By David Blunkett, Special to CNN
Editor’s note: David Blunkett is a British Member of Parliament and former Secretary of State for Home Affairs in the cabinet of Tony Blair. The views expressed are his own.
Like the United States, Britain is, in the words of 17th century English author Jonathan Swift, a “mongrel nation” made up of people drawn from across the globe. Our country is enriched, sometimes infuriated, but always renewed by the flow of those seeking a better life, fleeing persecution or just curious about this island off the coast of Europe that punches above its weight internationally.
And yet, just as in America, immigration is a controversial issue. The British are, on the whole, a suspicious people – warmhearted at an individual level, but worried about change and frequently wedded to the idea that things were better when we did it the old-fashioned way.
To an extent, this is understandable in a country that so values tradition. We have a limited land mass, and the economy and population are skewed toward one region – the southeast. Britain is therefore bound to be more suspicious of incomers than a vast nation literally built by “incomers.”
As a result, understanding the fears of those who do not see themselves as beneficiaries of change – economically, socially, culturally and politically – is a pre-requisite for being able to deal with concerns rationally.
More from GPS: Why America needs immigrants
Yes, many of those concerned about immigration are also sustained by newcomers to Britain who staff homes for the elderly and frail or work as nurses and care staff at our hospitals and community health facilities. And yes, our rapidly ageing population requires an influx of young, energetic and able people to maintain economic activity and growth and provide for the retirement income of the future.
But the fact is that instability, insecurity and rapid change can in themselves be destabilizing. And while it is easy for globetrotters who routinely experience cultural and linguistic differences firsthand to open their minds to the facts and their hearts to those from different backgrounds, this is more difficult for those whose daily grind is colored by the fear of job loss, the uncertainty of housing or the belief that their hard earned cash is going to support someone else’s lifestyle.
A decade ago, when I was home secretary, the U.K. Treasury highlighted the beneficial impact immigration had on the economy and on the sustainability of public services, as well as the positive contribution it made to public services (in contrast to the commonly held view that immigration is a drain on the public services).
With this in mind, it has been interesting to see how some similar discussions have been playing out in the United States. What is interesting for the U.S. is the very large number of “illegals” in the country whose status is uncertain, exploitability and vulnerability considerable, and whose economic and social contribution often go untapped.
More from GPS: GOP must wise up over immigration
Indeed, it is because of this possibility in Britain that as a cabinet member in Tony Blair’s government whose responsibilities included immigration policy, I felt it better that those joining the European Union from central and Eastern Europe should be allowed to work legally, pay taxes and insurance, and “earn” entitlement to public services. This remains a controversial view, but I remain convinced that difficult as it was, this was the right path to take.
Looking at the issue a decade on, I believe it is imperative that proper preparation is made within the communities most affected by immigration, and that programs are introduced for integration that are welcoming of newcomers, but also recognize the fears I mentioned, while promoting the importance of newcomers learning the language, learning the history and the social norms of the host country, and feeling welcomed. As the secretary of state responsible for introducing citizenship tests and ceremonies to the U.K., as well as a requirement for the English language to be learned by new incomers seeking naturalization, I could and should have gone further.
But while Britain may have some lessons for the United States, I am also interested in the way immigration is often promoted in a positive way that has been lacking in for some time in the U.K.
Take this recent article in the New York Times by David Brooks:
“The forlorn pundit doesn’t even have to make the humanitarian case that immigration reform would be a great victory for human dignity. The cold economic case by itself is so strong.
“Increased immigration would boost the U.S. economy. Immigrants are 30 percent more likely to start new businesses than native-born Americans, according to a research summary by Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney of The Hamilton Project. They are more likely to earn patents. A quarter of new high-tech companies with more than $1 million in sales were also founded by the foreign-born.
…Thanks to the labor of low-skill immigrants, the cost of food, homes and child care comes down, living standards rise and more women can afford to work outside the home.”
Such an upbeat case is rarely if ever made in such forceful tones in Britain.
True, we do have a new organization, British Future, that celebrates the valuable historical contribution migrants have made to our country. But their admirable efforts at encouraging a balanced discussion of the issue sadly go pretty well unheard.
Instead, a vehemently and openly declared anti-immigration “think tank” known as Migration Watch gets airtime and acres of space in our newspapers. True, some of their research is genuinely accurate and challenging. But too much media coverage here is speculation and, regrettably, a sense of paranoia permeates too many of the column inches in Britain’s press (in articles often written, ironically, by people who themselves employ immigrants to clean their homes, repair their boilers or tend to their gardens!)
Having been through these policy discussions myself, I wish America luck and hope it can hold a genuine debate about how to regularize the status of those already resident, one that appreciates the very nature of U.S. society.
But I have one last thought from this “Sceptred Isle,” as Winston Churchill once described it. When we regularized the position of those from Eastern Europe in 2004, it turned out that 40 percent of those supposedly “coming into the country” were actually already here. Now there’s something to think about.
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Advice comes freely for a reason, it usually has no value.
Any policy founded upon hatred and racism is headed for failure. The Brits went all around the world to amass wealth for themselves and now they have strict immigration policy? Aging population and low birth rates in developed countries are a cause to allow immigrants of working age in particular. America has benefited greatly in this arena whether we know it or not.
Brits have a right to speak out against immigration especially if they feel it is adversely affecting their society. Shouting "racism" everytime someone raises these issues is pointless.
The author has been elusive about the subtle way the Brits rein in immigration. What did he mean by "it turned out that 40 percent of those supposedly “coming into the country” were actually already here"? Perhaps not 40 more percent would be coming, but enough to make the anti-EU fanatic Nigel Farage and his UK Independence Party fidget,
Non-white immigration to Britain is white genocide.
Why do hostile globalist elite support Israel as a Jewish ethnostate with Jewish only immigration, but vigorously making white majority Europe and America a hellhole with mass 3rd world immigration?
One question for gullible whites:
Why do you support hostile Jews like puppies, even when it costs trillions in debt, Jewish stranglehold on our banks, media, espionage, and maims millions of white soldiers' in useless wars?
While East Asia is 99% yellow, Africa is 99% Black, white people are being annihilated.
What I have learned is that we have a pres who will do what 90% of Americans do not want for votes. He will continue to destroy this country.
lol! So only 10% of Americans want what Obama will do? More than 10% voted for him!
But his predecessor was better?? Dubya was white and that makes what he did, or did not do, all right??
@Obam
it's about time you stopped blaming jews for the ills of the world or for the things that have gone wrong in your life. We no more have a stranglehold on banks or media than anyone else. Get an education, get a job, and do something with your life and STOP BLAMING US FOR THINGS THAT HAVE GONE WRONG IN YOUR LIFE.
And yet the british are partial allowing immigrants from eastern europe but not from asia. Asian highly skilled immigrants lost their jobs when UK decided to employ eastern europeans instead. Keep your advice to yourself.
The Eastern European countries in question are in the EC. Asian countries obviously are not. Besides, there are lots of immigrants from Asia in the UK.
You're wrong. It's the opposite. UK welcomes people from some Asian countries and doesn't want emigrants from Eastern Europe.
well, it's opposite actually. we, londoners, love poles and are afraid of mandarin money. poland is an example of a great succes, poles are great, easy to accommodate, hard working, smart people. that's the immigration you wanna have
Are you SERIOUS? I'm a total libertarian when it comes to immigration reform but if there is one country in the world we shouldn't take advice from on immigration is the UK. They fail to ensure proper integration/assimilation resulting in actual ghettos with large communities of immigrants that never integrate into society. Let Americans figure this one out and take care of all your immigration problems. I think in fact, it is the UK that can learn a thing or two from the Americans (and Canadians and Australians) on this subject.
No use taking advice from the Australians or Canadians anymore because they are now faced with the same problems. Australia has immigration policies which on the surface appear ok but on a local level are terrible. Mass immigration from Asian and Middle Eastern countries has resulted in the same issues faced by the UK and the US. The Australian people have virtually no say in relation to this matter and immigration (legal and illegal) is becoming a very contentious issue.
No use taking advice from the Australians or Canadians anymore because they are now faced with the same problems. Australia has immigration policies which on the surface appear ok but on a local level are terrible. Mass immigration from Asian and Middle Eastern countries has resulted in the same issues faced by the UK and the US. The Australian people have virtually no say in relation to this matter and immigration (legal and illegal) is becoming a very contentious issue. The amount of money spent by the Government to accommodate the incomers and the increasing costs in infrastructure are putting huge pressures of budgets.
The influx of legal or illegal masses into the western societies its due to the potential of increasing or maintaining the wealth of the ruling elites and has no benefit to the average working class citizen who has to pay exorbitant taxes a large percentage going to support the new residents with health, child support, education, housing and in a lot of cases with welfare benefits. In the US the State of California has the higher taxes in the nation, the worst roads, terrible government services for everyone, crowding in the freeways, exotic diseases,crime, gangs and all of this due to uncontrollable influx of legal and illegal immigration. As a US citizen I cannot enter, live and work in most of the countries in the world, but I am being told by these mouthpieces that is OK to give our scarce jobs to someone else, go figure this out.
Let's be clear though. People from the EU to the EU aren't immigrants. They're workers under the Maastrict agreement. People from Pakistan are immigrants.
To be clear you are clearly unclear on what the definition of an immigrant. What would you call someone that moves from one country to another if not an immigrant due to the fact they are immigrating from a different country so therefore have immigrated. Immigration is good for many reasons one being the exchange of ideas. Immigration is the right direction.
The picture is nice too. Perfectly fits the "have your cake and eat it too movement". Yes the country needs immigrants, but the country needs people who want to become American citizens by playing by the rules. Granted, those rules need to be changed so that immigration is a logical and streamlined process that helps employers and potential employees alike. But, we do not need addition hyphenated-Americans who still consider themselves Mexican, but working in America and not paying income taxes.
And, quite honestly, the UK is not a good example. Britons are now the minority in London. Yes, immigration is a good thing, but not at the expense of destroying British culture and creating separate societies within the country. Learn from the Balkans and don't let your country become Balkanized.
Logical, sensible immigration with limits on how many people can enter the country, while also trying to end the unemployment of the native population first is the way to go.
I have lived in UK on student VISA along with my wife and completed PhD in Medical engineering and also applied for patent of my research that was funded by EPSRC and BIB UK. Based on my experience UK have no mechanism that can help them in judging skilled people. Along with my wife who is MD pediatrician by profession were denied VISA after 4 and half year of stay in UK. I think they do not even have any background check mechanism. I think it is UK who should learn from US for immigration policies.
Are you serious! London is like a third world refugee camp, and a hot bed of terrorist supporters. The only lesson the US has to learn from the UK is not to make the same mistakes.
This is just utter bullcr*p. UK is destroying itself by accepting so many foreigners for the sake of "economy" and "cheap labour".
Wyndham Lewis in ' Count Your Dead;They Are Alive" predicted in 1937 what is happening now, snowblade, just as you describe it. He added that ' we will all end up on the dole ".
What absolute BS. This country is a sinking ship, it's only a matter of time.
Welfare Bill is though the roof
Health Service bill is though the roof
Crime is though the roof
Record numbers of unemployed young British people
Towns and cities are becoming ghettoised into "Little Poland" and "Little Pakistan"
I have to disagree with you here. It is a question of assimilation. More than 200k of poles settled in UK after WWII and now second generation successfully integrated into britain and british culture. You can only recognise them by family name. Same will happen with this latest EU 2004 incomers, their kids will be british. They accept british culture and tradition adding their bid to it. They come with intention to work hard and pay taxes. You cant say the same about most of middle eatern or pakistani immigrants. They create ghettos and do not integrate.
I just would like to point out that Jonathan Swift was Irish, not English. He was born in Dublin and lived most of his life there.
"Immigrants are 30% more likely to start a new business than native born Americans"
Well Duhhhhh, They can't do anything but open a restaurant and serve their native cuisine!
But they can do something at least , instead you don't do nothing, you just invent jobs that corrupt more the people
the biggest mistake, which all west societies are doing now, is to accept a lots of immigrants from islamic countries. These people and their heirs can't integrate in to any western, free, democratic society. They come not to make contributions, but to conquer and to force their religion.
I have to agree with you. And I really hate to say this but persons from Islamic countries do not immigrate with the thought of integrating or assimilating with the host country. They benefit economically but despise and critcize western culture. Their religious leaders promote separatist ideology when it comes to socializing with westerners and Islam is incredibly anti-western in its doctrine. I have seen this by the Pakistani community in Manchester and I see elements of it here in the States. I am from Pakistan-and although not Muslim-see this first hand.
Shahzad,
Iam a Pakistani in US for more than 35 years. Do not generalize the whole nation or a religion. Yes, there are pockets of them, but just like Italians, Polish, Indians, Chinese, we not only celebrate our culture but also observe what American traditions are. The people I know and in my family have married whites, blacks, latinos, and asians.
There are new and old immigrants from Pakistan who are Marines, Navy, CIA, FBI, Pentagon, DoD workers with Clearance, Scientist, Engineers, and of-course Doctors, Business man, Foot Ball team owners, Univerisy Students, Jack in the Box Owner, McDonald owners, and list goes on and on and on.
The bottom line is you will find bad apples in every society, and Americans are the best but still there are bad apples in this society too. And I can tell you this much, I would rather live and die here in America than any other place on this planet that my friend also includes Pakistan.
My sister went to US 10 yrs ago. She started work as a chambermaid . She had few colleagues, who were born in US. For these 10 yrs my sister managed to finish an education, to have a kid, to get married, to bye a house and now she's a manager in a big American company. The Americans, who were colleagues of my sister in the first job, are still chambermaids...
The "sceptre'd isle" quote is from Shakespeare, not Churchill. "King Richard II", Act II, scene 1.
UK is considered a good example of immigration policy? That is after recent riots in London? You must be kidding!
You get to read more and more nonsense like this on a daily basis. England is 85% white. Hardly a "mongrel nation". Wonder how many people of "colour"/ "immigrant status" he (The PM) has in his contact list on his iPhone? This issue always gets sugar-coated by hypocrites who believe in utopian societies, but they actually never live in it themselves. Asia hasn't even reached the stage where they allow immigrants. 15 years in China and married and I cannot even get a passport. Ask the Swiss what they think of this issue? The Dutch? The experiment always fails. If you want a better life in another country you first have to "become" a citizen. Learn and embrace the language, culture, social norms, etc. To the English, living in a country 85% white means that every decision made by government, will benefit the majority. Racism is rife in Britian and this issue was brought up last year by another British MP. Australia is the worst. 98% white and most Australians have never even seen a black person in their lives, but they are quick to dish out advice about how racism is bad. Go to Asia and you will learn that nobody actually likes immigration and you will aways just be another "foreigner". You only like it, if immigrants do jobs you wouldn't do yourself or if they are skilled professionals.
Daniel I agree with most of what you are saying here but your comment in relation to most Australians never seeing a black person is ludicrous because some Australians are black.
your statistics are absolutely wrong Daniel, I am a white Australian with possibly a tiny bit of Aboriginal Heritage & my best friend is 1/2 Maori, 1/8 Aboriginal & a bit white, blacks are everywhere ranging from Native Aboriginals & Native Torres strait Islanders but also New Guineans & Africans here are all black, I come across Sudanese & Native Aboriginals most of the time in the City I live, Asians,Indians & Arabs live mostly in the Major Cities like Melbourne & Sydney.
Sorry there is one major mistake in the above article!. Jonathan Swifit was not an "English" author! Never was. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, lived in Dublin and became a mjor figure in the Church of Ireland. Besides his major written works he set up the world famous St Patrick's Hospital in Dublin which today is still a world famous psychiatric hospital. Surprised that CNN thinks Dublin is in "England"". Correction please!
Nice Globalist propaganda for the naive. Facts are different. The world is getting overpopulated putting pressure on natural resourses. The Chinese success is not from immigration but from one child policy that puts less stress on the land. England has been overpopulated for a long time and calling it mongrel is almost offensive . England is mostly White Protestant for your info and you will not see many mongrels as you described, only some mixture of peoples and not from the whole world-you must think of the US ? England produces only enough food for about a few months and has to import the rest-it is overpopulated , overtaxed; a pitiful shadow of its former self due to politicians that sold out to international banksters long ago. The last thing it needs is immigration and Globalism – it is a definite path to extinction. I think Thilo Sarrazin wrote on the subject partaining to Germany, but he is villified by Globalists and his books are not being translated into English. Had people read his books articles like this one may not have even gotten to be printed.
Immigration reform is a job creator
http://astersheen.blogspot.com/2013/01/immigration-reform-is-job-creator.html
To Paul Guckian and Keiran Donaghy. Sorry chaps but Swift was born to English parents so I think we can say at the very minimum that he can be claimed as both English and Irish.
Swift's mother was Irish.
Whose father was more than Likely the Rev. James Ericke the Vicar of Thorton, Leicestershire...again just as much English as Irish.
So by that logic George washington was English not American?
When little baby George was born I'm fairly sure sure that exactly what his parents thought he was.
As another famous Irishman once said. 'Just because your born in a barn it doesn't make one a horse. All I'm saying is that Swift at the very least can be claimed as a son of both nations. In the same way that many of those on the other side of the pond would claim themselves to be Irish-American, Swift by the same terms is Anglo-Irish. All those born to Irish parents living in England don't claim it makes them any less Irish.
Britain is not an immigrant nation. Labour will never be in power again.
Reblogged this on Sharehoods Blog and commented:
A really good article on the fear of immigration in the UK compared to the US by the former UK Secretary of State for Home affairs in Tony Blair's cabinet.
I think you'll find that in the UK ethnic minorities only reside in city suburban areas, it's generally the only place they'll be comfortable and safe. And believe me, country folk are far more intolerant of outsiders. The UK is actually 85-88% white, you only see lots of immigrants in the major cities as I said, EU nationals aren't a problem, it is the immigrants from Asia and Africa that must be checked properly.
Britain is a strange Tower of Babel. Americans don't want that here. Mass Immigration = bankruptcy then collapse of government = Race War
Yes.
"Immigration" isn't this country's problem; it's the invasion of ILLEGAL ALIENS!
There's a big, BIG difference between the two.
You will find few Americans who really have a lot of problems with legal immigration. The real problem in the United States is the massive illegal immigration that has been going on unchecked by our Federal Government that has resulted in over 11 million illegal aliens living in the United States. They have cause huge social and financial problems and are the root cause of low pay and suffering for million of America's poorest. We need to start enforcing our laws and deporting all illegal aliens, but instead the rulers of our country want to reward their criminals behavior with Amnesty.
I dont think Americans have a problem with immigrants who want to come here legally, follow the rules, and become American. But we are not getting that. The current administration is unable to tell the difference between legal and illegal immigration. Therefore, we do not get people who want to be Americans. but people who want to be Mexican, or Latin American, or African, or Middle Eastern but reside in the US, not learn the language, not become educated as to their responsibilities as citizens, and take advantage of free stuff. As we are learning around the Liberal Social world, immigration without assimilation is an expensive recipe for disaster.
LOL @ Britain being a "mongrel" nation. White Brits are descended from Germanic tribes who conquered the island over 1500 years ago. Even the Norman-French invaders were a Germanic people. Likewise, most white people in the US can trace their heritage back to Germanic tribes in one way or another. That's why we like to explore space and wage war. We're Germans.
Ja!
This is the same guy who, once the gates were thrown open, said "we are going to rub the torie's noses in diversity.
Sucks being in the EU when the people don't have a say in what happens to their countries and must yield to un-elected bureacrats who aren't affected by their bad decisions.
The left has told us for years about women's rights and because of it, we don't produce enough children to sustain our culture. Now they want to bring in millions to displace our culture. Contrived ya think?
Ill tell you what I have learned from English, French and German immigration. They have lost total control of their countries. YOU IDIOT. There are now on a clear track to become Muslim countries in THIS GENERATION. Are you a TOTAL FOOL?
How can we possibly take seriously an article about "immigration in the UK and what the US can learn", that is silent on the many "No Go" Zones in the UK where UK Police are afraid to venture in to enforce UK laws? And silent on the gangs roaming the streets at night enforcing sharia law on every passerby? And silent on UK judges making excuses and giving lighter sentences for rapists because their culture taught them that women are worthless? The silence in this article is deafening. Thankfully, we are not buying what you are selling.
I'm for legal immigration. But giving blanket citizenship across the board for future votes is poor policy.
Immigrants are 30 percent more likely to start new businesses than native-born Americans, according to a research summary by Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney of The Hamilton Project. .............As for illeagl aliens, we can use only so many grass cutting businesses.
Countries like Canada and the US need immigrants to come; they need to grow because the birthrate is dropping, NOT increasing. They need immigrants because they need the tax revenue they will eventually create, so those who come legally are very welcome. The ones who come illegally, are not.
Canada's record in immigration has improved a lot since the 30's-40's where you were only welcome if you were Anglo, WASP or white. However we do not appreciate it when we get word of illegal immgrant ships of Sri Lankans or Pakistanis who mysteriously show up at our ports intending to stay. They get sent back!!