Liberalize Immigration Analysis

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In regards to immigration, there are many different theories of thought. Some people believe liberalization of immigration policies is a necessity, while others disagree. Immigration affects countries differently and can have many wide-ranging economic and political consequences. Controversies (Chapter 14) attempts to explore this very hot-topic argument in depth by providing reasoning and research for each side. Throughout this essay I will explore how the topic of immigration is discussed within the academic community and eventually insert my opinion on whether or not I believe immigration policies should be liberalized. There are many popular arguments behind the belief that countries SHOULD liberalize immigration policies. James F. Hollifield …show more content…

Martin discusses several ideas behind his reasoning, the most important being the economy. Martin writes, “Advocates of liberalization argue that immigration speeds economic growth. More immigrants do produce a larger economy, but the net economic benefits of immigration in migrant receiving countries are very small.” (Martin, 418) Martin believes that although the economy surges with each new batch of immigrants, it is ultimately not enough for it to be a substantial argument. Martin continues to discuss in fundamental concept of WHY people migrate and how it affects countries in which people migrate too. The next important idea that he brings to the table is that of economic inequality. This concept conceptually links back to his economic reasonings on several levels. Although immigrants bring in many jobs, these are mostly in the low-wage unskilled labor sector of the economy. This is turn contributes to the ever-so-growing economic equality. And as the gap between the rich and poor widens, serious problems within both the political and economics spheres can occur. But as a whole, the demand for labor itself is decreasing. Martin writes “The numbers versus rights trade-off reflects the fact that the demand for labor is downward-sloping.” (Martin, 426) His argument is essentially constructed around the idea that in reality, immigrants do not offer host countries enough of an economic incentive for their policies to be liberalized. He finishes off his argument by stating that each country will have to weigh the pros and cons of liberalizing their immigration. As a whole Martin believes that immigration brings in many changes, making it extremely hard to predict how they will affect the host country on a multitude of levels. And while I believe in some of the points Martin brings up, I ultimately think that it is our civil duty liberalize immigration and

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