Illegal Immigrants’ Dilemma in Sending Money Home

Just like  other Middle Eastern people, the people of South Asian region – especially of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and  India – dream of being rich and setting up in some developed country preferably in North America or Europe. The only difference is that the situation becomes worse when most people from this part of the world do not really care whether  immigration is legal or illegal. This might  be quite shocking to you but it’s true. Well-known  examples of illegal immigration include human smuggling, and illegitimate immigration.

Illegal manpower consultants and immigration agents have networks in rural areas where they entrap people by showing them dreams of better living standards and taking all their life savings. People get entrapped easily and in every attempt at illegal immigration, numerous people die in their efforts to reach their destination because it really isn’t so easy.

In 2007 alone, some 660 illegal immigrants entered the US who were caught and  deported back to Pakistan.

The roots of corruption are found deep in society. Fueled mainly by a sense of being deprived of basic necessities andof being cheated by the luxurious living standards of  corrupt rulers, most people retaliate against the system. Their attitude gets rebellious.

It’s evident that huge remittances can be a burden on host economies. The effect of illegal immigration on global economies  is devastating! Since  illegal immigrants are not known to any authority other than  illegal immigration agents, it’s really impossible to keep track of exactly how many people from this part of the world are working abroad and how much money is being received in terms of remittances.

The UK Border Agency  has produced a documentary about how illegal immigrants enter a country and work.

Now, knowing the number of persons is not the only issue, the mode of remittances and sending money back home poses another real challenge which is that the immigrants prefer to go through  illegal money agents, bookers and channels. This sort of money transfer is called Hundi and is illegal in South Asian countries. In such a payment option, the immigrant gives a certain amount of money to some agent in the host country. And that agent then calls up his  counterpart in the recipient country and tells them to pay the relatives of the immigrants a certain amount of money in the local currency. Such a situation also makes it  impossible to keep track of the money circulating.

Illegal immigration and payment methods may help  families back home to improve their living standards, but it makes for  really disastrous effects on the economies of both the host and recipient countries.

Such cash–backs are never good for either of the economies. Massive education of people  on the rural level is critical to prevent such things from happening.