David Yin

Immigration and Integration

Germany has been a prime destination for the past few months for refugees
because of their open-door policy that started early September, in addition
to being Europes biggest and most affluent economy. The country has
taken on thousands of refugees from Hungary, who could not handle the
overwhelming volume of asylum-seekers.1 Those beleaguered travelers
received a very warm welcome in Munich, the main point of entry for those
fleeing the Syrian crisis.2 However, most European countries were not
amused at this move, claiming that it placed undue pressure on other EU
countries to follow suit. However, this move was not purely altruistic.3
Germanys declining birth rate has created the need to resupply the aging
work force.4 Looking at a population pyramid of Germany, it becomes clear
that in the next couple decades, it will be difficult for the future labor force to
supply enough taxes to support the much larger population of retired
Germans. An influx of refugees would help smooth out the disparity in the
age demographic. Those arriving would be working age, as well as bringing
younger teens and children to boost the future labor force.
One aspect of the German integration measures that would help immensely
in the long-run is the spread-out placement of refugees across the nation. 5
That allows the burden to be spread out amongst the states and cities,
preventing certain areas from being too densely populated only by refugees.
1 Austria agreed to allow the refugees to pass through to Germany; this is called the
Schengen agreement, and temporarily disregards the Dublin rules (Austria and
Germany Open Borders to Migrants Offloaded by Hungary)
2 Volunteers and concerned citizens handed out food and water (Austria and
Germany Open Borders to Migrants Offloaded by Hungary)
3 Spokesperson for the German government claim the open borders were made so
for humanitarian reasons (Austria and Germany Open Borders to Migrants Offloaded
by Hungary)
4 In addition to the strong financial ability to accept so many refugees, Germany
also benefits from accepting working-age refugees (Why Germany Is Taking in so
Many Refugees - the Benefits and Risks)
5 Germanys decentralized approach to refugee location (Why Germany Is Taking in
so Many Refugees - the Benefits and Risks)

David Yin

This also makes integration to German society easier and allows for a more
smooth transition from dependent refugee to productive citizen.
Some obstacles to the successful integration include the financial
constraints, as well as political opposition from other EU countries and other
German political parties. 6 Merkels party, the Christian Democratic Union, is
under pressure from their sister party, the Christian Social Union. The CSU is
based in Bavaria, where most of the refugees are making first entry into
Germany. While they were just barely able to handle the huge amounts of
asylum-seekers arriving in Munich in the week following Merkels open-door
policy, the leaders of the CSU are largely against the move. The border
between Germany and Austria reintroduced controls only a week after the
announcement, which only further fueled Merkels critics. 7 This must mean
that the extent of consequences of the open-door policy was
underestimated. The financial resources, as well as the publics acceptance
of so many refugees must be pushed to the limit.
Immigrants make up a large percentage of the American population.
Throughout the last 200 plus years, the United States has been a haven for
those seeking to flee war, poverty, and dictatorship. Immigrants still arrive
every day, hoping to find a better life in the USA and live the American
dream. A larger portion of these immigrants come from developing countries
in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
The immigration process in America has been relatively relaxed in the recent
decades as compared to other developed nations. However, there has not
been any refugee crisis close enough that would lead foreigners seeking
asylum to make the USA their first choice. The most recent large influx of
refugees would be the Mariel boatlift during 1980. Fidel Castro allowed
Cubans to leave the country, and over 125,000 Cubans arrived in Florida
from the Port of Mariel, Cuba in the 7 months of the exodus. 8 The National
Guard and the White House responded very quickly to ensure the safe
6 Opposition from CDUs sister party in Bavaria (Merkel Backtracks on Open
Borders)
7 The quick reversal of the open-door policy signifies that the wave of refugees was
more than Germany could handle in such a short amount of time (Merkel Backtracks
on Open Borders)
8 A brief summary of the Cuban refugee crisis in the 1980s (Mariel Boatlift)

David Yin

passage of almost all those who made the journey. The USA has the
resources and land to allow such a large number of refugees in such a short
amount of time. An endeavor similar to this would not be possible in the
current situation, with the differing opinions of all the different EU nations
and their border treaties.
Some measures that I think could help Germany integrate the Syrian
refugees include education alongside an introduction into the work force. By
helping the refugees learn the language as soon as possible, they get that
much closer to self-sufficiency rather than having to depend on government
funds to get by. I think a government-funded, accelerated German language
course for working age refugees would help immensely. They could be
immediately placed in temporary jobs befitting of their level of skilled labor,
under supervision of those who speak the same language. Of course, this is a
very intensive effort and might not be able to be implemented nationwide by
the national government. This would have to be a state or city initiative, so
the program can be managed at a closer level. In addition, I would
recommend a separate education system for the first couple years for the
refugee children to fully learn German as well as learn all the material that
their German-speaking peers are covering, but in their native Arabic. This
would ensure that they do not automatically get placed in the lower levels of
the German education system just because they cannot understand
everything they are studying.
As for integration and inclusion in America, I dont think there is much to
improve on. There are already established communities of almost every
nationality or ethnicity you can think of, which would provide an initial lifeline to those new immigrants. The USA isnt located near enough to Syria to
be a choice for most refugees, so immigration would occur at normal levels
for the foreseeable future. The existing infrastructure and government aid
programs are stable enough to continue supporting new immigrants,
whereas the situation in Germany is incomparable given the sheer number of
immigrants/refugees.

David Yin

Works Cited
1) Preisinger, Irene, and Krisztina Than. "Austria And Germany Open
Borders To Migrants Offloaded By Hungary." Huffington Post. Huffington
Post, 05 Sept. 2015. Web. 09 Nov. 2015.
2) Clibbon, Jennifer. "Why Germany Is Taking in so Many Refugees - the
Benefits and Risks." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 14 Sept. 2015. Web.
09 Nov. 2015.
3) Karnitschnig, Matthew. "Merkel Backtracks on Open Borders." Politico.
Politico SPRL, 13 Sept. 2015. Web. 09 Nov. 2015.
4) "Mariel Boatlift." Global Security. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2015. <http%3A%2F
%2Fwww.globalsecurity.org%2Fmilitary%2Fops%2Fmariel-boatlift.htm>.