Should Immigration Laws Be More Restrictive?

In any public place nowadays we can see people of different races everywhere mostly begging or asking us to buy things we usually do not want. Should immigration laws be more restrictive? Many people say this phenomenon is irreversible and that our future is that of a multiracial, multiethnic society regardless of whether laws are changed or not. However, it is clear that we must regulate immigration in some way and try to control it before it controls us.

The first reason why we should restrict immigration is that it is very often a cause of poverty: many immigrants leave their countries, their homes and sometimes their families to reach Italy, which they see as a promised land, but as soon as they arrive in our country they realise that the situation here is completely different from what they thought. Many immigrants can’t find a regular job or even obtain a residence permit, so they often become poorer than they used to be when they lived in their countries.

The main consequence of poverty is obviously crime, which is another good reason why immigration should be restricted. Poor immigrants must find ways to survive, so they often break the law and become criminals in order to get some money or find something to eat. However, crime is not just stealing but also working without a regular permission, and that is exactly what most of the immigrants do once they manage to reach Italy. Moreover, illegal workers are not protected by the law, so the government has no means to protect them from exploitation.

The third reason why immigration laws should be more restrictive is the economical damage that an excessive emigration may cause to developing countries. Emigration, in fact, means a huge loss of workers , and it constitutes a considerable obstacle to economical and social development: it reduces the working force of developing countries, but on the other hand it doesn’t strengthen the economy of the industrialised countries because the immigrants often fail to integrate themselves in a new society.

Obviously these problems cannot be solved by just limiting the number of immigrants allowed to live in Italy. It is clear that immigration must be regulated more restrictively, but the criteria applied to that restriction should be based not only on quantity but also on quality: for example, examining an immigrant’s social background and legal status before allowing him to live in Italy could be very useful and could also reduce the risk of crime. On the other hand, the government must make sure that the rights of the immigrants are respected, in order to improve not only their lives but also the economy of the whole country.

Word count: 458

Word Count: 458