Immigration in California - Term Paper Example

Running head: Immigration in California Immigration in California Institute: The immigrant population in California has provided the state with the distinction of housing the highest percentage of immigrants in the country. The immigrant population includes racially and ethnically diverse groups which have contributed to the cultural diversity of the state. In addition to cultural diversity, the immigrants have had a profound effect on the population growth, employment and wages of the native population.

The state has recorded a higher population growth in the recent years after taking into account the births by immigrant mothers. Many experts believe that this effect is on the positive side as it has increased the wages of the native population as the immigrants have only complemented the jobs of the native workers and have not posed any significant threat to their jobs or other work benefits. California has the highest percentage of immigrant population, which included both legal and illegal immigrants, compared to the other states in the US.

Reports from the center for immigration studies reveal that the state’s immigrant population accounted for about one-third of the all immigrants in the US during the mid 1990’s. Between the years 1990-2004 the new immigrants to the state increased by 40%. In addition the immigrant population included racially and ethnically diverse people mostly from Latin America and Asia with a majority of the immigrants hailing from Mexico, Philippines and China. However, studies have revealed that though the population drastically increased in the state as a result of immigration, it did not affect the employment opportunities of the native population but rather resulted in a wage increase for the native population by 4% between the years 1990-2004.

The immigrant groups complemented the jobs of native workers which resulted in an economic growth (Peri, 2007; Johnson, 2011). Various studies have attributed the population increase within the state to high birth rates of the immigrants compared to the native population (Romero, 2007). Recent reports show that between 2000-2009 the number of new immigrants in California was 1.8 million and about 40% of births were to immigrant mothers in the year 2009 (Johnson, 2011). While some experts consider this growth to be positive as it would help alleviate the negative consequences of an aging population, many consider the rate of population increase to adversely affect the economy of the state.

This is mainly owing to the fact that since many of the immigrant groups have a lower educational background compared to the natives their income is substantially lower which in turn reduces the tax amount paid by this population. In fact the recession during 1991-94 was attributed to the increase in expenditure of the state due to the rising immigrant population (Romero, 2007). In addition to the population growth, immigration has also reduced the educational attainment of children within the state.

The percentage of the native population who had not completed at least high school education is much lesser compared to that of the immigrant population. This is mainly because a large number of the immigrants entering the state are unskilled workers who have not completed high school which in turn has affected the studies of their children. Thus when taken together the literacy rate within the state is lowest compared to the others. This has also resulted in an income inequality among the people as the lower income groups are raising due to the influx of less-educated immigrants into the state.

As a result of lower wages a large majority of the immigrant population and their children lack health insurance. All the above problems have been directly linked to the increase of immigration within the state (Camarota & Karen, 2010). However, given the fact that the immigrant population are less-educated and are employed in low-skilled jobs they do not directly compete with the natives for the same jobs. Instead they have shown to complement the native workforce thereby increasing the productivity and wages of the native workers who are now employed in managerial and supervising jobs.

With the inflow of immigrants with similar educational background and work experiences the native population might be expected to move out owing to increased competition, however, research has revealed that immigrants moving into California have not displaced the native population but have only added to the workforce of the state. This in turn has not affected the employment options for the native population and has added to a wage hike for the native people b about 3 to 5%. In addition, well qualified foreign immigrants have also contributed to the technological and scientific development within the state thus having a positive effect on the wages of both populations as well as the economic growth of the country (Peri, 2007).

Thus the settling of immigrants in California has had a huge impact on the society, especially the population growth of the state and on the native population. Although the immigrant groups have a positive impact on employment and wages of the native people, a constant rise of the unskilled and less-educated people may pose several consequences for the state in the future. Reference 1. Camarota, S.A., & Jensenius, K. (2010, June). A State Transformed: Immigration and the New California. Center for Immigration Studies.

Retrieved from http://www.cis.org/california-education 2. Johnson, H. (2011, April). Immigrants in California. Just the Facts. Public Policy Institute of California. Retrieved from http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/jtf/JTF_ImmigrantsJTF.pdf 3. Peri, G. (2007, February). How Immigrants Affect California Employment and Wages. California Counts Population Trends and Profiles, 8(3). Retrieved from http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/cacounts/cc_207gpcc.pdf 4. Romero, P.J. (2007, Summer). Racing Backwards- The Fiscal Impact of Illegal Immigration in California, Revisited.

The Social Contract, 17(4). Retrieved from http://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc_17_4/tsc_17_4_romero.shtml