Week 3 Reading Thoughts


  • It's interesting how countries with a history of colonialism have historically been more welcoming to refugees, though clearly this is not always the case as time progresses.  Are there other countries that have been historically welcoming to refugees which were not colonial powers (US, England) or have colonial history (US, Australia, Canada)
  • The realities of discriminatory immigration policy seem so obvious; people are going to migrate either way and either you offer them a path to citizenship or you marginalize them and force them to isolate themselves from the rest of the country's society, to the determent of everyone.  Even from a purely fiscal view, you clearly end up with illegal immigrants working for cash, not income paying taxes, and a much higher risk for them to be exploited for their labor either through wages under the minimum, or unsafe conditions.  As popular as limiting immigration can be in some places, it's sad that politicians choose these policies over ones that would, in the long run, likely benefit everyone.
  • I had no idea about the burst of racist violence directly after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  The more I read the more I realize I don't actually know much about this period in Europe's history.  Definitely something I want to read more about, both in general and in relation to our class.

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