The Swiss Experience with Foreign Workers: Lessons for the United States

This article describes the development of the Swiss system of immigration control, which is designed to ensure that foreign workers neither take jobs away from domestic workers nor lower Swiss wages and working standards. Swiss controls have been particularly effective in preventing the immigration of illegal foreign workers by making the employer the key instrument in the control process. During the 1945–62 period, the Swiss attempted to exploit the short-run economic advantages of foreign workers by admitting large numbers of such workers, a policy that produced many social, cultural, and political problems. By imposing tighter controls during the next twenty years, however, the Swiss were able to maximize the advantages of immigration, and minimize its disadvantages. The author argues that the Swiss experience offers valuable lessons to those currently debating immigration policy in the United States.