Category: Immigration

Introduction

Today in the United States there are up to 20 million people considered illegal aliens, which means illegal immigrants (McFadyen, par.1). One of the topics of this last presidential and senate campaign was if the United States should offer a path to legalization for illegal immigrants. This is an issue not raised last but decades ago and the debate continues. When elections are approaching, especially those for the presidency, the issue of immigration is made part of the public discourse and a hot topic of the campaign. I believe this is a sign of the necessity for the United States to initiate a process of immigration reforms and the implementation of welfare-improvement policies regarding immigrants.

Being an immigrant makes me feel more connected with the issue. In fact, I do believe that this issue affects, or at least should affect, every immigrant in this country. It is not easy to be an illegal immigrant with the conscience that you cannot legally get medical insurance; you cannot legally enter the education system to improve yourself, you cannot legally protect yourself against any problem related to work; you cannot even afford to get caught by a public official, dont think about asking for help from them.

Illegal immigration

First, we have to assess what illegal immigrants are. They are foreign nationals who come to the United States without following the legal immigration process to enter and remain in the country. The reasons for immigrating vary, but generally, people are looking for better opportunities and a higher quality of life than they would have in their native countries (McFayden, 4).

If we have to make a demographical sketch of the concentration of the illegal immigrants, we would find that most of the illegal population in the United States is concentrated in California and Texas. Estimates show that more than half of illegal immigrants within the United States today were born in Mexico. The rest is composed of other Latin American countries and Asia (McFayden, 1).

The United States prides itself on being a nation of immigrants, founded by immigrants and made great by immigrants. In fact, immigration is a good source of labor and has been used throughout the entire twentieth century the supply the demand for workers from the industry. But there are some problems when it comes to rights for immigrants. Unfortunately, they are viewed as second-hand persons.

Then after the Second World War, the industry within the United States expanded rapidly and the demand, the need, for workers was going up. In fact, the country has regularly applied a legal immigration policy, which is in course even in the present days, but most of the people to immigrate to the United States did not do so by legal application (Foner, 15). Anyway, they have been used by the industry and the companies and corporations of the country to fulfill the worker demand. For business, a positive factor was that it could have more workforces to produce more. But the government did not show a welcome response.

In fact, immigrants had no rights toward their employers, for example, as other citizens had. To cite one example, illegal immigrants do not have the right to health care. They cannot purchase a public health care package or a social security package. The government does not recognize this right (Borjas, 22). They also do not have the right to a contract because they are viewed as illegal in front of the law. If we come to the area of education, since they are illegal, the state does not offer them any sort of help in educating themselves of their children. This situation causes multiple problems for them.

This is an argument for my thesis that immigration reform is drastically needed. It can include several areas like employment, education, and health in order to provide fair and equitable treatment for illegal immigrants.

Background

It was the year 1924 when Congress created the United States Border Patrol Service. Its duties were to guard the borderline of the United States against the entrance of foreign nationals illegally into the country.

Despite the efforts, facts show that illegal immigration grew during the 70 and 80 (Foner, 2). Nonetheless, new strategies werent implemented until the 1990s. This happened when the concerns about the connection between drug trafficking and illegal immigration began to rise (Foner, pg. 5). At this point, concerns about the security of the country became a very important issue. U.S. Border Control agents helped heavily by the military succeeded in reducing the number of smugglers and illegal crossings for a period of time. Unfortunately, when the military left, activity again increased (Foner, pg. 7).

In the next decade, Congress passed 1986 The Immigration Reform and Control Act which provided amnesty to 2.7 illegal immigrants already within the country. This act also established sanctions for employers who knowingly hired illegal aliens. Additional laws were passed in the 90s to help curb the growing number of illegal aliens, but they were ineffective (Foner, 13).

After that, we have a period of non-activity in the issue from the government until the new millennium. The attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent creation of a homeland security department made it possible for many ideas to be considered during the next few years on what could be done to permanently secure the border. In 2006, the Secure Fence Act was introduced to Congress and passed.

This law was intended to build 700 miles of double-reinforced security fencing in areas along the border prone to drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Also, by order of President Bush 6,000, National Guardsmen were deployed to the Mexico border to assist with border control (Foner, 34). Lately, another bill that would have provided legal status to approximately 12 million illegal immigrants was introduced in 2007 but ultimately failed (McFayen, 6).

Point of view

I am personally speaking from the point of view of an immigrant, which I am. There is an interesting dilemma you find yourself in. Here you are, finally, in the country of possibilities and you find the door of many of these possibilities shut down. Here you are in an immense country built on the principles of liberty and equality, but you feel not that free and equal to other human beings (just like you) living not distance away from where you live.

This dilemma is based on the daily perception of the life of an illegal immigrant. Regarding employment, the immigrants have the effect of raising the demand for work and providing the business community with more workforce capital to produce more goods and services (Foner, 12).

But this employment problem is multidimensional, not just if immigrants can, or cannot, find a job. Unfortunately, since the law does not recognize these people as legal entities that can enter into legal relationships with the business community, they late offer a minor compensation for the immigrants than they offer for citizens.

Here we come to another dimension of this problem. This way an income distribution problem is created among this part of the population. They earn less money than a citizen and reside in areas that have approximately the same cost of living. Regarding health care, it is known that illegal immigrants cannot have social security and they are part of the United States population (if we take them as a social group) that has the least number of health care package purchases (Borjas, 95). Of course, there can be many reasons for that but let me mention just two reasons; the first is that most of the immigration families cannot afford health care because they just do not earn enough.

So, as we described above the difficulties they find when confronting the business world. The second is that they (do not) have a legal status that is different from the rest of society. Most of them do not feel protected legally by the government (Borjan, 96).

It is quite obvious to understand why they do not feel equal to other citizens in the country and the consequences, both social and individualistic, that this situation has. Being marginalized does not offer you the best conditions to prosper and so we come to the main problem, in my view, the illegal immigrant has. He, or she, has come to America with a fixed idea; that of increasing his, or her, welfare, wealth. But by the conditions we described above it is nearly impossible to increase your wealth, your welfare.

But the question to be raised here is what are these people going to do in front of the situation described above? It does not require a genius to understand that maybe some members of this group would turn to alternative ways of increasing their wealth and welfare. As I mentioned above the connection between drug trafficking, or criminal activity in general, and illegal immigrants is very strong. It is becoming a social stereotype also (Foner, 92). This means that the public views them as a danger to society and, by doing so, it helps widen the gap between them and the rest of society. But facts are that most of these people are honest people just like the rest of society (Foner, 93).

To be academically correct with what is said above we have to take into account even opposition to these arguments to what I have mentioned above. Regarding the employment of immigrants, many authors consider that their increase in demand for the labor force disrupts the equilibrium of the market. Another important factor to consider here is that this category of people does not pay taxes to the government. Since they have no taxes to pay businesses can use this in offering them lower wages for their work. This creates damage for the rest of society because many citizens get out of work from this illegal and unfair competition in the labor market (White, par. 4).

This site also claims to social justice when it comes to this issue. For them, it is not justice when an illegal immigrant competes unfairly with a legal citizen for job placement. Its an equal rights issue. if you want to have the same privileges (rights) as a citizen, you have to also fulfill the same duties that a citizen has. The paying of taxes is one of these duties for example.

But even in this case, they are eventually admitting that it is not the illegal immigrant that wants to compete unfairly, but it is the business world that is taking advantage, unethically, of the present situation. For it, the status of this group is to be changed then even the situation of unfair competition in the market would immediately change.

Facts show that an ever-increasing number of illegal immigrants are contributing to the American social insurance system and also are purchasing, in a way or another, health care packages (White, 12).

The other risk from the counterpoint of view is that legalizing and providing legal statuses to these people would give a negative example to the rest of society and to this group itself. The United States is a country of law. Who breaks the law, no matter his or her social position, has to respond for it. And by legalizing this group it would mean that they are de facto above the law. Why should we treat this group in a particular way? Is it not right that every social group, especially minority groups, should be treated the same? Why should the government specially treat this social group and not all the different social groups the same? Indeed, say these authors it should not (White, 24).

Conclusion

The United States has come a long way for immigrants. It is a country that was born from immigration. I do believe that immigration reform nowadays is a very important topic. All the above-mentioned issues and dilemmas need answers and only an immigration reform would give the appropriate answers. Let us just not forget the principles on which this great country was born; the right of people to have a chance for a better life. The right of the people to fight, according to the rules of the game, to gain that better life. This is why you cant stop loving this country for the possibilities it offers its people.

References

McFadyean, J. A Path to Legalization for Illegal Immigrants. About. 2008. Web.

McFayedn, J. Immigration Issues: U.S.-Mexico Border Fence Pros and Cons. About. 2008. Web.

Borjas, George J. Welfare Reform and Immigrant Participation in Welfare Programs. International Migration Review 2002 36(4): 1093-1123.

Foner, N. In A New Land: A Comparative View Of Immigration. New York University Pres: New York, 2005.

White, D. Pros & Cons of the Immigration Reform Act of 2007. About. Web.

Introduction

The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) is a law that aims to offer permanent residency to immigrants who show good moral character and graduates of American institutions (Schwab 21). The DREAM Act was introduced as a piece of bipartisan legislation in 2001 under the rhetoric that the U.S. cannot longer postpone a plan for immigration reform (Zamani-Gallagher 259).

It has not yet been passed into law by Congress. In order to qualify for residency, an alien would have to demonstrate that he or she had been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of not less than five years immediately preceding the date of enactment (Bruno 5). Opponents argue that if passed by Congress, the Act will provide numerous economic benefits and improve the reputation of the U.S. because it will facilitate the creation of an immigrant amnesty program (Schwab 53).

On the other hand, opponents argue that it will encourage illegal migration and criminal activities because it will protect individuals by offering them permanent residency. If enacted into law, the DREAM Act will be beneficial to the U.S, because it will have numerous economic benefits, increase the pool of recruits for the U. S. Armed Forces, lower high school dropout cases, and improve the economy.

Benefits of the DREAM Act

One of the reasons why the DREAM Act is good for America is its promise of increasing the pool of recruits for the military (The DREAM Act par. 9). Security is one of the most critical aspects of maintaining the economic prosperity of America. Therefore, increasing the number of recruits into the military and other security agencies is important. The Act promises to increase the number of individuals available to join the U. S. Armed Forces. In that regard, it will provide recruits with the required qualifications that include moral character, education, and aptitude (The DREAM Act par. 9).

In addition, it will give immigrants an opportunity to serve the country as a sign of gratitude for being offered permanent residency in the greatest economy in the world. Studies have shown that immigrant families have a strong tradition of military service. However, lack of immigration status is a major impediment to serving the country (Zamani-Gallagher 53). This Act will resolve this problem and offer opportunities to willing immigrants.

The enactment of the Act will enable the U.S. to improve its position in the global economy because it will provide innumerable economic benefits. Beneficiaries will get access to job opportunities that will increase the amount of taxes paid to the federal and state governments (The DREAM Act par. 7).

A report released by the U.S. Department of Labor revealed that immigrants play a key role in promoting the American economy. For instance, after legalization of immigrants in 1986, their wages increased by 15% in a span of 5 years due to access to high-paying jobs (Bruno 74). The Act will also allow immigrants to invest in the U.S. economy because of the non-existence of uncertainties associated with being undocumented (Schwab 87).

On the other hand, it will lower the number of high-school dropout cases and save taxpayers money. Permanent residency will act as an incentive to foreign students to graduate because of the promise of better jobs and other economic benefits (Zamani-Gallagher 59). Many illegal residents take menial jobs as day laborers, domestic workers, and factory staff. They earn low wages that are insufficient to support families.

Finally, the Act will retain talented students in the country and benefit the labor market. Letting go of undocumented students whose academic achievements are funded by the money of American taxpayers would have adverse economic consequences. That would impose economic and emotional costs on undocumented students and on U.S. society as a whole (DREAM Act par. 16)

If passed, the DREAM Act will increase the revenues of universities and encourage other immigrant youths to pursue higher education (Schwab 92). Several states including Washington, Utah, California, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Maryland have passed laws that allow undocumented immigrant students to apply for state funding in order to pursue education.

Universities in these states have experienced an increase in revenues and the number of students that enroll annually. Increased revenues enable universities to give grants and scholarships as well as fund research studies (Zamani-Gallagher 61). There are approximately 800,000 immigrant students in the United States.

Enabling them to access higher education will encourage other immigrant youths to pursue education in order to improve the quality of their lives. More enrollments in universities and colleges will increase the number of skilled workers, which will contribute to the growth of the economy through taxes paid at local state, and federal levels (Zamani-Gallagher 63).

Conclusion

The DREAM Act was first introduced as a bill in 2001. However, it has never been enacted into law because of insufficient support from members of Congress. It has elicited heated debates between opponents and proponents. Opponents argue if passed, that it will encourage illegal migration and criminal activities.

On the other hand, proponents argue that it will provide several economic benefits, reduce high school dropout cases, and enhance military recruitment. Many states that have enacted laws that allow undocumented immigrants to pursue education through state funding have experienced increases in college enrolment and university revenues. The Act is good for America and should be enacted into law.

Works Cited

Bruno, Andorra. Unauthorized Alien Students: Issues and DREAM Act Legislation. New York: DIANE Publishing, 2011. Print.

Schwab, William. Right to DREAM: Immigration and Americas Future. University of Arkansas Press, 2013. Print.

The DREAM Act: Creating Opportunities for Immigrant Students and Supporting the U.S. Economy.2011. Web.

Zamani-Gallagher, Eboni. The Obama Administration and Educational Reform. New York: Emerald Group Publishing, 2014. Print.

• Introduction
• US congress Opposition to mode four expansion access
• Labor unions
• Migrant rights groups
• Coalition of service industries
• Major employers of H-1B workers
• Conclusion
• Works Cited

Introduction

For the immigration policy to be addressed effectively the number of Immigrants in the United States has to be considered as one important issue. The know how on the total number of immigrants will be instrumental in creation of the immigration policy. It is estimated that the number of immigrants in the United States is approximately forty million.

Most of the immigrants are from Latin America and the Caribbean Islands who make up about forty percent of the total number of the immigrants. Thirty six percent of the total number comes from Asia while the number of migrants from Europe has dropped down considerably forming only thirteen percent. The government and other non government movements have played an important role in making of amendments on the United States foreign policy.

Some of the roles played by the organizations will be discussed below. A battle has been known to brew between the United States government and the developing countries over the immigration issue. Some of the developing countries are requesting the US government to extend their VISA programs for temporary professional workers.

According to the global trade body agreement on trade in services, a countrys government can control the supply of goods and services by foreigners; this type of service is known as mode 4. Powerful US organizations have taken sides with the developing countries governments to lobby for the expansion of the mode four accesses. On the other hand many immigrant and non immigrant groups and even congressional republicans are also lobbying for the expansion of the mode four accesses.

US congress Opposition to mode four expansion access

The main hindrance to the mode 4 concession is the United States congress. Congress lawmakers feel like trade negotiators should not interfere with the countrys immigration policy. The congress uses its power given by the constitution to establish a decree of neutralization.

The Supreme Court has even made the matter more concrete; in its own view congress has all the rights to formulate policies in relation to immigration.

A good example is the incidence of Robert Zoelick which occurred in the year 2003. Robert Zoelick was the US top trade negotiator at that time; the congress managed to convince him not to make any concessions that would require amendments in the Immigration policy. In the year 2005 the congress members went ahead in devising tactics to block trade officials negotiating trade matters. The bill that was passed by the house representatives bared trade representatives from using the state fund in negotiating matters related to immigration (Gania, 221).

Labor unions

The US labor movement opposes the mode 4 accesses by criticizing the expansion of the temporary visa program; the labor movement considers it as a total flaw. In the year 1990 the Government started a program named H-1B visa program that had the main aim of tackling the problem of labor shortage by allowing the entry of skilled workers who had college degrees into the country. Many IT professionals from various countries benefited from this program.

However as time went by a number of US IT graduates could not find jobs because of the high competition in the IT labor market that had been created by the increase in number of IT foreign professionals. The IT industry had to shed more than 400, 0000 workers from their jobs so as to create job vacancies; the incident occurred between the year 2001 and 2004.

The labor unions argue that employers have taken the advantage of the H-1B program to displace US workers and even exploit foreign workers. They even argue that employers use the visa programs to abuse foreign workers. In the year 2003 the labor unions criticized the idea of a free trade agreement of US with both Chile and Singapore.

The agreement would have allowed 6800 Chilean and Singapore skilled workers entry in to the United States. The Labor union objected this by claiming that it was illogical for the government to admit the foreign workers while most of the citizens were facing massive layouts and stagnant payments. As a result of the Labor Union pressure new visas for the Chileans and Singaporeans exist as quest worker quotas (Hoffsletter, 310).

Migrant rights groups

Migrant groups criticize the idea of discussing the issue of immigrants in the world trade union meetings since it reduces foreign worker to a low level that they are seen as commodities to be imported and exported. The migrant groups developed a statement on the mode 4 based on the fact that immigration policy should view immigrants as human beings and address the issue of their human rights.

Such a statement is meant to rouse suspicions on the US worker temporary program and call for a more transparent policy of creating migration policy. The statement also emphasizes the inclusion of international labor organizations and the united nations in immigration decisions (Delaet, 115).

Other advocators for reduced migration include the federation for American immigration reform (FAIR). FAIR criticizes the Mode 4 because they think that in future the American government will be incapable of restricting the H-1B programs. For example if the US government lay off many works due to an economic recession it would be difficult to respond by reducing the number of visas it issues to foreign individuals.

FAIR also says that visas provision promotes the process of outsourcing since foreign employees who visit the US to work in certain companies are trained on the companies operations and when they return to their home countries they facilitate outsourcing contracts with the company. The organization also feels like by discussing the immigration issue in the world trade organization meetings the other countries challenge the United States immigration decrees (Edmoston, 43).

As there are people and organizations who criticize the Mode 4 there is the existence of others who support it an example of some of organizations that support it are shown below.

Coalition of service industries

This movement is the leading advocate for the mode 4 accesses in the US. The coalition of service industries (CSI) is an organization that is made up of 43 corporations and business entities. The CSI argues that increasing the number of H-1B visa will not lead to making alterations in the immigration policy because they are only meant for temporary access in to the country. The CSI main aim is to expand global market opportunities for its members.

Its members have moved all around the world to encourage developing countries to make determined orders in service negotiations. In the year 2005 the group gave a joined statement with the India national associations of software and service companies (NASSCOM) that gave out their mutual goals of fully liberalizing the information technology services (Delaet, 153).

Major employers of H-1B workers

Some major employers like Microsoft do not favor the increase in the number of H-1B visas but they support the idea of giving permanent residency for H-1B workers. The other companies that support the idea include Oracle, Intel, and IBM (Gania, 226).

Conclusion

The US government and other non governmental institutions have been involved in major tussles regarding the issue of the immigration policy. The US congress, migrant rights groups, and labor unions do not support the idea of government sponsored programs like H-1B which are meant to increase the number of immigrants in to the country by offering them temporary visas.

This is because they do not see the need of increasing the number of job seekers in to the country while the country suffers from the problem of massive job lay offs. On the other hand organizations such as the coalition of service industries (CSI) support the idea of increasing the number of H-1B visas so as to increase the number of foreign workers in the country and also enhance the business processes such as service provision.

Other organizations such as major employers of H-1B workers do not support the increase in number of immigrant workers but call for the provision of permanent visas to immigrant workers already in the country. According to my own view the number of H-1B visas should be increased because I dont think such a move will be a violation against human rights since an person has his own rights of deciding on whether he would like to migrate or not.

Works Cited

Hoffsletter, R, US immigration policy, published by Duke University press (1984), pp 304-310.

Delaet, D, US immigration policy in the age of rights Greenwood publishing group (2000), pp 115-153.

Edmoston, B, Statistics of US immigration, National academic press (1996), pp 34-52.

Gania, E, US immigration step by step, sphinx publishers (2004), 220-226.

On July 6, 2010, the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit to challenge the move by the state of Arizona enacted recently. The racial profiling law (SB 1070) threatened to legally perpetuate a racial stereotyping culture of certain social groups thereby contravening the federal immigration policies. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, who also filed a lawsuit last month challenging the constitutionality of the law, the enacted policy infringes on the rights of vulnerable groups whose rights to contribute to the states decision making is put at stake. The policy does away with their rights to political freedom (American Civil Liberties Union, 2010, para 2).

The strength behind the ACLUs position that complements the federal law agents to challenge Arizonas policy, emphasized that the law seeking encourage racial profiling would degrade and degenerate the American values responsible for justice and fairness. While the countries founding father dreamed of a nation-state comprising of people with diverse cultures and identified living together harmoniously. The racial profiling policy would highly prejudice against races and stir up animosity amongst people already living in peace.

In the view of Linton Joaquin, the policy appears to target immigrants and colored people to limit if not deny them civil rights. This may draw us back to the presidents debate of who belongs in America. In America, just like every other democratic nation, civil liberties form the core of human freedom and Arizona is not an exception. The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights seek to guarantee every individual in the country his or her basic rights. This mainly focuses on protecting the rights of politically vulnerable groups of people. The case shows the federal governments effort in protecting the rights of every American citizen. Besides, the federal governments jurisdiction upon each state or region as marked by the role of DOJ in this lawsuit indicated their commitment to continue the liberation of American immigrants from policies intended to undermine their existence (Inguli & Halbert, 2006, p. 148).

Based on the current ACLU advocacy, the United State policies aimed at protecting human rights through upholding peoples liberty in the country. On the other hand, the racial profiling law poses the risks of creating a major divide between the judicial system and the community in Arizona. This would be marked by mistrust and between the Arizonian State Police and community their by leading to serious incoherence in the administrative criteria especially as pertains to law enforcement agents. When the state of Arizona undertakes the initiative to enact this policy, it sends a strong message of racism as an aspect of peoples lives in the state. Measuring this analysis against minorities and endangered communities such as the Latinos who have suffered salient racial profiling in Maricopa since the history of the state, one may never fail to admit that the policy is a tool for social disintegration (Lively & Weaver, 2006, p. 159).

As America believes in the principle of unity in strength and equality amongst its people, the policy negates the principle of human rights and dignity embodied in federal immigration policy. In essence, the policy has a higher likelihood of scattering the various communities further apart than drawing them closer for the states common good. Similarly, the contention created by the policy touches on sensitive issues of social nature that shake the entire community of Arizona. While this is the fabric that binds Arizonians together, it makes it extremely challenging for the state law agents to enforce it.

Reference List

American Civil Liberties Union. (2010). U.S. Department Of Justice Files Lawsuit against Arizonas Racial Profiling Law. Immigration Rights. New York: American Civil Liberties Union.

Inguli, E. & Halbert, T. (2006). Law and Ethics in the Business Environment (6^th Ed). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. pp. 147-53

Lively, D. E. & Weaver, R. L. (2006).Contemporary Supreme Court cases: land mark decisions since Roe v. Wade. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 158-164.

Introduction

According to a report by Alba and Foner, about 11.4 million people are living in the United States illegally (61). The illegal immigrants make up about 5.1% of the total workforce in the United States. This clearly shows that the problem is serious and needs to be addressed in an effective manner. Having over 11 million people living in the country illegally is a recipe for disaster. As Yoshida says that the government lacks accurate information about most of these illegal immigrants (28).

They can engage in criminal activities and get away with it because they are not known by the government. They are burdening the countrys social amenities, especially the hospitals. Illegal immigration is a problem that many regimes in the United States have tried to deal with over the past seven decades. It has not been clear how this problem can be properly solved. It is true that some of the immigrants have played important roles in helping the economy of the country.

However, the presence of illegal immigrants in the country poses a number of risks to the American society, and therefore, they cannot be ignored. In this paper, the researcher will critically review the factors that make illegal immigration undesirable and how this problem can be solved.

The Problem

Illegal immigration has been a major problem in the United States for over the last 100 years. The problem became worse after the Second World War. Many countries around Europe and parts of Asia were going through tough economic times after spending a lot of resources in the war.

However, the United States had a flourishing economy. Its population had decent jobs compared to that of other countries around the world. According to Alba and Foner, America became a land of opportunities, a place where people could achieve their dreams without being affected by the socio-political forces (112). In the late 1980s and 1990s, the rate at which people around the world immigrated illegally into the country increased, especially after the fall of the Soviet Union.

According to Gabaccia, although most of these illegal immigrants come to the country for genuine reason of looking for employment, some of them come to the country with ulterior motives (41). The scholar states that most of the drug dealers in the United States who were not born in the United States came to the country illegally.

These illegal immigrants find it easy to operate the illegal business in the country because the government lacks their records. They end up playing a critical role in the transport and supply of the narcotic drugs.

Illegal immigrants have also been blamed for the rising cases of criminal activities in various parts of the United States. Some of the illegal immigrants who come to the United States, especially those who come from the neighboring countries, do not have proper education.

They come to the United States hoping that they can start small businesses that shall flourish with minimal efforts. Others come hoping that they will get manual jobs that most of the locals always avoid. When their dreams of getting decent earnings fail to materialize, then they turn to crime as the only alternative. This has affected many Americans who have lost properties or even their lives at the hands of these criminals.

Illegal immigrants are exerting a lot of pressure on our social amenities. The government has the responsibility to plan for its population and to ensure that all public facilities such as hospitals, schools, and other social amenities can support the needs of the people living in the United States.

The government can only plan for the people living in the country legally. It has no data about the illegal immigrants. When these amenities are forced to support close to 12 million people who were not taken into consideration at the planning stage, then achieving success in quality service delivery becomes almost impossible. Members of the American society end up getting substandard services because of these illegal immigrants.

Plan to Solve the Problem

According to Greene, solving the problem of illegal immigration requires clear steps that should be followed by the government to not only deter, but also repatriate those who come to the country without permission (52).

The first step will be to enact laws that clearly define how our borders should be secured. The law should be clear on what should be done to people arrested trying to enter the country illegally. As Greene says, such immigration laws should also make it easy for people who want to migrate to the United States to get the necessary authorization (36).

This will reduce the need for such individuals to immigrate into the country illegally. It will also help the government to have a clear record of people coming into the country.

The next step will be the implementation process. Security agents will be planted strategically along the border of the United States to ensure that any intruders are arrested and appropriate actions are taken. Modern technologies can help the officers manage the borders more efficiently.

Using of surveillance cameras may help detect the immigrants as they enter the country. This will make it easy to trace and arrest them as soon as they get into the country. The last step should be the deportation. As soon as these illegal immigrants are arrested, they should be taken to detention camps as they await their deportation.

They should then be deported back to their countries. This will deter others who had similar plans of illegally immigrating into the country. This plan will help solve the problem by making it easy for those who want to come to the country to do so through legal processes. It will also deter illegal immigration, especially from the neighboring countries.

Argument Section

A report by Alba and Foner shows that immigrants have played a very important role in socio-economic development of the country (94). Some of the richest Americans are children or grandchildren of people who immigrated into the country.

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, the founder and chief executive officer of Facebook, is one such person. His family immigrated into the United States. He and others have played a major role in making the world a better place. Some of the immigrants from various parts of the world are currently the top doctors, engineers, architects, or lawyers who are working hard to make America a better place for all its residents. It is therefore unfair to issue a blanket condemnation against all the immigrants. However, the trend where foreign nationals use dubious means to enter the country should be discouraged.

When the illegal immigrants get into the country, especially those who sneak into the country through our porous borders, it becomes difficult for the government to identify them. They easily mingle with the locals, making it even more difficult for the immigration officers to trace them once they are in the country.

Most of these illegal immigrants have been blamed for rampant insecurity in some parts of the country. Authorities find it very challenging to arrest such individuals because they lack their records. They cannot even determine their nationality. This has been a major problem for the security agencies trying to combat crime. LeMay also notes that these illegal immigrants are also playing a leading role in transport and supply of narcotic drugs (46).

They know that even if the security agencies succeed in getting their fingerprints, they cannot use it to get their real identities. A study by Chen and Yoo also found out that high numbers of illegal immigrants jeopardize the ability of the government to offer quality services to its citizens (78). It is, therefore, necessary to use the proposed plan to solve this problem of illegal immigration that is affecting this country negatively in various ways.

Conclusion

The discussion above clearly shows that illegal immigration is a problem that needs a proper plan in order to solve it in an effective manner. Various regimes have used different approaches to solve this problem but it has not been easy to achieve the desired success.

This paper has given a proposal that should be followed by the government to solve this problem. It should be easy for people with desirable qualifications to get visas and wok permits to allow them get to the country legally. On the other hand, our borders should be secured to reduce cases of illegal immigration.

Works Cited

Alba, Richard, and Nancy Foner. Strangers No More: Immigration and the Challenges of Integration in North America and Western Europe. New York: Cengage, 2015. Print.

Chen, Edith, and Grace Yoo. Encyclopedia of Asian American issues today. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press, 2010. Print.

Gabaccia, Donna. Foreign relations: American immigration in global perspective. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. Print.

Greene, Richard. A singing ambivalence: American immigrants between Old World and New, 1830-1930. Kent: Kent State University Press, 2004. Print.

LeMay, Michael. U.S. immigration: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2003. Print.

Yoshida, Chisato. Illegal Immigration and Economic Welfare. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag HD, 2000. Print.

Introduction

The United States is a popular destination for Chinese students, and their numbers continue to surge annually in United States high schools. The increase of Chinese international students in the United States high school resulted from bilateral trade between the United States and China. Some Chinese students find it hard to settle in the United States for various reasons, such as language barriers. However, over the years, the Chinese immigrants get to settle well in the country and make new friends, which is essential for their stay. When Chinese students come to the United States, they get to live with American families. High school students still need that protection and warmth from families, including foster ones. The report will discuss the history of Chinese high school students immigration to the United States and how they settled in the country.

History

The bilateral trade of 1979 between China and the United States helped develop better relations between these countries. One of the critical factors of the bilateral trade was exchange students between China and the United States. Over the next few decades, more Chinese students in high school and higher education levels have been immigrating to the United States for education. According to the Institute of International Education (IIE), around 2 of 5 international students enrolled in the United States high schools are from China (Gao & Liu, 2020). The number of Chinese international students in the United States is significantly increasing over the past decades. It is attributed to the increase in the number of middle-class families who can afford to send their children to United States high schools (Zhang et al., 2018). However, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the number of Chinese students in the United States.

Sociocultural Effects

International Chinese students often face sociocultural challenges in the United States when they first arrive. These students challenges are cultural and linguistic, making it hard for them to settle well in the country (Zhang et al., 2018). A significant percentage of the international Chinese students in the United States high schools are not fluent in English when they arrive. It makes it hard for them to socialize with fellow students and make new friends in their new schools. Another challenge they face is culture, and this touches on several aspects, such as the difference in the types of foods (Gao & Liu, 2020). All these prove to be a challenge when the Chinese students first move to the United States.

New Life in the US

A significant percentage of international Chinese students are usually placed with American families when they move to the United States for high school education. It is a measure to ensure that students feel the warmth of a family even when they are far away from theirs (Gao & Liu, 2020). These families play a crucial role in ensuring that the students settle well in the country and provide the emotional support needed. According to Zhang et al. (2018), some international students get lucky to have friends of Chinese origin or those who can speak Mandarin, making it easier for them to settle well. Over the years in high school, the international Chinese students settled well in the country and became among the top performers.

Conclusion

Chinese students make up a significant percentage of international immigrants in United States high schools. The increase in numbers of international students results from the growth of Chinese middle-class families who can afford to send their children to the United States. Chinese students face some sociocultural problems when they move to the United States, which initially affects them. However, the students get to settle well in the country over time because of making friendships and becoming fluent in English.

References

Gao, Y., & Liu, J. (2020). International student recruitment campaign: Experiences of selected flagship universities in China. Higher Education, 80, 663678. Web.

Zhang, H., Zhou, Y., & Stodolska, M. (2018). Socio-cultural adaptation through leisure among Chinese international students: An experiential learning approach. Leisure Sciences, 1-20. Web.

The pursuit of a better life has led to people using all means possible to migrate to developed countries. People hold the perception that developed countries offer numerous opportunities that might help them to improve their living standards. A majority of the developed countries do not accommodate immigrants (Liu 2549).

As a result, people opt to move into the countries illegally, hoping that they will secure jobs and live a better life. Today, illegal immigration has become a major problem in the European states as well as the United States. It does pose not only a threat to the host nation but also the immigrants.

One requires revisiting the history of illegal immigration to understand its dangers. Before the 19^th century, people moved freely from one country to another. There were no restrictions on movement (Ahmad 855).

However, at the end of the 19^th century, nations like Canada, the United States, Netherlands, and Australia came up with laws that limited the movement of people into the countries. The objectives of the laws were not to curtail immigration, but to avoid chances of criminals getting their way into the countries (Liu 2554). The laws aimed at ensuring that anarchists and communists did not migrate into the countries.

In the late 19^th century, countries began to see illegal immigration as a threat. Nevertheless, the threat was not quite pressing at that time. The challenge of illegal immigration became severe in the mid-20^th century. Today, countries have numerous laws that restrict illegal immigration. Nevertheless, no country has managed to stop illegal immigration (Newton, 17). In spite of the United States erecting wired fences and mounting border checks, illegal immigrants continue to find their way into the country.

One of the significant consequences of illegal immigration is an increase in crimes. Nevertheless, it is imperative to note that illegal immigration is not the sole contributor to increased criminal activities. Another consequence of illegal immigration is the rise in the unemployment rate. Illegal immigration exacerbates the rate of unemployment in developed countries. The immigrants accept to work for lower wages, therefore leading to the local people losing their jobs (Ahmad 867).

Illegal immigrants serve as sources of cheap labor. As a result, the companies go for immigrants at the expense of the local people. Illegal immigration poses a significant threat to education and healthcare. Moreover, it exerts immense pressure on the public sector.

On the other hand, countries spend a lot of money in the fight against illegal immigration. Today, the United States spends at least $90 a day on each of the illegal immigrants held in different penitentiaries. The Center for American Progress claims that the United States spends $41 billion to arrest, accommodate, and extradite illegal immigrants.

Apart from financial strain, another major challenge for illegal immigrants is that they originate from different cultural backgrounds. For them to become citizens of the host nation, they need to mingle and incorporate into the host community. Nevertheless, a majority of the immigrants are conservative and prefer living in isolation (Newton 21).

They do not like to interact with the local communities or adopt new cultures. Illegal immigration facilitates the growth of other serious crimes like human trafficking. Once the business owners get used to cheap labor, they no longer hire local workers who demand high wages. Eventually, they engage in human trafficking as a way to procure cheap labor from foreign countries.

Illegal immigration has numerous benefits to the host country. The immigrants help to boost the economy of the state. Illegal immigrants pay sales tax that contributes to the revenue of the host nation (Nadadur 1038). The sales tax has immediate economic benefits to the country. Apart from paying sales tax, illegal immigrants also act as a ready market for various goods and services (Dixon, Johnson, and Rimmer 21).

In return, they facilitate the economic growth of a country. Illegal immigrants help to uplift economically depressed communities. In most cases, illegal immigrants opt to reside in areas that are economically depressed. The immigrants rent houses in economically challenged areas serving as a source of income to the locals.

Local communities are reluctant to take jobs that are poorly paying. However, illegal immigrants do not choose jobs. The objective of the immigrants is to make money, no matter how little. Thus, illegal immigrants facilitate the production and delivery of goods and services on time (Dixon, Johnson, and Rimmer 27).

Besides, the immigrants serve as domestic workers, thus giving their employers an opportunity to engage in other productive activities. For instance, in the United States, illegal immigrants help in feeding pets, cleaning, household chores, and looking after the old and sick (Nadadur 1042). In return, Americans get an opportunity to work or do business.

People may support illegal immigration on the basis that it facilitates the economic growth of the host nation. Nevertheless, it is imperative to compare the revenue obtained from illegal immigrants with the money spent on their upkeep. Apart from the money spent in penitentiaries, the host nation spends a lot of money to provide health and social services to the immigrants.

Therefore, even though illegal immigrants help to boost the economy, they also contribute to the increase in government expenditure. Rather than investing their income in the host nation, the immigrants repatriate the money back home. Illegal immigrants offer cheap labor at the expense of the local communities.

They eventually render the local people jobless, forcing the government to spend a lot of money on the upkeep of its population. Indeed, illegal immigration has contributed to the instability in the labor market in the United States and other developed countries. Illegal immigrants contribute to overpopulation. Even though the immigrants reside in economically challenged localities, they exert pressure on the available social amenities like hospitals and schools.

Illegal immigration has become a major challenge to the developed states. Today, countries spend a lot of money in the fight against illegal immigration. For instance, the United States spends a lot of money on border patrols and the deportation of illegal immigrants. While proponents of illegal migration claim that it facilitates the economic growth of a host country, it is important to acknowledge that it also exerts pressure on the public sector.

People will not stop entering into the United States and other developed countries illegally as long as they anticipate a better life in the nations. Besides, coming up with stringent measures to fight illegal immigration will only lead to the immigrants devising sophisticated ways of entering the countries. Hence, it is imperative for developed countries to come up with immigration policies that encourage people to follow the legal procedures. Such systems will enable the countries to account for the number of immigrants and mitigate possible challenges that might come as a result of the influx of people.

Works Cited

Ahmad, Ali. The Labor Market Consequences of Human Smuggling: Illegal Employment in Londons Migrant Economy. Journal of Ethics and Migration Studies 34.6 (2008): 853-874. Print.

Dixon, Peter, Martin Johnson and Maureen Rimmer. Economy-Wide Effects of Reducing Illegal Immigrants in U.S. Employment. Contemporary Economic Policy 29.1 (2011): 14-30. Print.

Liu, Xiangbo. On the Macroeconomic and Welfare Effects of Illegal Immigration. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 34.12 (2010): 2547-2567. Print.

Nadadur, Ramanujan. Illegal Immigration: A Positive Economic Contribution to the United States. Journal of Ethics and Migration Studies 35.6 (2009): 1037-1052. Print.

Newton, Lina. Illegal, Alien, or Immigrant: The Politics of Immigration Reform, New York: New York University Press, 2008. Print.

Liberals are alarmed that immigrants are abused in an effort to create cheap labor and inferior social class, while Conservatives wonder, And& What is wrong with that? Immigration, illegal immigration, in particular, is a sensitive issue, which continues to grow bigger in scale as modern society becomes more globalized. It seems like nowhere the problem is more pronounced than in the United States, the land known for its diversity and multiculturalism. After all, the U.S. was created at the hands of immigrants coming there to start a new life for themselves. Despite common misconceptions, only 13.7 percent of the American population are immigrants, compared to 22 percent in Canada or 28 percent in Australia (Amaded para. 3). Thus, the actual reason why the issue of immigration is so controversial in the United States is not the overall number of immigrants but the number of undocumented ones, which is almost 11 million, according to Amaded (para. 8).

Problem

I have conducted copious research to examine the issue of illegal immigration in great detail, spending hours upon hours analyzing statistics and the latest research. After all, most of my closest friends are immigrants, and they often share their own take on the current events regarding mass deportations or new immigration policies. After hearing personal stories and conducting my own research, I can assure you that the best stance a nation can have is pro-immigration and not against it. First, immigration expands employment opportunities and, in fact, increases the wages of native citizens. Second, immigrants do not abuse the welfare state since they do not have access to any means-tested welfare in the first five years; illegal immigrants do not have access at all, with the exception of Medicaid. Third, the border problems can be resolved by reforming the legal immigration process and not building the Wall or isolating the country completely.

In order to demonstrate to you my argument and hopefully start an open-minded discussion surrounding the topic, I will justify my stance. I am going to talk about the reasons for supporting legal immigration through reforms. The first myth I am going to challenge is that immigrants steal the natives jobs. The second misconception I will address is that immigrants are more likely to abuse welfare benefits funded by taxes. Lastly, I will show you the possible solutions to the problem of illegal immigration, which go beyond banning anyone who wants to come to the country.

Pattern of organization

Immigrants do not lower the natives wages or decrease the number of jobs available. In fact, they contribute to the increase in the native populations income, as evidenced by the research conducted by Giovanni Peri and Vasil Yasenov in 2018 (2). The Mariel Boatlift, which refers to Miamis population growing by 7 percent in a matter of 42 days due to immigration, had a positive effect on the wages of even low-skilled natives. Even though the increase in the population was extreme and would likely never occur if strictly legal immigration procedures were to be implemented, thousands of people coming to Miami did not negatively affect the areas economy and natives. In addition, immigration leads to economic growth. The smallest estimated immigration surplus, as it is called, is equal to about 0.24 percent GDP (Nowrasteh para. 4). These statistics are adjusted to focus entirely on the American native population. It excludes the financial gains and economic contributions of immigrants over the years.

When the argument about job-stealing immigrants does not work, the proponents of such things as the Wall or other methods of isolation use the welfare card. In reality, immigrants are the main contributors to the existing welfare systems and not abusers. It is important to acknowledge the fact that immigrants do not abuse means-rested welfare (Nowrasteh para. 5). In fact, the research shows that individual immigrants use public benefits at lower rates and at lower levels than native-born Americans (OShea & Ramon 6). Illegal immigrants do not have access to such welfare at all, with the exception of Medicaid. Additionally, immigrants are actually some of the most prominent contributors to Social Security and Medicaid, with the statistics demonstrating that between 1996 and 2011, immigrant contribution to Medicare was $182 billion, which is more percentage-wise as compared to native-born Americans (Kosten para. 6). During the same period, the United States-born population received almost $70 billion more in benefits than immigrants (Kosten para. 6). Most of the people immigrating are young, so the costs of healthcare for them are minimal. My friend Rita shared with me that most of her relatives and family friends of older age come back to their country of origin anyway once they grow older.

Instead of focusing on flawed anti-immigration arguments, it is imperative for the United States to find efficient solutions to accommodate those who seek asylum or a better life for themselves. Most of the issues related to illegal immigration can be resolved through developing an effective framework for managing migration, and not with Walls or closed borders. The first block of initiatives should focus on incoming migrants (Bier para. 47). It is imperative to establish and maintain a parole program, which would be aimed at helping families to reunite. There should also be sponsorship initiatives for refugees seeking asylum from political terror and violence, which could be funded by the private sector. On the other hand, it is impossible to ignore the immigrants already living in the country, which requires certain opportunities to be provided for them (Bier para. 47). The first initiative implies the legalization of undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers within the United States. The second solution is focused on navigating future refugees towards the allocated ports of entry.

Solutions

While illegal immigration remains a controversial topic, it is imperative for modern society to look beyond bias, cultural differences, and false news headlines. Immigrants do not only increase the native-born populations wages and help the economy; they contribute to established benefits frameworks and, thus, ensure they remain viable. In order to ease the existing crisis, nations need to come to terms with globalization and implement certain solutions such as the creation of parole and sponsorship programs as well as the legalization of the existing undocumented immigrant population. The country, which manages to re-imagine its border control policies and reform regulatory immigration frameworks, is the one, which is going to become a multicultural global power, and the country that ignores reality and isolates itself.

Works Cited

Amaded, Kimberly. How Immigration Effects the Economy and You. The Balance, 2021.

Bier, David J. Legal Immigration Will Resolve Americas Real Border Problems. Cato Institute, 2019.

Kosten, Dan. Immigrants as Economic Contributors: Immigrant Tax Contributions and Spending Power. National Immigration Forum, 2018.

Nowrasteh, Alex. The 14 Most Common Arguments against Immigration and Why Theyre Wrong. Cato Institute, 2018.

OShea, Tim, and Cristobal Ramon. Immigrants and Public Benefits: What Does the Research Say? Bipartisan Policy Center, 2018.

Peri, G., & Yasenov, V. (2018). The Labor Market Effects of a Refugee Wave: Synthetic Control Method Meets the Mariel Boatlift. Journal of Human Resources, no. 0217_8561R1, pp. 1-39. ResearchGate, doi:10.3368/jhr.54.2.0217.8561r1.

The increased availability of access to media has resulted in selective exposure to specific content that influences ideological perceptions. A variety of choices in the media landscape leads to viewers selecting cable news channels that fit their ideological predispositions. Furthermore, selective exposure begins to influence political beliefs and attitudes towards certain issues and social groups (Anand, 2017).

Social Problem

The article focused on the relevant and controversial aspects of modern politics, which is Mexican immigration. The social issue is formed when the partisan media exposure begins to strongly influence perceptions and preferences towards policies on Mexican immigration (Gil de Zúñiga, Correa, & Valenzuela, 2012). As a result, people become entrenched in their opinion, refusing to consider perspectives contrary to the adopted ideology. Furthermore, the media impact stretches past personal opinion into actions such as voting for certain politicians or policies which can have significant consequences.

Research Methods

All the data was collected from a national survey conducted online. Gender and age were considered to represent the adult population. Online samples were validated by census data. Demographic breakdowns were similar to the surveys conducted by respected national research organizations. The response rate stood at 22.8% which is acceptable for online questionnaires (Creswell, 2014). Demographics were based on gender, race, education, and income. Social-political ideology was determined by a scale that allowed selecting political affiliation and ideological stance on economic and social issues. Also, people were asked to rate exposure to either FOX News or CNN which represents drastically opposite media positions on the political spectrum. Finally, respondents were asked about various aspects related to Mexican immigration and could rate their opinion on a 10-point Likert scale (Creswell, 2014). Researchers used zero-order Pearsons correlations and hierarchical regression analysis to process the data using SPSS software. Data was divided into blocks with different independent variables to establish relevant connections.

Findings

The hypothesis that the persons ideological beliefs correlated with which cable news network they chose to watch was supported. A more conservative preferred FOX News while liberals were most likely to watch CNN. The hypothesis that political ideology is correlated with opinions on Mexican immigration as a result of racialized identity development was also supported (Isom, 2012). Conservative individuals had significantly more negative perceptions on the issue in comparison to liberals. Furthermore, the data were analyzed to determine that those exposed to FOX News (no matter the ideological beliefs) did not support Mexican immigration and the channel associated with a polarizing effect. Meanwhile, CNN did not have a considerable influence on the attitudes of its audience.

Solution

The issue of biased coverage by the media and its influence on the audience and political climate is difficult to address since the inherent problems are based on the industry structure (Anand, 2017). Traditional media such as cable news is trying to survive by adopting business models that are reliant on the advertisement and paid speakers. To gain the viewers attention, outlets endeavor to produce sensational headlines and controversial messages which appeal to the most prominent audience. As a result, there is a polarizing effect that is utilized by political parties (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2012). For the change to be implemented, essentially all the major networks have to realize that this approach compromises journalistic integrity and leads to the rise of political manipulation by the media which is contradictory to the principles of democracy. There should be more emphasis on unbiased coverage and investigative journalism which helped uncover some of the greatest truths in media history. Additional federal funding can be provided for public television and investigative journalism as a method to establish media independence. Furthermore, all parties should be involved in educating their average viewer.

Conclusion

The issue of Mexican immigration remains a controversial social problem that needs immediate resolution. The media fuels the problem by making the discussion especially heated and emotional. Thus, a strong emphasis must be placed on approaching the dilemma from a rational perspective and encouraging journalist integrity among the representatives of the contemporary media.

References

Anand, B. (2017). The U.S. medias problems are much bigger than fake news and filter bubbles. Web.

Creswell, J. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Gil de Zúñiga, H., Correa, T., & Valenzuela, S. (2012). Selective exposure to cable news and immigration in the U.S.: The relationship between FOX News, CNN, and attitudes toward Mexican immigrants. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 56(4), 597615. Web.

Isom, D. (2012). Fluid and shifting: Racialized, gendered, and sexual identity in African American children. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 6(11), 127-137. Web.

Information Sources

Immigration information is also very useful in drafting important national policies used for decision making and strategic planning. In the UK, the most reliable sources of data for immigration are the Office for National Statistics, Home Office, UK Census, Joseph Rowentree Foundation, Institute for Statistical Studies and migration UK..

Office for National Statistics and International Passenger Survey

The office of National Statistics provides latest and updated information on migration statistics on a quarterly basis. Besides, it operates jointly with the Department for Work and Pensions as well as the Home Office (Office for National Statistics 2010). It presents information on various migration-related data and includes the figures from the International Passenger Survey which normally has information on the total long-term migration figures. This makes the information available in this source be more relevant and current. The Office for National Statistics also provide guidance on interpretation of the available from the source by defining the terms used in the data presentation, thus making the information easy to understand and interpret.

The International Passenger Survey compares long-term emigration from the UK and long-term immigration to the UK over years and analyzes their significance on the economy. The information provided by the Office for National Statistics and the IPS also include services provided to non-UK citizens such as insurance. The information also includes the total number of non-UK nationals who applied for and acquired work visas as well as employment characteristics of foreign workers. This also includes information on the employment and unemployment rates, occupation, earnings, and educational qualifications.

Home Office

The Home Office provides a range of information on immigration-related issues which include how to apply for visa and how to apply for asylum and even the responsibilities of the Home Office. It clearly outlines the application procedures and reasons for applications for visas or for seeking asylum in the UK. More important are the information on issues that normally arise as a result of immigration such as antisocial behavior, drugs and alcohol abuse, crime and terrorism (Home Office 2010). It provides publications on these immigration related issues and these include the current status of the issues and how to counter these issues. The publications include ministerial statements on what the government is doing or planning to do to counter these anti-social behaviors and crimes which come as a result of immigration.

UK Census

The UK Census provides relevant information on births, deaths, marriages as well as the censuses that have been carried out before. It also has other indexes for measuring population statistic. UK Census provides census data that has been recorded in the country since the 1837 (UKBMD 2010). One may then obtain, death, marriage or birth indexes from the office both in their original and secondary state. This implies that it is easy to acquire the original data of every county, district and nation within the UK. The UK Census also includes the immigrants statistical This information from the UK Census can be used to calculate birth rates, life expectancy, mortality rates, fertility rates as well as the total births in UK. The statistics can then be used to inform the public about the population and social trends in the country. The statistics can also be used to devise counteractive measures to control population growth or to curb infant mortality.

Migration Watch UK and Institute for Statistical Studies

Migration Watch UK is an independent and non-political organization concerned with immigration and emigration in UK and presents wide range of both statistical and qualitative data on immigration. It gives an analysis of the net inflow of immigrations against the net outflow of emigrants. It also gives other details including an analysis of immigrants per age groups, ethnic groups among many other population characteristic. This information source also presents information on the international characters of the ethnic communities living in each particular area and their influence on the social and cultural aspects of the economy (Migration Watch UK 2009). The statistical data is acquired from the Office for National Statistics. Since, the Office for National Statistics provides reliable and accurate data, it implies that the data presented by the Migration Watch UK is also accurate and reliable. In particular it focuses on the impacts of immigration on the social, economic and political aspects of the country. It presents newspaper articles that discuss the impacts of immigration as well as statements from political leaders and economists on the impacts of immigration in the UK.

Institute for Statistical Studies

This institute collects and researches on population and this helps understand the economic impacts of immigration, population increase as well as population trends. In particular, it analyzes immigration trends and its economic consequences (Martin, Rebecca 2006). It undertakes researches and publications of its research findings and reports. It then uses the data to compare with those that had already been presented to the public. It provides a wide range of data which include immigrants both legal and legal, their place of settlements, their educational qualifications, their poverty rates, their social security cover and wages. It also analyses their total in terms of age groups and compares the total population of immigrants born in the UK and those born outside the UK. It also analyses the immigrants countries of origin and the characteristics which they come with into the country.

Joseph Rowentree Foundation

Joseph Rowntree Foundation was founded to help the public and institutions understand the relationship between immigration and social cohesion (Crowley, Hickman and Mai 2008). The foundation carries out research and publishes reports that show the various context of social and economic cohesion (Crowley, Hickman and Mai 2008). The foundation provides information about the factors which influence the immigrants in the UK and also gives solutions on how best to counter these problems. In particular, the foundation reveals the long-term impacts of marginalization of the immigrants in the UK particularly in jobs and family transformations, social cohesion in education as well as political and ethnic minority discrimination.

Importance of the Information Sources

These organizations and information sources are responsible for collecting and developing relevant quantitative and qualitative information and disseminating the information in a more relevant, customer-oriented and timely manner. They also provide quality information on immigration which can be used to analyze the impacts of immigration on the socio-economic, cultural and political status of the country.

These sources cover wide range of social, cultural and political issue that results from immigration and are of prime importance to social scientists. In particular, they cover the social and cultural concerns that arise as a result of immigration such as congestion of social amenities, antisocial behaviours as well impacts of immigration on demographic situations in the UK. Social scientists normally try to understand the societal issues that affect cohesion, socialization and in general healthy living in the society. These information sources provide the guidelines for understanding of these social and cultural influences on the UK societies. The information sources provide reference to the causes of the social problems experienced in the UK societies as well as the extent of the impacts in our societies. The sources provide more information on where specific immigrants have settled and their original countries. This enables the social scientists to better understand their behavior since they are able to study their international characteristic and the factors that have shaped their behaviours to become what and who they are in the UK context.

The sources also have some publications discussing the solutions to the immigrants-related problems. The solutions presented in the publications are normally reports of scientific researches or experts ideas. This information helps social scientists better understand the real problems behind the social problems that we see. They are therefore better equipped to offer solutions to problems that arise from immigration and immigrants in the UK. The information sources also provide information that can enable social scientists to trace the origins of the of particular immigrant groups and therefore develop social theories to explain the behavior of the particular immigrant groups. Thus these information sources provide a basis for social scientific research.

Impacts of Immigration

Although immigration has advantages associated with it, in the UK, it causes more negative impacts than positive impacts. Immigration affects almost all aspects of the economy of the UK and the issues range from economic, social, demographic and mobility. The major problem caused by immigration is the demographic situation of the country that has been largely contributed by immigrants and in particular, immigrant mothers. According to Migration Watch UK (2009) there are high levels of net inflow of immigrants as compared to net outflow of emigrants. Besides, foreign born mothers and mothers born by non-UK parents contribute more to the number of births in the UK than the UK-born mothers. This implies that immigrants still do not abandon their cultures when they enter the UK and this seriously impacts on the birth rates in the country. The number of immigrants is still expected to increase with the steady rise on the annual number of immigrants in the UK.

The demographic impacts in turn have impacted on the economic situations in the country. The immigrants also fight for the limited job opportunities in the country and highly contribute to the rising poverty levels in the country. Most of them have low educational qualifications and skills needed in the UKs job market considering that the UK is an industrialized nation and therefore they are not able to secure jobs. This implies that that the immigrants contribute less towards the nations economic growth considering the international repatriation laws. Besides, the amnesty that is normally granted to long-term illegal immigrants and the high population of legal immigrants leads to an increase in government spending particularly in provision of welfare services, social housing and social amenities.

Socially, immigration in the country leads to congestion experienced in social amenities and social housing. According to Migration Watch UK (2009) uncontrolled immigration causes pressure on social housing, education facilities and health care facilities. Migration Watch UK (2009) states that according to the results of a research that was carried out in 2009, the number of non-UK born tenants have increased from about 7.2% to 11.1%. The Home Office (2010) also concludes that immigration is also the source of some social crimes experienced in the UK and they include terrorism and other crimes, alcohol and drug abuse and other antisocial behaviours. Thus immigration leads to complications in security situations experienced in the country. Other social problems experienced in the UK are the social cohesion of the immigrants into the social systems in the UK. Assimilation of immigrants has proved to be a great challenge in the UK since there exists persistent distrust of immigrants particularly among the UK natives. Some immigrants also find it difficult to adopt what they consider foreign cultures.

The Data Presented by the Information Sources

The Office for National Statistics (2010) defines an international migrant as one who changes his or her country of usual residence for a period of not less than a year so that his or her country of destination becomes the country of residence. The Office for The figures presented by these sources particularly the Migration Watch UK, which presents a more customer oriented statistics, shows a worrying trend of immigration in the UK and the impacts of immigration on the UKs economy. The figures show the immigration trends which include a comparison of the UK-born children of foreign mothers and those whose mothers were born of foreign mothers. The figures also illustrate the differences in immigrant levels per age group as well as per country of origin. The figures also give a comparison in percentage of the settlement areas of the immigrants. Of great importance are the projections that these information sources present on the future immigration situation in the UK. The international Passenger Survey presents other crucial statistical information on the social services provided to the immigrants which include social security services, social housing services among many others.

Immigrants Characteristics

Immigrants normally give various reasons for wanting to get into the UK. Some of them enter the country to pursue educational ambitions, some get into the country to look for job opportunities and normally acquire work visas or even to seek asylum and many other reasons. Generally, most of the immigrants in the UK are from the European Union and the Common Wealth countries which include the African continent and the Asian continent (Migration Watch UK 2009). Most immigrants from the Asian countries and the troubled parts of Africa entered the country to seek asylum and it includes those who enter the country legally and illegally. Thus most of the immigrants especially those who come from outside the European Union are less educated and less prepared to meet the required employment skills in the UKs job market. Besides, most of the immigrants in the UK are the younger age groups especially below 12 years and the age group between age 15 and 24 (Migration Watch UK 2009).

References

Crowley, H, Hickman, M., & Mai, N., 2008, Immigration and social: Cohesion in the UK. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Web.

Home Office., 2010, Passport and Immigration. Web.

Martin, W, &Rebecca, R., 2006, Article: Commentary: immigration and its effects.(Statistical data). National Institute Economic Review. The Gale Group, Inc 2010. Web.

Migration Watch UK. (2009). The Social Impacts of Immigration. Migration Watch UK. Web.

Office for National Statistics, 2010, News Release: Latest Migration Statistics. Web.

UKBMD, 2010, Births, Marriages, Deaths and Censuses on the Internet. British Geneology Network. Web.