Essay on Immigration Policy for the United States

The United States is a progressive country that has attracted masses from all over the world who desire to better their economic lives. Most of this refugees have left their native countries to increase their level of income and financial wellbeing. However, the immigration policy in place has also attracted illegal immigrants, and such have had negative implications on the country. Such huge numbers of migrants more than the country can control has resulted in a policy that denies all immigrants a place in the US so as to prioritize the needs of the natives. Nonetheless, such an extreme policy will not be healthy in the long run. A workable plan should consider the long and short term impacts of the immigrants and how America can have mutual relationships with the immigrants without straining their resources. As such, the proposed policy paper will include various facets and considerations to ensure it is sustainable in the long run.

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The immigration policy should allow all immigrants with skills, attitudes or knowledge and have the potential of impacting the US positively as they better their lives, should be allowed to remain. Because of the attractiveness of the United States the demand for the people who want to come in is usually higher than those who the country can sustain and as such, there is a need for limitations and regulations that limit that entry. Any person who can get a good job in their country and have the ability to create employment should not be allowed in the US as a citizen. Such denied slots will create opportunities for those are in critical need. For instance, some individuals are already employed in politically stable countries like Europe whose quest for more money leads them to the US. Such, should not be allowed but others from Syria or other countries where there is war, famine or unemployment like African countries should be given a higher precedence.

All the immigrants who came to the United States as children or were born in the US should also be prioritized and given equal opportunities as others American-born children. Such adults have nowhere else they could call home and being deported to their native countries would be unproductive. Going back to their parents native countries against their will would demotivate them, and deny them an opportunity for growth. Some, in fact, would feel stereotyped and consider the US as a country that promotes racism (Waters, Kasinitz, and Asad, 2014). To regulate the population, the number of children an individual can get while residing in the United States should be limited to only two or one. As such, there will not be many illegitimate children whose parents are unable to meet their financial needs. Additionally, such a limitation would reduce the dependency level and the burden that some of the immigrants place on the taxpayers. When immigrants seeking economic enhancement are unable to attain their goals and their expenditure higher than their income, they strain the taxpayers resources.

The federal government need to have an annual budget for the expected immigrants. The financial aspect of the immigration process allows the immigrants to be self-reliant as soon as it is practicable. Further, when the government expects them and have planned for the immigrants annually, it reduces the unnecessary struggles that new immigrants might face. When immigrants are not budgeted for, they become strained, seek odd jobs and also provide a wrong image of the United States (Waters, Kasinitz, and Asad, (2014). Planning allows the accommodation of the immigrants by enabling them to be assimilated in the communities they will find themselves. Further, the federal government can build the capacities of the local bodies and industries to support the incoming immigrants. Such frameworks will help the country invest in the immigrants for a short period, but theyll reap great benefits in the long run thus participating in building the US. Capacity building at the local levels will have provisions for non-Americans and strategies to bridge the gap between the different nationalities with a purpose of national unity. The federal government should also take an active role in sharing with the immigrants their roles, responsibilities, and rights while in the US as well as orient them (Behrens et al., 2015). Such a structured way will ensure the immigrants do not grope in darkness or waste unnecessary time trying to find their footing. In fact, it is very plausible that the Black Americans who result to criminal and violence do so because they feel unappreciated and not valued by the system as thus seek violent ways of survival and affirming their value. When the government plays a mediation role, the positive impact of the immigrants would be enhanced and the negative ones minimized. Therefore, should be a standard number of refugees who should come to the US annually and priorities should be based on the need to better economic status.

There is no a workable immigration policy without considering the impact that immigration has had on the US labor market. Wang, (2017), suggests that the unemployment rate is 4.7% meaning that there are individuals who are in the working age gap yet they have not secured employment. One of the causal factors is the fact that the influx in the number of immigrants has in a way taken away jobs that would be performed by the Americans. However, if all immigrants were deported to their countries, the labor market would also experience a massive shortage. Therefore, a workable policy should ensure that the employment rate of the Americans goes high without compromising the economic well-being of the immigrants. The country can create more job opportunities for the immigrants through reducing the goods that are imported from other nations. For instance, US can work at growing the agricultural sector, arts sector as well as the manufacturing sector. That would create employment even for the immigrants who have fewer skills and fled to the US to get value for their labor. Additionally, the creation of employment in those areas would aim at attracting refugees in industries that the Americans are not best at, such that there will be no additional competition for the jobs. As such, individuals will concentrate on working on those areas that they are best at such that more value is created with less. Reducing imports would boost the local industries, increase income levels of the workers and raise the taxes thus enabling the government to accommodate the immigrants sustainably. The federal government can also seek labor gaps and shortages and plan to utilize that niche to create employment. For instance, the US has a lot of potential in the technology, but its not doing as much as suggested by Pfeffer and Sutton, (2013). Thus, there can be training opportunities in areas pertaining to the tech industries to reduce labor shortage. Immigrants also interested in the industry can get government support in the short run the afterwards be expected to repay gradually or commit to develop others in the area. Creation of employment will seal the labor shortages in some areas and also ensure wage levels are within the normal rates and the level of employment is the highest possible.

Furthermore, the screening process of the people entering the US should be thorough and detailed. Such a process would eliminate the entrance of criminals in the US as some come through the loopholes in the system. Notably, it is inhuman to deny all citizens of some areas visas citing that its likely they are criminals. That would be racism and stereotyping which should be present in this era. All persons should be screened as individuals ensuring that the immigration officers deny any suspicious individual entry to the US. Additionally, there should be laws that ban chain migration as such would result to illegal immigration (Newbold, 2016). One should only come with their nuclear family and not friends as it has been the norm. Limiting such entrances would be healthy. The detailed screening process would also ensure secure borders with immigration officers who are honest and would not be bribed into allowing illegal immigration.

In conclusion, an immigration policy that is sustainable should consider all the parties at play and how to ensure that their needs are taken care. A workable system will work at creating jobs and an immigration plan where the immigrants are budgeted for, and their sustenance prioritized. Further, the screening process should be thorough, and the American borders should be manned by honest officers who will keep the laws without allowing illegal migration.

References

Behrens, K., del Pozo, M. A., Grosshennig, A., Sieberer, M., & Graef-Calliess, I. T. (2015). How much orientation towards the host culture is healthy? Acculturation style as risk enhancement for depressive symptoms in immigrants. International journal of social psychiatry, 61(5), 498-505.

Newbold, K. B. (2016, February). Immigration, spatial assimilation, and segmented paths within the metropolis. In Geography Research Forum (Vol. 23, pp. 56-77).

Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. (2013). The knowing-doing gap: How smart companies turn knowledge into action. Harvard Business Press.

Wang, Y. (2017). December Marks 75th Consecutive Month of Growth.

Waters, M. C., Kasinitz, P., & Asad, A. L. (2014). Immigrants and African Americans. Annual Review of Sociology, 40, 369-390.