PEW Report on Global Trade and Immigration

The PEW center has released a report on global trade and immigration. Below are excerpts of their statement on immigration. According to PEW, people around the world are concerned about immigration - and "losing their traditional culture."

What is the danger of having foreign influences? Is it only certain foreign influences? If they are American or Western European is it ok if they infiltrate the culture?

It would be interesting to see what exactly is the meaning of "need for protecting traditional ways of life."

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... there are widely shared concerns about the free flow of people, ideas and resources that globalization entails. In nearly every country surveyed, people worry about losing their traditional culture and national identities, and they feel their way of life needs protection against foreign influences. Importantly, the poll finds widespread concerns about immigration. Moreover, there is a strong link between immigration fears and concerns about threats to a country's culture and traditions. Those who worry the most about immigration also tend to see the greatest need for protecting traditional ways of life against foreign influences.

Immigration Fears

In both affluent countries in the West and in the developing world, people are concerned about immigration. Large majorities in nearly every country surveyed express the view that there should be greater restriction of immigration and tighter control of their country's borders.

Although Western publics remain concerned about immigration, they generally are less likely to back tighter controls today than they were five years ago, despite heated controversies over this issue in both Europe and the United States over the last few years. In Italy, however, support for greater restrictions has increased -- 87% now support more controls on immigration, up seven points from 2002.

Concerns about immigration have increased in other countries as well, perhaps most notably in Jordan, where an influx of Iraqi refugees has raised the salience of this issue -- 70% of Jordanians back tighter immigration controls, up from 48% five years ago....

Immigration

North Americans generally are more welcoming to immigrants than are Western Europeans. Among Western European publics, Swedes are the most likely to say immigration from North Africa and the Middle East, as well as from Eastern Europe, is a good thing for their country, while Italians and Germans express the most negative views.
Sizable minorities in 11 of the 36 developing countries surveyed say they regularly receive money from relatives living in another country. In Lebanon and Bangladesh, nearly half of respondents say they receive help from family members living abroad...

PEW report: http://pewglobal.org/reports/pdf/258.pdf