I am Dutch and I have always been proud about my country being tollerant and open to immigrants. However now there is a very visable anti immigration movement happening. In the past this could only really be seen in the US. What is your view on the topic?
Sun, 08/02/2009 - 7:03am
#1
Re: European Anti Immigration Movement
Myself I'm a supporter of "legal" immigration, but then again we have a lot more room here in the U.S. What is fueling a lot of prejudice and conflict is when people break the law by coming here illegally. Then once they get here they get put on public assistance and welfare. On top of that there are even government funded scholarships for college only available for illegal aliens. This is such a slap in the face for those who are trying to come here legally.
Countries must control their borders, I have no problem with that. This also makes sense in Europe where you have a dense population and smaller countries like the Netherlands. But I'm not familiar with the anti immigration movement over there.
Sun, 08/02/2009 - 8:31am
#2
Re: European Anti Immigration Movement
I don't recall any American anti immigration policies - just the opposite in fact. We have opened our doors to just about everyone who wants to move to this country. We certainly have done nothing to stop the flow of illegal immigration, which is a real issue IMO.
WE may have an abundance of open land but honestly all the good land has been already developed and populated.
I for one at the moment tend to be more of an isolationist and in favor of tightening our immigration quotas. There is no work for the natives so why encourage more new comers to add to the pile? We as a nation have been very generous by allowing large groups to immigrate here over the past 50 years. There was the large influx from SE Asia in the 70's and 80's, then the huge number of people coming in after the collapse of the USSR.
Now as for the Europeans - well they have a situation that is likely to turn nasty. As their native populations have slowed in the procreation area they then allowed huge numbers of immigrants. So the demographics have changed reflecting the power shift to the new comers. Tensions are growing and as resources become more and more limited it is natural for protectionism and yes even racial tensions to develop. This is human nature and it is unlikely you will be able to legislate a solution other than closing the doors.
I am all for people staying in their own countries and improving their lives there. Hold shit with all the foreign aid provided they should either stop having more children or learn to feed them locally. Stop becoming a burden on the rest of us.
