The World Apartheid System

Many UK-born citizens believe that the freedom to travel is their birthright so why are poor people from other countries barred from doing so? Why should the accident of birth determine who can travel and who cannot? Why should people whose contributions enrich the rest of the populace be barred from participating fully in their communities?

A global apartheid restricts people born in the poorest nations from traveling to wealthier nations. It is not alright for a public park, a town, or  a county to discriminate regarding who is allowed to enter. But it’s okay for a country to do that. It’s not alright to treat people differently based on their religion, race, gender, or many other characteristics. But it’s okay to treat people differently based on where they were born or their nationality. Immigration laws do just that: discriminate, on the basis of nationality. Passports and visas are just that ...pass laws.

  Organized crime, people trafficking, and violent and unnecessary death  is the result of misguided policies attempting to impose control. Attempts to seal borders only reinforce the very inequalities that contribute to migration. People without legal immigration status are barred from performing work. Since undocumented people nevertheless work, the legal impairment surrounding their labour renders them vulnerable and exploitable. They therefore take on the lowest and least desirable jobs, and their labour provides handsome profits for various industries such as agriculture, construction, and domestic service.