A wall for illegal immigrants, wide open door for foreign employees [Jagiellonian Club]

In brief

Stanowczość polskiego rządu popłaciła. Napływ imigrantów został zatrzymany, a Łukaszence nie udało się doprowadzić do destabilizacji.From a practical point of view, it is difficult to clearly assess the legitimacy of the Pushbacks. The EU tolerance of this practice was justified.Polska ma najbardziej liberalne prawo w całej Unii Europejskiej dla cudzoziemców podejmujących po raz pierwszy pracę we Wspólnocie.

The crisis on the border with Belarus was a serious test of the operational capabilities of the Polish border services.The state did not fulfill this task exemplary, but the adopted policy was consistent and consistent.Thanks to her, it was possible not only to support EU institutions, but also to ensure the security of the country.In the context of immigration policy, the Polish government took legislative actions to meet the expectations of employers, offices and employees from abroad.

Jagiellonian Club, Magazyn Contact, Political Criticism, Liberal Culture and a new confederation with different ideological perspectives talk about Poland.As part of the "Short" project, we pierce social bubbles - we choose one important topic and describe it in five original ways.View all texts of the "Short" project.

The authors of the "liberal culture" sharply criticized the state's actions in dealing with the crisis on the border with Belarus and the creation of immigration policy.Both issues differ completely in character, and their common denominator is just a wide problem of migration.The hybrid attack of the Belarusian regime was an ad hoc crisis, which you had to react and achieve effects in a short time.Meanwhile, the legislative initiative is addressed to regular earning immigrants and is to bring fruit for the Polish economy in the medium period.For this reason, they should be analyzed separately.

EU wall behind the Polish uniform

The arguments of Jakub Bodzione and Filip Rudnik are part of a leftist narrative about the awkwardness, ineffectiveness and lack of humanitarian response of the state apparatus towards the drama of thousands of people.However, power can not always ensure the security of borders and maintain moral standards at the same time.The humanitarian costs of the adopted strategy were much lower compared to what could happen if we opened the boundaries more widely, encouraging subsequent immigrants to come to Belarus.

The authors themselves admit that Lukashence failed to destabilize Poland or the European Union.This, therefore, testifies to the effectiveness of the absolute policy of the Polish government, which, despite the attacks of public opinion leaders on border officers and image costs (consolidating opinions about the hostile to the immigrants of the country) consistently stood on the chosen course of hard defense of the borders.The nature of the challenge and the final effect of the actions taken show that the costs mentioned were not only necessary, but also worth the price.

European institutions stood, nomen omen, a wall behind the Polish authorities.The chairwoman of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, called the conflict "with a hybrid attack, not a migration crisis", as well as the chairman of the European Council.Charles Michel has not seen legal contraindications for the physical financing of infrastructure (i.e. border walls) in the EU Member States.Warsaw also had the support of member states, including Germany.In addition, Poland managed, not without problems, to convince Turkey to stop bringing the Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenians to Belarus with Turkish airlines, which proves some effectiveness of actions.

The number of immigrants who got to the EU through the Polish-Belarusian border is much lower than through the Balkan and Mediterranean routes.Despite this, the increase in illegal attempts to cross the border was the largest on our episode - they were recorded by more than 1000 percent more than in 2020.The EU Frontex agency has just recognized the Polish-Belarusian border as the most affected illegal immigration.It is not surprising, therefore, that Polish border services were not prepared enough for it, while Italy or Hungary are doing decently with several times larger numbers.

Legalism and pragmatism

From a practical point of view, it is difficult to clearly assess the legitimacy of the Pushbacks.Of course, these are illegal actions, but they are not unprecedented.Lithuania also decided on such a policy, where as many as 7,000 were recorded.The EU turned a blind eye and stated that pursuing a policy in accordance with the EU asylum law is one of the competences of the Lithuanian authorities, which the EU trusts in this respect.

The EU tolerance of this practice was justified.The consequence of the legalistic solution to the problem and receiving all illegal immigrants "how it flies" would be to encourage Lukashenko to intensify the transfer of immigrants to Poland.Of course, humanitarianism and enabling them to submit asylum applications would be an ideal solution and should be practiced in "ordinary" times.However, after rejecting these conclusions, would Poland be able to deport applicants?There is a high risk that we would be alone with this problem.Let us remember that asylum applications can be submitted to Polish facilities in Belarus.

Polish diplomacy of principal refused to recognize Lukashenko as a legal leader of Belarus and for this reason did not attempt to negotiate with the Belarusian dictator.It was ineffective, because it was the conversations of France and Germany with Lukashenko that allowed the conflict temperature to cool down.Despite this, the criticism of Paris and Berlin was correct.These countries not only broke the unity of the EU's voice, but also helped Łukaszence achieve the goal of migration pressure, i.e. they gave him international recognition and ID.

Immigrants like Poland - it's a fact, not an opinion

Certainly, in the rhetorical sphere, the government can be accused of a lot.The conference of ministers Błaszczak and Kamiński was a scandal to cause disgust and hatred of immigrants.It was below any standards of public discussion.Meanwhile, the government should first of all convince its activities, indicating the risk of letting unverified foreigners into the country.However, it was decided on such a sharp message, wanting to use the fact that Poles are rather reluctant to mass immigration, or at least for forced relocation and multi-cult.

It is no wonder then that all real proimigration activities are carried out in silence and away from public debate.The authorities correctly diagnose the needs of the economy and the labor market, as well as long procedures for employing foreigners.The amendment to the Act on foreigners introduces a number of facilities for applicants and is to shorten the queues to immigration offices.The changes have been positively evaluated by employers' organizations, and officials and earnings immigrants will also benefit from them.

Yes, many problems remain unresolved.We do not have integration tools, we do not offer Polish language courses, immigration offices are underinvested.Help in refugee centers is the most limited.They are people who are ready to get employed overnight if you give them a quick work permit.

The position of Poland as attractive to the country's immigrants can be surprising, since in the media we are introduced to us as hostile migrants society.The brick was added to this opinion, among others, last year's crisis on the border.The policy of taming Poles with immigrants "quietly" is the most right - Poles from year to year are more and more positively assessing Ukrainians and Belarusians on the labor market.In large companies in Poland, Asians are employed in high -paid positions, and the view of food on Hindus or Nepalese bikes is no longer surprising.Immigrants are among us, we pass them on the street, we hear foreign languages in shops and cafes.In a few years, a public debate about the need for immigration will become as natural for Poles as a conversation with a neighbor in a block of flats - a foreigner speaking broken Polish.

The article was created as part of the "Short" project implemented by: editors of the Jagiellonian Club - Klubjagiellonski.PL, Contact magazine, liberal culture, political criticism and a new confederation.All texts created as part of the project can be found here.The initiative is supported by the Citizens' Fund.Henryk Wujca.

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