Immigration between the USA and Other Nations - Essay Example

Lecturer: Immigration between USA and Other Nations Introduction One of the most notable indications of the globalization process is the amplification in the migratory movements between nations, continents and expanses. In a progressively more integrated world, individuals, even though with considerable limitations, are constantly in movements across nationalized borders, in search of opportunities on alien countries that they have been deprived of in their own nations. In keeping with the United Nations records, 2010 recorded nearly 214 million international migrants. In comparative terms, this figure was over 3 per cent of total human population in the world. However, the proportion does not seem extraordinarily elevated, particularly if it is contrasted against the percentage of other cross-border connections, for instance, investments and trade. Nevertheless, the political and social significance of immigration goes clear of numbers as immigration engrosses populace, and not just the factors of production but also the dreams, hopes, frustrations, human interests and plans. As such, immigrants are n active force that drives the novel international realities both in their host countries and their native countries. In actual fact, immigration has turned out to be a key force that shapes global reality. Immigration is a dominant force with regard to both cultural and social interaction and change in the host nations. It offers the immigrants considerable opportunities to enable them to progress. Immigration is also an issue that has significantly dissimilar developmental impacts on both the native and host nations. The worldwide population has, therefore, recognized the aforementioned facts in their considerations on immigration and as a consequence has acknowledged the requirement to set up a more rational political rejoinder to the trend. This paper is, therefore, written with the objective of bringing out the differences in immigration patterns between the United States of America and other countries across the globe. In doing so, the paper will look at aspects such as the difference in immigration policies between the USA and other countries and also the differences in opportunities offered to immigrants in USA and other countries. Immigration in the USA and Canada One of the notable differences between the national policies on immigration between Canada and the United States of America is that while Canada has been actively involved in soliciting for immigrants for several years, the United States of America has put up several restrictions aimed at limiting immigration into the country Dalmia. Dalmia further observes that the Canadian public has consistently shown support for immigration as was seen in a poll whose outcome indicated that only a third of Canadians considered immigration as a problem and not an opportunity. This was far much lower than all the nations that had been surveyed. However, the Canadians showed concern on “brain wastage” and making sure that alien credential were accurately acknowledged and recompensed in the job markets. In concurrence with the above statement, Dalmia acknowledges that unlike the United States that only elects natives to leadership and political positions, Canada offers immigrants opportunities in both political and leadership positions. For instance, during the 2011 parliamentary elections, approximately 11 percent of all the individuals elected to the Canadian parliament were immigrants. He further maintains that this is not a coincidence as just about 20 percent of Canadians are immigrants. On the other hand, the United States of America limits immigrants from participating in elections and holding political offices. That is, the policies do not allow immigrants to vote or vie political offices such as congress, presidency and senate. In observing the difference of opinions on immigrations between Canadians and Americans, Dalmia noted that there are two key reasons as per why Canadians are tolerant to immigration while Americans are not. These are as follows: Firstly, Canadians were swayed by the constructive economic advantages of immigration to the level that cities that were facing dire economic constraints were particularly eager on encouraging immigration as a consequence of the fact that they were convinced that immigrants would create job opportunities hence revive the economies of such cities and towns. Still, unwaged Canadians stalwartly maintained that immigrants did not take work away the available job opportunities from the natives. This could be attributed to the fact that immigrants to Canada are allowed under the points system attached to their qualifications and employment probability. Despite more than half of the immigrants holding bachelor's degrees, they tend to have an elevated unemployment rate compared to the natives. However, numerous studies have shown that Canada's immigrants are highly skilled and are, therefore, net contributors to the countries economy. On the other hand, this is totally different from the USA where most natives have viewed immigrants as individuals who are out to deny them the opportunities that are available to them. To expound on the statement, G and Austin observed that the American Federation of Labor which was founded in the 1880s by the Native Americans was strongly opposed to the immigration from Europe and other parts of the world with regards to cultural, racial and moral reasons. This in turn united the Native American workers who believed that an incursion of immigrant workers would inundate the labor market and subsequently reduce the wages. Nativism, therefore, became an issue when the American Federation of Labor persistently contested all forms of immigration from Asia and Africa as a consequence of the fact that it represented a foreign culture that was difficult to incorporate into the American society. As a result, the labor movement became influential in the passing of both the Immigration Act of 1924 and the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 with the aim of restricting immigration and opportunities available to immigrants (G and Austin). Secondly, (G and Austin) observed that Canadians perceived multiculturalism as a significant constituent of nationalized distinctiveness. This was evidenced by a research poll whose outcome indicated that while multiculturalism was perceived to be of lesser significance compared to the national health care, it was viewed as more imperative than the national flag, hockey and Mounties. This was attributable to the requisite of bilingualism, which is as a result of immigration, which has, in effect, threw in to a wider public dedication to multiculturalism that exists to this day. However, unlike the United States that is in consistent worry of illegal immigration due to the fact that it shares its borders with Mexico, which suffers elevated levels of unemployment, crime and inequality in terms of income, Canada does not worry about illegal immigration as a result of the fact that it shares its borders with the United States whose citizens are not keen on immigrating into America. Canada’s positive attitude towards immigration compared to the United States could also be as a consequence of the fact that Canada has lesser birth rates and a smaller population compared to the United States. This, therefore, necessitates Canada’s need for immigrant labor. Another notable difference between Canada and USA in terms of immigration policies is that while Canada’s provinces do not discriminate against immigrants on the basis of skilled and unskilled workers in the provincial nominee programs, United States is highly discriminatory on the issue of skilled and unskilled labor. For instance, the employment policies of the USA do not allow employers who are in position to conduct an aggressive bid in order to make sure that they have a consistent supply of highly skilled foreigners. The visa cap also limits opportunities available for skilled laborers while the green card program that offers immigrants opportunities limits the period taken by immigrant workers to start working. That is, some green card holders have to wait for longer durations compared to others. For instance, immigrants from China and India have to wait up to a maximum of 15 years before they can seek formal employment in the United States despite having the highest numbers of highly skilled labors in the world (Dalmia). Unlike the United States, Canada’s employment policies allow employers to solicit and constructively bid for highly skilled labor from any part of the globe. The Canadian labor policies have also put in place certain incentives to make sure that immigrants are not perceived as enemies but as friends whose skills and labor are crucial for the growth of the country’s economy. The USA and European Nations Certain aspects of immigration are similar for most European countries. For example, in the United States and European countries, immigration has been considered as one of the core political issues. While in Europe the anti-migration point of view is mainly based on cultural and nationalist notions, in the United States, the perception is broadly based on economical issues. While most Americans view immigrants as individuals competing with them over the limited opportunities and resources, European nationalists perceive immigrants as a threat to the continuation of their native traditions. The subject becomes more intricate in Europe than America due to the fact that most of the immigrants found in Western Europe are pitiable working class Muslims who are mostly from North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan (Alonso). While in the United States the immigration was strongly opposed by labor movements, in European nations such as France, political parties such as the National Front and the United Kingdom’s British National Party have consistently been opposed to immigration and as such have incorporated opposition to immigration as one of their principal policies (Alonso). A good example with regard to opposition of immigration is the 2005 France’s civil unrest. It is also worth noting that opposition to immigration in both the United States of America and most European nations are directly connected with numerous right wing movements. The expression of the anti-immigration perceptions are always considered as racist and are normally considered as criminal offences with regard to the anti-discrimination laws. These, therefore, attract inflexible sentences in most European nations and the United States of America. Works Cited Alonso, Jose Antonio. "economic and social affairs: International Migration and Development." 2011. un.org. 26th November 2013 . Dalmia, Shikha. "Canada Shows How U.S. States Can Fix Immigration." 29th November 2012. Bloomberg.com. 26th November 2013 . G, E. and Austin. "Immigration: The United States v Canada ." 20th May 2011. The Economist. 26th November 2013 . Read More