Christian White Paper 6pg

docx

School

Karachi School for Business & Leadership *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

304

Subject

Economics

Date

Nov 24, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by roy01202

EFFECT OF OPEN/CLOSED BORDERS FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 1 Effect of Open/Closed Borders Following the Covid-19 Pandemic Name: Institution: Course: Professor: Date:

EFFECT OF OPEN/CLOSED BORDERS FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 2 Effect of Open/Closed Borders Following the Covid-19 Pandemic Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic stuck the world, it has continuously brought intense attention to the aspects of public health and immigration policies. Prior to the pandemic, President Trump’s administration had placed strict policies and restrictions for immigrants. Then Covid-19 struck and the administration forbid travelers from countries that had reported Covid- 19 cases from entering the United States such as Europe, China and Iran (OECD, 2020). In addition, the nation appealed the authority of the Surgeon General to end refuge at the land borders due to the fear of the foreigners presenting a public health risk. According to Hossain and colleagues (2020), every country including the U.S prioritized protecting its citizens, and this included bringing back citizens who were away from home. Since the outbreak of the pandemic up until now, governments continue to proclaim to their nations that it is their responsibility for the safety of the citizens. This is one of the reasons why many nations closed their borders despite an Advisory by the WHO. This occurrence resulted in many individuals to be abandoned and neglected because many countries where more concerned about their citizens and failed to pay close attention to refugees who sought a safe haven. Open borders refer to phenomena where people can travel in and out of a country without strict restraints. This means that travelers may not present their passports or visa. Nonetheless, this does not mean that immigrants become citizens automatically (Owen, 2020). On the contrary, closed borders mean that people are not allowed to move from border to another and little to no exception is applied. In other cases, some situations require borders to be conditionally open, meaning that only people who meet the legal requirements can get in and out. For example, the president may pass a directive to allow foreigners to get in and out of the U.S, provided they can present credible and reasonable persecutions such as political and racial

EFFECT OF OPEN/CLOSED BORDERS FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 3 fears in their homeland ( Mukumbang, 2020) . For instance, today countries are welcoming Ukrainian refugees due to the ongoing war. As for the United States, our borders continue to be controlled and restrictions apply to immigrants. The Covid-19 virus has infected millions of people across the world and this affected all countries. Today, federal governments continue to operate in radical uncertainty, where they have to trade-off between health, social and economic contemplations. According to statistics, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused intense economic crisis that has not been witnessed since the Second World War (Hossain et al. 2020). The pandemic has weakened demand due to disrupted supply and resulted in tourism and travel decline internationally. OECD (2020) conducted a study that revealed that there was a 4.5% decline in the GDP and the unemployment rate increased by 9.4%. Here in the U.S, Covid-19 has affected immigration. Infact, processing visa here in the country and oversees is gone to almost a standstill (Shachar, 2020). There has been restrictions to entering the country for people seeking refuge, especially through land on the Mexican and Canadian borders. Thousands of people have been detained in immigration camps. This puts them at a higher risk of contracting the virus due to congestion. The pandemic also affected the entry of foreign nationals to the United States under any circumstances. President Trump’s administration issued a proclamation on April 24, 2020 that suspended entry of immigrants in the country, claiming that it aimed to secure jobs for the citizens (Shachar, 2020). The ban was intended for certain groups that including medical professionals who would have played essential roles in mitigating the Covid-19 crisis. This called for the need to lift the ban as it brought about change in the immigration system. There has been heated discussions about the issue of closed/open borders following the Covid-19 pandemic. Those who support territorial quarantine claim that it aids in securing public

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

EFFECT OF OPEN/CLOSED BORDERS FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 4 health. They also emphasize that implementing the quarantines does not mean that the country disregards open borders ( Mukumbang, 2020) . This means that governments that lockdown their borders for international travel or migration put these measure as an obligation to the public health safety of the citizens. Those who support closing borders, however acknowledge that borders cannot be closed completely as it would be a violation to the rights of people who seek refuge in the country after fleeing oppression. On the other hand, another group of people claims that opening borders does not necessarily contribute to the spread of the virus since the world has highly regulated territories. They claim that the rapid spread of the virus was due to the global travel and trade. Thus, the supporters of open borders propose that change in the national autarky would help ( Lancet, 2021) ). Both arguments from the two groups suggest that open borders do not contribute to the outbreak and spread of the Covid-19 virus. While these arguments make absolute sense, they dig deeper into issues that are not directly linked to the pandemic. The pandemic also led to the scenario of shifting country borders where borders are pushed further and further as much as possible. This has seen countries conduct or require screening for traveling individuals from their country of origin rather than upon arrival (OECD, 2020). Screening also continues at various checkpoints in between the journey and the pandemic accelerated all the measures and practices at all checkpoints. The backside of this strategy adopted by many countries including the U.S is that it called for extended border zones inward such that authorities can apply their command without legal oversight. As a result, borders have become mobile, sophisticated, agile and legal constructs continue to transform. This has thus brought about critical ethical concerns that need to be addressed.

EFFECT OF OPEN/CLOSED BORDERS FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 5 It is essential to acknowledge that open borders have several advantages. First, open border reduces costs incurred by the government. For instance, the U.S spends up to 19 billion dollars on border security every year (Owen, 2020). The government also spends huge amounts of money for detention of illegal migrants. Second, open borders fuel the economy through a process known as immigration surplus. The nation benefits from an increase in human capital when immigrants are added to the workforce. This leads to an increase in production and eventually the GDP increases. According to Orcutt and colleagues (2020 ), immigrants contribute to an increase in the annual GDP up to 50 million dollars. Third, open borders contribute to diversity and cultural integration. Consequently, the country promotes new ideas, practices and skills. Nonetheless, open borders have various disadvantages that also need consideration. First, open borders create security threats linked to crime and terrorism. OECD (2020) claims that about 26% prisoners in the United States are migrants who are undocumented. Another disadvantage is that open borders can drain the economy if costs exceed taxes. Immigrants are not characteristically susceptible to the Covid-19 virus. Like any other human, they face the same barriers in life and this means that they should be included in public health considerations. This is because to some extent they face certain challenges due to their moving, living and working conditions. For example, immigrants encounter inadequate housing, water and supply for other amenities as well as health and sanitation issues. They also face the challenge of language barrier when it comes to accessing information. Lancet (2021) also claims that immigrants tend to be excluded from national programs that promote care and health. This segregation poses a challenge to the country as it makes it hard to detect, test and trace contact early enough, thus increasing the risk of contracting and spreading the virus.

EFFECT OF OPEN/CLOSED BORDERS FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 6 With that said, the U.S can help resolve the concerns highlighted by ensuring that immigrants are treated well and their rights are observed to access basic needs irrespective of their status. As such, the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) alongside with other agencies and stakeholders need to collaborate and strengthen the service delivery system for immigrants and make them more inclusive. Therefore, in the next twelve months, the country ought to be included in the federal plans, strategies and policies and social and economic response plans (Hossain et al. 2020). These steps will ensure that immigrants and asylum seekers have access to education, information and services that aid in protecting themselves from the virus. Additionally, our country is obligated to avail adequate and pleasant healthcare services to all the people including immigrants. This means that the control and prevention of the Covid- 19 pandemic would not discriminate any groups. According to Owen 2020), immigrants’ health conditions should not from the basis for their deportation, travel restrictions, stigmatization and detention. Besides, more focus should be placed on the already existing structural biases and discrimination against undocumented immigrants as they make it difficult to access health services. The DHS also suggests that healthcare systems need to provide gender, culturally, linguistically, disability and age-appropriate services to all inclusive of immigrants. In the next 12 to 24 months, President Biden’s administration needs to develop and implement programs that ensure continued learning for immigrant people and children. Following the closure of schools, inequalities and vulnerabilities of many immigrants have increased. Additionally, online schooling is not viable to them due to language barrier problems and lack or inadequacy of resources ( Orcutt et al. 2020) . Also, may immigrant parents lost jobs due to the pandemic and may not have secured other jobs. Thus, the government alongside

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

EFFECT OF OPEN/CLOSED BORDERS FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 7 employers can provide training opportunities for immigrant employees to help them gain more skills that make it easier for them to enter the job market. Summing up, this paper explored the interconnection between the Covid-19 pandemic and the already existing forms of social discrimination. The pandemic resulted in closure of borders, which locked out many people seeking refuge. Thus, an open border would be the recommended strategy as it holds more advantages to the nation in terms of socio-economic well-being. President Biden should lift as many immigration restrictions as possible and instead introduce favorable policies and rights that ensure that immigrants are safe and treated equally despite their status.

EFFECT OF OPEN/CLOSED BORDERS FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 8 References Hossain, M. P., Junus, A., Zhu, X., Jia, P., Wen, T.-H., Pfeiffer, D., & Yuan, H.-Y. (2020). The effects of border control and quarantine measures on the spread of COVID-19. Epidemics , 32 , 100397. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.epidem.2020.100397 Lancet, T. (2021). Protecting refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet (London, England) , 397 (10292), 2309. Mukumbang, F. C. (2020). Are asylum seekers, refugees and foreign migrants considered in the COVID-19 vaccine discourse?. BMJ global health , 5 (11), e004085. OECD. (2020, November 10). The territorial impact of COVID-19: Managing the crisis across levels of government . OECD. http://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/the- Orcutt, M., Patel, P., Burns, R., Hiam, L., Aldridge, R., Devakumar, D., & Abubakar, I. (2020). Global call to action for inclusion of migrants and refugees in the COVID-19 response. The Lancet , 395 (10235), 1482-1483. Owen, D. (2020). Open Borders and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Democratic Theory , 7 (2), 152– 159. https://doi.org/ 10.3167/dt.2020.070218 Shachar, A. (2020). Beyond open and closed borders: the grand transformation of citizenship. Jurisprudence , 11 (1), 1–27. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/20403313.2020.1788283 territorial-impact-of-covid-19-managing-the-crisis-across-levels-of-government- d3e314e1/

Christian White Paper 6pg

Related Documents