Positive and Negative Aspects of Immigration in the United States - Essay Example

 Positive and Negative Aspects of Immigration in the United States Introduction The end of the twentieth century found immigrants coming to the United States in great numbers comparable only with the large influx of immigrants in the beginning of the same century. John Isbister observes that the majority of the earlier immigrants were white Europeans, while most contemporary immigrants are Latin American, Asian or other non-white. The increasing ties between the United States and the third world is clearly manifested in immigration (Isbister 1). Albert Saiz reiterates that according to the Census Bureau records, 1 million people migrated to the United States in 2001, which almost matched the record 1.3 million immigrants in 1907. However, the earlier immigration at the beginning of the twentieth century had a comparatively greater impact because the United States was less populated at that time (Saiz 14). “If current immigration rates are sustained, two-thirds of the population growth in the United States could be accounted for by immigration by 2050” (Saiz 14). The arrival of new immigrants is creating severe opposition as well as spirited defense for immigration. Every year, the debate on the benefits and adverse effects caused by immigration grows increasingly heated, and its political discourse is likely to be a major issue in the future (Isbister 1). Philip Martin and Elizabeth Midgley argue that a significant issue is illegal immigration which began rising in the 1970s. This was the first main immigration issue debated in Congress in the 21st century (Martin and Midgley 3). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the positive and negative aspects of immigration in the United States. Immigration in the United States: The Positive and Negative Features The arrival in the United States of large numbers of foreigners from various countries can either be a cause for concern or a trend to be welcomed. “There is no single answer, which helps to explain why Americans are ambivalent about immigration” (Martin and Midgley 3). The United States has always celebrated its immigrant heritage with mass naturalization ceremonies on July 4; these ceremonies associate immigration with the founding of the United States. American leaders have reiterated the renewal and rebirth caused by the advent of newcomers in America considered as the ‘land of opportunity’. This implies that immigration enables individuals to improve their lives and also strengthen the United States at the same time (Martin and Midgley 11) At the same time, however, Americans have always worried about the economic, political, and cultural changes caused by immigration. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, their anxiey has increased with new concerns regarding foreigners entering the country to harm large numbers of Americans. As a result, the United States is struggling to find the right balance between welcoming foreigners and protecting Americans. Further, due to the changes brought about by Immigration, several fundamental questions arise for Americans. These pertain to their identity, the kind of society they have built, the people from other countries who should be welcomed into it, the measures to be taken to integrate newcomers into the American homeland, and the means of dealing with uninvited or illegal arrivals (Martin and Midgley 3). Differing Institutional Perspectives Towards Immigration The issue of immigration of foreigners from other countries and their integration into the American economy are debated either by advocating severe restrictions on foreigners entering the United States, or by favoring the removal of most restrictions. For example, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), states that “large-scale immigration contributes to excessive population growth and environmental degradation, displaces low-skilled American workers” (Martin and Midgley 3), reduces their wages, and poses a threat to the cultural bonds that Americans hold together”. Therefore, FAIR emphasizes on the requirement for a sharp reduction in immigration to perhaps 150,000 a year, and asserts that an interval of time without immigration would facilitate adjustment between recent arrivals and Americans. Other groups such as the California Association of Tactical Operations (Cato Institute) offer a different perspective. They recommend eliminating limits on immigrants, and introducing a foreign-worker program. Groups such as the American Immigration Law Foundation engage in safe-guarding the rights of foreigners in the United States. The Catholic Church and some other religious groups oppose immigration controls to remove the artificial division of humanity. Further, the Organization of Chinese Americans and the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform advocate increased immigration from specific countries or regions (Martin and Midgley 3). The Positive Impacts of Immigration With increasing immigration, there are greater numbers of workers, more consumers, and a rapidly developing economy. From this pro-business viewpoint, the positive effects of immigrants neutralize potential negative costs such as lower wages for American workers competing with the newcomers. Similarly, immigrants introduce a new entrepreneurial spirit into the U.S. economy (Martin and Midgley 3). The economic effect of immigrants on U.S.-born workers has been mostly positive. Research evidence indicates that for the period from 1960 to 2008, there was no statistically significant effect of immigrants on the net job growth of U.S.-born workers. This emphasizes that the economy absorbs immigrants by expanding job opportunities rather than by displacing workers born in the United States. Secondly, there is “a short-term negative effect in which the capital intensity of the economy is reduced as businesses try to adjust their productive capacity” (Monthly Labor Review 41). This is followed by positive medium and long-term effects in which the output per worker increases after businesses have made the adjustments. Thirdly, immigration is associated with an increase in average hours per worker counteracted by a decrease in the average level of skill per worker. There is no evidence from research, of immigrants causing a deleterious effect on the U.S. economy. Statistical tests reveal that both employment and hours per worker were unaffected in the short-term by the hiring of immigrants. In the long-term, employment remained unchanged, while hours per worker increased slightly. The only negative outcome was that in both the short and long term, the average skill level of workers was reduced to some extent. This is because immigrants’ education levels are lower than those of U.S.-born workers, taking the averages (Monthly Labor Review 41). A second significant finding was that “immigration was associated with an increase in the average income of U.S. workers over the long term” (Monthly Labor Review 41), while no major effects on income were observed in the short term. Thus, a 1 percent rise in immigration led to an increase of 0.6 percent to 0.9 percent in income per worker; consequently the “total immigration to the United States from 1990 to 2007 produced a 6.6 percent to 9.9 percent increase in workers’ income” (Monthly Labor Review 42). Moreover, the long-term growth in income per worker caused by immigrants, is mainly due to increases in efficiency and productivity. To offset short-term net immigration’s effect of decrease in physical capital or the resources used to produce goods or services, businesses make adjustments, first hiring immigrants in the short-term. They then upgrade and enlarge their capital stock in the long term, to obtain the full beneficial outcomes from the new labor supply offered by immigrants (Monthly Labor Review 42). The economic theory of the labour market model argues that the increase in the supply of labor due to immigration causes wages and employment to decline for native-born workers. On the other hand, the impact on wages and employment is comparatively small, according to alternative economic models. For example, this results from the fact that immigrants are not perfectly competitive with native-born workers especially in low-wage manufacturing and service jobs. Similarly, immigration laws favor immigrants with job skills in short supply in the United States, thereby causing the impact on wages and employment to be relatively small. Chen (131) states that “more complex theories argue that immigrants affect not only the supply of labor, but the demand for labor”. This occurs with immigrants creating additional demand for goods and services, besides starting their own businesses. A comprehensive study conducted by C.N. Le., 2009, on the economic effects of immigration found that immigrants are a net benefit to the United States, contributing $1 billion to $10 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product. Additionally, recent immigrants have had a comparatively small effect on the wages and employment of native-born Americans (Le, 2009). Immigration is similar to free trade in benefiting the economy in terms of lower cost products for consumers and greater efficiency, but it also has negative impacts on specific disadvantaged groups in society (Chen 132). Further, “the average U.S. tax payer benefits from immigrants’ contributions to the tax system, taking all federal, state, and local taxes and outlays into account” (Saiz 22). The Negative Outcomes of Immigration Although immigrants may have an overall positive impact on the United States economy, their negative effects on disadvantaged groups is seen among low wage, high school dropouts, who are found to have 5% lower wages in areas where high rates of immigration is taking place. Asian Americans who entered the United States over ten years ago reduce wages and employment for African Americans; however, these negative impacts were comparatively small. Additionally, immigration causes increasing residential segregation in the United States. The inflow of immigrants to a particular region causes an outmigration of the native-born to higher-wage, lower unemployment areas, particularly groups in competition with immigrants for jobs (Chen 133). Other negative effects of immigration include the increasing congestion in “public services such as schools, roads, sewers, electric power systems, and parks” (Bodvarsson and Van den 178). Besides overcrowding, some people consider increased crime, pollution, and the destruction of traditional culture as resulting from the arrival of immigrants in the United States. Further, immigration raises United States population growth, which in turn leads to increasing environmental problems. Immigration reduces wages and lowers working conditions in the labor markets where immigrants are concentrated, and they compete with native-born Americans for some jobs. Moreover, immigrant workers accept work at low wages, which adversely affects modernization of businesses, and hinders United States competitiveness in the world economy (Bodvarsson and Van den 178). Increasing numbers of Asian and Hispanic immigrants are “changing the ethnic composition of the United States population, and raising difficult questions for Americans” (Martin and Midgley 11). These relate to issues on whether public schools should support the retention of immigrants’ language and culture; whether minority immigrants should be alloted given specially reserved seats for university admission, reservation for job opportunities and for business contracts, These concerns illustrate the connection between attitudes towards immigration and questions about the social and economic integration of immigrants. The prospects for immigrants, their impact on the United States economy, “the political systems, schools, and society affect attitudes toward additional immigration” (Martin and Midgley 11). A study conducted by Kristin Butcher and Anne Morrison Piehl on the relationship between immigration and crime revealed that the incarceration of male immigrants was about two-thirds that of natives, despite the fact that the former have less education on an average, and earn lower wages as compared to native-born Americans. The researchers also found that the length of time spent by an immigrant in the U.S. increased the probability of his incarceration as compared to the natives. This indicates that “immigrants may assimilate to the higher criminal propensities of natives” (Saiz 22). Conclusion This research paper has highlighted immigration in America, and examined the positive and negative outcomes of immigration. Empirical research studies have found no evidence of detrimental effects of immigration such as reduction of wages, lowered employment opportunities and decline in working conditions of United States workers, or deleterious effects on the U.S. economy. The general impacts of immigration ranged from very small detrimental effects to significant economic gains for the United States as well as for native-born Americans. The other adverse effects of immigration include increasing population growth and environmental problems, immigrants reducing the incentives for U.S. businesses to modernize by working for low wages, and specific negative impacts of immigration on disadvantaged groups. By the U.S. government’s relevant restriction measures, these negative impacts can be resolved. Moreover, the increasing diversity strengthens the social fabric and economy of the nation. Saiz (22) reiterates that “indeed, the U.S. experience as an immigrants’ country is one of phenomenal economic growth”. It is hereby concluded that the positive impacts of immigration outweigh the negative effects. Works Cited Bodvarsson, Orn B. and Hendrik Van den Berg. The Economics of Immigration: Theory and Policy. New York: Springer Publications. 2009. Chen, Edith W-C. Encyclopedia of Asian American Issues Today, Volume 1. The United States of America: ABC-CLIO Publications. Isbister, John. The Immigration Debate: Remaking America. West Hartford, Connecticut: Kumarian Press. 1996. Le, C.N. “Employment and Occupational Patterns”. Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. 2009. 21 October 2012 http://www.asian-nation.org/employment.shtml. Martin, Philip, and Elizabeth Midgley. ‘Immigration: Shaping and Reshaping America’. Population Bulletin 61.4 (2006 December): 3-45. Monthly Labor Review. “Immigration and the U.S. Economy”. Monthly Labor Review 133.11 (2010 November): 41-42. Saiz, Albert. ‘The Impact of Immigration on American Cities: An Introduction to the Issues’. Business Review (2003 Winter): 14-23. Read More