Europe's new law fuels immigration debate

WASHINGTON — The European Parliament's decision to pass a new law allowing member countries to imprison undocumented aliens for up to 18 months and deport children has reignited the debate over immigration, one of the most sensitive issues of our time.

The European arguments against immigration are similar to the ones that have been voiced in the United States, Canada and Australia, or, for that matter, in poorer countries that attract citizens from even poorer nations, such as Argentina, where many Bolivians live, and the Dominican Republic, which has a sizable Haitian population. European legislators and large numbers of Europe's citizens believe that immigrants are taking jobs away from native citizens, endangering cultural values and undermining the welfare state.

Almost any society faced with a sudden influx of outsiders would feel understandably threatened. But the evidence flies in the face of all three of these fears.

La Caixa, a well-respected Spanish financial institution, measured the impact of immigration on Europe's economy between 1995 and 2005. The result was staggering. For instance, the study found that immigration contributed on average 4.5 percent to the annual growth of Ireland's economy and 3.8 percent to that of Spain. Had immigration not been a factor, Spain's economy would have grown by just over 1 percent a year during that decade.

If we compare employment figures relating to the early 1990s, when there were fewer immigrants, with those of the new millennium, when most of Europe's 8 million illegal aliens settled on the continent, it is obvious that immigrants don't steal jobs. By expanding the economy with an additional supply of labor, immigration ultimately generates an even greater demand for workers. Which is exactly why Spain has a much lower unemployment today — 8.5 percent — than in the early '90s, when the rate was in double digits.

What about the cultural argument? Some immigrants bring in customs that make many natives cringe. Extreme cases involve mutilating a woman's genitals or forcing a marriage between two children. More generally, some immigrants are not accustomed to the rule of law. Most people adapt themselves to new rules and customs because culture is ever changing. In any event, the threat to the host nation, in cases like the ones just mentioned, could only come from the inability of the authorities to enforce the law.