Immigration is a burning issue in the 21st century, especially in Europe. Germany and the United States have been a frequent sight on newspaper headlines in terms of their immigration policies. Germany is known for encouraging countries to accept immigrants and refugees, while the US Administration exercises caution and negligence to immigrants’ application to cross the borders. Germany and the United States contrast each other in resolving the public issue of immigration.
In both countries, immigration policy implementation challenges are rooted in the national attitude to immigrants and asylum seekers. One of the reasons for Donald Trump winning the presidential elections lay in the public fear of foreign nationalities (Martinez-Brawley & Zorita, 2018). In contrast, German officials expressed a welcoming attitude to immigrants, which manifested in its acceptance of Middle East refugees (Ostrand, 2015). Therefore, the leadership’s sentiment is the difference in implementing policies.
The immigration policies of Germany and the United States cater to specific key stakeholders. Germany intends to solve its unemployment issues by integrating immigrants who will compensate for the lack of workforce (Deutsche Welle, 2019). This makes German employers the target audience of the government’s actions. In the United States, the Administration favors the middle-class working population, which views immigrants and ethnic minorities as a threat to their well-being (Fukuyama, 2018). As a result, the US wants to prevent immigrants from rising to power.
Policy dynamics vary between Germany and the United States as each country pursues different objectives. According to the statistics on immigrant arrival, Germany has accepted over a million asylum seekers since 2015 (BBC News, 2018). The intake of immigrants continues; therefore, Germany does not intend to change its policy. In contrast, the United States has shown a reserved attitude toward accepting refugees, even before Trump. Thus, it is likely that even if Trump does not get reelected, the US will retain its course of minimal immigrant entries.
In both countries, key planning issues are related to either allocating immigrants or restricting their inflow. Germany needs time to process asylum applications, while refugees have to be kept in special centers for asylum seekers (BBC News, 2018). As such, planning pertains to finding appropriate placements for such centers and managing the immigrants’ necessities. The United States planning is similar in that it also looks for ways to control the refugee flow. The difference is that Washington intends to curb border crossings, whether it is legal or not.
As with other public areas, current events in immigration are complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Germany’s policy of integrating immigrants into the labor force backfires in the form of rising coronavirus cases (Deutsche Welle, 2020). Most of the industries where immigrants work are affected by the economic consequences of the pandemic. A similar problem persists in the United States, where the quarantine measures caused a substantial drop in foreigners’ arrival (Bier, 2020). As long as COVID-19 remains a priority public health issue, immigration policy in the US is not likely to change.
Altogether, the striking contrast in immigration policies between the United States and Germany is evident. Germany views immigrants as a solution to its unemployment issues, while the Americans perceive ethnic foreigners as a threat to stability. Subsequently, Germany welcomed immigrants, while the US was much less enthusiastic about refugees, even before Trump. Overall, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated immigration decision-making in all areas in both countries, including immigration.
References
BBC News (2018). Immigration rows: US and Germany compared.
Bier, D. J. (2020). Immigration to the U.S. dropped an insane 92%. The National Interest.
Deutsche Welle (2019). Study: Germany needs 260,000 immigrants a year to meet labor demand.
Deutsche Welle (2020). Germany: Coronavirus an extra burden for immigrants.
Fukuyama, F. (2018). Identity: Contemporary identity politics and the struggle for recognition. Profile Books.
Martinez-Brawley, E. E., & Zorita, P. M. B. (2018). Will we build a wall: Fear of Mexican/Latino immigration in US history. The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 45(2), 157-177.
Ostrand, N. (2015). The Syrian refugee crisis: A comparison of responses by Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 3(3), 255-279.