Illegal Immigration And Its Impact On The Globe| Christian Babatunde Denton

On 23^rd September 2023, Suella Braverman, The Home Secretary of The United Kingdom made a speech regarding illegal immigration at the Conservative conference in Manchester, England. She asserted that uncontrolled and illegal migration is an “existential challenge for the political and cultural institutions of the West”.[1] The Home Secretary added “uncontrolled immigration, inadequate integration, and a misguided dogma of multiculturalism have proven a toxic combination for Europe over the last few decades.”[2] Mrs. Braverman’s speech was met with resounding uproar from NGOs, campaigners, politicians and human rights groups who viewed the Home Secretary’s statement as a nod to stop immigrants from coming to the UK’s borders by any means necessary.

As the topic states, illegal immigration is a global phenomenon and a big issue for a lot of so-called “developed countries”. There are millions of illegal immigrants across the globe. Since the start of the 21^st century, the numbers of displaced people has increased from 38 million to nearly 86 million.[3] According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there are approximately 10.5 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.[4]According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), there may have been between 800,000 and 1.2 million illegal migrants living in the UK in 2017.[5] All these statistics indicate that illegal migration across the globe has doubled since 2000. This article shall define what illegal immigration means, the reasons for illegal immigration and its impact on the world at large.

According to the Cambridge dictionary, an illegal immigrant is someone who lives or works in another country when they do not have the legal right to do so.[6] An illegal immigrant is often classified as an undocumented immigrant. Illegal immigration, on the other hand, is the arrival of people from one country into another country without entering via legal methods.[7] What this means is that people who migrate to another country without legal documents are illegal immigrants.

There are several reasons for illegal immigration such as poverty, overpopulation, wars, natural disasters, deprivation of citizenship, family reunification and asylum. The primary reason for illegal immigration is due to wars. Conflict in any country leads to displacement of people. As a result of this, many people seek safety in another country via asylum. There are many examples of this such as the recent Russian-Ukrainian war where millions of Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries such as Russia, Poland, Moldova and Romania. According to the United Nations, more than five million Ukrainian refugees have left for neighbouring countries, while seven million Ukrainians are presumed to be displaced within Ukraine itself.[8] The war between Israel and Hamas had led to the evacuation of thousands of Palestinians to neighboring countries such as Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.

Poverty is the secondary reason for illegal immigration. Millions of people emigrate illegally for economic reasons. In my country Nigeria, for example, thousands of people have illegally migrated to Europe via the Sahara in search of greener pastures due to poor mismanagement of the economy. Thousands of Venezuelans are crossing the border to Colombia due to economic uncertainty at home. Overpopulation is another reason for illegal migration. When the population growth of a country outstrips the carrying capacity of area, it leads to overpopulation. Human population explosions can lead to issues such as lack of water, pollution and poverty. These problems may cause people to flee their country of origin to foreign countries through illegal means. A classic example of this is the mass emigration of Mexicans to the U.S. Mexico, with a population of over 120 million people, is very densely populated, has a weak and unstable economy and is a haven for drug cartels. China and India are the most populous countries in the world and as such, have the largest diaspora in the world.

There is also something called “population size imbalance”. This occurs when the population of a region/continent continues to outstrip that of a neighboring continent/region. For example, whereas the populations of Latin America and the Caribbean and North America where about the same size in 1950, today the population of Latin America is nearly double that of Northern America and is projected to remain so for a while.[9]

Natural disaster is one of the factors encouraging illegal immigration. Millions of people around the globe have been displace due to weather related (natural disaster) issues such as flooding, earthquakes, storms, wildfires and extreme heat. The UNHCR (United Nations Human Rights Commission) has estimated that an annual average of nearly 22 million people have been forcibly driven from their homeland by natural disasters.[10] Deprivation of citizenship is another reason for illegal immigration. Ethnic groups that have been stripped of citizenship by the state end up being stateless. As such, they don’t have the necessary legal documents to migrate to other countries and end up becoming illegal immigrants. A good example of this is the Rohingya muslims. The military junta of Myanmar (Burma) stripped the Rohingya of their Burma citizenship, classing them as illegal immigrants and rendering them stateless.

The issue of family reunification is also another catalyst for illegal immigration. Many illegal immigrants desire to live with relatives who already reside in a country that they (the illegals) are not allowed to enter, such as a spouse of other family members. There are many people who overstay the terms set out in their visas in the jurisdiction they are in with no intention of going back to their home countries. They are called visa overstayers. A lot of these people arrive with a visiting visa and end up staying in the destined country after their visas expire. For example, during the Summer Olympics in Australia in 2000, many athletes from different corners of the globe overstayed their visa.

Impact of Illegal Immigration

The impact of illegal immigration across the globe could either be positive or negative depending on one’s perspective. The impacts of illegal immigration are as follows:

A strain on a country’s Public Facilities

Illegal immigration causes a strain on a many countries public facilities as the “illegals” utilize public services such as health facilities, public schools, transportation and public housing without paying taxes.

Loss of jobs for citizens of destination country:

Several governments see illegal immigrants as a threat to their citizens when it comes to the job market. Illegal immigrants are willing to work for lower pay in contrast to the local population. For example, illegal Mexican laborers are willing to do dirty jobs such as gardening, cotton picking and trash collecting at a cheaper rate than American citizens. The same goes with Eastern European immigrants in the United Kingdom.

Injury and Illness:

The pursuit of employment is a primary reason for illegal international migration. Ac recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau affirms that undocumented immigrants in the United States often work in dangerous industries such as agriculture and construction. Another study suggests that the complex web of consequences resulting from illegal immigration status limits illegal workers’ ability to stay safe at work. Apart from the physical dangers that illegal immigrants are exposed to at work, the choice to move across borders in search of employment entails work-related lifestyle factors that affect the physical, social and mental well-being of immigrants and their loved ones.[11]

Rise in Criminal and Terrorist Activities:

One of the problems with illegal immigration is that a good number of illegals are involved in criminal activities. Illegal immigration brings about both good and bad eggs to any society. There are numerous examples of illegal immigrants committing crimes in their host country. For example, the rise of illegal immigration in Sweden and Denmark led to the increase in criminal related activities such as rape and assault.

Death:

Another effect of illegal immigration is the increasing death rate of illegal immigrants attempting to make it to their preferred destination. Every year, many African illegal immigrants die trying to get into Europe by boat from North Africa. Smugglers make empty promises of “safe passage” to Europe but only a few survive that journey.

Sexual Exploitation:

An unfortunate trend with illegal immigration is the sexual exploitation of illegal immigrants otherwise known as sex trafficking. Sex trafficking encompasses the range of activities involved when a trafficker deploys a variety of methods such as force or coercion to compel another person to engage in a commercial sex act.[12]In 2016, it is estimated that nearly four million adults and one million minors were forced into sexual labor.[13]This number would have doubled since then due to higher levels of unemployment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Conclusion

Illegal immigration is a global issue that affects many countries across the globe. The recent economic downturn has led to the rise of right-wing populist parties across Europe. Many countries are tightening their borders making illegal immigration very difficult. Despite this, illegal immigration continues to increase due to high unemployment figures in the global south, wars (such as the civil war in South Sudan and the Russian-Ukrainian war) and globalization. These figures will continue to rise until the economic disparity between the developed north and the poor south is closed.

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