Thus at the end of 1994 Californians voted for Proposition 187, which among other things barred the children of illegal immigrants from public schools. The real agenda is a dispute between state and federal authorities about public expenditure. It is, after all, hardly in California's interests for a generation of children to grow up illiterate. In the United Kingdom the previous Conservative Government seized on the immigration issue to play to the right wing of the Conservative party, and placed increasing restrictions on asylum seekers as well as clamping down further on illegal immigrants. Hopefully, the new Labour administration will take a more rational, and more humane, approach.
Emigration also has a major impact on the countries left behind.
It eases the unemployment pressure somewhat, and also brings in flows of foreign exchange though these advantages have to be offset against the potential brain drain of some of the younger and more enterprising people. Migration pressures seem set to increase for the foreseeable future as poor people in developing countries look in desperation for work overseas. For the poorest countries this will take time. Indeed, in the short term, economic development is more likely to accelerate emigration because of the social disruption it causes. Not only does it uproot traditional communities and drive people from the countryside to the cities, it also gives them a greater cash income and thus the money to travel overseas.