Local governments lack resources for immigration administration; regionalization needs stronger foundation

Local governments in South Korea are struggling to manage immigration affairs due to insufficient organizational structures and financial resources, a forum revealed. While immigrants live and work within local communities, the administrative framework at the city and county level is ill-equipped to handle their diverse needs.

During a forum on the regionalization of immigration administration held in Gyeonggi Province, participants stressed the need to build a robust foundation not only at the provincial level but also within local governments and on-site support centers like foreign resident support centers and family centers. This is because issues related to consultation, healthcare, education, labor, and childcare ultimately fall to the regions where immigrants reside, regardless of whether they are national or local matters.

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Regardless of whether it is a national or local matter, when it becomes a regional issue, it all funnels down to the local governments like a funnel.

Park Kyung-hye, head of the Ansan City Foreign Resident Support Center, stated that local governments become the focal point for all immigrant-related issues, regardless of their origin. She pointed out the shortage of dedicated organizations and personnel to handle the fragmented projects and directives descending from central government ministries. Park emphasized that the regionalization of immigration administration requires accompanying organizational capacity, finances, and infrastructure to move beyond mere declaration.

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Immigration policy is created by the central government, but the field where social integration is realized is the region.

Calls were also made to recognize on-site support institutions as stable administrative delivery systems. Kim Yong-guk, chairman of the Gyeonggi Province Foreign Resident Welfare Center Association, noted that while the central government creates immigration policies, the regions are where social integration is realized. He highlighted disparities in budgets, staffing, and wages among foreign resident welfare centers, along with insufficient standards for employee training and career management. Kim proposed that Gyeonggi Province develop plans to reduce inter-city disparities and improve the treatment of center employees.

Discussions also extended to redefining the relationship between central and local governments. Yu Min-i, a policy researcher at the Immigration Policy Research Institute, proposed a "regional immigration agreement" where the central government collaborates with local authorities on visa issuance, settlement support, financial burdens, and performance evaluation, moving beyond the current model of central policy creation and local execution. Lee Jae-hyung, director of the Ministry of Justice's Immigration Policy Division, acknowledged the difficulties in inter-ministerial collaboration and expressed hope for local governments, which handle multiple administrative areas, to find solutions that transcend departmental silos.

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We are pinning our hopes on local governments, which deal with various administrative fields, to find solutions.

The conversation shifted to community building, with Blessing, a university student and honorary ambassador for Gyeonggi Province's foreign residents, expressing the need for communities where immigrant-background youth can share information on college admissions and employment. Oh Kyung-seok, CEO of the Gyeonggi Province Immigration Social Integration Support Center, suggested creating communities based on shared interests rather than just the commonality of immigrant backgrounds, transcending nationality, residency status, and generation. He concluded that new standards of cohesion must be found within local regions.

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Rather than binding people again solely by the commonality of having an immigrant background, we can create communities that transcend nationality, residency status, and generation, centered around tastes and interests.