3071-The political economy of new slavery

50 Migration and Security
procedures accompanying asylum claims and the removal of undesired
aliens could be put to better use – for instance in improved protection
of displaced people in their region of origin and/or economic development.
Moreover, the need for migrants to rely on the services of human
smugglers would be virtually eliminated, which also means less money
flowing into the smugglers’ pockets that subsequently would either be
invested in increasing the volume of their smuggling business or in
other illicit activities like drugs or arms trafficking.
Second, a more liberal regime facilitates the natural desire of people
in a globalized world for mobility. In effect, migrants would arrive –
probably in larger numbers than today – but are also more likely to
leave once their movement has served its purpose. One observation
should underline this point’s relevance. In the early 1960s to mid-1970s
when Western European states pursued liberal guest worker policies,
the flows of migrant workers were considerable yet the stock of such
immigrants present at any one time was modest in size. With the
economic downturn of the mid-and late 1970s due to the oil crises,
guest worker policies were terminated. New arrivals other than those
necessarily allowed under international obligations (basically family
reunification and asylum) were no longer welcome. In many instances
this put those immigrants then present in a difficult position: should
they return or stay? Staying would mean an uncertain and unplanned
future in new surroundings. Returning would mean losing one’s right of
abode once and for all. To many this was not a promising prospect,
especially not when their country of origin experienced poor economic
conditions, as was often the case. As a result, many immigrants who
under ‘normal’ conditions – that is, with the prospect of possible
re-immigration – would have gone home after a number of years now
saw themselves forced to stay on and to have their families join them.
In effect, and contrary to what governments had expected, the stocks
of immigrants rapidly increased, even though the economy could not
absorb those additional newcomers. In other words, had these governments
not panicked in the face of economic crisis it might very well
have been that at present the size of the immigrant communities in
Western European countries would have been smaller. In that way,
present-day immigration policies, too, would be less problem-oriented
and many of the severe problems surrounding the integration of those
immigrants and their descendants would be less significant (for a full
discussion of those see Doomernik, 1998b).
Third, more mobility increases the likelihood that remittances –
already a very important source of foreign currency in many developing