handle immigration can provide a general understanding of the specific issues that arise as part of the immigration question. To this end, this paper will provide a brief overview of historic and current immigration policy in the United States and Italy.

Italian Immigration

Italy is at once a much older and a much newer country than the United States, and its history does have a major impact on its immigration policies and the national views towards immigrants, as well. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, it was not until the nineteenth century that the various culturally- and linguistically-Italian city-states and republics were again unified into a single nation, and for much of the following period immigration out of Italy to Northern Europe where jobs were more plentiful was far more common than immigration to Italy (Columbia 2007). This changed in the 1970s and 80s, when many nations closed their borders to immigrants and Italy became popular as a temporary and permanent stop for many immigrants (Caritas 2002).

This created many of the same problems that the United States faces, including a large number of illegal immigrants entering and/or remaining in the country as well as the economic burden of vastly increased numbers of people -- legal and otherwise -- dependent on state services and competing for the available jobs, which are not always plentiful in the country (Caritas 2002; BBC 2009). Current immigration policy consists of regionally-distributed work visas, with permanent immigration to the country far more difficult to achieve (BBC 2009). In fact, the laws regarding illegal immigration have also become much harsher in recent years in response to the growing national threat that the large immigrant numbers are seen to constitute, with Italian citizens facing up to three years in prison for knowingly harboring illegal immigrants and massive fines as well as deportation and imprisonment being used to discourage the continuing influx of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers into the country (BBC 2009). Still, many would rather brave the fierce Italian anti-immigration laws then continue life in their own countries, and they continue to pour into the country.

Conclusion

Globalization has drastically changed the issue of immigration worldwide in terms of both the factors influencing it and the sheer magnitude of problems (and benefits) encountered. The recent global economic downturn has also increased pressures on many nations, as developed nations are less able to accommodate or handle the ongoing influx of immigrants arriving from less developed countries. Only time will tell if this trend will persist.