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A recent study established that stricter visa rules can drive up illegal immigration.
Researchers from University College London, University of Birmingham, and Royal Holloway University of London conducted a study on global immigration policies. Using experimental surveys, researchers gathered data to assess the effectiveness of stricter immigration policies. The study focused on four immigrant categories inside the visa system: families, students, workers with basic skills, and workers with specialized skills.
Results revealed that tight visa regulations can prove futile in discouraging illegal immigration. Researchers found that because of stricter visa rules, many applicants in the family and low-skilled worker visa categories resort to illegal entry.
According to the research, more than 80% of migrants do not necessarily contemplate unauthorized immigration. However, the study suggests that illegal immigration increases by 24% in the family visa and 14% in the low-skilled worker immigrant categories due to very strict visa rules. On the other hand, about 44% of migrants would rather go through the long but legal immigration process if countries had less severe visa laws.
On a different note, many lawmakers believe that lenient immigration laws create problems. For instance, former US senator Jeff Sessions noted that according to data, high immigration in the United States since the 1800s resulted in the wage decrease of American workers. Data also showed that the weekly income of US workers has become lower compared to their salary in 1973.
In Sweden, party leader Ulf Kristersson associates many crimes with the country’s open-border stance. He suggests that the country should implement stronger immigration laws, longer jail time, and more deportations in order to address this issue.