When Societies Collide: An Immigration Model for the 21st Century

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This practice focused paper explores the phenomenon of immigration as one of the most critical issues facing societies today, yet coherent and comprehensive information regarding immigration is often difficult to obtain. Currently, information regarding immigration primarily comes from three sources: the news media which provides personal testimonials and descriptions of current events, government or non-profit agencies such as the Census Bureau, the Pew Research Center, and the European Commission which collect statistical information, and a limited number of scholarly journals which explore issues of migration and demography. Yet an over reliance on any one of these sources can create a skewed view of immigration. This paper integrates information from all three of these sources, and in doing so contends there are four key stakeholders in the immigration debate. The key stakeholders are: entrenched populations, private enterprise, undocumented immigrants, and immigrant citizens. An imbalance in the participation rate of any of these four groups can and does result in a series of immigration missteps and ethical dilemmas. Specific ethical dilemmas identified in this article include: income taxation of illegal immigrants; military service as a means to citizenship; repatriation of immigrants to high risk environments; and immigrant profiling for purposes of risk management. The paper concludes with a suggested immigration model for the 21st century which synthesizes information from the three data sources indicated, and represents the four key stakeholders identified. It is hoped that the suggested model results in a more comprehensive understanding of immigration and more just immigration practices.

Stream: Politics, Public Policy and Law

Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

Dr. Strait began her career in the United States Navy where she served as an air traffic controller for four years. Upon finishing her tour with the navy, she held various positions in airport management. After completing her Ph.D., she served as a visiting professor of public management at Virginia Tech, and as a faculty member at Old Dominion University. Dr. Strait has published and written articles in both English and Spanish involving topics such as labor economics, immigration, and employee ethics. She has also been a speaker at several international conferences including: London, Quebec, Brussels, Vancouver, Valencia, Spain, Berne, Switzerland, and Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Strait currently serves as a full time faculty member and program director of Human Resources and Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond.