Category: Immigration

Introduction

For the longest time now, immigrants have continued to shape the history of America. Due to many opportunities present in the US, many foreigners move to America from across the globe. As a matter of fact, the fact of cultural diversity has been cited as one of the strongest aspects of America in regard to development.

In the past, there were no restrictions on immigration to the US but the country now is characterized by many immigration restrictions. However, even with the current strict restrictions, there are estimated undocumented immigrants adding up to 12 million today.

The imposition of these restrictions does not necessarily mean that immigration only impact the host country negatively but rather it is meant to maintain the countrys stability in all aspects. This paper will evaluate how the US Government should encourage the immigration because of its benefits to the nation.

US immigration policy

Due to the increasing volumes of immigrants, restrictions were made to regulate this number which was rising gradually. Although there were initial several restrictions to US immigration, the Immigration and Nationality Act was and still is the most effective policy although it abolishes quotas that were previously based on national origin.

This was replaced by several preferences which have been used to determine who gains entry to the United States. Family members are among those who gain entry without restrictions. Other preferences include professional workers such as scientists and artists among others although their entry is only acceptable in a short supply.

This restriction was meant to create equality among people from all nationalities and particularly to remove the previous restriction that had been imposed on Asia (Cohn 1).

Reasons for increased immigration to the US

There is no particular reason causing the ever rising immigration to the United States. Some of the contributing factors as reported by various economic historians include political and economic stability in the USA, great differences in real wages between United States and other countries, high degree of urbanization and industrialization in the United States, previous immigrations from other countries and population growth rates in the home countries of the immigrants. The factor of real wage difference between the U.S. and other countries carries a lot of weight in immigration rates to the United States of America (Cohn 1).

With economy fluctuating in many nations nowadays, many employees are receiving very low income which can barely sustain their basic needs alone. Additionally, life has become very expensive with prices on basic commodities spiking up year in year out. While many countries across the globe are facing economic crisis, the United States of America have always maintained its economy stable.

This has been depicted in various aspects of life including rates of wages for employees at various levels. For instance, in a country such as Kenya, university graduate employees earn a monthly salary of around Kshs. 30,000 which is equivalent to an estimate of $ 400.

On the other hand, in the United States of America, an ordinary messenger with no further education beyond high school may be earning up to $ 500 a month with possibilities of other employee benefits. It is precisely for this factor that many people from economically instable countries immigrate to America purposely to seek for sustainable sources of income ad better livelihood (U.S. Immigration Support 1).

Additionally, the high degree of industrialization and urbanization in the United States of America has been another contributing factor to the increasing immigration from many countries. Due to its economic stability, The U.S. has been in a better position to develop in industrialization.

This provides more employment opportunities in the U.S. which are very rare in other countries due to lack of technological knowhow and other factors which facilitate industrialization. These countries lack economic and industrial development as they are only stuck to traditional modes of gaining income which are insufficient to maintain the ever rising population.

Additionally, many countries have broken their traditional ties creating a free workforce and more mobile laborers. Besides, young graduates now prefer working in a place where they have opportunities to be creative and develop experimental projects.

Many countries do not have the equipment to facilitate these developments and this causes many young people to move to U.S. not only as graduates to work, but also to further their studies where the level of education is way above the rest.

The factor of urbanization has also contributed to the increasing immigration to the U.S. with many people moving to the United States of America due to the attraction of urbanization which is directly associated with industrialization and economic stability.

Another very important reason causing the increase in immigration to the U.S. is the need to earn extra cash. Many people are moving to the U.S. not for the desire for development and education opportunities, but simply to earn money. These people do not care about the kind of job they land into it as long as it is paying them well enough to take care of their families back home.

As a matter of fact, most of them do what many would call low class jobs such cleaning, cooking, helping in personal houses as house helps but this does not matter to them because what they earn in these jobs is way much better than what they would earn back home even with more decent jobs.

Due to border restriction, these people are stuck in the foreign countries for several years not because they want to but because they have to. However, this does not hold them back, as they send the greatest part of their earnings back home most of who use unofficial means of sending money to evade taxation and recording procedures (Walt 1).

This has been demonstrated by the amount of their earnings they send home while they keep very little for themselves characterized by low standards of living they are exposed to.

However, despite the suffering of being separated from families and unfavorable living conditions as well as the risks of importation, the efforts do pay handsomely as research shows that almost all of these immigrants have changed the lives of their families a great deal from house ownership to educating their children and improving their lives at all levels (Walt 1).

Impacts of immigration to the United States of America

Positive impacts

Despite many people thinking that immigration causes a reduction in the general wage rate of workers in the United States, the fact is that immigration does actually result to an increase in wage rates. However, this is only possible if the immigrants bring in new economic resources or at least work towards providing additional resources.

A good example of a positive result of immigration is the expansion of the westward part of the United States resulting from the large scale immigration from Europe. This move in turn resulted to an increase in natural resources and land and kept the wages high.

This was possible through establishment of new job opportunities thus maintaining the ratio between job opportunities and job seekers. Even in the event that immigration does not result to increase in wage rate, the rate is kept constant with no change at all.

Besides having impacts on wage rate, immigration also benefits the labor force by availing new employees with different skills and expertise thus creating a diversified workforce within the U.S. This diversification is very significant in development and invention of new technologies as ideas are much diversified and based on a wider global scale (Friedberg and Hunt 32).

This means that such developments and advancements can be made based on different target markets and this would in return result to more income for the country hence more economic stabilization. Additionally, increased labor force relieves the pressure of multitasking and facilitates division of labor and specialization. This helps improve production in all aspects of the economy.

Economic benefits have also been reported in the U.S. in regard to immigration. Some of these immigrants do not just move to the United States of America for pleasure or better lifestyle, but to seek scientific opportunities which are hardly available in their home countries.

Once they get such opportunities, they do not hesitate to engage in innovative activities which are beneficial to all. Since America has been a leading nation in technological advancements, scientific individuals are encouraged to move there even if temporarily since there is an already existing conducive environment for such activities.

This way, the country gets to be the primary beneficiary of scientific and other related developments. Most of the immigrants moving to the United States of America are already educated individuals who are ready to work immediately. This way, living conditions of citizens are generally improved.

Government income may as well increase from taxes paid indirectly through purchases made on commodities by the illegal immigrants as well as other taxation income. Lastly, the fact that the number of individuals migrating to the U.S. to seek employment is regulated during periods of low job opportunities proves that the U.S. has nothing to lose after all.

Negative impacts

Despite all the benefits that the U.S. has to gain from immigrants, there are a few challenges facing the U.S. due to the increasing rates of immigrations. Pressure on population is the most common challenge faced, not only in the U.S. but in any other country in which immigrants move to.

Physical overcrowding in residential areas as well as in urban centers and industrial areas poses a great environmental risk due to the consequent pollution associated with overcrowding. Besides environmental risks, high immigration rates result to overcrowding in government social services and amenities such as public transport means and hospitals among others (Hanes 55).

This results to inadequate provision of social services to the Native American citizens which may have serious national ramifications. In this case, the U.S. government is forced to invest more of its income on such services instead of using it on other economic development aspects. This pulls the country back economically as it remains stagnant with no economic advancements.

Although we discussed earlier that immigrations may result to increased wages in the native country, this is not always the case.

This is because if the inflow of more labor force continues to increase without a similar inflow of new resources and capital, an imbalance between the two factors is created and resulting to decreased wages as the labor force becomes more than the resources in the market.

When this happens, many of the native job seekers as well as the immigrants are left jobless and this creates a setback in which the living standards of such individuals are lowered.

Conclusion

Immigration to the U.S. has been very high going back to historical times such as World War I (Chiswick 904). People from all over the world have been moving to the U.S. at an alarming rate up until the nationality and immigration Act was implemented to regulate persons gaining entry to the country.

This has been done by imposing quotas to people who are non-native American citizens. However, the restrictions differ depending on the different groups of immigrants which include professionals, students and relatives to U.S. native citizens among others. Despite these restrictions, immigrants have been beneficial to the U.S. in various fields including economy, workforce and diversity among others.

However, high rates of immigration do put pressure on the U.S. in terms of population, use of government services and sometimes by causing a reduction in the average wage rate of American employees. As a result, proper evaluation between the positive and the negative sides of immigration should be made prior to imposition of immigration restrictions.

Works Cited

Chiswick, Barry. The effects of Americanization on the earnings of foreign-born men. Journal of political economy 86. (1978): 897  921. Print.

Cohn, Raymond. Immigration to the United States. EH.net: Economic history services. (2010). Web. <http://eh.net/encyclopedia/immigration-to-the-united-states/>

Friedberg, Rachael. and Jennifer, Hunt. The impact of immigration on host countrys wages, employment and growth. The journal of economic perspectives 9. (1995): 23  44. Print.

Hanes, Christopher. Immigrants relative rate of wage growth in the late nineteenth century. Explorations in economic history 33. (1996): 35  64. Print.

U.S. IS. Immigration to the United States. U.S. Immigration support: online guide to U.S visas, green cards and citizenship. (2011). Web.

Walt, Vivienne. Follow the money. Time magazine world. (26 November 2005). Web. <http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1134698,00.html>

Introduction

Immigration refers to entry persons into a particular country with an intention of settling there while immigration policies are set of rules, regulations as well as directives set by the government in order to control the entrance of people from other countries. Canadian immigration policies are therefore, acts of parliament that limits individual persons from entering into the country.

Canadian immigration is marked with discrimination in its history. This discrimination was felt in form of class, gender as well as race. The immigration department had an intense bias on those people who were poor and only accepted people on the basis that they were rich and therefore would work into the benefit of the Canadians (Arat-koc, 1999. 208).

The Canadian government had stated racist laws and practices which were meant to restrict certain groups of people in terms of class, race as well as gender. However, these policies changed with the introduction of point system policies which advocated for non-discriminatory immigration hence changing the face of the Canadian immigration policy (Arat-koc, 1999. 209).

This paper critically evaluates ways in which assumptions about class, gender and race shaped Canadian immigration policies before and after the introduction of the points system in 1967. The paper also points out the consequences for social inequality in each period.

How assumptions about class, gender and race shaped Canadian immigration policies before the introduction of the points system

According to Arat-Koc, 1999, before the introduction of Canadian points system in 1967, Canada experienced massive discrimination in terms of gender, class and race (p. 208). This was so intense in that the immigrants were undergoing severe maltreatments instances meted out by the Canadian government. Gender was one of the bases of restriction stated in the Canadian policy.

In history, Canada is known to discriminate against women whereby women were seen as a burden to the society. Only those women who belonged to a certain racial group or from a recognized ethnic membership were treated differently since they were viewed to represent a positive form of Nation building.

Women were generally seen as biological and cultural reproducers. This is due to the fact that they gave birth to children who represent a certain culture depending on the race and ethnic group from which they belong. They were also seen as cultural transmitters since they could be married in different racial background as well as different ethnic group.

In this case, they were restricted to make an entrance into Canada to prevent those cultural transmissions. Hence only married women who belonged to a certain race or a certain ethnic group were allowed to migrate in Canada (Arat-Koc, 1999. 208).

In addition, women were seen as dependents on men. This meant that women were not supposed to own anything by themselves including skilled women. They were not supposed to have an identity card, visa or any other legal documents.

They were simply identified by their husbands. In cases where single women were allowed to migrate, they were allowed as domestic workers who would meet the needs of middle class families as well as with the expectation that these women would be married and be mothers with a full citizenship (Carty, 1994.190).

Women discrimination helped in shaping Canadian immigration policies in that it lessened the number of dependents since the Canadian government viewed women as dependents. Women were denied chances to acquire education hence, increasing the number of dependent in contrast. Thus, by allowing women as domestic workers to the middle class families, the policies reduced dependents hence improvement of Canadian economy.

On the other hand, women discrimination in Canadian policies robbed the country of potential investors. If women were given chances to acquire education, they could have equally improved the economy since they had potential to work to the development of the country (Anderson & Kirkham, 2009. 10).

Economic implications shaped the policies in terms of class hence it was also a contributing factor to the immigration department in Canada. They viewed poor and disabled people as a blocking factor to the economic resources hence only those immigrants who had assets or those who would help in improving the economy of the Canadians were allowed into the country.

This helped the Canadians in reduction of less privileged persons to the country since they were viewed as a burden to the society. Carty ,1994, observes that the Canadians policies had set laws restricting people without a set amount of money to enter the country. This however, blocked highly skilled personnel who had potential to transform the Canadian economy.

It is of the essence to note that, economy of a country does not depend on how much money people have but it highly depends on the potential of the people in the country (p. 194).

In addition, racial discrimination was a determinant factor for the immigrants into the Canadian territory. Immigrants especially from African countries were discriminated against and therefore could not gain entry into Canada. A few who managed entry faced discrimination in terms of settlement, social places as well as markets.

Although they had potential to improve on the economy, they were restricted by the racial discrimination which they faced (Tator, 1996). It is important to note that due to assumptions against gender, class and race, Canada underwent economic recession hence forcing the government to consider the countys immigration policies (p.155). Racism greatly affects healthcare.

According to Sannie and Annette, 2008, the Canadian healthcare is inaccessible especially to Aboriginal people. This is due to their living standards which are a result of years of discrimination by the Canadians. They worked for more hours yet received little payment which was unable to cover their needs. In this case they were forced to work over-time hence lacking time to take care of their health (p. 110).

How assumptions about class, gender and race shaped Canadian immigration policies after the introduction of the points system

In early 1960, the face of the Canadian immigration changed as the point system policies were introduced. The point system advocated for non-discriminatory immigration hence bringing change in the country at large.

More immigrants were allowed to gain entry into the country as racial, gender as well as class discrimination ceased to dominate in the Canadian immigration policies. This gave way to traditional cultures from African countries to gain an opportunity to invest in the country (Arat-koc, 1999. 210).

According to Charles et al, 2006, this shift to point system however, tends to create problems on the level of skills of the immigrants. This is due to the processes that were in progress in which the Canadians were shifting towards a more urban-industrial economy (p.8). Hence, there was a need to bring the process into the same level of skills that would help to support this transformation.

It is important to note that in order to succeed in this transformation, the immigration policies had to change. This was achieved through creation of point system which would help the Canadians in assessing the prospective immigrants while trying to up-grade the level of skills of the new immigrants.

Nevertheless, despite the positive shift in the Canadian immigration department, the point system became the policy which was used to assess which economy class, business class, investors, entrepreneurs as well as self-employment immigrant would be granted visa entry into Canada. In addition, family class and humanitarian class were also assessed by the point system while a person who sought entry through family class were considered since the point system advocated for family reunion (Charles et al, 2006. 9).

The prospective immigrants assessed by the point system needed to gather over 50 points out of 100 points which were needed in order to obtain an entry visa while those who sought entry through family class were awarded 15 points as a bonus. This meant that the relatives had greater chances to gain entry visas.

In order to obtain the desired points for the visa, the immigration department assessed the prospective immigrants on a wide variety of factors including education, age, work experience as well as occupation. The point system was lenient as it had stated that the prospective immigrant did not need to get points in all of those areas but some areas with higher points were enough to be given an entry visa (Tator, 1996. 153).

As time passed, the occupation factor was changed as occupational needs were reduced while more points were awarded to age, education and official language fluency. It is worthy to note that more emphasis was given to these three categories while from mid-ninety, more emphasis was given to education, age and native language with a pass mark of over 60 points.

This shift in points and weights brought about more change in the Canadian immigration policies which put more emphasis on factors that would lead to acceptance of more immigrants who would bring about a positive shift in the Canadian economy in the long-run (Charles et al, 2006. 9).

Consequences for social inequality before point system

Social inequality had dominated Canada before the introduction of point system. This was due to the fact that there was massive discrimination against gender, class and race in the Canadian immigration policy. Due to discrimination, the nation was experiencing so many difficulties at the time. One of the consequences of social inequality was health issues.

According to Anderson and Kirkham, 2009, the social status in which people lives in greatly affects their health. In Canada, the people who were discriminated especially Aboriginal people faced more health care problems since they were living in adverse poverty (p.8). They worked a lot yet they received less hence they did not have time to take care of their health. This resulted into more poverty as feeding habit was also a problem.

Consequently, due to discrimination, women were poor and therefore worked for long hours. This limited them into taking time to manage their health. This accordingly led to decrease in the labor force as there were more death cases due to poor health. Economic inequality is yet another consequence.

It is evident that the Canadians immigration policies were discriminatory. For example, people who belonged to a certain economic class were getting more attention in terms of health care facilities as well as allowances while other less privileged people languished in poverty.

This led to unequal economy since rich people continued to be rich while poor people remained poor. Thus, economic inequality is greatly influenced by poverty since nations with higher economic and social inequality have the highest level of poverty (Arat-koc, 1999).

Poverty is yet another consequence of social inequality. It is evident that most of the immigrants were living in adverse poverty. This was brought about by immigration policies which discriminated against the immigrants before the introduction of point system policies (p. 208). Poverty and economic inequality work hand in hand as they greatly affect the health of individuals.

Poor infrastructure development was also as a result of social inequality. This was brought about by unfair distribution of natural resources. It is evidence that in Canada; only some people from a certain economy class had access to social amenities like good health care and good housing among other social amenities (Charles et al, 2006, 10).

Consequences for social inequality after point system

The point system policy in Canada was effective as it brought about change in the Canadian immigration department. This is due to the fact that the system advocated for non-discriminatory immigration. This led to massive migration of people into the country hence changing the face of Canada. Although point system brought about change in the face of the Canadian immigration policies, social inequalities have continued to dominate in Canada.

Consequently, more poverty is evident as most people especially the Aboriginal people have continued to live in abject poverty (Tator, 1996). In addition, income inequality has continued to dominate Canada even after the introduction of point system. This is due to social inequality which limits the use of the resources available to only those people who belong to a certain class (p. 153).

Although immigration policies have changed over the years, it is evident that most people in the labor market earn less income. This is aggravated by the level of poverty among many people in Canada due to social inequality. Likewise, health inequality has been a problem especially to the poor who use most of their time working in order to cater for their needs.

This makes it impossible for the poor to set time so as to care for their health. Besides, health facilities tend to be expensive hence inaccessible to poor people. Consequently, the community experiences a high mortality rate as well as deteriorating labor market due to poor health (Charles et al, 2006. 8).

Conclusion

In reference to the discussion above, it is evident that immigration policies in the country can be the determining factor in the economic success of the country. This is seen in the findings of the Canadians immigration policy which was characterized by discriminatory policies. It is clear that the discriminatory policies in Canada limited the country into improvement of the countrys economic level.

This was due to the fact that they restricted the migration of the potential investors who would have prevented the country from economic recession. It is important for the country to give foreigners the opportunities to work or to do business in the country since these are the potential investors who would help in raising the economy of the country.

Just like the change into the point system policy in Canada, it is crucial to remove restrictions especially discriminatory policies which would otherwise hinder social and economic growth

References

Anderson, J., & Kirkham, S. (2009). Constructing Nation: The gendering and racializing of the Canadian health-care system. Burnaby, BC: Simon Fraser University; 7-14.

Arat-koc, S., (1999). Gender and Race in non-discriminatory immigration policies in Canada. Canada: Canadian Scholars press: 207-232

Carty, L. (1994). African Canadian women and the states: Labor A only, please. Toronto: University of Toronto press: 189-210.

Charles, M., Alan, G., & Christopher, W. (2006). Impacts of the Point System and Immigration Policy Levers on Skill Characteristics of Canadian Immigrants. Canada: Queens University; 1-76.

Sannie, Y., & Annette, J. (2008). Race matters: Racialization and egalitarian discourses involving Aboriginal people in the Canadian health care context. Canada: University of British Columbia;109-127.

Tator, C. (1996). Anti-Racism and the human service delivery system. Toronto: University of Toronto press; 152-170.

Over the last one and half centuries, the United Kingdom has experienced a substantial turn up of its immigrant population.

Some of the common reasons why people from other countries would move into the UK include; joining family members already living in the country, search for employment opportunities, educational needs, and escape from natural disasters or political persecution, among other reasons.

Except in the recent years where the number has decreased as a result of the heightening recession, people seeking employment have always constituted the largest number of the total inflows in the UK.

Among the countries whose people have continued to enjoy free movement and settlement in the UK are those who are members of the European Union, developing countries across the world, and former colonies such as New Zealand, India, Canada, Australia and Jamaica.

The issue of foreign inflows in the UK has been an ever-changing trend in the past one and half centuries (Hatton 2005, p. 724). However, immigrations in the country are observed to have been diverse in the 21^st century than at any other moment in the countrys history.

This actually is a clear indication that the practice of foreign inflow in the UK is there to stay. Constant emigration of UK citizens into other regions has always created room for more inflows in the country and this minimizes the tensions of population pressure in London, which is undoubtedly the leading absorber of majority of the foreign citizens who find their way into the country, every year.

As it would be observed, immigrations into the UK, for the last one and half centuries have greatly transformed the city of London in many ways. The trend of rampant demographic changes has triggered both positive and negative effects to the culture and life of this diverse city.

Obviously, London has changed drastically over the past 150 years, especially with it becoming a multicultural city. The UK ranks top among the countries that receive the highest number of foreign immigrants in the world. However, many of these foreigners come from different cultural settings, thus adding up to the existing cultural strength.

This trend has made London more multicultural than it would be in the years before the twentieth century. Representing about 200 countries and having over 300 languages being spoken within its boundaries, London is arguably the most multi-racial place in the world.

Moreover, the city also represents every religion, culture, and faith in the world. As a matter of fact, the idea of a diverse multi-cultural setting has had a positive impact to the citys development and advancement, thus making it a hub of trade in the world.

London has always viewed its immigrants and foreign investors as powerful assets of its economical success thus welcoming their full presence in the region (Wadsworth 2010). This way, the capital continues to benefit in many ways, out of the constant presence of foreign talent and skills.

Immigration has also played a key role in the life of Londoners, through flexibility, diversity and international experience. All these have a significant role in pinpointing Londons competitive advantage in the productive economy. One way of achieving this advantage is through the provision of an elastic supply of skilled labor, which may be lacking in the domestic labor supply.

More importantly, immigrants in the London city have always filled up for lower level jobs that have been turned down by the indigenous work force, and this helps in strengthening the citys productivity and competitiveness.

However, regardless of the many positive impacts of immigration into the culture and life of London, the trend has also been associated with a number of negative effects.

For instance, immigrants from various geographical regions who come in the UK are rarely willing to learn and appreciate the indigenous culture, more than they are wiling to continue practicing their own culture and this poses serious threats to the way of life of the indigenous natives.

To make the matter worse, some native citizens and residents have also found themselves being absorbed in the cultural styles of the foreigners, something which has resulted to gradual death of their own culture. This habit may not be acceptable in the eyes of many indigenous natives, but it has taken place in many grounds more often.

Another negative effect of immigration is that, it has substantially contributed to erosion of employment prospects in London, among other major cities in the UK, where the indigenous labor force has to compete with immigrant groups who possess lower expectations and whose labor is easily available at a cheap cost (Dustmann & Fabbri 2005).

Another outstanding aspect of immigration which has negatively transformed the life and culture of London is the outstanding impact this would have on the social housing needs.

The demand for housing facilities is indeed the most immediate impact of foreign migrants in London and most low and middle-earning immigrants are unable to access the housing needs in the private sector, thus ending up fighting for the few available social housing facilities.

The high levels of foreign demographics in the city have multiplied the numbers of persons in search for accommodation in the region and even though this has triggered further developments over the years, through the incentive to increase housing supply in the capital, it has also come along with a heavy price, whereby both the indigenous natives and the immigrants are forced to part with high prices for housing facilities.

Housing prices in the city of London have risen significantly in the recent past, than in any other part of the country and this explains the big cost of living which the indigenous natives continue to face at the expense of immigrants (Woodridge 2005, p. 22).

Immigration has continued to impose a significant impact in the life and the culture of the British Capital. The practice is observed to have brought mixed impacts to the region and this contributes enormously to its growth and development.

As observed from this essay, the benefits of immigration have been immense to the overall development of the London city, the same reason why this trend cant be underestimated at any face value. As a matter of fact, the British capital has always found great value in the international talent, which plays a key part in its economic development.

More importantly, the migrant labor force constitutes more than one quarter of the citys overall workforce and for this reason immigrants have directly continued to transform the life and culture of the region in many ways.

Reference List

Dustmann, C & Fabbri, F 2005, The Impact of Immigration on the British Labour Market, The Economic Journal, vol. 115 no. 507, pp. 324-341.

Hatton, T 2005, Explaining trends in UK immigration, Journal of Population Economics, vol. 18 no. 4, pp. 719-740.

Wadsworth, J 2010, The UK Labour Market and Immigration, National Institute Economic Review, vol. 213 no. 1, pp. 35-42.

Woodbridge, J 2005, Sizing the Unauthorised (illegal) Migrant Population in the United Kingdom in 2001, United Kingdom, Home Office London.

For several years, debates have occurred on whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the United States. Laws used to regulate both legal and illegal immigration have caused debates in social and political settings. Some leaders have supported measures aimed at controlling the influx of immigrants.

Recently, republicans in Kansas differed on whether or not to extend work permits for some immigrants. The immigrants were required to have no criminal records in a period of five years (Ziegler, 2012).

The American population has a large percentage of immigrants from different continents. Europeans came to America several years ago in search of resources. Other immigrants were brought as slaves and others were allowed in through legal means.

There are benefits associated with immigrants in the United States. It is known that immigrants are a source of cheap labor. Most illegal immigrants do not have enough education.

Therefore, they have to do blue color jobs which are despised by Native Americans (Lynch and Woodyard, 2006). Most construction companies and farms rely on immigrants for cheap labor. Pessimistic economists argue that giving immigrants jobs, transfer wealth from Americans to foreigners.

Diversification of culture, food, customs, believes, religion and talent of Americans was contributed by immigrants. Today, people go to Chinese, Korean, Mexican, Ethiopian and Japanese restaurants to enjoy traditional foods. These foods and other traditional activities were brought by immigrants.

However, several people believe that immigrants jeopardize American cultures, customs and economy (Hirschman, 2006). On the other hand, several ideas which have been used in technology, medicine, politics, education and administration were generated by immigrants.

Whether immigrants are legal or illegal, they have valuable attributes which are beneficial to the United States. Some technological developments which are currently enjoyed by Americans were contributed by immigrants. Technology has helped Americans to develop at a higher rate.

Immigrants have also contributed negatively. This has made Americans to have a poor perception towards immigrants from some regions in the world. What happened on September 11 was an unfortunate event in history of the United States. People who carried out the attacks were immigrants who had been trained in American institutions. As a result, most people changed their perception towards such immigrants (The New York Times, 2011).

Use of drugs in several states has been attributed to increased number of immigrants from foreign countries. Illegal immigrants are used by drug dealers to bring drugs to the United States. It has been argued that without illegal immigrants, use of drugs would be lower (Shah, 2008). However, some of the drugs in question have a positive effect in medicine.

Opiates have been incorporated into several pain killers which are prescribed by medical practitioners. It was initially brought from Asia as a stimulant but researchers used it to develop pain killers. Marijuana is illegal in most states but it is prescribed by doctors to patients who suffer from glaucoma and other chronic diseases.

This drug was introduced to the United States by immigrants from Central America and Caribbean countries. Some American people believe that illegal immigrants use social amenities without paying tax. This is not entirely true because when immigrants buy products, they pay taxes indirectly.

If they are accepted into the American system, they can pay taxes like American people. Government started keeping records of immigrants in 1820. The records show that over 80 million people have immigrated into the United States (Hirschman, 2006). Therefore, people should know that most Americans are descendants of immigrants who were despised during their time.

Works Cited

Hirschman, Charles. The impacts of Immigration on American society: Looking Backwards to the Future. Border battles; the U.S. Immigration debates. 2006. Web.

Lynch David J., and Woodyard Chris. Immigrants claim pivotal role in economy. USA Today. 4 Nov. 2006. Web.

Shah, Anup. Immigration. Global Issues. 2008. Web.

The New York Times. Immigration and Terrorism. The New York Times. 5 Oct. 2001. Web.

Ziegler, Laura. Controversy in Kansas over Proposed Immigration bill. Kansas City Public media. 7 Feb. 2012. Web.

Globally, the rate of immigration to developed countries stands at an alarming rate. The immigration policy is clear in most of the first world countries. Ironically, the problem of illegal immigrant still has a tremendous effect to the economic development of the host country.

A country like the United States of America boasts of high number of immigrants who positively contribute to its economy. Intuitively, both illegal and educated/legal immigrants pose economic benefits to the host country.

Unfortunately, most countries have imposed strict immigration laws to restrict the entry of illegal immigrants. Economically, immigrants pose great advantages to the growth of the host country especially in terms of labor and investment or businesses ventures.

First, most immigrants provide labor to the market at a lower rate (low wages) when compared to the natives. Most industries resort to expanding and hiring of new workers especially when there are many job seekers. Consequently, there are more jobs, which increase the rate of production.

Furthermore, most immigrants induce competition within the market, which later enhance the rate of production in the industrial sector or labor market. This is because most workers become oriented towards providing both quality and quantity services in order to keep their jobs.

More over, due to competition the low-skilled natives tend to improve their education levels in order to compete adequately with the immigrants. Eventually, a highly educated society contributes to innovation and research, which are good elements of the economy.

For instance, a critical analysis of the United States labor market in the health sector shows that the state needs at least 126, 000 nurses yet the immigration policy bars acquisition of these personnel (Fennnelly and Huart 2010, 2). Currently, most of the people in developed countries are of old age.

Unfortunately, eventually they may exit the labor market thus, leaving behind a great gap in the various industries. Nevertheless, incase there are many immigrants then the labor market will not suffer from professional deficit as they will willingly take over the available job opportunities (Fennelly and Huart 2010, 1).

Therefore, immigrants who provide social services especially in the medical sector subsequently pose benefits to the economic growth of the country.

Secondly, some immigrants establish businesses in their host countries. Consequently, besides providing jobs to other immigrants or some members of the host country they also contribute to the economic growth of the country through payment of taxes.

Similarly, immigrants who seek jobs in their host countries contribute to the economy of the host nation through mandatory payment of tax. Economically, the rate of payment of tax to the host country is always lower than the services it provides to the immigrants.

In addition, some of the immigrants are risk takers and may venture in jobs or businesses, which the natives dislike. Others accept to work overtime yet the employer pays them low wages. Although the aforementioned benefit may seem controversial to humanity, eventually it is the host country, which benefits.

An immigration of skilled labor does not only contribute to the social development of the host country but also adds value to the economic sector of the nation (Rourke 2011, 40).

Some of the immigrants posses great talents like music and sports especially football and athletics, which leads to both economic and social growth of the host country. Therefore, immigration offers professional and talent diversity in a country eventually contributing positively to the economical growth.

Thirdly, through establishing businesses and provision of labor, the immigrants eventually keep the inflation rates in the host country at a lower rate. Economically, low inflation rate is beneficial to the strength of the currency.

Similarly, the immigrants boost social factors like rents and housing, which eventually strengthens the economy of the host country. Through the provision of cheap skilled labor, both the natives and the immigrants increase the urgency or need of essential services.

Similarly, the expenditure on food, energy and shelter/housing remains at a lower level. Consequently, this reduces inflation in the host country and subsequently, contributes to the growth of the economy.

Statistically, most developed countries experience population influx through immigration. For example, the state of Minnesota recorded an influx of more than 200,000 immigrants in 2008 alone (Friedberg and Hunt 1995, 24).

Subsequently, this population has a significant percentage of more than eight percent in the work force (Friedberg and Hunt 1995, 27). Consequently, according to Albert Saiz, an economist, the phenomenon of immigration into the United States greatly contributes its economic growth. In addition, economists from the United States assert that the economic gain from the immigrants stands at $331 million dollars (Solow 1956, 90).

Therefore, immigrants provide both skilled and unskilled labor to the host country. Increased labor and market output strengthens the economy of the host nation.

A pursuant of skilled immigrant leads to high production in the economy of the host country. Production rate positively correlates with labor and human capital. Therefore, besides immigrants putting pressure on the natives to pursue higher education high human capital speeds up the economic growth.

On the other hand, most immigrants stay temporarily in their host country. An issue like lack of proper assimilation to the host country may motivate an immigrant to go back to his or her own country. Cultural diversity and language barriers are some of the factors, which may prompt an individual to re-immigrate.

Therefore, after working in a host country for a few years they go back to their mother countries. Economically, this step benefits the host country. Although most of them pay for social services like retirement package, medical coverage and other forms of insurance.

They forgo their investment during the process of re-immigration. Eventually, it is the host country, which benefits through experiencing high returns leading to economic growth.

In conclusion, immigration is a global issue that is still debatable in most countries more so, the developed nations. Each country has an immigration policy. However, eventually there is always an influx of both legal and illegal immigrants.

Although most countries bars freely entrance of foreigners, critical analysis of the impact of immigration shows that the host country grows economically. Most immigrants provide cheap labor while others establish businesses, which significantly contribute to the government especially through tax payment.

Furthermore, through acceptance of low wages, the immigrants contribute to the economy through acquisition of social amenities or services. Talent wise, some immigrants participate in international activities like football and athletics, which eventually contribute positively to both the social and economy of the host country.

Therefore, besides few social disadvantages posed by immigrants, most of them participate in the economic growth especially through provision of cheap skilled labor.

Bibliography

Fennelly, Katherine and Huart Anne. The economic impact of immigration in Minessota. North West Area Foundation. Web.

Friedberg, Rachel and Hunt Jennifer. The Impact of Immigrants on Host Country Wages, Employment and Growth. the Journal of Economic Perspectives 9, no. 2 (1995): 23-44.

Rourke, John. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in World Politic. U.S: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin Publisher, 2011

Solow Robert. A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 70, no.1 (1956): 65-94.

Introduction

An immigration policy is a guideline that determines the people that can be allowed to migrate into a country. It can be crafted in a way that it prohibits or allows foreigners to migrate into a country.

The two main types of immigration policies are immigration admission policies and immigration control polices.

Immigration admission policies regulate the number and types of immigrants that are allowed into a given country. Immigration control polices, on the other hand, hinder some immigrants from getting into a given country.

The government should pursue a policy that allows immigration and also prohibits illegal or even limit unnecessary immigration.

This will help ensure that immigrant labor, control illegal immigration and control the negative perception about immigration are all achieved.

Immigration admission policies

The government can use Visa policies to ensure that they get the labor force they need from the immigrants. These policies allow immigrants who are professionals in various fields to settle and work in the US.

Additionally, the government should also put in place a skill-based points system that ensures that immigration permission is based on education, abilities, skills, occupation, and language of the immigrants. Through such a system, the government is able to select immigrants who are beneficial to its economy.

The country will have the workforce that is appropriate to the needs of its local industries. These immigrants will, therefore, contribute significantly to the growth of the economy.

Permanent admission and green card policies can also be used to attract skilled workforce in to a country. At the same time, the government should enact immigration control polices to restrict certain persons from getting into the country.

These policies will guard the country against illegal immigration. The government can enact external immigration control or internal immigration control. External immigration controls are meant to hinder illegal immigrants from entering into the country.

Internal immigration controls, however, are enacted to prevent illegal immigrants from residing and working in the country. These measures may involve giving genuine immigrants permits to work and reside in the country.

The government has over time concentrated on the external immigration controls and neglected internal immigration policies. The government should, therefore, puts in place sufficient internal immigration controls to help reduce illegal immigration.

The government should enhance the efficiency of the internal immigration controls, by setting in place measures such as employer sanctions, arresting illegal immigrants, and giving amnesty to certain a class of undocumented immigrants. Employer sanctions enable the government to penalize institutions that employ illegal immigrants.

In addition, the government should have some measures at the entry points to prevent illegal immigrants from getting into the country. In this regard, the government should have visas or passports control system.

This is important and will prevent immigrant from using fake documentation while migrating. This will help the country to identify and reprimand illegal immigrants.

Conclusion

The immigration policies that a country may adopt must be capable of preventing illegal immigration and also ensure the economy benefits from immigration. Illegal immigration is harmful to the economy and a burden to the country.

The governments should ensure that only legal immigrants enter into the country. Immigration of a skilled workforce should be encouraged into the country.

They provide the skills needed in the destination country. Immigration laws and policies need to be followed strictly because immigration has both negative and positive impacts.

Public opinion on the topic of immigration and ethnic relations is many sided. This is because the public hold divergent opinion on the topic. A section of the public supports immigration while another section does not support the idea.

Further studies reveal that people tend to support past immigration and their imminent support to the growth of the economy than current and future migrations. This implies that public opinion towards immigration has been changing over time that is, from a more receptive attitude to a more concerned attitude.

To some extent, the impact of immigration on the society as a whole causes the change in attitude. This has led to changes in laws which target immigration issues.

A number of research studies have been carried out to establish factors that influence peoples attitude towards immigration and ethnic relations in the United States. This paper aims to discuss public opinion on immigration and ethnic relations.

The rise in immigrant population disturbs most people in America. Immigration into America can either be legal or illegal. The public is concerned about illegal immigration.

This is because the state does not have statistics of the illegal immigrants. This hinders planning. From the various studies carried out, the public view immigration in three perspectives.

First, they believe that illegal immigration is on the rise and is causing a serious problem on the social and economic growth of the country.

Further, the public is also for the idea of a strong but not penal approach to enforcement of immigration laws. Finally, the public supports liberal immigration reform provision to deal with illegal immigrants.

On particular immigrant group, the public is more positive to some immigrant groups than others. For instance, over 50% of Americans are positive about immigrants from Asia, Latin America and Mexico coming to live and work in America. In terms of race, the White Americans do not welcome immigrants.

They base their arguments on increased crime, moral decay, social values and tax evasion. Black Americans negatively associate immigrants with scramble for job opportunities and slow growth of the economy. Public opinion on immigration can also be divided on a political line.

The republicans and democrats hold different views on immigrants. Democrats are more receptive to issues relating to immigrants than republicans. In addition, public opinion also depends on age group.

Youths tend to be against the immigrants since they subject them to compete for the scarce resources available as such public amenities. They also compete for the available job opportunities.

In summary, it can be deduced that the public concerns on immigration and ethnic relations are increasing over the years. In general, the public is more concerned with illegal immigrants than legal immigrants.

What is evident from these studies and finding is that there are more negative impacts of immigration in the domicile country than positive impacts. Besides, the public hold diverse opinion on immigrants. The public give these opinions based on the race, political affiliations and age group among others.

Public opinion on immigration has been changing since the ancient times and so are the laws on immigration. Besides, these opinions have been instrumental in policy formulation.

They have also assisted in defining the collective vision of national identity. Finally, they have affected the daily behavior of nationals. These behaviors define the overall social climate of a nation.

Introduction

Migration occurs when there is a movement of people from one country to another. This is caused by factors such as economic pressures, social networks and connections, immigration control policies and cultural perceptions among others.

Economic reasons

In my own assessment, the most important cause of migration flows is economic pressures. Mostly, when economic pressures are high, people move from countries where there high unemployment rates to where there are better prospects for employment.

When they migrate, these people anticipate better wages and higher standards of living than the one for their countries of origin.

There are two theories that can be used to explain the economic reasons for immigration from one country to another. These theories are microeconomic rational choice theory and new economic theory of migration.

The microeconomic rational choice theory explains that people make rational choices about the benefits that they are likely to obtain by migrating.

The other theory, the new economic perspective theory, argues that the decision to either migrate or not is made at the individual level, but rather at the household or even at the community level.

Another theory that can be used to explain the economic reasons of migration flows is the macro-economic /structural theory. This theory explains that there exist economic pressures that drive people from their countries of origin to other countries.

These economic pressures include lack of jobs, over population, and surplus labor. For this reason, people will be drawn to those countries that have many employment opportunities.

It has also been adduced that due to the popularity of the goods produced by the first world countries, the industries in the third world countries are adversely affected. For this reason, the employment prospects in those countries diminish considerably.

Immigration policy

Immigration policy is another determinant of migration flows among countries. There are two types of policies that a government might adopt regarding migration. These are restrictive immigration policy and open immigration policy.

For this reason, if a country has an open immigration policy, it is likely to attract a lot of migrants compared to the country which practices a restrictive immigration policy.

A country with a restrictive immigration policy will put in place a lot of controls that act as a barrier to those who may wish to migrate to that country.

Migration flows are highly responsive to the immigration polices that are enacted by the various governments. For this reason, if a government feels that it has a very large number of foreigners, it might decide to counter this by putting in place a restrictive immigration policy.

This can be achieved by enacting tighter rules to discourage immigration. On the other hand, if a country is in need of more labor force for its local industries than what the citizens can supply, it could encourage immigration by enacting an open immigration policy.

This could be in the form of reduced paperwork for people wishing to travel to such a country.

Conclusion

From the discussion above, it is clear that economic reasons and immigration policies are very important determinants of international migration flows. They provide the drive that motivates people to move from their home country.

Immigration policies, on the other hand, facilitate or impede the movement of people from one country to another. The immigrants may move to look for better lives or to run away from harsh conditions in their home countries.

Reading Immigration and Asylum: From 1900 to the Present: Diaspora by Van Hear and Comparing Diasporas by Cohen, it is possible to define several similarities and many differences in the opinions of these authors approaches. The main idea discussed in these articles is the types of diasporas.

Van Hear and Cohen have different visions of this process. Speaking about the reasons for immigration, these two authors have one similar idea devoted to immigration Jewish people and Africans, they both define such types of diasporas as the victims or traumas. Even though these two specific types have different names, the main idea of them is similar.

The authors speak about such types of diasporas as about the reaction on catastrophic events which made people migrate contrary to heir personal desire to stay. Further, the authors of the article offer similar ideas, however, they structure the issues differently.

Van Hear offers the following classification, apart from victim diasporas, he is sure that there are imperial diasporas, labor diasporas which is divides into imperial auxiliary diasporas and trade diasporas; moreover, he presents three new diasporas, such as Afghans, Sri Lankans, and Somalis.

Considering each of the types is detail, I would like to disagree with some ideas presented by the author. Thus, speaking about imperial diasporas as about a historic reason for immigration, he adds trade diasporas as one of its category. However, speaking about new diasporas, such as Afghans, Sri Lankans, and Somalis, the author defines those as separate type and does not refer them to victim diasporas.

This specific moment is important, as for me, as it creates a kind of failure structure to this particular classification. Even though Van Hear is sure that nowadays there are no pure classified diasporas and all the formed ones represent the fusion of different types. Specifically, the author denotes a kind of diasporas which began to form from the time of the USSR collapse, this is the returned diasporas.

There are a lot of people who return to their native lands from the former USSR, such as Germans, Polish, Jews, etc. The return to the ethnic motherland is important for the, however, these people cannot be called the citizens of the countries they have come from as well as they cannot be called pure immigrants.

Studying Cohens diasporas, it is obvious that the author has divided those on the following types, traumatic diasporas (similar to Van Hears victim diasporas), work, trade and colonization purpose diasporas. The further discussion of Cohens diasporas is focused on fibres of diasporic rope, as he said.

There are seven such fibres mentioned by the author, myth and remembering about the homeland, idealization of such homeland, return movement, ethnic group consciousness, troubles with the host country, solidarity with co-ethic members, and the desire to live better in another country.

This classification is fuller as for me. It presents more detailed discussion of the reasons why people migrate and form diasporas without being too specific which is unnecessary on this specific stage of discussion. The Van Hears and Cohens visions of the types of diasporas deserve the right to be discussed. Being similar in the ideas presented, these two authors offer various classifications which are not ideal and deserve further improvement and development to make sure that the presented classification is ideal.

Generations after generations, the world has been witnessing migration of people in various regions for different of reasons. Migration can either be voluntary or involuntary depending on the prevailing circumstances. Voluntary migration is caused by numerous reasons, although, the search for economic empowerment is often cited as the major reason.

It is believed that women, just like men, migrate because of economic reasons; however, there are other reasons that push women into leaving their motherlands. Women whose husbands have migrated to foreign countries or are citizens of other countries often migrate to those countries to join their husbands for family reunification through a process known as chain migration.

Women living in communities that are characterized by abusive patriarchal family setups are most likely to migrate to regions that have more socioeconomic opportunities and gender empowerment programs.

The increased demand for unskilled labor such as, household workers, caregivers or nurses, sex workers, and brides or wives in developed countries is the driving factor that is responsible for encouraging women to move to these countries.

When women from developing countries migrate to developed countries and take up jobs as household workers, women in the host countries are relieved from their household duties and they find time to concentrate on developing their careers and enhance their social lives.

Therefore, women migration becomes beneficial to the women who are citizens of the host countries. It should also be noted that survival is the major reason that forces women immigrants into unskilled labor and not the desire to seek gender equity or subdue male dominance.

The challenges and disadvantages of migration by women outweigh the benefits associated with this exercise. Many governments around the world have immigration policies that are very unfriendly to women. For instance, it is extremely difficult to acquire a visa or a work permit unless the would-be immigrant is targeting a male-dominated occupation.

These types of policies deny a lot of women immigration opportunities to many countries around the world. Furthermore, immigration policies for several governments do not support chain migration or family reunification immigration. And since it is women who normally benefit from family reunification immigration, their chances of migrating into these countries are limited.

Most Asian countries have migration policies that are selective on the basis of gender, therefore, emigration of women in these countries follow a restrictive regime. Despite these barriers, women still manage to enter these countries through illegal migration practices, such as, human trafficking or smuggling.

This trend is alarming and more women than men are resorting to illegal migration, in order to beat the anti-women immigration policies by some governments.

One of the major challenges that face women who migrate to other countries and leave behind their husbands and children is the emotional anguish associated with transnational motherhood. Since they are forced to care for their children across national borders, these women are constantly guilty of abandoning their families.

The situation is made worse by societal expectations; the role of a married woman in many traditional communities is that of a housewife who is expected to sit at home and look after the family.

On the other hand, most of the jobs that are done by women immigrants are mostly exploitative and abusive. Furthermore, the fact that some women dependent on illegal tactics to sneak into host countries shows that immigration is not favorably to women.