Immigration Law of the United States vs. France Essay

Immigration Law of the United States vs. France - Essay Example Many countries in Europe, as well as, Canada have similar concerns. France, in particular, is presently reforming and altering how they handle immigration concerns; their reasoning however is rather different for several reasons. Between these two countries, the United States and France, both, struggle to find balances socially, ethically, economically, and politically to resolve these immigration issues experienced in their countries respectively. Background In order to understand the immigration concerns of each country it is important to explore the immigration history of the two countries, which contributes to immigration situations that exist today. The United States is a country that was founded on immigration. For this reason, there were no laws relating to immigration at all. It wasn’t until a century after the country was founded that the first immigration legislation appeared; however, these policies were specifically biased, it focused to deter the immigration of pr ostitutes, criminals, and peoples of Asian descent.(Ewing, 2012) A quota system was implemented, in 1921, it too was biased in favor of Western Europeans. There were no restrictions or quotas on people of Latin or Hispanic descent until 1965. This was the first year that the quota was applied to Latin and Hispanic immigrants; it was, also, the last year that the quota system was put into practice. ... In 2005 the â€Å"Secure Fence Act† added stronger restrictions on border passage, longer fences, and the insistence of identification documents that are not easily forged or tampered with, all in hopes of deterring illegal immigration into the United States.(Ewing, 2012) Even more recently, are the stringent laws being enforced in the state of Arizona. Where it is now acceptable legal practice to question â€Å"potential† immigrants, who may have an undocumented status; the citizens in Arizona are required to carry the paperwork that verifies their right to be the United States at all times. France’s history with immigration is a little different than the United States. At one time France was the only country in Europe that encouraged permanent immigration to their country. However, by the 1970s, France’s need for migrant labor faltered with the first â€Å"gas shock.† The French political administration discontinued the renewal of visas and began actively working to deter possible immigrants coming from outside their borders. Ironically, with France’s floundering economy France became less attractive to migrant workers, when there is knowingly few jobs to be found.(Guiraudon, 2002) Unlike America, France has no social or professional businesses or organizations that lobby heavily in favor of immigration and the value of diversity on the workforce. France has, almost, taken n a â€Å"xenophobic† mentality, which simply means, that they prefer as few outsiders as possible. France has a large population of Muslim immigrants. They recently passed laws banning the building of minarets on their mosques and the wearing of burkas, or headscarves, in public places.(Remmers, 2010) France, unlike the United States, favors conformity over diversity.