Essay Sample on Global Trends of Migrant Workers

Internationally, there has been no statistical meaning of labor migration. However, the migrant workers who are the key actors in labor migration are termed by the International Labor Organization as the worldwide migrants who are employed or still seeking for employment in the current countries where they reside. First, the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) also has its definition of a migrant worker. It terms them as foreigners who are admitted by the host state to practice an economic activity paid by the receiving country. Their period of stay is restricted basing on the mode of employment which they hold. Perhaps, this essay seeks to discuss the global trends of migrants, the risks, security threats as well as the socio-economic opportunities of immigrants. According to International Labor Organization (ILO), there were 15.3 million estimated migrant workers worldwide, 11.5 million being domestic migrant workers in 2013 as stated by Cohen (2016). In amidst of all the migrant workers, 66.6 million are of the female sex, and the males are 88.7 million. Nonetheless, one in eight migrant workers are people between the ages of 15 and 24 years.

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The International Organization for Migration (IOM's) worldwide migration trends booklet presents a photograph of the main migration movements internationally for 2015 according to data from several sources. Basing on the state of migration worldwide in the year 2015, below are facts about the worldwide migration trend:

In 2015, the figure of migrants internationally and people living in a foreign was the highest with 244 million the value increased from 232million in 2013. Worldwide migration has become equally constant for decades at around 3%. The female migrants add up to 48%of the intercontinental migrants in the whole world and Asia, 42% of the immigrants are women, same as Asia, women, immigrants are the majority in Europe with 52.4% and 51.2%in North America.

South-South migration movements through developing countries grew compared to South-North migration movement from the developing to the developed countries in 2015. According to Geddes and Scholten (2016), 90.2 million worldwide migrants who are born in developing countries live in other countries in the south while 85.3 million of the people born in the south live in countries in the global north.

Germany turn out to be the second most known endpoint for intercontinental migrants worldwide, the United States turned out to be the most popular of all the countries ,Germany preceded the Russian Federation with a rough estimate of 12 million foreign-born living in the country in 2015 compared to 46.6 million in the United States and 11.9 million in the Russian Federation . As part of the host country, the population of the worldwide migrants continued to grow in Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The people of the foreign-born was 88.4%of the total population in the United Arab Emirates, 75.7% in Qatar and 73.6% in Kuwait.

Most of the migrants worldwide reside in the top 20 major cities this according to IOM`s global migration report 2015. Globally, migrants are over a third of the entire population in cities like Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, and London, Frankfurt and Paris in foreign-born.

Migrants who are of working age add up to 4.2 percent of the population worldwide and the number is still growing; the UN report shows how developing countries are rampantly providing labor to the developed ones. According to the UN report, the total number of international migrants is 277 million, and the number of migrants is 234 million of 15 years and above working age and 164 million migrant workers globally.

Challenges and opportunities for migrant EU workers

Language barriers are the most common challenge in the socioeconomic involvement of migrant EU workers and for their accessibility to the labor market. Another widespread problem is the accessibility to affordable housing, other challenges are common in some of the cities, for instance, exploitation and also poor working conditions, workers are also hired at a low qualification level. Getting facts on social and health facilities is said to be the major challenge in Frankfurt and Rotterdam.

Reports have shown that the local workers do benefit from EU migration in that there will be competition in business and thus growth in the economy, migrants also buy the local goods and services, therefore, creating a fresh market of products for the migrants that provides chances for business and even new jobs.

The tension that exists within the local people is available in all reports. It seems to be related to issues of spatial isolation of groups of low income in specific neighborhoods and areas. It sounds familiar in Milan and Rotterdam. In Leeds, tensions take place at work, in schools and also on the streets. The pressure on the rental house`s market seems to be a public challenge for local communities. The rental apartments are becoming unaffordable for most residents. Affordable rentals are not in good condition.

According to Kalich, Heinemann, and Ghahari (2016), illegal migration provides relief for several people globally since people are relieved from the problems that they go through. Some decide to be refugees for economic motives and others for political reasons. The illegal migration path is full of dangers that one should consider before he or she breaks the law of their unusual or new home by getting in illegally.

Reasons for Illegal Migration

Although the condoning of illegal immigration is positively discouraged, the reasons one may pursue or end up in such an instance may not be subject to such a cut and dry assessment. Consulting an immigration specialist such as Niren and Associates may better aid one that may have found themselves in such a predicament.

Unlawful immigration can take many forms, such as:

Human smugglers

Some people refer to them as traffickers. Along the border of US and Mexico, they are called coyotes. These coyotes are known for robbing, raping and even killing their charges after getting all the money they needed.

Drug Cartels

Drugs cartels take drugs through the border which people hid. It is not right to go the same way as these criminals. If they realize that an immigrant has known too much, they tend to kill them. Unluckily some immigrants who are illegal have bought their passage carrying prohibited drugs. They always do not survive the meeting with the people who receive them on the other side.

Other Illegal Immigrants

The paths which people use to get into countries do not have a security guard, in these places, other immigrants or the residents within that area may get to learn about the lawlessness. They may see this as an opportunity and cause harm to the immigrants who may lead to death.

The Wilderness

Roaming through the wilderness has dangers if the route goes through the abandoned area, wild animals will be a threat since they pose a threat to human life. Many people who are illegal migrants do not have any skills of surviving in the wilderness. If the predators do not attack them, they are affected by starvation or dehydration.

Security and Measures for Addressing Insecurity

The government takes control of the people entering the UK in various ways for instance by receiving information from airlines, intelligence services or from other sources, and they do this in prior before they arrive. They also request most non-EU countries to acquire a visa before setting off to the new nation.

People arriving at United Kingdom borders are checked using schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which gives officers permission to detain and interrogate travelers at ports and also airports. In 30th September 2013, 5000 people stopped at the UK ports under schedule 7, and 623 people arrested as stated by Erisen and Kentmen (2017). Additionally, the physical checks like checking luggage for explosives and also drugs and the passengers producing their passports, migrants get tested against a warning index which shows whether that person is a threat to the United Kingdom. Managing the index has had a lot of challenges and also contains outdated information.

The human security novel view highlights the independent aspect of social security threats in a refugee situation. It pinpoints that long-term state security depends on safety provided to the refugees. Protection means safeguarding not only physical integrity but also protecting the human dignity of each refugee.

Socio-economic Opportunities

Additionally, immigration is not new; people have been migrating from one place to another since ancient times. Perhaps, the movement of people and commodities give rise to a class of people, the rich and the poor. The slaves were dominated by the rich; therefore resources were distributed inadequately. According to research, immigration is increasing one year after the other; this immigration has led to a trend in the job market where there is increase labor with low income. Many people migrate to new places looking for better living and employment. According to Philbin, Flake, and Hatzenbuehler (2018), immigrants were poor males who in most cases were unskilled. However, these men migrated for economic reason, to get money to send to their families back at home. Females also migrated for better living and good jobs to support their children. Over time, women immigrants outnumbered male immigrants in countries like Australia and the United States.

Immigration results in improvement of standards of living, separation from families as mothers and fathers migrate seeking jobs, the separation can be longer due to distance barrier but immigrants send gifts to their children and families to ensure that they do not forget them.

Economically, immigrants have both positive and negative impact on the country's economy. According to Schierup, Alund, and LikicBrboric (2015), sending countries benefit from the relief of unemployment rate because the unemployed individuals have migrated to other states looking for a better living. They also benefit from the substantial income that is sent by emigrants through remittances. However, sending countries also suffer from the loss of skilled labor and workforce resources.

Receiving countries, on the other hand, benefit from newly skilled human resources and the unskilled workforce that will fill the job opportunities that the young generation in the state does not want, such as housekeeping and cleaners. Unfortunately, many of the skilled immigrants receive low pay from their employers because they take advantage of the illegal worker in the state. Furthermore, they earn low income with poor working conditions and work for more extended hours. Without the illegal workers, many businesses will have failed; hence the employers need to treat them like the legal workers who receive better income with good working conditions. Paradoxically, high demand for skilled workers in various companies will results in high wage demand from illegal workers because all the companies are now competing for their skilled human resources. Skilled workforce increases the countries GDP and production hence improving the economy.

In conclusion, immigrant workers will continue increasing because people are looking for greener pastures with better pay and healthful working conditions. From the above, the countries with an increasing number of immigrants in the United States of America, Europe, and Australia, this will, in turn, increase their economy as well as the country's GDP. However, due to the skills required from the immigrants, companies should provide bilingual teachers and translators to assist in curbing the problem of a language barrier in the workplace.