The Great U-Turn: Global Migration Flows Reverse for the First Time Since the Great Depression

I guess Lou Dobbs will be foaming at the mouth over these latest developments on immigration during his Monday evening telecast. According to the Wall Street Journal, immigration is on the wane as work dries up in the "rich" countries. With unemployment rising and backlashes against foreign workers mounting, among other things, we have what is potentially the biggest reverse in immigration since the Great Depression. The United States, Dubai and other rich countries are losing their allure of the promise of a better life for immigrants. Reports and data from government ministries and outside organizations suggest that the flow of immigrants from poor to wealthier countries is slowing significantly, with more people returning home.

According to the WSJ, among the returnees: road builders from Bangladesh, domestic servants from the Philippines, factory workers from Indonesia and Vietnam, construction workers from Mexico, as well as bankers, lawyers and real-estate professionals from around the world who were working in Singapore and Dubai. I have seen reports in my own homeland of Jamaica, where some people who have lost their jobs and homes are returning home. I guess it is better to head back to the familiarity of home than stay in a country that doesn't have very much to offer someone down on their luck or those who feel that they will find better opportunities in their own countries.

Emigration from Mexico to the U.S. dropped 13% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, with more Mexicans leaving the U.S. than coming in. Indonesian authorities expect 60,000 or more citizens to be sent home from Malaysia, South Korea and other wealthy neighbors this year, as immigrant workers lose their jobs. Tens of thousands of Indians are washing their hands of Dubai as jobs there dry up and work permits expire. And in the U.K., the number of registered workers coming from new European Union member nations like Poland and the Czech Republic dropped 55% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

A growing number of migrants are returning home to places as diverse as Nepal and Tajikistan, while many are deciding not to emigrate to begin with, says Dilip Ratha, an economist and migration expert at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., citing reports from ministries and embassies. Mr. Ratha calls this reverse migration "very new" and "unprecedented."

Such migratory shifts could have profound consequences for developed nations, especially in places where domestic populations aren't growing fast enough to fill jobs or pay for social needs. High-skill immigrants are an important source of tax revenue in some cities, and their kids fill the classrooms of universities and private schools. In the developing world, remittances sent home by migrant workers are also slowing, meaning less income -- and potentially, less growth. Source: Wall Street Journal

That information is pretty staggering and sobering at the same time. Some attention should be paid to the fact that there are some countries who are offering incentives for immigrants to return to their own countries and many of these countries are making it harder for immigrants to stay due to increases in visa restrictions. For example, Spain and Japan have offered cash incentives for immigrants to go home. Australia recently disclosed that it plans to cut its intake of skilled migrants this year by 14%. Malaysia has frozen work permits for foreign workers in some sectors of the economy and is asking employers to lay off foreigners before they lay off native-born residents.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.