Bifurcated immigration and the end of compassion

Abstract

Impressions to the contrary, the United States continue to be a country of immigration. I review recent statistics showing the size of the present migrant flow and its progressive bifurcation between a high human capital flow coming primarily from Asia and a manual labour flow originating mainly in Latin America. There are parallel splits between permanent migration and temporary labour flows, the latter becoming increasingly the preferred form of sourcing labour needs at both ends of the labour market. Combined the shift from permanent to temporary labour contract migration, the persecution of the unauthorized, and the closure of the country’s doors to asylum seekers have ushered a new era in American immigration policy marked by the end of compassion and the consequent loss of the country’s unique moral stature in the world. I sketch the evolution of international labour migration since the onset of the world capitalist system ushering the present situation in the United States.