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Oscar Uribe
Professor Santosh
English 113B
17 May 2016
European Migrant Crisis and the United States
For quite some time now, immigration has been a hot topic discussed in the United
States. Some of the countrys citizens do not approve of people randomly coming into the
country, while others are grateful that they are being exposed to new cultures and people. During
this time, there are presidential candidates who are debating what to do about this issue when
they become president. Hilary Clinton has said she will try her best to make sure she does
something good for the immigrants here in the country. Donald Trump, however, wants to get rid
of every immigrant in the country. Personally, I do not agree with Trump, but I know that many
people are for him and his actions. However, we arent the only country in the world that is
receiving a huge influx of people coming into a country. The European Union is another area in
which they are experiencing many refugees coming into the country. Since Americans are
always worried about their own country, we really dont see what is going on in the world
around us. When we start to investigate, or watch the news, we can see that other countries than
the United States, are having the exact same issues as we do with migration. Instead of focusing
on just one European country, we will focus on the whole Union because that is where the
European Migration Crisis takes place.
To understand all of the information listed above, we first know what the European
Migrant Crisis is, and the reason behind it. Basically, the European Migrant Crisis is the invasion
of many people from all over the world, to Europe. When researching about this crisis, I came

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upon a website that kind of details what this is. In 2015, over one million migrants and asylum
seekers reached the EU via the Mediterranean. More than 3,700 people died or went missing in
the same period while making the journey. Over 130,000 have made the crossing since the start
of 2016, while more than 410 have lost their lives in the attempt. Arrivals to Greece via Turkey
across the Aegean Sea now far outstrip crossings via Libya to Italy. From Greece, a debt-stricken
country unable to cope with the influx, many travel overland through the Western Balkans to
reach other EU countries. The land route contains its own perils, including blocked border
crossings, summary expulsions and police abuse (Human Rights Watch). Some other things that
the website highlights is that people flee their country due to war, violence, and repressive
government. Also, 80 percent of the one million people are those who are escaping war,
violence, and repressive government. Also, it would be great to mention that a writer from
ScienceDirect, which is a database on the CSUN library, had something to say about the
migration crisis. He said, Migrant Crisis in Europe 2015 had two major routes, Balkan route via
Greece, Hungary, Austria to Germany and African route with mainly economic refugees and
migrants via Mediterranean Malta Lampedusa, Sicily to continental Italy, France, Spain and UK
(Krcmery 57). This quote should give us an idea on how these people from different places
came to the EU. Below is a map showing all of the migration from countries in Europe. The
image is taken from Fox 13 News. Published on September 4, 2015.

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With the overflowing rate of people from all over the place coming into a new area, there
is bound to be a lot of problems that emerge. A big issue than can concern the people that are
citizens of the European Union is the potential health risks these refugees are bringing into their
country. Surprisingly enough, when investigating about health issues that these refugees bring, I
found that the concern of health risks was not evident. According to Krcmery, who is mentioned
above, said that no major tropical diseases were noted, no case of malaria or leishmaniasis was
detected. Even less cases of emerging ID including HIV and tuberculosis were detected as well.
Majority of ID included pneumonia upper respiratory tract infections, skin and soft tissue
infections, scabies, few cases (<3%) of diarrhoea but no case of cholera have been observed in
described period (57). For the Balkan route, same information was displayed about the health
risks. Europe from Syria, Iraq does not represent major health threat to continental EU, only
few cases of transmissible diseases were noted and an absence of tropical diseases, multiresistant
pathogens and no outbreaks were observed within first 2 months of exodus. Only few MRSA and
penicillin resistant strains from patients from upper and lower respiratory tract infections were
isolated. Spectrum of diagnoses was similar to surrounding Slovak, Hungarian and Austrian
population of that EU region (Krcmery 57). Although there was some disease transferred over
the Balkan route, it was less than a threat that what I was expecting.
Even though disease isnt a big factor that the citizens are worried about, they worry
about the fact that there are just simply too many people in their country. There are even some
countries that are even closing down their borders because they simply do not want any more
people coming in or out. With overpopulation happing in the European Union, the country, or
Union can fear that they might not have enough resources to help out these people in need. So
exactly what should they do? Should they keep letting people come in, or should they stop

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accepting people into the country? A student from the University of Hamburg, Germany explains
more in depth about the migrant, or refugee crisis, but what seemed more interesting to myself
was his proposal of a solution. He said, The key to solving the refugee crisis lies in the countries
of origin and, more precisely, in the hands of their political leaders. Governments have to be
made responsible for preventing their citizens from becoming refugees! A sustainable solution of
the refugee crisis is only possible if the causes of flight and expulsion, misery, and hardship are
curbed or even eliminated. Therefore, this is first and foremost a matter for European foreign
ministers and European development and cooperation experts more so than for the ministers of
interior affairs (Straubhaar 239). The fact that he mentions that the European government
should take control of this, is a great first step in the right direction. However the government
decides to take control of this issue is up to them. Instead of focusing on how to get rid of them,
the EU government should focus on ways to support those new refugees coming into the country
with money, food, shelter, clothes, etc. Whatever they decide along the road, will maybe be of
benefit not just for the EU, but for the refugees countries as well.
Transitioning from the EU to the United States, we face a lot of similar issues here as
well. There is no doubt that the amount of people coming into the country is increasing every
day. According to the Journal of Business Ethics, Approximately 47 million Latinos currently
live in the United States, and nearly 25 percent of them are undocumented (Davies 377). When
reading the article further, the 25 percent that are undocumented came down to be approximately
12 million. Let it be known, that those 12 million are just Latinos. Of course, there are not just
Latinos in the country. We have Asians, Filipinos, Chinese, Indians, and so on. Getting into more
recent times, International Business Times did some research on how many immigrants there are
in the year 2015. The immigrant population in the United States hit a record high of 42.1

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million in the second quarter of this year (Blake). The article further explains that the amount
rose by 1.7 million that was calculated in 2014. Every year, the United States will see an increase
in the amount of people coming into the country, there is no doubt of that. However, we should
be aware of what this migration of people can bring to us here in the country. Map below shows
the amount of illegal immigration
that is in our country as of 2006.

With the constant flow of immigrants coming into the country, we can start to see some
problems emerge with them. Disease can break out, violence among people, crime, sickness, and
most terrifying of all, terrorism. Since the attacks at the World Trade Center in September 11,
2001, many people have become skeptical about the type of people coming into the country, no
matter the race of the individual. Border patrol have become stricter, airport security have
become tougher, and the police have become more aggressive. Either way, the people that are
taking care of our country have taken their job to the next level by really committing to it. Due to
the attacks of 9/11, our military operations have increased which makes us feel safer. Although
that is not entirely true because there has been numerous threats of attacks here in the United
States.
Although terrorism is probably the number one outcome that comes from immigration, it
is not the only outcome that exists. For example, another huge outcome that comes from this is

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disease. Although the United States is sort of good at protecting its citizens from foreign
diseases, the country occasionally gets its share of diseases. The measles outbreak in Disneyland
from 2014 is a very good example. Sources are saying that a foreign person decided to go the
happiest place on earth here in California, and that the airport did not check on the person, and
when he arrived, he introduced measles into California. Luckily, no one died from this, but many
people did have to get immediate medical attention, which included adults and children. NBC
News reported on the incident not too long after the outbreak. Disease detectives for months
raced to contain the highly contagious disease, which surfaced at Disney theme parks in
December and spread to a half-dozen U.S. states, Mexico and Canada. The outbreak sickened
147 people in the U.S., including 131 in California (Measles Outbreak Traced to Disneyland is
Declared Over). Ever since the incident, United States has been trying very hard to make sure
this does not happen again by making sure the airports know exactly who is getting into the
plane, and if he or she has any diseases that may or may not be curable here.
Aside from terrorism and disease, the United States should in fact do something about the
issue. Deportation is good, but to an extent. The U.S. just cant deport people because they feel
like it. The person getting deported needs to prove that he or she has committed a crime or even
something worse. The U.S. can impose a background check on the immigrants, and if it shows
that the person has committed a crime, then he or she must leave. It sound harsh, but at the same
we must think to ourselves that if we really want those bad people into our country, city, and
neighborhood. The United States has been trying for years now to control the issue, and it looks
like they have been doing a very good job so far. I think the main reason why we dont make a
big deal out of immigration here in the United States is because weve been dealing with this

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issue for quite some time, that it has become a norm for us. We know it exists, and we are okay
with that.
To finalize, The European Union has been experiencing an influx of people from places
around it into their area. This issue has barely begun, considering that it has been happening
since September of last year. The EU has become so crowded, that some places have either
considered closing their borders because the country does not need any more people getting in.
The EU government now must try to come up with a way to fix all of this in order to improve the
way these refugees are coming into the country. However they decide to do it is unknown, but
hopefully they do something productive, and quick about it. The United States too has been
experiencing the same problem, but for years now. Just like the EU, the U.S. government must
try to think of an idea in order to better regulate the people coming into the country. There have
been many reforms about this issue, but if I am not mistaken, most of them have failed. Either
way, whatever the government has in mind, hopefully its best for the country.

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Works Cited
Blake, Eben. "Immigration In US 2015 Reaches A New Record With Immigrant Population Of
42.1 Million People, Study Finds." International Business Times. International Business
Times, 13 Aug. 2015. Web. 15 Apr. 2016
Davies, Ian. Latino Immigration and Social Change in the United States: Toward an Ethical
Immigration Policy. Journal of Business Ethics, 88.32 (2009): 377-391. Web of Science.
Web. 10 April 2016
"Europe's Migration Crisis." Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, n.d. Web. 29 Apr.
2016.
Krcmery, V. "Infectious Diseases in Refugees and Migrants During the European Migrant Crisis
2015." International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 45 (2016): 57. Print. 23 Apr. 2016.
News, NBC. "Measles Outbreak Traced to Disneyland Is Declared Over."NBC News. NBC
News, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
Straubhaar, Thomas. "Towards a European Refugee Policy." Intereconomics, 50.5 (2015): 238239. Print. 23 Apr. 2016.