***** Germany: Immigration in Transition
By Veysel Oezcan Humboldt University Berlin
May 2002
...Halting Guest Worker Recruitment
The demand for foreign workers fell off in 1973, when Germany entered a period of economic recession, fueled in part by that year's "oil shock." The government declared a ban on the recruitment of foreign workers, and began to wrestle with how to deal with the still-increasing number of foreigners in the country.
A large proportion of earlier guest workers had already acquired residence permits of a longer or permanent duration, attesting to the limits of the rotation principle. In addition, Italians now had the right to free cross-border movement, a right extended to all member states of the European Community in 1968. With the rotation model a distant memory, it was clear that many foreigners were now planning a longer or even permanent stay in Germany.
While many guest workers were leaving, high levels of immigration persisted due to family reunification of the remaining workers. The number of foreigners thus stayed more or less constant throughout the 1980s at between 4 and 4.5 million. The labor force participation of immigrants, however, decreased.
In 1988, the 4.5 million foreigners in Germany accounted for 7.3 percent of the population as a whole. Some 1.6 million of them were wage and salary earners; another 140,000 were self-employed. The most important countries of origin remained the former recruitment countries. Greece held special status in terms of freedom of movement due to its full membership in the European Community-a status that would also be achieved by Spain and Portugal in 1992.
By this time, a growing share of the foreign population was being born in Germany, the so-called second generation. Unlike in the United States and elsewhere, these children were not granted German citizenship at birth and were treated as foreigners in a legal sense....
Today's Immigrants
In 2000, the number of legally resident foreigners was 7.3 million, which comprised 8.9 percent of the total population. Citizens of the former guest worker countries continue to make up the largest share of this number, which notably included 2 million Turkish citizens, of whom 750,000 were born in Germany. Another 425,000 Turks have been naturalized since 1972 and do not show up in the statistics of the foreign population.
The foreign population also included 1,050,000 people from the former Yugoslavia; 590,000 Italians and 360,000 Greeks. Other important countries of origin included Poland (277,000), Austria (184,000), and the United States (183,000). About 25 percent of the total foreign population was from countries of the European Union, and an additional 55 percent came from other western and eastern European countries like Norway, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary. Overall, 80 percent of the foreigners came from Europe, while almost 12 percent were Asians.
Since the asylum law was tightened in 1993, illegal immigration has been growing. However, there are no reliable estimates on the number of illegal migrants staying in Germany. In contrast with countries like the US, Greece or Italy, a legalization program for undocumented immigrants has not been carried out, or even seriously discussed in political circles.
In 2000, the government also counted almost 1.1 million refugees in the legal foreign population of 7.3 million. This included 294,000 recognized asylum seekers and their family members, along with another 200,000 refugees whose applications for asylum were still being processed. There were also 370,000 de facto refugees -- those who either did not apply for asylum but enjoyed temporary protected status, or whose application was not accepted but could not be returned to their home countries for a variety of reasons and therefore received a temporary residence permit. Another 137,000 of the 1.1 million refugees are Jews from the former Soviet Union who have come to Germany since reunification. This last group is not required to prove that they, as individuals, have been persecuted in order to immigrate to Germany.
Key Policy Developments
Since 1998, when a coalition of Social Democrats and the Green Party came into power, several immigration-related bills have become law, with far-reaching consequences for immigrants.
In 2000, a new citizenship law came into force, the first such action in nearly 90 years. For the very first time, children born to foreigners in Germany automatically receive German citizenship, provided one parent has been a legal resident for at least eight years. Children can also hold the nationality of their parents, but must decide to be citizens of one country or the other before age 23. This provision became necessary when the German conservative opposition to the ruling coalition did not accept dual citizenship. Therefore, it is generally granted only in exceptional cases, e.g. temporarily or if the applicant's country of origin impedes the process of releasing him or her from citizenship.
In August 2000, Germany introduced a "green card" system to help satisfy the demand for highly qualified information technology experts. In contrast with the American green card, which allows for permanent residency, the German version limits residency to a maximum of five years.
Through this new immigration program, about 9,200 highly skilled workers have entered Germany through August 2001, with 1,935 Indians accounting for the largest group. Another 1,293 persons who had completed their university studies in Germany were allowed to stay and work for five years under the provisions of the green card program. Without the green card, they would have had to leave.
Looking Ahead
Despite Germany's long history of recruiting foreign workers, the turn toward a more organized and focused recruitment of highly skilled labor marks a watershed. This change, coupled with a demographic shift toward a more elderly population and a continuing low total fertility rate (now at 1.3) led to a broader discussion about a formal immigration policy that takes these factors into account.
Supporters of new legislation pointed to demographic deficits and growing shortages of qualified personnel. Opponents countered by spotlighting a persistently high unemployment rate, which in 2000 stood at 9 percent for the total working population, but hit 16 percent for foreigners. Opponents also questioned the German society's capacity to integrate more foreigners. Both groups, nevertheless, agreed on the need to improve the integration of foreigners -- especially those from former recruitment countries.
In 2000, the government appointed a commission to work out proposals for an immigration and integration policy. In July 2001, the commission presented a report titled Structuring Immigration, Fostering Integration. It highlighted well-known demographic developments, such as increasing life expectancy, low birth rates and decreasing numbers of people who are gainfully employed. In light of such developments, the commission argued for initiating a controlled immigration program for foreigners with favorable characteristics for integration into both the labor market and society. They proposed the implementation of a point system as a tool for selecting 20,000 immigrants per year based on criteria of education, age, and language skills. In the event of urgent labor shortages, another 20,000 immigrants should be let into the country on a five-year basis. By that time, the authorities will have gathered some experience, and changes and improvements could be made.
Furthermore, the commission recommended certain measures to speed up the asylum procedure and make it more difficult for fraudulent applications to succeed, while rejecting proposals to eliminate the "fundamental right of political asylum" guaranteed by the Constitution.
Finally, the commission report called for serious efforts to foster the integration of immigrants, citing knowledge of the German language as a crucial point.
Despite vocal criticism by the opposition, an immigration law passed both chambers of parliament. This new law picks up on several commission recommendations, including the abovementioned points about highly qualified migration and integration. The immigration of those who plan to establish a business is also welcomed, and there is no cap on the numbers of such entrepreneurs. However, companies can only hire temporary migrant workers outside of the categories outlined above if there are no Germans (or foreigners such as EU nationals, who are legally treated as Germans) available for the work. The legislation also provides for language classes for immigrants in the future - with failure to attend possibly translating into difficulties in extending residence permits.
The new immigration law, which sets the stage for how Germany will deal with newcomers in the years to come, arrives at a time when immigration itself is in transition. In a trend that can be seen across many developed countries, Germany's waves of low skilled laborers, recruited to feed an economic boom, are giving way to a generation of skilled workers who are more carefully selected to meet the needs of the information age. At the same time, more of Germany's new arrivals are relatives of established immigrants than was previously the case. The true test of the new legislation will be how well it helps Germany balance its need for workers with domestic concerns about integration and national identity.
Sources
Aleinikoff, T. Alexander and Douglas Klusmeyer, eds. 2001. Citizenship Today: Global Perspectives and Practices. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Aleinikoff and Klusmeyer, eds. 2000. From Migrants to Citizens: Membership in a Changing World. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Klusmeyer, Douglas and Demetri Papdemetriou. 2003 (forthcoming). Germany's Immigrant Integration Challenge. Washington, DC: MPI.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Continuous Reporting System on Migration (SOPEMI). Trends in International Migration (various editions). Paris: OECD Publications.
The Independent Commission on Migration to Germany. "Structuring Immigration, Fostering Integration," July 2001. Available online.
<http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=22> ****
***** Migration News September 1997 Volume 4 Number 9
German-American Comparisons
Weiner, Myron. Ed. 1997. Migration and Refugees: Politics and Policies in the United States and Germany. Providence, RI. Berghahn Books. Five volumes. BerghahnUS at juno.com. fax (401) 521-0046.
Bade, Klaus J. and Myron Weiner. Eds. 1997. Migration Past, Migration Future: Germany and United States. Providence, RI. Berghahn Books
Munz, Rainer and Myron Weiner. Eds. 1997. Migrants, Refugees, and Foreign Policy: U.S. and German Policies Toward Countries of Origin. Providence, RI. Berghahn Books
Hailbronner, Kay, David A. Martin, and Hiroshi Motomura. Eds. 1997. Immigration Admissions: The Search for Workable Policies in Germany and the United States. Providence, RI. Berghahn Books
Hailbronner, Kay, David A. Martin, and Hiroshi Motomura. Eds. 1997. Immigration Controls: The Search for Workable Policies in Germany and the United States. Providence, RI. Berghahn Books
Schuck, Peter and Rainer Munz. Eds. 1997. Paths to Inclusion: The Integration of Migrants in the United States and Germany. Providence, RI. Berghahn Books
About nine percent of the populations of Germany and of the US are foreigners, but there the similarities end. Germany declares itself not to be a country of immigration, while the US asserts that immigration is in the national interest. Despite their different histories, policies and goals, can the two countries learn from one another how to better manage migration and integration?
The German-American Academic Council and the American Academy of Arts and Scientists brought together 30 researchers in 1995 to examine the current migration patterns and policies in Germany and the US and to focus on three areas where research might make a difference in how policy makers view migration issues: policies toward migrants' countries of origin, admissions and enforcement policies, and integration or absorption policies. The papers presented at these conferences are being published in five volumes under the general direction of Mryon Weiner. In August 1997, the first two volumes were published.
There are several surprises for participants from both countries:
Germany has proportionately more newcomers who arrived since 1950 than the US, which means that migration has done more to reshape non-immigrant Germany than it influenced the immigrant US. The percentage of foreign-born persons in the German population is increasing because persons born in Germany are considered foreigners and relatively few foreigners in Germany become naturalized German citizens.
Despite being a nation of immigrants, the US offers relatively few integration services to most immigrants. In one short-hand expression, the US offers acceptance but not social services, while Germany provides services but not acceptance.
The US reacted to 1990s immigration by reducing the access of immigrants to services, while Germany reacted by preserving rights and services for those inside the country, but restricting access to Germany.
Germany's population registers and work permits give it a better-developed system to monitor residence and access to the work place, and the group recommended that both Germany and the US speed up the admission of immediate family members, even if doing so requires reductions in other immigration categories. Both the US and Germany discourage dual citizenship. The discussions noted that managing migration is also a foreign policy issue, and recommendations ranged from the feasibility of safe havens to protect foreigners outside their country of citizenship and outside the US or Germany, to the limits of military intervention to reduce mass emigration.
Asylum. Many debates in Germany are based on disagreement over whether Germany should become a country of immigration. For example, in the debate over how to deal with an unsustainable asylum system in 1992---when there were daily attacks on foreigners and caring for asylum seekers inside Germany cost as much as Germany gave to countries of origin in aid---Germany reacted by in 1993 preserving its basic asylum system and speeding up the consideration of asylum applications, but preventing aliens who could have applied for asylum in another safe country from applying in Germany.
In the US, by contrast, in-between immigration statuses such as Temporary Protected Status were developed to deal with foreigners who the US did not want to recognize as refugees in need of protection, and also did not want to return to their countries of origin. Unlike Germany, the US typically provided no services to asylum seekers, but did provide them with work permits so that they could support themselves until their cases were heard. When the US changed its asylum system in 1995, it withdrew the right to work for six months and also added staff to make decisions quickly on whether a foreigner was in need of protection from persecution.
Guest Workers. Germany is practically synonymous with Gastarbeiter--the notion that foreign workers can be added to the labor force without adding long-term residents to the population.
From the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, Germany recruited millions of foreign workers in southern Europe and they helped fuel a Wirtschaftswunder that, in some years, saw economic growth top 10 percent.
The guest worker experience in Germany and the US has led to one of the few apparently universal aphorisms in migration--there is nothing more permanent than temporary workers. Particular employers and sectors become dependent on foreign workers and labor markets in both the emigration and immigration country evolve in ways that sustain migration.
Both the US and Germany have developed new guest worker programs. In the US, the new development has been to relax governmental controls over the admission of temporary foreign professionals in the H-1B and to permit such workers to remain in the US for up to six years. In Germany, the response has been to develop five distinct new foreign worker programs, ranging from programs that admit seasonal farm workers to programs under which, for example, a Polish construction worker in Berlin remains an employee of the Polish construction company while abroad.
Welfare. Germany has one of the industrial world's most comprehensive social welfare systems, with a three-tiered system of federal, state and non-profit organizations, including organizations that represent foreigners, delivering benefits. Foreign workers were included in social welfare programs, but they originally did not receive many benefits because most of them came to fill vacant jobs. As their families joined them and unemployment rose, established guest workers as well as newly arrived asylum seekers became long-term welfare recipients, prompting resentment.
In the US, few young immigrants coming to the US for economic opportunity applied for welfare benefits until the 1980s and 1990s. Many of the US immigrants were in California, the most generous large industrial state in offering benefits. Despite the worst recession in 50 years in the early 1990s, foreigners continued to arrive and the fiscal crises led to calls for reducing welfare benefits generally and especially for legal and illegal immigrants. First with Proposition 187 in 1994, and then with welfare reform in 1996, the US embraced the notion that most immigrants should not obtain welfare benefits until they became US citizens or worked and paid taxes in the US.
Both the US and Germany are struggling to manage the influx of foreigners, integrate resident foreigners, and do both in an humane and durable fashion. These volumes provide a comprehensive assessment of the major immigration issues facing the US and Germany in the mid-1990s.
<http://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/archive_mn/sep_1997-26mn.html> ***** -- Yoshie
* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>