Native residents find it difficult to integrate foreigners as new members of the society. Immigrants are associated with increased competition in the labor market, increased crime, and larger loads on social infrastructure. Natives associate the slow wage growth to the increased immigrant population in the USA. Most immigrants leave their countries due to social, economic or political disappointments. Natives have a negative perception of immigrant because they negatively impact on the wages. They expect higher gains in the country while living as foreigners. However, even though immigration may have social effects on the welfare of the USA, immigration also affects the welfare of the immigrants themselves.
Immigration may have major to minimal effects in the community. The perceived gains from moving to a new country cause individuals from a similar generation to consider relocating. This has a negative result on the social structure. Immigration of individuals of the same age and sex misappropriate the social structure in the community. Moreover, the non-return of emigrants is a ground for unevenness in the social pyramid. As an effect, there are many individuals of the same sex or age. The social pyramid is a major consideration in planning social and economic developments within the United States. Young immigrants in the country gain income by investments and the jobs secured. After some period of working, they later relocate back to their home countries.
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The countries which send and receive immigrants both gain various significant benefits which are comparable to international trade (Van der Mensbrugghe & Roland-Holst, 2009). The welfare benefits of the communities in the destination country come up due to increase in labor supply, which enhances economic production, thus a higher GDP. Despite the benefits of immigration, the public usually believes that immigration impacts the economy negatively, as it instigates massive loss of jobs. Increase in the amount of labor availability in the country may decrease the employment rates of the native- citizens. Most immigrants leave their countries due to employment disappointments. Many jobs are taken by the immigrants leaving the citizens unemployed. However, immigrants may increase productivity in that local workforce will move to higher productivity occupations (UNDP 2009, p. 70).
Most immigrants do not have competitive skills as the native citizens. Therefore, most of them end up with no jobs in the competitive field and labor-intensive occupations. As a result of lack of jobs to supplement income for their daily subsistence requirements, they end up in looking for other ways such as being involved in crime. Moreover, despite migrants providing legitimate transfers of remittances, the continued use of illegal channels raises the speculations for financial implications of crimes, terrorism, and money laundering. This increases tension among the members of the community. Tension decreases the social and economic productivity of the natives.
Migration does not only imply the movement of people but also movement and exchange of cultures. Successful assimilation to the destination countries requires the migrants to interact with the new society. As a result, there is a loss aspect of cultural identity, especially among second-generation immigrants. Since most immigrants are not freely integrated into the societies and social groups in the US, they form segregated ethnic groups. These segregated groups are a major concern in the community as most are suspected of being involved in crime. Segregated immigrants thus develop the negative attitude towards the natives. They form gang groups, which act as a revenge group to the natives due to social and economic segregation. Eventually, this increases the crime rate in the community. Native communities in the US have a mistrust of the immigrants, especially towards their financial institutions (Irving et al., 2010).
Moreover, immigration influence the governments’ fiscal situation. This affects the welfare of the communities in the US in the long run. Immigrants tend to pay more taxes to the government than they consume in government services during their stay in the foreign land. To consume the government services, they end up taking their children to public schools. Native communities in the country with massive concentration of illiterate immigrants face high tax charges due to the less charges offered to immigrants. Public schools in the states may be better than schools in their home countries.
While the community in the states may have a negative perception of the immigrants, they also have a vast number of advantages to the communities living in the US. There are suggestions that inflow of immigrants into the states result in positive wage effects for some subgroups and other economic benefits. Both high skilled and low skilled immigrants bring benefits to the destination countries. High skilled immigrants bring diverse talents and skilled manpower to the economy of the states. In the long run, the negative effects of high skilled immigrants outweigh the social and economic burden they bring to the states. Also, low skilled immigrants end up filling essential occupations whose impact cannot be neglected while considering the growth of the welfare of communities in the states. This allows the inhabitants to be hired at better paying occupations.
The better economy in the states may be one of the reasons immigrants like about the US. However, the public usually expects a socio-economic loss. In contrast, there are other gains. Brain drain is perceived as a negative effect in countries where immigrants originate from. Since the labor market is increasingly becoming global, policies in the states and political perception of immigrants, need to be reviewed. Integration of immigrants in the community also has cultural benefits to the communities (Castles & Miller, 2009).
In conclusion, even though immigrants may have many negative effects as the public in the communities in the US believe, they are part of the socio-economic growth. While policymakers and critics blame immigration for slowing the growth of the welfare of communities in the US, there is little long-run effect to the states as it has prove significant societal benefits.
References
D’Emilio, A.L., B. Cordero, B. Bainvel, C. Skoog, C., D. Comini, J. Gough, M. Dias, R. Saab, & T. Kilbane. 2007. The Impact of International Migration: Children Left Behind in Selected Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Division of Policy and Planning, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), New York.
Dasgupta, S., & others. 2007. ― The impact of sea level rise on developing countries: a comparative analysis . World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series, No. 4136, The World Bank.
De Haas, H. 2005. ― International Migration, Remittances and Development : Myths and Facts. Third World Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 8, pp. 1269-1284.
Ghosh, B. 2006. ― Migrants’ Remittances and Development: Myths, Rhetoric and Realities . International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Hanson, G. 2009. ― The Governance of Migration Policy. Human Development Research Paper (HDRP) Series, Vol. 02, No. 2009.
