A commuter worker, also known as a cross-border commuter or alien commuter is a worker who is resident in a different country to that in which they work, and crosses a national border as part of their regular commute.
A commuter worker, also known as a cross-border commuter or alien commuter is a worker who is resident in a different country to that in which they work, and crosses a national border as part of their regular commute.
Thousands of workers who live in Mexico cross the Mexico–United States border daily to work in the United States. [1] There are also workers who cross the Canada–United States border or other national borders. [2] The practice of crossing the Mexico – United States border for work developed in the late 1920s, following the passing of the 1924 Immigration Act, which substantially reduced legal immigration into the United States from Mexico. [3]
In 1970, it was estimated that approximately 70,000 people commute from Mexico to the United States every day for work, where these workers made up a significant proportion of the labor force in nine main border cities. [4] A 1992 study by San Diego Dialogue, a research institute at the University of California, San Diego, estimated that there are 40,000 commuter workers in the San Diego area. Studies have found that cross-border workers are typically older, less well paid and less well-educated than immigrant workers. [5]
Commuting also occurs across the Canada–United States border. In 2020 it was estimated that 1,500 to 2,000 workers in health care in the Detroit area lived across the border in Windsor, Ontario. [6] "Canadians are increasingly important to our operations," said the human resources head of Southeast Michigan's largest health care system, Beaumont Health. [7]
More than 300,000 Malaysians commute to Singapore daily via the Malaysia–Singapore border, including for education and work. [8] Many would move to Singapore permanently and take up Singaporean citizenship, therefore becoming "Singaporeanised". [9] [10] [11] Other reasons include the country's proximity to Malaysia, its higher standard of living, significantly more job opportunities arising from the country's international status as an economic hub, and most notably the higher currency exchange rate of the Singapore dollar over the Malaysian ringgit – S$1 equals to about RM3.10 as of 2022. [12] [13]
Analysts has stated that this has caused significant rates of human capital flight or brain drain from Malaysia. Major pull factors have included better career opportunities in Singapore and abroad as well as compensation, while major push factors included corruption, social inequality, educational opportunities, racial inequality such as the Malaysian government's bumiputera affirmative action policies. A United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs showed that close to a million Malaysians were in Singapore as of 2019. [14]
Human capital flight from Malaysia has also increased in pace – 305,000 Malaysians migrated overseas between March 2008 and August 2009, compared to 140,000 in 2007. [15] Non-bumiputeras, particularly Malaysian Indians and Malaysian Chinese, were over-represented in these statistics. Singapore is the foremost destination. [16] This is reported to have caused Malaysia's economic growth rate to fall to an average of 4.6% per annum in the 2000s compared to 7.2% in the 1990s. [17]
The majority of United States cross-border commuters have permanent resident status in the United States (a 'green card') but are permitted to reside in Mexico or Canada without losing their permanent residency if they continue to regularly commute to the United States. [18]
Skilled Canadian workers in executive or managerial roles are eligible under the North American Free Trade Agreement for a temporary L-1 immigration status, that permits them to commute to jobs in the United States. Until 2019, individual workers could apply to Customs and Border Protection at a point of entry. Since early 2019 Department of Homeland Security, regulations require employers to file L-1 applications and extensions with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. [19]
In Europe, cross-border commuting within the European Union, by citizens of an EU country, requires no additional legal status due to the free movement of labour within the EU. [20]
The demographics of Malaysia are represented by the multiple ethnic groups that exist in the country. Malaysia's population, according to the 2010 census, is 28,334,000 including non-citizens, which makes it the 42nd most populated country in the world. Of these, 5.72 million live in East Malaysia and 22.5 million live in Peninsular Malaysia. The population distribution is uneven, with some 79% of its citizens concentrated in Peninsular Malaysia, which has an area of 131,598 square kilometres (50,810.27 sq mi), constituting under 40% of the total area of Malaysia.
Human capital flight is the emigration or immigration of individuals who have received advanced training at home. The net benefits of human capital flight for the receiving country are sometimes referred to as a "brain gain" whereas the net costs for the sending country are sometimes referred to as a "brain drain". In occupations with a surplus of graduates, immigration of foreign-trained professionals can aggravate the underemployment of domestic graduates, whereas emigration from an area with a surplus of trained people leads to better opportunities for those remaining. But emigration may cause problems for the home country if the trained people are in short supply there.
Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it also encompasses controls imposed on internal borders within a single state.
Foreign workers or guest workers are people who work in a country other than one of which they are a citizen. Some foreign workers use a guest worker program in a country with more preferred job prospects than in their home country. Guest workers are often either sent or invited to work outside their home country or have acquired a job before leaving their home country, whereas migrant workers often leave their home country without a specific job in prospect.
A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work.
The Johor–Singapore Causeway is a 1.056-kilometre (0.66 mi) causeway consisting of a combined railway and motorway bridge that links the city of Johor Bahru in Malaysia across the Straits of Johor to the district and town of Woodlands in Singapore. It was the only land connection between the two from 1928 until 1998, when the Tuas Second Link opened.
The Mexico–United States border is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. The Mexico–U.S. border is the most frequently crossed border in the world with approximately 350 million documented crossings annually. It is the tenth-longest border between two countries in the world.
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia, as well as a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital, the country's largest city, and the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government. Putrajaya is the administrative centre, which represents the seat of both the executive branch and the judicial branch of the federal government. With a population of over 33 million, Malaysia is the world's 45th-most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia is Tanjung Piai. Located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries and home to numerous endemic species.
Visitors to the United States must obtain a visa from one of the U.S. diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa-exempt or Visa Waiver Program countries. The same rules apply for travel to all U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as to Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands with additional waivers, while similar but separate rules apply to American Samoa.
Foreign nationals (aliens) can violate US immigration laws by entering the United States unlawfully or lawfully entering but then remaining after the expiration of their visas, parole, TPS, etc. Illegal immigration has been a matter of intense debate in the United States since the 1980s.
Racism in Asia has roots in events that have happened from thousands of years ago to the present.
Undocumented immigration is the migration of people into a country with out proper documentation in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continuous residence without the legal right to live in that country. undo undocumented immigration tends to be financially upward, from poorer to richer countries. Undocumented residence in another country creates the risk of detention, deportation, and/or other sanctions.
Immigration to Singapore is the process by which people migrate to Singapore for the purpose of residing there—and where a majority go on to become permanent residents and Singaporean citizens. Singapore is an attractive destination especially in the region as it is a country with a strong currency that offers high living standards, including in education, work, wages and safety as well as an overall far higher quality of life compared to its neighbours. High-net-worth or skilled immigrants worldwide are also attracted to Singapore's low tax rates and ease of doing business.
An open border is a border that enables free movement of people between jurisdictions with no restrictions on movement and is lacking substantive border control. A border may be an open border due to intentional legislation allowing free movement of people across the border, or a border may be an open border due to a lack of legal controls, a lack of adequate enforcement or adequate supervision of the border. An example of the former is the Schengen Agreement between most members of the European Economic Area. An example of the latter has been the border between Bangladesh and India, which is becoming controlled. The term "open borders" applies only to the flow of people, not the flow of goods and services, and only to borders between political jurisdictions, not to mere boundaries of privately owned property.
Emigration from Mexico is the movement of people from Mexico to other countries. The top destination by far is the United States, by a factor of over 150 to 1 compared to the second most popular destination, Canada.
Colloquially, a coyote is a person who smuggles immigrants across the Mexico–United States border. The word "coyote" is a loanword from Mexican Spanish that usually refers to a species of North American wild dog (Canis latrans).
The Sri Lankan diaspora are Sri Lankan emigrants and expatriates from Sri Lanka, and their descendants, that reside in a foreign country. They number a total estimated population of around 3 million.
Illegal immigration to Singapore is the process of migrating into the Republic of Singapore in violation of its immigration laws. Singapore is an attractive destination especially in the region as it is a country with a strong currency that offers high living standards, including in education, wages and safety as well as an overall far higher quality of life compared to its neighbours.
The Malaysian diaspora are Malaysian emigrants from Malaysia and their descendants that reside in a foreign country. Population estimates vary from seven hundred thousand to one million, both descendants of early emigrants from Malaysia, as well as more recent emigrants from Malaysia. The largest of these foreign communities are in Singapore, Australia, Brunei and the United Kingdom.
Malaysians in Singapore refers to citizens of Malaysia or Singaporean citizens of Malaysian origin residing in Singapore. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the community had a population of 952,261 in 2019, making them the world's largest Malaysian diaspora community. The community is also the largest foreign community in Singapore, constituting 44% of the country's foreign-born population and an additional 350,000 Malaysians cross the Johor–Singapore Causeway daily for work and school in the city-state.
Before border restrictions were implemented in March 2020, around 300,000 Malaysians would commute across the border daily for work.
Many Singaporeans and Malaysians had friends and family on the other side of the Causeway.
Many preferred to work over there due to the exchange rate.
it's relatively near to Malaysia compared to other places around the world.