Ask HN: Why can people migrate to some countries, but not in the opposite dir?

My assumption is counties want immigrants who are going to help their economy and assimilate into the culture, not those who are going to be a drain on assistance programs and cause friction with the establish culture and norms of the country.

No matter where someone comes from, both of these things are a possibility on an individual level, but at a population level, it’s more likely to move one way vs the other.

There is also the issue of supply and demand. Some countries have a lot of people wanting to move there, other counties, not so much. If those desirable countries let in everyone, without a rate limit, they’d likely become undesirable pretty quickly. Housing and resources shortages, for example. Resource shortages quickly lead to crime, and it snowballs from there.