The Policies and Implications of Immigration in the United States - Term Paper Example

The Policies and Implications of Immigration in the United s Chapter I: Introduction The United s has been known the world over as the land of milk and honey. People from all walks of life, regardless of nationalities, dream to migrate to the US for diverse personal and professional goals. Due to the magnitude of people desiring entry to America, the federal government, through the US Congress, devised policies and regulations to clearly identify, screen, assess and approve lawful entry for people desiring to gain either permanent or temporary admission in the country. In this regard, the essay aims to proffer crucial issues on immigration in the US, specifically focusing on the current policies on immigration and the implications of increasing number of immigrants in various aspects of the economy. Initially, the discourse would provide a brief background on the evolution of the US immigration policy. Further, an accurate definition of terms would be provided as defined by the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. Finally, a table consisting of the statistics of immigrant admissions based on regions or countries of origin would be presented to give an eye view of the immigration trend from 1997 to 2004. A. Evolution of US Immigration Policy The origins of policy making regarding immigration in the US was traced in 1790 when Congress designed a process to enable foreigners to become citizens (Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 2006, p.1). The policies were amended and revised depending on factors including the increasing number of people desiring entry to the US; the nature, personality, and nationality of people; and the relatives or family members already residing in the US, among others. The subsequent significant events that transpired in the immigration policy of the US are summarized, to wit: Date Policy Details 1875 First federal law which prohibits the entry of prostitutes and criminals. 1891 Establishment of Immigration Service with the federal government assuming responsibility in processing entries to the US. 1921 Enactment of the national-origins quota system (Quota Law). 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments implemented the categorical preference system with numerical restrictions according to regions. 1976 Categorical preference system with expanded Western Hemisphere applicants. 1978 The Western and Eastern Hemisphere numerical restrictions indicated a ceiling of 290,000 per annum. 1990 Immigration Act increased the annual worldwide ceiling to 675,000 with added diversity category. Source: CBO, 2006, p. 1. B. Definition of Terms Due to the diversity and enormity of statistical and demographical information on people desiring entry to the United States for various purposes, the CBO opted to present an accurate definition of terms to qualify one category of people from another. The successful implementation of policies on immigration was partly based on a homogeneous understanding of terminologies used in processing immigration applications. As such, the “terminology used throughout this paper is defined by the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services” (CBO, 2006, p. 3), as quoted below: Alien refers to any individual who is not a citizen of the United States. Immigrant refers to an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence; such people also may be referred to as lawful permanent residents. Nonimmigrant refers to an alien who seeks temporary entry to the United States for a specific purpose. Nonimmigrants include tourists, temporary workers, business executives, students, and diplomats. Removal is the expulsion of an alien from the United States. The expulsion may be based on grounds of inadmissibility or deportability. A U.S. visa allows the bearer to apply for entry to the United States under a certain classification. Examples of classifications include student (F), visitor (B), and temporary worker (H). A visa does not grant the bearer the right to enter the United States. The Department of State is responsible for visa adjudication at U.S. embassies and consulates outside of the United States. Immigration inspectors with the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection determine admission into the United States at a port of entry, as well as the duration and conditions of stay” (CBO, 2006, p. 3). C. Immigration Admission The table sourced from the CBO contains information on the statistics of immigration admission in the country encompassing the diversity program. The trend shows immigrant admissions being capped by a ceiling of not more than 51,000 for all countries, with the year 2000 and 2004 as exceeding the 50,000 level. Table 1: Immigrant Admissions under the Diversity Program, by Region, 1997 - 2004 Region 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 All Countries 49,374 45,499 47,571 50,945 42,015 42,829 46,347 50,084 Europe 21,783 19,423 21,636 24,585 17,952 16,867 19,162 18,781 Africa 16,224 15,394 15,526 15,810 15,499 16,310 16,503 20,337 Asia 8,254 7,768 7,192 7,244 5,958 7,175 8,131 8,092 North America 1,387 1,298 1,474 1,226 728 589 394 471 South America 1,046 965 972 1,208 1,131 1,310 1,544 1,588 Caribbean 1,009 979 1,232 968 556 482 266 N.A. Oceania 669 526 654 808 675 533 555 712 Central America 224 175 124 129 84 23 41 42 Source: CBO, 2006, p.10 The illustrated figures indicate the close monitoring and adherence being implemented by the US Congress, specifically by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in ensuring that ceilings imposed, restrictions, and policies are strictly complied. Chapter II: Pros and Cons A. Immigration Policy Goals The policies on immigration were designed to ensure that a restricted number of foreigners are admitted and granted lawful entry to the United States for clearly defined reasons. As indicated by the CBO (2006), the goals reflected by the immigration policies in the US depend on the following factors: (1) to serve as a tool to reunite families where applicants have relatives previously residing in the country; (2) to fill employment vacancies deemed to need specific skills not eminent in current US labor pool; (3) for political, religious or racial asylum where people from originating countries face risk and threats of persecution; and (4) to encourage entry of culturally diverse people from regions of low immigration status to the US (CBO, 2006, p. vii). B. Advantages of Immigration Policies With these in perspectives, the advantages that policies on immigration in the US focus primarily in according economic benefits, such as increasing the gross domestic product, increased tax revenues, increased consumer spending, and creating investment opportunities which spur greater economic activities in the long run (Ojeda, 2010, p. 1). As indicated, “higher wages translate into more tax revenue and increased consumer purchasing power, which benefits the public treasury and the U.S. economy as a whole” (Ojeda, 2010, p. 7). Certain identified sectors were revealed to reap greater benefits in terms of economic expansion. These sectors are the “immigrant-heavy industries such as textiles, ferrous metals, transportation equipment, electronic equipment, motor vehicles and parts, non-electric machinery and equipment, capital goods, mineral products, and construction” (Ojeda, 2010, p. 14). Aside from economic benefits, immigration policies encourage the entry of people from diverse cultural orientations which have been found to be instrumental in improving performance of global organizations. Through diversity, individual workers are given the opportunity to learn from experiences of various cultures. They are exposed to diverse sources of creativity in problem solving. Further, challenges posed by diversity create positive environments for individual competition in terms of improving one’s skills and advancing competencies. These values enhance the accomplishment of organizational goals. C. Disadvantages of Immigration Policies On the contrary, the current policy was revealed to have caused several problems as averred by Stoll (1997, par. 8) where the key problems were indicated as “(1) stricter border controls have proved unable to stem illegal immigration flows, leading instead to rising human rights abuses and victimization of border-crossers; (2) immigration clearly contributes to a downward pressure on wage levels and to decreased job availability in certain economic sectors; and (3) many refugees fleeing repressive governments and violent political situations find themselves rejected by Washington. The author contended that due to strict restrictions, there have been increasing cases of illegal entry. The fact was validated by the CBO: “the INS and Census Bureau estimated that, in 2000, the total number of unauthorized aliens in the United States was about 7 million. Another estimate based on survey data from the Current Population Survey and administrative data from DHS and other federal agencies estimated that 10 million unauthorized aliens were residing in the United States in early 2004” (CBO, 2006, p. 11). The number of apprehensions made by the DHS since 1991 ranges to about 1.2 million to a high level of 1.8 million in 2000 (CBO, 2006, p.15). Thereby, much effort and resources have been earmarked to monitor, apprehend and process the removal of illegal aliens either through formal or voluntary means. In terms of economic benefits, Stoll (1997) argued that “net benefits for the economy can conceal serious losses for vulnerable sectors of the U.S. population. It is no secret that many employers ranging from suburbanites to small contractors to major corporations would rather hire foreigners who often work harder for less pay than U.S. citizens” (Stoll, 1997, par. 13). Finally, the constant increase in immigrants would have drastic repercussions in terms of consumption of natural resources, environmental protection, and the need for more infrastructures to support the population growth (Stoll, 1997, par. 16). Chapter III: Conclusion The federal government has continually evaluated, reviewed, revised immigration policies depending on factors that impact, not only the economic status of the United States, but more so, the way of life of every citizen. Although current policies seem to be partially effective in restricting the entry of aliens subject to laws and regulations, it has been apparent from data and information that the influx of illegal aliens continues to persist. Part of the evaluation to design an appropriate solution to the immigration policy problem is the identification of the root cause for aliens’ desire to try their luck in the United States and the effective implementation of the immigration law. Dougherty (2004), in his article entitled Solving the Immigration Problem cited David Ray, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), who stated that “the biggest impediment to solving the problem is "the indisputable absence of all interior immigration [law] enforcement”” (Dougherty, 2004, par. 8). Ray’s suggested solutions could be categorized in terms of revisions in immigration policies, stricter enforcement procedures, and support from other originating countries. Under the recommended revisions to the immigration policies, Ray mentioned the need to narrow immigration criteria to approve eligibility to individuals with properly identified marketable skills to avoid seeking future support and assistance from the federal government. Enforcement procedures were suggested to encompass stricter penalties to employers, who hire illegal immigrants, by revoking business licenses to operate. In addition, policies, procedures and sanctions for violations in guarding the Mexican boarder (which has been identified as a predominant source of illegal immigrants) through enforced resources (man, materials and technology) should be intensified. Finally, support from originating countries of immigrants, particularly, from Mexico was mentioned to be encouraged and solicited by the federal government, through bolstering economic growth and opportunities in their native land to prevent eyeing the United States as potential sources of employment and livelihood and through identification of accountabilities with stiff sanctions to be imposed on government authorities who violated the terms of the immigration policies. In assessing the issues at hand, the federal government has continually exerted efforts to ensure that immigration to the United States would be beneficial, not only to the immigrants, but also to the US citizens, and the economy, as a whole. Unprecedented levels of illegal immigration noted in the past years have led professionals to conclude that revisions need to be instituted in the current policy to prevent the continued entry of illegal aliens. Stoll has suggested the following measures, to wit: “stress ethical and humanitarian objectives by giving priority to refugees fleeing from persecution; streamline and restructure provisional work programs that open the U.S. to temporary workers who take jobs that U.S. residents dont want, while guaranteeing the basic rights of these workers to organize and receive worker benefits such as unemployment compensation; protect the most vulnerable economic sectors from an influx of low-wage competition; lower legal immigration flows to sustainable levels; and protect the basic human rights of all U.S. residents, legal or not” (Stoll, 1997, last par.). The suggested measures are good in essence as they accord potentials for improving access to increasing welfare and economic benefits to the population and the nation. It is pertinent that a closer evaluation of current immigration policies be undertaken to pinpoint the weaknesses and flaws that continue to encourage illegal immigrants in the American soil. After all, if the United States would continue to allow entry of immigrants at the current level, eventually it would not be perceived as a land of milk and honey, even for the citizens whose welfare it aims to safeguard. Reference List Congressional Budget Office (CBO) 2006. Immigration Policy in the United States, [Online]. Available at: http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/70xx/doc7051/02-28-Immigration.pdf [Accessed 22 October 2010]. Dougherty, JE 2004. Solving the Immigration Problem, [Online]. Available at: http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/5/19/221402.shtml [Accessed 28 October 2010]. Ojeda, RH 2010. Raising the Floor for American Workers, [Online]. Available at: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/Hinojosa%20-%20Raising%20the%20Floor%20for%20American%20Workers%20010710.pdf [Accessed 23 October 2010]. Stoll, D 1997. In Focus: The Immigration Debate, [Online]. Available : http://immigration-usa.com/debate.html [Accessed 25 October 2010]. Read More