Full Description
Immigration divides our globalizing world like no other issue. We are swamped by illegal immigrants and infiltrated by terrorists, our jobs stolen, our welfare system abused, our way of life destroyed--or so we are told. At a time when National Guard units are deployed alongside vigilante Minutemen on the U.S.-Mexico border, where the death toll in the past decade now exceeds 9/11's, Philippe Legrain has written the first book about immigration that looks beyond the headlines. Why are ever-rising numbers of people from poor countries arriving in the United States, Europe, and Australia? Can we keep them out? Should we even be trying? Combining compelling firsthand reporting from around the world, incisive socioeconomic analysis, and a broad understanding of what's at stake politically and culturally, Immigrants is a passionate but lucid book. In our open world, more people will inevitably move across borders, Legrain says--and we should generally welcome them. They do the jobs we can't or won't do--and their diversity enriches us all.
Left and Right, free marketeers and campaigners for global justice, enlightened patriots--all should rally behind the cause of freer migration, because They need Us and We need Them.
Contents
PREFACE ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xv Introduction: MIGRATION ISN'T JUST FOR THE BIRDS 1 It's time for fresh thinking about immigration Chapter 1: WAR ON OUR BORDERS 23 The hidden costs of immigration controls Chapter 2: BORDER CROSSING 44 How migrants got to where they are now Chapter 3: WHY WE NEED THE HUDDLED MASSES 61 The case for low-skilled migration Chapter 4: THE GLOBAL TALENT CONTEST 89 The pros and cons of high-skilled migration Chapter 5: COSMOPOLITAN AND RICH 117 The economic benefits of diversity Chapter 6: STEALING OUR JOBS? 133 Do immigrants displace local workers? Chapter 7: SNOUTS IN OUR TROUGH? 144 Are immigrants a burden on the welfare state? Chapter 8: OUR HEROES' 161 How migration helps poor countries Chapter 9: BRAIN DRAIN OR BRAIN GAIN? 179 The costs and benefits of skilled emigration Chapter 10: IT NEEDN'T BE FOREVER 198 The case for temporary migration Chapter 11: ALIEN NATION? 207 Does immigration threaten national identity? Chapter 12: HUNTINGTON AND HISPANICS 226 Is Latino immigration splitting America in two? Chapter 13: STRANGER, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME? 245 Does immigration threaten social solidarity? Chapter 14: LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER 258 How to integrate immigrants into society Chapter 15: ILLIBERAL ISLAM? 289 Do Muslim immigrants threaten our security and our way of life? Chapter 16: OPEN BORDERS 318 Let them in NOTES 334 INDEX 360
