4.4.5.3  The Impact of Immigration on Society

(This is a current extract from the Patterns of Power Repository; it has been updated since Edition 2.  An archived copy of this page is held at http://www.patternsofpower.org/version02a/4453.htm)

People have moral and social concerns about immigrants: they have different values and they change the character of the areas they live in – yet unfamiliarity cannot be a valid justification for hostility towards another person.  There are reasons why they should be tolerated:

·      Provided that immigrants speak the language, behave acceptably and obey the law, they aren't a real threat to their neighbours. 

·      The economic impact of immigration can be perceived as a threat, and local problems can occur, but it results in economic growth – or is a consequence of it – if the immigrants find jobs, as has broadly been the case in Britain and America (3.4.3.3). 

·      All religions and common decency enjoin tolerance towards others; people have only to ask themselves how they would act in the same situation as the immigrants and how they would like to be treated. 

Undeniably, though, people are disturbed by changes in their neighbourhoods and are suspicious of people who might behave differently; some might see immigration as a threat to their existing culture, as a form of dilution or unwanted change.[1]   They don’t need to lose their existing culture, though, just because they see other cultures in their midst.

Immigrants need housing and public services, but politicians ought to be able to ensure that these are provided (6.7.4.1).  Immigrants can be peacefully absorbed into society if these practical problems are resolved, and if hostility isn’t actively stirred up as described above (4.4.5.2).

It is in immigrants’ own interests to try to integrate with the host society and avoid conflict, though the host society also has to play its part in fostering inclusivity (4.4.7).  It is understandable that people want to live near others from the same cultural community, but frictions will emerge if they form separatist enclaves that are divergent from the wider society; these ultimately become a political problem (6.6.3.4).

Minorities are entitled to freedom of belief.  Immigrants should not be required to change their religion, but they may need to change some practices in order to comply with the host society’s laws, human rights and conceptions of socially-acceptable behaviour (4.4.2).  What may have been acceptable in their countries of origin might not be acceptable in the societies they have arrived in.  As described earlier, there are ways for people to resolve such problems and avoid giving offence (4.4.4).

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