Immigration and its Impact on Population in the United States
Immigration gets regarded as complex phenomena which have played an integral role towards the increase in population within the United States. It often gets referred to as the entrance as well as extended stay in a particular region illegally. Lack of necessary documentation that warrants a person stay within a specific state refers to the individual as an immigrant (Hoekstra and Orozco-Aleman 2017). Over the past years, the United States has recorded a soaring number of illegal immigrants. As at 2016, it got noted that there were more than 43.7 million immigrants who had their base in the United States (Zong, Batalova and Hallock, 2018). The total number represented an average of 13.5% of the entire population in the US.
Reasons for Immigration
Based on the data recorded by American Community Survey (ACS) in a period between 2015 and 2016, there was an increase in the foreign-born population by a figure averaging 449,000. According to Current Population Survey (CPPS) that got conducted in 2017, the total number of immigrants including their children presently sums to about 86.4 million which roughly represents 27% of the American population. It bring us to the questions as to why people immigrate. There are several reasons as to why individual abandon their original hometown and adopt a new life in a different nation. They include moving as a result of fear or escaping situations such as prejudice, whereas others do it on a voluntary basis. As a result of the increased population brought about by the foreign intruders, immigration comes along with advantages as well as several disadvantages both to the economy and society. The essay in deathly explains some of the benefits that immigration has brought to America and not limited to the problems that it has equally created.
Advantages of Immigration
Labor Force Growth
Increase in the number of immigrants in the United States symbolizes a rise in the number of potential employees. Immigration has served in most cases as the fuel of an economy. For example, when immigrants have access to the labor market, an increase in the productivity of a nation often gets noted. These individuals get absorbed in various sectors of the economy as employees. An increase in the productivity level of a nation results in the rise of the national GDP. Not only does the income of this individuals rise but also that of the natives. The phenomenon often gets referred to as the 'immigration surplus.' In the United States, immigrants happen to grease the labor market (Ottaviano, Peri and Wright 2013). It is due to them flowing in those specific regions as well as industries which are in demand of workers. As a result of the increased labor availability, several bottleneck shortages regarding productivity that would otherwise damp the nation growth gets solved amicably. Scenarios that have seen immigration relieve the nation of many shortages include, during the period of world war 11, the Mexican immigrants played an integral role in the alleviating of shortages that got experiences as a result of a war effort. Regarding occupation, there was an increased number of immigrant flow to most of the high tech job during the internet boom era. Construction jobs equally recorded an increase in labor as a result of the 2000s housing boom that saw the American real estate investments significantly develop.
Cultural Diversity
A diverse population provides various avenues as well as opportunities that individuals can use to exchange new ideas. It will result in not only creativity but also innovation. Collective intelligence offers an in-depth analysis of the positive historical relationship that exists in the event of interaction between people of different backgrounds. A population that is diverse has in most cases brought together both the complementary abilities as well as experiences which often lead to productivity gains which often boost the economy of a nation. A more diverse population has often led to creative environments. Immigration, therefore, creates a diverse environment that encourages competition as well as exchanging ideas that come from different worldviews. In the United States, a diverse culture which has gotten promoted by immigration has led to the appreciation of culture from individuals with varying ethnicity language, religion leading to national cohesion.
Disadvantages of Immigration
Increases Security Threats
Illegal immigration not only paves the way for terrorist activities but also lead to the nation having foreigners with no found profession or education. Most immigrants often have little or no education. In their attempt to survive, and with the stress that comes with the pressure of one being of tender age, they resort to various criminal activities. Based on statistics, the year 2003 saw the American government arrest more than 55,000 illegal immigrants who in the past have gotten detained for more than 460,000 times. Criminal aliens also got recorded to make up about 27% of the total population present in the federal prisons. Immigration, therefore, exposes not only the country to potential criminal activities but also the citizens (Tallmeister 2013). They get subjected to volatile conditions such as increased robberies posing threats to their lives.
Financial Burden
Immigration in the United States has subjected the nation to costly expenses that it places to the agencies as well as taxpayers. Through homeland security which is in charge of administering citizenship as well as the immigration services, lots of taxpayers' money have gotten spent on monitoring immigration activities to ensure they do not pose a threat to the nation. Immigration has made actions such as conducting background checks, processing of citizenship and not limited to naturalization testing and personal interviews quite costly. It, therefore, strains the taxpayers' money which would have gotten diverted to other nation-building projects.
Strain National Resources
Immigration often results in the rapid change of a population dynamics. For example, California has a rough figure of about 50% of the individuals who begin their education are often immigrants. By adding the overall capacity of these students, it gets noted that about 15% of schools present in the United States often their capacity by more than 6%. It forms clear indication that immigration strains a nation's resources. Increased population equally leads to the increased demand for food and other social amenities. It further stretches the available resource to accommodate the increased number of people. Such practices deprive the American citizens the right if efficient services.
Conclusion
Despite immigration having potential benefits such as increasing the economic status of a nation as well as promoting diversity where individual get acquainted with various cultures, it brings tremendous challenges to a nation. Among them being, increasing the level of crime, straining the nation's available resources and not limited to causing financial burdens to governments. If immigration does not get keenly addressed as a national concern, it may plunge the country into more challenges; than benefits it brings. More policies with the similar agenda of controlling immigration for example Trumps travel ban will help protect the US government and citizens from the cons as mentioned earlier of immigration. It is from the above findings that I consider immigration a challenge to a nation rather than a benefit.
References
Hoekstra, M. and Orozco-Aleman, S., 2017. Illegal immigration, state law, and deterrence. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 9(2), pp.228-52.
Ottaviano, G.I., Peri, G. and Wright, G.C., 2013. Immigration, offshoring, and American jobs. American Economic Review, 103(5), pp.1925-59.
Tallmeister, J., 2013. Is Immigration a Threat to Security. Retrieved on May, 29, p.2016.
Zong, J., Batalova, J. and Hallock, J. (2018). Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States. [online] migrationpolicy.org. Available at: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states [Accessed 9 Mar. 2018].
