Debates on Immigration into Western Countries - Essay Example

Introduction United s of America is one of the most powerful and highly industrialized countries around the world. This is the very reason whythere is a so-called "American dream". Many have been planning and/or aspiring to live and work in the US. Many have been thinking that living in the US could bring so much glory and happiness. That's why the rate of immigration in this country is very high. Government officials and policy makers of US have imposed stricter guidelines on its immigration processes. There are even maximum numbers of immigrants accepted per region per year. This prompted some to illegally migrate in the US. Processing of unauthorized documents, getting inside US boundaries through under-the table payments, and working and staying for long even by just holding a visiting visa are just of the most common methods that illegal immigrants do. This paper is aimed at analyzing the impacts - both positive and negative - of illegal immigration in the US, covering the years 2000-2006. More specifically, this paper is intended for: Classifying the rate of immigration (both legal and illegal) of US during the covered years Analyzing the effects of immigration to the economy of US Categorizing the effects of immigration to the culture and societal stability of US Analyzing one recently update US immigration guidelines and it's impact to the US as a whole Theoretical Framework This paper did an in-depth literature search concerning the legal and illegal immigration in the US during the years 2000-2006. This then tackles the relationship of economy, societal and environmental stability, and populace versus the legal and illegal immigrants. It is hypothesized that legal migrants contribute positively to the development of the US economy and even to its culture. Meanwhile, the illegal immigrants are hypothesized to be a great part of the US labor force. They also serve as a large part of the consumer or buying populace. In the same manner, illegal immigrants - despite their illegal status - are also one of the great 'users' and/or 'beneficiaries' of the natural and financial resources of the country. That is why it is of not doubt that illegal immigrants in the US affect, both positively and negatively, the US as a whole. Review of Related Literature On Legal Migrants United States of America is one of the very few countries in the world where different values and tradition of the many people in the world submerged. Also, US are becoming a favorite migration country of many people around the world and the main reason is the opportunity that awaits in this country. Many would say that living in the US is a dream most especially if it is in third world country's point of view where most terrorism and poverty are the main problems. That is also why the country is commonly compared to as a salad bowl and a melting pot. Multiculutarlism and cultural Assimilation Multiculturalism or commonly known as a "salad bowl", is much of a new metaphor given to the US and not the "melting pot" or also being termed as cultural assimilation. The melting pot means that if one becomes American citizen, he/she should abide what the proper values and tradition that the American should do or he/she will suffer the consequences. While the "salad bowl" is where American now celebrating the diversity of its traditions where it respects the roots of each individual in order to built a harmonious country. (From Melting Pot to Salad Bowl, 2005). Multiculturalism is when a person who became citizen of another country who obeys and works successfully with his new host country but never disregarded his old beliefs and tradition from his mother country of origin. The following are some of the good examples that will describe up to what extent America is compared to as a salad bowl. One very good example are the Chinese, when one sees them talking to their own natives they still talk most of the time in Chinese but if one will see them in school or business meetings they will speak in English. Moreover, Chinese immigrants in the US still use their own eastern medicine like herbal medicine instead of the much modern western medicine. This only show that having a different culture does not mean that one is ruining the culture of the new host country. There are many ways that America is compared as a salad bowl. First, in school, it is common that English is the standard medium used but there are some schools that offer foreign language where students get the chance to know other language. This also helps in keeping a comparison with the two languages and most of all improves the person's communication skills since the person is becoming a bilingual. Another is in the form of instruction; like in some voting cities they would provide a multiple language instruction in order for the locals to clearly understand the information. In this way misleading or miscommunication is minimized if not removed. (Melting pot, 2006) Lastly is the equal opportunity, most especially in terms of job openings in the US. It is very common nowadays that everyone is already being given the chance to work in the US since the country has already realized value of employing somebody who is not naturally a US citizen. In this way US business sectors are not only providing opportunity to the immigrants but also they are helping other to succeed most specially those who are very much capable and ready to work. "The stakes could hardly be higher. One in nine Americans is an immigrant. Nearly one-fifth of U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home. The number of foreign-born Americans-33 million and growing-now exceeds the entire population of Canada. And in the wake of 9/11, with the nation as a whole thinking harder than ever before about what it means to be American, it couldn't be more important to help these newcomers find a way to fit in." (Jacoby, Tamar, 2004). On Illegal immigrants Rates of Illegal Aliens Immigration in the US is really astoundingly high. In 2004 alone the rate of total immigrants has been accounted to reach 34 million already. This report, of course, does not include the number if illegal immigrants who are hiding in the most unusual places living in the most unusual circumstances (Seper, 2004). Further study revealed that since 2000, a 13% increase on the immigration rate has been recorded. Illegal aliens or illegal immigrants, on the other hand, accounted to 30% of US total population rate (Seper, 2004). The rate of illegal immigrants or illegal aliens has been recorded to be continuously growing as the years go by. In a recent study comparing the foreign born population versus the illegal aliens of US covering years 1960-2005, the theory was proved. At the start of 2000, the rate of incoming illegal aliens moved upwards rapidly. Figure 1. Foreign-Born Population and Illegal Aliens, 1960-2005 (In Millions) Source: Edwards, 2006 Figure 1 shows that from 1980-1990, there was just a slight movement of the rate of illegal aliens in the US. However from 1990 to 2000 and moving on to 2005, the upward movement is very evident. This implies two possible things: that US is growing rapidly in terms of economy as compared to other nations hence more people are trying to get inside the US territories; or that the immigration policies in the US has been lax during the covered years hence more and more people are not scared to try and live as an illegal immigrant in US. The countries where most illegal immigrants come from have also been recorded. Based on records, among the most numbers of illegal border crossers, Mexico and El Salvador are the top most list (see Figure 2). Meanwhile, with regards to the countries with most number of visa abusers, Mexico and Vietnam are on the front list. Figure 2. Top-5 Illegal Immigrant-Sending Countries, by Share of Violation Category Source: Edwards, 2006 This can attributed to the fact that Mexico is one of the nearest countries in the US. Many Mexicans are trying their luck waiting in the US borderlines and do some unthinkable acts just to be allowed entry. Also, Mexico, Vietnam, El Salvador and other countries on the top five lists are members of the third world countries. This implies that economy and style of living may not be that high or comfortable. High population ate is also common in this countries and probably also one of the reasons why they would want to move out of their own birth countries. Effects of Illegal Immigration On Labor Force Illegal immigration provides both positive and negative impact to the US over all status. First, it should be noted that wages for the low-skilled workers (for both the legal and illegal US residents) go down. This may be negative on the workers because they have to work extra hours or find part time works just to be able to buy the basic household needs and pay basic utilities. Moreover, US born workers are extremely affected by this. Some companies would rather hire illegal immigrants for they can pay them with much lower wages. US born workers that could not haggle for better salaries even if their backgrounds or work experience qualify them for a higher salary (Providence Journal, 2006). However, this would also mean positive to the entire US populace because lower wages rate would mean lower prices for things like restaurant meals, agricultural produce and construction equipments and/or materials (Davinson, 2006). More so, the increasing number of labor force is a great advantage for the country's economy. Many of the illegal immigrants are very much willing to accept blue-collar jobs (that legal and/or US born citizens would normally not apply for). Such blue-collar jobs are typically part of the manufacturing and/or production firms. Hence, more laborers would mean increase in out put. As a result, increase in output adds to the gross domestic product of the country. On Government Expenditures On some aspect, another negative impact of increasing illegal immigration rate concerns the government expenditures. Undocumented workers (who are of course the illegal immigrants) do not pay income taxes. But these aliens can make use of the schools, hospitals, infrastructures and other government services. US natural and legal residents do pay for the taxes but they share the use of government services with those who are not paying anything for the government. Hence, it can be considered that the illegal immigrants share a big burden on draining the government spending (Davidson, 2006). On Crime Rates and Population Control Crime rates in the US are becoming rampant. "Since illegal immigrants are not screened before entering the country, we have no idea if they have criminal records, deadly diseases or terrorist motivations. However, we do have research that highlights the effects of illegal immigration"(Olympian, 2006). Much of the records say that majority of the documented crimes such as killings, bombings, hold ups, and rapes among others are perpetrated by the illegal aliens. In fact, in a in a recent study, a total of 55,322 incarcerated illegal immigrants were found which represents an approximately 8 arrests per illegal alien" and 13 offenses per illegal alien (Olympian, 2006). This then put too much scare to legal and natural residents of the US. Control of population is also a big problem in the US. Aside from the increasing birthrates of the legal residents, it is a big burden to accommodate the illegal aliens who cannot be sanctioned nor taxed by the government for the number added to the country's big volume population. Brief Summary It is very clear that illegal immigration in the US has more negative effects than the positives. The US economy might be benefiting from the illegal immigrants because of the additional labor force. However, crimes rates, government spending and population control are all negatively affected. These four are the top most important concerns of the US government and populace. Recently Updated US Immigration Guidelines: the H1 Visa It is very evident that processing of papers to visit, live and/or study in the US is not that easy. It takes not just extra effort from the aspirant, but also lots of money, and documents to prepare. For one, there are different kinds of visas and forms to fill up and pass. The kind of form is dependent upon the kind of travel one would want to go under with. H1 visa is just one of these visas. H1 visa is a program of the American Embassy which aims to allow American companies and universities to employ foreign scientists, engineers, programmers, and other professionals in the United States. The program is generally thought of as a visa for high tech workers. H-1 visa is now being used by a wide variety of professionals including several in fields with severe shortages like medical doctors, school teachers and pharmacists (Wasem, et.al. 2004). There's a continuing guideline for this. In theory, the maximum duration of the H-1 visa is only for six years and ten years for exceptional Defense Department project-related work. This means that H-1 visa holders who want to continue to work in the U.S. after six years, but who have not obtained permanent residency status, should remain outside of the U.S. for one year before reapplying for another H-1 visa (Wasem, et.al. 2004). But there's still hope for some, for this 6-year-duration guideline has specifically stated 2 forms of exceptions (Wasem, et.al. 2004): 1. If a visa holder has submitted an I-140 petition or a labor certification prior to his 5th year anniversary of having the H-1 visa, he/she is automatically entitled to renew his H-1 visa in 1 year increment until there is a decision on his permanent residence. 2. If the visa holder has an approved I-140 petition after the 5th year anniversary, but is unable to initiate the final step of the green card process due to priority date issues, he/she may be entitled to a 3- year extension of his/her H-1 visa. This exception originated with the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000. Historically, H-1 visa holders were normally described as indentured servants. Although USA is generally requiring a short- and long-term visitors to disavow any ambition to seek the green card, H-1 visa holders are an important exception in that the H-1 visa holders may legally and openly be used as a steppingstone to the green card under what is called the doctrine of dual intent (Wasem, et.al. 2004). As per the guidelines, H-1 visa holders must generally (with some exceptions) be sponsored for their green cards by their employers. In the past, the sponsorship process has taken several years, and for much of that time the H-1 visa holder was unable to change jobs without losing their place in line for the green card. This created an element of enforced loyalty to an employer on the part of an H-1 visa holder. Critics voiced out that employers liked this enforced loyalty because it reduced the risk of the H-1 employee leaving to go work for a competitor, and put American citizens at a disadvantage in the job market, because the employer had less assurance that the U.S. citizen will stay at their job for an extended period of time (Wasem, et.al. 2004). With this, USA, has been generous enough for the aspiring residents and workers from other countries. But this does not mean the US government is favoring other nationals over the true-blooded Americans, because that is not the case. It is strictly written in the guidelines that professionals who are part of the skilled and limited population of workforce in the US are the ones prioritized. Hence, if American government is still respectful of what its populace can offer, but if there are lacking on some aspects, importing and/or accepting of probable help from other nationals will be a good idea (and a good opportunity for them). Conclusion Immigration in the US has its ups and downs. Many are really trying to visit, live or work in this country because of the old adage "the American dream". Many have been successful enough and become legal migrants, which resulted to a win-win situation to both the migrants and the naturally-born citizens in the US. But to those who have not, illegal migration have become the last option. In the recent studies conducted, the rate of illegal migrants is continuously rising and it has been proven to be negatively affecting the country and its populace. The US government and policy makers are trying its best to accommodate the needs of both the aspiring immigrants and even the need of the country for the additional workforce (that can be provided for by the migrants), hence the development of H1 visa guidelines. This new guideline is hoped to provide more hopes to the people from other country who are highly skilled and are wanting to be part of the US labor force. In the same manner, this new visa guideline also hoped to provide assistance to the US economy by providing the business sectors with the skilled human resource that cannot be provided for by the present immigrants or naturally-born US citizens. Reference list: Davidson, A. 2006. "Q&A: Illegal Immigrants and the U.S. Economy" [available online] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.phpstoryId=5312900 Edwards, J. 2006. "Two Sides of the Same Coin: The Connection Between Legal and Illegal Immigration". The Washington Times. Jacoby, Tamar. 2004. Reinventing the melting pot. Manhattan Institute Leiken, Robert. (March 2002). "War On Terror: Mexico More Critical Than Ever for U.S." Sacramento Bee. Leiken, Robert. (March 2002). "An Immigration Bargain". The Boston Globe. Light, Paul. (March 2002). "Blame Government Bloat for Immigration Snafus". USA Today. Matloff, Norman. (2002). "Debunking the Myth of a Desperate Software Labor Shortage" U.S. House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration. Olympian. 3 May 2006. "Illegal immigration lowers public safety, must be halted: Other views." The Olympian Providence Journal. 19 November 2006. "Study: Illegal immigration hurts poor U.S.-born workers.". The Permissions Group Inc., Seper, J. 24 November 2004. "Immigration enforcement grows weaker; 2 million illegal aliens enter U.S. since 2000". The Washington Times. Singer, Audrey (November 2002). "Green Card, Green Light for Voting". The Washington Post. Wasem, Ruth Ellen et. Al. (February 2004). "US Immigration Policy on Permanent Admissions". CSS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service: The Library of Congress. Read More