Integration of immigrants

[4] Historically, migrations affecting larger groups have either led to the development of ethnic minorities in the host countries (segregation, ghettoisation) if certain basic socio-cultural factors such as mother tongue, religious affiliation or customs and traditions have been retained; in this case, ethnographic and demographic differences can persist for many generations, sometimes with permanent or at least temporarily inadequate integration into the overall social structure, even leading to problems of oppression and persecution even after centuries of residence.

In other cases, the descendants of migrants assimilate into the cultural makeup of a society by giving up their peculiarities until the only traces of their origins are highly stable identity features such as a “foreign” surname.

Hartmut Esser [de], like Friedrich Heckmann, distinguishes four dimensions: Cultural integration occurs through the acquisition of skills that are necessary for communication and action in the host society.

[10] Contacts and relationships with members of the host society are very beneficial for social integration, while being restricted to one's own ethnic-social group and the emergence of ethnic colonies is a significant disadvantage.

The magazine "Fakt" of the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk concludes that this rate is also likely to apply to other employment agencies and that a large part of the 300 million euros invested in German courses for refugees in 2016 was therefore "wasted".

The psychologists Anita Rudolf and Siegbert Warwitz [de] see the greatest opportunities for school integration in a consistent implementation of the interdisciplinary project-based learning.

[29] All recognized refugees are allowed to work; asylum seekers and tolerated persons must first wait a period of three months and obtain the approval of the employment agency before they can accept a job.

While kindergartens in Germany, Austria and Switzerland already introduce children to the rules of traffic, newcomers from different countries sometimes lack the basic prerequisites for safe participation in public transport.

For several years, volunteers who run youth traffic schools have been trying to close this gap by offering special courses in which interested people of all ages can be trained to become safe pedestrians and cyclists under expert supervision.

Within the European Union, however, foreigners also have a (limited) right to participate in politics (see Non-citizen suffrage); in addition, they can usually take part in national elections in their country of origin.

In connection with assistance for families with a migration background and children of preschool age, the following offers are among others:[47] In contrast, we speak of “come-to” structures when the services are available outside of one's own home – be it in schools or daycare centres, or in other social institutions.

After losing their employment, integration deficits become more acute for many people with a migration background, especially since opportunities for participation through consumption are greatly reduced when the average income in old age is low.

[68] This runs counter to classic assimilation theories, which suggest that successful structural integration should lead to better psychological adaptation and more positive attitudes toward the host society.

The integration paradox thus highlights the complex interplay between structural and psychological dimensions of acculturation, and the central role of social comparisons in shaping immigrants' experiences and attitudes.

In Germany, this issue mainly comes into the media when, for example, neighbours and friends, companies and colleagues, or even teachers and classmates turn to the public to oppose the threatened deportation of a well-integrated, previously tolerated person or family.

In this context, the refugee organisation Pro Asyl emphasised that when assessing individual cases by the hardship commission of the respective federal state, it is also taken into account whether the people concerned are well integrated and have a job.

[92] Marwan Abou-Taam, an Islamic scholar working for the State Criminal Police Office of Rhineland-Palatinate, believes that the third generation of Muslim immigrants, who experience rejection both from their parents and from the German majority society, are particularly susceptible to extremism.

In 2012, political scientist Gilles Kepel told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung that, given the situation in the suburbs, a "quantum leap in educational policy" was necessary, which would give all school leavers at least a real chance of finding work.

In early 2016, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) underlined the importance of integration in a guide, stressing that it should not, however, come at the expense of supporting other disadvantaged groups, including migrants already resident and their children.

[107] The guest workers from Turkey were recruited for unskilled and semi-skilled jobs and, in both the first and second generations, have below-average German language skills, an extremely strong limitation of friendship networks to their own ethnic group and the worst integration into the labour market.

[114] Today, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) describes the “integration of immigrants living permanently and legally in Germany” as “one of the most important domestic policy tasks”, both in terms of granting rights and observing obligations.

For example, Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière stated that in order to integrate, refugees must not only recognise the Basic Law, but also become involved in German society.

[125] Asylum seekers are initially subject to severe restrictions with regard to their integration: a ban on working, compulsory central accommodation in refugee shelters and a residency requirement.

[128] Nach dem Anwerbestopp von 1973 galt für Geflüchtete ein Arbeitsverbot, das 1975 teilweise gelockert wurde, um die Kommunen finanziell zu entlasten.

The Munich-based Ifo Institute for Economic Research reported that from the beginning of the pandemic, unemployment among refugees and migrants was higher than among Germans, excluding systemically important areas such as nursing, in which they were overrepresented.

[136] According to media reports, Ukrainian highly qualified people often take on jobs for which they are overqualified due to various hurdles - including language skills requirements and delays in the recognition of training.

[150] In the Netherlands, since 2007, an integration law (wet inburgering) has required certain immigrants to take a compulsory test to assess their knowledge of the Dutch language, society and certain aspects of the labour market, which must be taken after three and a half or five years.

[157] According to Stefan Luft, failed social and structural integration in France and the British Isles, combined with diverging values, has led to the emergence of parallel societies dominated by Islam and to a considerable potential for conflict, which has resulted in unrest that has flared up again and again for decades.

[170] Naika Foroutan notes that the term "integration" is being criticized because it is still generally understood to be primarily associated with an adjustment effort in the sense of assimilation of migrants and their descendants.

[177] In the course of the discussion about the desired level of diversity in German society, the international football match between Germany and Turkey in the sold-out Berlin Olympic Stadium on 18 November 2023, caused a media stir.