Is Blockchain the Holy Grail for Global Immigration?

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aelf

7 min readOct 14, 2019

Immigration is often a last resort for citizens who are fleeing war, oppression and racism that hope to pursue a democratic existence in a new country. Blockchain technology can help solve the various challenges that arise for migrants, technologists, governments, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) and other constituents in this process. In this article we are going to examine multiple ways that blockchain can help make the immigration process fairer and more transparent for all parties involved. First, we will touch on the new immigration policies US President Donald Trump is currently proposing, then we will focus on 4 main ways that immigration can become more democratic with the help of blockchain technology.

Recently a movement began that opposes that controversial executive order that US President Donald Trump created to decimate refugee resettlement in the United States. Trump’s proposal could reduce the number of refugees allowed to enter the US in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 to just 18 thousand. Last year Trump set the number of refugees accepted into the country at a record low of 30 thousand; much of this stems from the president’s viewpoints towards refugees from Mexico and various countries in Central America. This approach by the Trump administration is not acceptable to many around the world and was the catalyst that created the #Blackout4Refugees hashtag globally. The average yearly quota for the acceptance of refugees into the United States has exceeded 95 thousand each year beginning in 1980.

The adoption of Blockchain technology is critical in solving many of the world’s greatest challenges; several attributes that make Open Public Blockchains truly revolutionary are outlined below by international and renowned Blockchain expert Andreas Antonopoulos. There are 5 main pillars of Blockchain technology that Andreas focuses on in most of his educational material including: 1.) Open 2.) Public 3.) Borderless 4.) Neutral 5.) Censorship Resistant. A close 6th quality that makes Blockchain technology a true game-changer is its immutability. Aelf’s Blockchain network has several qualities that will allow global immigration practices to become more efficient and transparent moving forward; these include interoperability, an optimized governance structure, adaptability and a fast, highly scalable protocol.

There are several ways that Blockchain technology can help improve transparency for migrants, governments and other constituents that accept immigrants into their countries on a mass scale:

1. Accessibility to Digital Identities and Other Essential Documents

Migrants are often required to surrender their Identification (ID) and other important documents to governments for up to 2 years before being accepted to immigrate to another country. Situations such as this are often the result of extremely inefficient government practices and other factors. Having proper access to a digital identity is also critical for a person who has immigrated to another country. Storing a digital version of a user’s Passport, Drivers Licence or Government ID means that the individual can always prove their identity. This allows authorities to look up personal information and prove the credibility of a person who is pursuing their right to immigrate. Digital identities also help countries who take in a huge number of refugees each year; this gives their new country the ability to screen individuals through extensive healthcare and criminal record checks. This process has had a positive impact towards the safety of native citizens in nations across the globe. More transparency means more accountability for both immigrants and the countries that accept them. Blockchain technology can help prevent the abuse of power in regions which exploit specific ethnic minorities such as Myanmar, Israel or Hungary. For example, the ability to prove a person’s identity can mean the difference between life and death for Rohingya Muslims. Blockchain technology allows digital identity in our world to become more transparent, secure and immutable moving forward.

2. Giving Instant Accessibility to Value Transfer With the Click of a Button

Millions of migrant workers across the globe regularly send money back to their families in their home countries so they can survive. Utilizing mobile blockchain wallets gives people in many regions access to finances where it is often impossible to have access to a traditional bank account. Transferring ELF, Ethereum, Bitcoin or other types of cryptocurrencies allows for the instant transfer of value from one recipient to another. Banks and financial institutions charge exorbitant fees and transactions often take days to be completed; this is just not sustainable for immigrants and migrant workers who are providing the livelihood for their families in nations thousands of miles away. New mobile payment infrastructure is also making it possible for users with a mobile blockchain wallet to pay for food, gasoline and various other essentials that are needed to survive.

3. Tracking Crowdfunding and Donations towards Refugee Causes to Maintain Transparency

Blockchain technology allows the crowdfunding process to be safe, accessible and transparent as well as publicly verifiable. This makes it perfect as a platform for creating, distributing, and exchanging currency. This process is especially effective to help citizens from across the globe to contribute financially to the well-being of refugees and immigrants settling in new countries. This capability to securely track donations and crowdfunding contributions in a more secure and honest manner makes theft nearly impossible while also ensuring maximum impact of funds. There are various blockchain projects that utilize this model to help those in need; the success rates of crowdfunding platforms that use blockchain technology is often higher than those that don’t. Remember, traditional business funding is often very hard to obtain because it is generally completed by self-funding, bank financing or through venture capital corporations. For most people, self-funding is extremely limited, while bank financing requires an existing business with strong revenue and cash flow. Venture capital generally requires a product or service that has a strong demand and a business that is close to launching. Aelf’s blockchain technology can be utilized to enhance the crowdfunding process for immigrants facing difficult situations moving forward.

4. Reducing the Likelihood of Fraudulent Immigration Policies by Governments and NGO’s

Not only can immigrants and refugees use blockchain technology to their benefit; this process helps safeguard the rights of immigrants that are exploited unfairly by governments, NGO’s and other constituents. These organizations must be held accountable by utilizing their strict immigration policies in an honest and trustworthy manner. In many nations across the world, severe abuses of power towards refugees and immigrants have become commonplace. This is surely apparent in Hungary and has occurred on multiple instances. Europe’s leading human rights agency, the Council of Europe, works to defend the rights of citizens across the continent. The Hungarian government has exploited refugees that have been starved, caged and denied legal representation. Civic organizations that have tried to help refugees have been harassed and censored; additionally, the courts in Hungary which are meant to help protect the rights of immigrants have been put under immense pressure by the Hungarian government. A government that is often considered increasingly authoritarian.

Aelf’s interoperability capabilities (the ability to communicate with multiple blockchains) combined with Chainlink’s oracle-based technology (Chainlink’s decentralized Oracle network provides extremely robust security similar to smart contracts that are not prone to a single point of failure) allows data to be shared among multiple parties while being present in a single location that is accessible to all. Important information must be readily available in a secure and verifiable manner in order to determine correct immigrantion and migration practices. Aelf’s public/private blockchain ecosystem also allows important data to be accessible to the correct parties while ensuring certain data is kept private to potentially malicious actors.

In many ways Aelf’s approach to its blockchain project mirrors that of the multitude of problems blockchain technology can help solve relating to immigration and migrations policies globally. Aelf’s strong governance structure allows users of the Aelf Blockchain a great sense of transparency because Aelf token holders contribute greatly to the development of the project moving forward. This is similar to how blockchain technology provides the world with more transparency by helping solve many of the problem’s migrants, government and NGOs’ face on a regular basis. With solutions such as Aelf it is becoming more apparent with each passing day that blockchain technology can be utilized to solve many of the world’s greatest challenges moving forward. #Blackout4Refugees #AelfBlockchain