Looking Ahead

The final chapter considers the challenge of immigration in global context, and explores possible paths going forward. Immigration is taking place in a context of globalization and pressures for deglobalization, climate change, declining birth rates, and aging populations in many Western and non-Western countries, as well as lower trust. One group of extremists are placing intense pressures on national governments to completely close borders to immigrants, but other extremists insist that borders should be open. Authorities have to apply policies somewhere between these two extremes. As societies become increasingly diverse, authorities must also adopt policies for managing diversity. We have suggested that omniculturalism and the celebration of human commonalities, as well as increasing intergroup contact, represent promising avenues for meeting the contemporary challenge of immigration.