Does Immigration in The United States Have Any Benefits?
On 19 June, 2012, The New York Times published an online article by John M. MacDonald and Robert J. Sampson, entitled “Don’t Shut the Golden Door”. This article addresses the benefits and issues with immigration, and explains how it has benefitted the United States; socially and economically.
Immigration is always in the headlines, especially when we are in times of political elections. Most of the propaganda coming from the U.S. Government and Citizenship and Immigration Services label immigration masses as harmful and "expensive" costs for the land of the free and home of the brave. Although their main goal is to make Americans believe that immigration is a threat for the social and
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economic statuses of Americans and an issue that should be addressed, what they do not want citizens to realize is that immigration, if well managed, could be very beneficial. In MacDonald and Sampson’s article, there is a reference to the May 2012 issue of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and how the research made by the scholars who participated in the publication of the magazine was one of the most meticulous done to date about the effects that immigration has on urban, suburban and rural American communities.
Propaganda has fed the idea of the increase of crime rates as a side effect of immigration, but according to the results of the research conducted for the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, America is not less safe because of immigration masses and the economy is not being negatively affected by it. Results show how in the regions where the masses have settled in the past decades, the crime rate has gone down, the city and towns have grown, and poor neighborhoods have been rebuilt.
According to the results of the research, immigration was associated with a decrease in crime and poverty rates in the big cities, but also it showed that there was a growth and improvement in the economy. This does not strictly mean that the results are associated with immigration, but the professionals that conducted this research believe that the masses of people coming form another countries looking for new beginnings and a prosper life play an important
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role. Although multiple studies and researches have shown that migration is not a threat for the country and it has been associated with positive influences in the economy and society/culture of a country, there is still an adverse reaction by individuals who are not well educated on the field and are not aware of the situation that immigrant go through in order to seek and find a better opportunity in life. Those individual do not know that migration has been associated with beneficial effects. The main purpose of the authors of this article, is to demonstrate the audience, who in this case are the majority of American citizens who are against migration masses from other countries and believe that immigrants are a threat for the country and the economy by using examples of big cities such as San Antonio and Miami, where the increase of the number of immigrants did not produce an increase in the homicide nor crime rates, and also to interact with the audience and make them realize how this is an important issue that should be addressed, regardless of how many times have we tried to find a solution to this problem before. Although the vocabulary used by the authors might seem a bit elaborated, MacDonald and Sampson do a great job on explaining a complicated topic (a topic that implies lots of issues and different perspectives) to the audience. The style is not really elaborated, MacDonald and Sampson try to support the facts described in the article by using examples of researches conducted in order to make the facts on migration issues more reliable for the audience; for example, the fact that big cities such as Los Angeles and New York are mentioned to describe how the results of researches conducted on migration have shown that younger immigrants were less involved in crimes and violence makes it easier for the audience to find those facts reliable, since they most likely would read the cities’ names and would automatically associate it with a reliable fact. As the article’s conclusion, MacDonald and Sampson do a great job by trying to make the audience aware with the last two paragraphs of the piece, MacDonald/Sampson (2012) states that, “Comprehensive immigration reform — last attempted during the second term of President George W. Bush — should be a priority for whoever wins in November. Mr. Obama’s decision to exempt undocumented children who were brought to the United States by their parents from harsh deportation rules is an overdue, but welcome, first step. Establishing a clear path to citizenship for undocumented adults, creating a more permissive guest-worker program, reducing unwarranted police stops of immigrants and preserving families rather than separating them through deportation are controversial ideas, but they deserve a hearing.” (Don’t Shut the Golden Door). With this reference to the situation that migration is an important issue in the United States and that a comprehensive immigration reform has already been attempted, and although it was an unsuccessful attempt during the presidential term of George W. Bush, the authors want to convey a desire of not giving up. the American government and its citizens should never give up on trying to find a solution to a national issue. In my opinion, as a legal immigrant and international student, I know what the struggles and costs of requesting an American visa.
It is not easy to fit in a society where a bias government and propaganda creates false stereotypes on immigrants, and most of the American population is not aware of the obstacles that immigrants face. Americans are always “fooled” with false facts, but the “Don’t Shut the Golden Door” article by MacDonald and Sampson is a great piece where the issues of migration in the United States are addressed and presented to the audience in a simple but elaborated way, with clear examples from the influence of migration on the economy and
society.
Before 1882, the United States did not have any immigration rules which means anybody that came to America has the opportunity to stay here. The attitude of Americans toward immigrants has changed which transported the Chinese immigration act “into national prominence” (Daniel, 11). However, the Americans are now afraid of the immigrants due to their overpopulation. Half of the Americans rejected the immigrant’s presence, while the other half profits of their cheap labor. In this book “Guarding the Golden Door by Roger Daniels” heavily discovered over the one and only issue of how the immigrants are being treated in America.
In the article, Grow, et al was convinced that illegal immigration had always been the one had the most negatives comments over the last two decades. However, Grow, et al argue that unlawful settlers transpire a component of American’s economic cycle consequently of its society role. On one hand, the authors argue that illegal refugees had a major impact on the economic on the economy through its population and maintenance over the flow of the finical systems. Points are made, illegal refugees had become a market that is too larger to ignore. According to the authors, illegal refugees who are despaired to seek out for an enhanced living, will the contribute profits that are irresistible. Not only that, illegal refugees also help to paying tax for public serves. Furthermore, illegal refugees also assist lower the criminal rate. Finally. Grow, et al provide that illegal refugees dose not harm economy, but a great help to fix it.
Immigration has existed around the world for centuries, decades, and included hundreds of cultures. Tired of poverty, a lack of opportunities, unequal treatment, political corruption, and lacking any choice, many decided to emigrate from their country of birth to seek new opportunities and a new and better life in another country, to settle a future for their families, to work hard and earn a place in life. As the nation of the opportunities, land of the dreams, and because of its foundation of a better, more equal world for all, the United States of America has been a point of hope for many of those people. A lot of nationals around the world have ended their research for a place to call home in the United States of America. By analyzing primary sources and the secondary sources to back up the information, one could find out about what Chinese, Italians, Swedish, and Vietnamese immigrants have experienced in the United States in different time periods from 1865 to 1990.
The United States of America has the largest foreign-born population in the world. With nearly thirteen percent of the total population being foreign-born, one may find it hard to imagine an immigrant-free country (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Immigration has been an integral part of the United States’ overall success and the country’s economy since it was established and without it, would have never been founded at all. Although there are some negative issues associated with immigration and many native-born Americans believe to be more of a problem than a solution, overall it actually has a positive effect. Immigrants in America, among other things, fill jobs where native-born Americans may not want to work or cannot work, they contribute to Social Services and Medicaid through taxes and they help provide the backbone of America, especially by working jobs that natives may have not even considered.
Immigration can be defined as passing foreigners to a country and making it their permanent residence. Reasons ranging from politics, economy, natural disasters, wish to change ones surroundings and poverty are in the list of the major causes of immigration in both history and today. In untied states, immigration comes with complexities in its demographic nature. A lot of cultural and population growth changes have been witnessed as a result of immigration. In the following paper, I will focus on how immigration helps United States as compared to the mostly held view that it hurts America.
In 2007, the White House issued this statement in hopes to influence a Congressional debate: “Immigration has a positive effect on the American economy as a whole and on the income of native-born American workers” (Pear). This statement relates to the idea that immigrants actually enhance the productivity of American workers and increase their earnings in a significant amount, estimated at $37 billion a year (Pear). This is just one way in which immigrants support economic development in the United States. Since the U.S. is an i...
First, immigrants come to the U.S. to work and bring valuable skills which help grow the economy despite the negative views surrounding their part in the U.S. economy. Since the 2008-2009 recession the view on immigration and its effects on the economy has been more negative than positive (Peri, 2012). A study done by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government found that about 50 percent of American adults believe that immigrants burden the country because they, “take jobs, housing, and healthcare”, while the other 50 percent believe that, “immigrants strengthen the country due to their hard work and talents” (Delener & Ventilato, 2008). Over the past decade, “over half of the increase in the U.S. labor force,… was the result of immigration-l...
Immigrants leave their countries in search for a better life and improvement of their situation. There is no singular reason for immigration; motivations range from better economic prospects to political safety. As of late, the number of immigrants living in the United States is an estimated 11 million. Those who immigrate are expected to contribute to the United States culturally, politically, and economically. Yet, full assimilation becomes difficult to achieve when the immigrant is made into “the other” by the country of reception.
The notion that recent Latino immigrants are harbingers of crime and adverse social behaviors has no basis in truth, and in fact, it has been shown that immigrants may in fact have an opposite effect on neighborhood crime. In his article, Sampson (2008) considers the concept of the “Latino Paradox” – the fact that Hispanic Americans often score higher on a wide range of social indicators than expected (including those related to crime), given their socioeconomic disadvantages – comparing and contrasting it with his research collected on Latino immigrant populations in Chicago. Through a case study in 180 Chicago neighborhoods, Sampson suggested that higher rates of immigration in a neighborhood effectively reduces crime rates. The researchers found a significantly lower rate of violent crime among Mexican-Americans compared to Blacks and Whites in the same areas.
America is sometimes referred to as a "nation of immigrants" because of our largely open-door policy toward accepting foreigners pursuing their vision of the American Dream. Recently, there has been a clamor by some politicians and citizens toward creating a predominantly closed-door policy on immigration, arguing that immigrants "threaten" American life by creating unemployment by taking jobs from American workers, using much-needed social services, and encroaching on the "American way of life." While these arguments may seem valid to many, they are almost overwhelmingly false, and more than likely confused with the subject of illegal immigration. In fact, immigrants actually enhance American life by creating, not taking jobs, bolster social service funds through tax payments, and bring valuable technical knowledge and skills to our country. If we are to continue to excel as a nation, the traditionalists who fear an encroachment of foreign-born Americans must learn to accept that we achieved our greatness as a result of being "a nation of immigrants."
“In 2009, the U.S. admitted over 1.1 million legal immigrants, just 6.5 percent of whom possessed employment skills that in demand in the United States” (Report by Immigration Progress). American is a nesting ground for immigrants from all around the world. An important issue in the United States is the problem of illegal immigration. An illegal immigrant is someone who migrates to another country, and breaks the immigration laws of a destined nation. The United States has by far the most immigrants than any other country and this is a catalyst to many of the problem that America is facing today. Due to the increase in Immigration, there is an increase in poverty and economic downfall in the United States. Factors like education, job conflicts, welfare, and unemployment all play a vital role in proving the theory.
With the recent Paris attacks and rumors of foreboding ISIS attacks, the topic of immigration comes up quite often in conversations. Topics such as how the immigrants should be dealt with, what exactly are the benefits and/or detriments of immigration, Donald Trump’s immigration plan, et cetera are usually discussed. With immigration gradually becoming a trending issue, various people have expressed their thoughts through means like social media and news sites. Joining this movement, this will be another text on the topic of immigration. The benefits of immigration will be presented, false information will be proven wrong, and why some people oppose immigration will be explained and discussed.
The thought of arriving immigrants in any host country has been accompanied by reactions of exclusion, and continues to expand throughout the years. During any social illness, immigrants tend to be the first to be held responsible by their recipient societies. Most crimes are associated with immigrants due to the fact that they may not posses the same socio-economics status as natives. Another contributing factor is the media that conducts numerous stories that highlight the image of immigrant crimes to recall the alleged difference between native and foreign born. Undoubtedly, the correlation between immigration and crime has become one of the most controversial discussions in current society. As we enter a new era, immigrants will have more impact on society than ever before (Feldmeyer, 2009).
Immigration poses an ongoing debate in which people are becoming increasingly unsure as to whether immigrants are benefiting their society. This paper will examine three of the main benefits of immigration: the increase in diversity it provides, the rise in skills and labor and the benefits to the economy. Immigration leads to cross-cultural integration, therefore increasing ethnic variety. This increase in diversity is beneficial as it leads to improvements in society, as well as educational development. Increased immigration also means there are more skills and experts available to the hosting countries, as well as extra workers to take up jobs that need filling. Immigration also leads to improvements in the economy as taxes are paid and employment and wages increase.
Firstly, there are several advantages of immigration for countries such as economic growth, cultural exchange, distribution of population and low cost labor. One of the major benefits is economic growth. Globalization plays a prominent role in immigration. Immigration brings innovative ideas and makes good career. Moreover, global market appears only due to immigration. According to Dogra (2011), there are many benefits in terms of economic growth to a country. Immigration is a process which increases consumers by a large percentage. Furthermore, it is very beneficial for companies to get profit and sell their products in their relevant field. In addition to it, more and more immigrant’s leads more sales taxes it helps to a country to boost