In my opinion and experience, the only people who talk about the backlash of a wave of immigrants are the politicians who like any issue that can be considered as dangerous. Where there is danger, a clever president or prime minister can pretend that he’ll defend the country and the people against it.
In these days of globalization, who is an immigrant anyway? In Europe, you can practically live and work in almost any country on the continent (more or less). And in the U.S., why isn’t a Texan considered an immigrant when he goes to work in New York City? Or is this still a phenomenon related to a different color of skin, language, church or set of traditions? In this case, why isn’t an African-American Texan considered an immigrant when he goes to work in NYC?
The target countries of migration waves have historically become richer, thanks to the new and eager work power that arrived from elsewhere. Sometimes it takes a longer period of time to achieve the positive gains; within a shorter time you may only see the disagreeable aspects of the presence of newcomers. But the society should try not to be nearsighted. A politician is mainly interested in what happens during the few years that he is in office. We, inquiring minds, should have a longer view. Almost every outstanding “American” scientist was an immigrant, from Einstein to Leo Szilard or Ede Teller (the latter two were in fact Hungarian in origin). The situation is similar in many other fields as well, including arts, film and theater.
But even if you forget the artists and intellectuals, the people who serve you every day are quite often immigrants. Your babysitter, cleaning lady and receptionist also belong to this category. If, one rainy day, all of them should leave the U.S. due to a hypothetical new law, the whole country would practically shut down.
All in all, yes, lower fences. Actually, no fences at all would be the best solution. Every time a country decides to let in everyone, the flood is much smaller than anyone expected. It is worth it to try. Take down the fences for one month and see what happens. Of course, I know that this is not the best time for such an experiment because of the threat of terrorism. Perhaps it is a hypothetical example for now, until the politicians who like so much to act as our defenders have won the fight against terrorism. But the need for practical open borders remains.
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