Immigration: Growing Concerns in U.S. and Beyond - Essay Sample

Introduction

Immigration has become a growing concern in several parts of the world as nations grapple with the logistics of managing new entry into their boundaries. Recently, immigration in the U.S has been the most discussed especially since President Trump promised to review the country's immigration policy. America is the leading country in the immigrant population and hence its relevance in political and public debate (Runst). The overwhelming immigrant numbers raise concern over the ability of states to adequately accommodate and provide services to the additional population. Immigration, therefore, bears a significant impact on a country in several areas including the economy. Studies have shown that elimination of migration barriers would have a positive effect on the global economy causing significant gains. Therefore, the economic benefit occurs to bother the destination country and the country of origin. Although immigration is often faced with skepticism owing to the sudden increase in population, this paper argues that settler societies gain economic benefits from immigration.

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Positive Impacts

Immigration Background

Immigration refers to the act of moving to settle permanently in a foreign country. The push and pull elements determine the process of migration. Push factors refer to the reasons for movement from a particular country. The difference in wage rates is the leading cause of migration regarding economic factors. Individuals tend to migrate to countries where the value of wages is higher than in their native country. This movement has been enhanced further by the advancement of transportation which has decreased costs dramatically. Pull factors, on the other hand, refer to the attraction in the destination country that causes people to desire to relocate to them. An economic example of these factors is the availability of well-paying jobs. However, this process is filled with challenges that include barriers to the movement. These barriers could be in legal or political form and the challenges involved in settling in a foreign country amid the uncertainties (Tomohara)

Impact on Productivity

Several authors believe that immigration has a positive effect on the economy. Research by Clark et al. to establish the impact of immigrants on institutions established that although the influence is small, it is positive on the quality of institutions. An influx of immigrants adds to the workforce supply of a particular country. This increase complements the existing labor and fills the position left by baby boomers thus increasing productivity. Countries with numerous job opportunities but a deficit of workers such as Canada benefits the most from this movement of people (Riddell et al.). The increased capacity to produce adds to the number of goods that the country provides in the market thus increased sales. Increased production also contributes to the growth of the economy since manufacturers manage to leverage economy of scale in sales (Clark et al.).

Impact on International Trade

Another benefit of immigration to the economy is market creation for imported products. Once migrants settle in a country, they become consumers of the products available in the respective market. The increase in consumers implies that producers benefit from the added demand for products. This change boosts international trade through the increased consumption of goods. Therefore, migration is essential for global business and the growth of international economies. This facilitation further creates opportunities indirectly in manufacturing countries since the increase in sales raises more revenue and creates jobs. Also, this aspect demonstrates that immigration has the potential to facilitate substantial economic growth to regions that are not directly affected by the movement (Tomohara).

Enhancement of Skills

The movement of people in search of jobs results in a mixture of skills from varying backgrounds. This creates a diverse workforce whose employment trickles the benefits down to various parts of the world. Also, the amalgamation of skills produces a unique workforce with prospects of increased quality of work. Further, the diversity in the workplace could benefit from new ideas which with proper management could promote the competitive advantage of organizations. Increased competitiveness creates excitement in the market thus promoting trade and economy. Finally, the value of products increases from the inclusion of new ideas which could help to reduce the cost of production or raise the quality of products (Riddell et al.).

Job Creation

Immigration has also been vital in several other ways. One of them is the contribution to economic growth through tax revenue. Whenever migrants find jobs in foreign countries, they contribute to the nation building of the host country and also to the native country through remittances. Another way that immigration impacts the economy is through the enhancement of entrepreneurship and innovation skills which facilitate job creation. This creation helps the government to offset the burden of creating jobs thus promoting the inclusion of more people into the workforce and the addition of revenue. It has been established that immigration in the U.S has contributed to two-thirds of economic growth has founded 30 percent of the firms that provide over 1 billion USD (Clark et al.). The final benefit of immigration to the economy is the improvement of the housing market. Immigration increases the demand for housing which facilitates the growth of the market. The housing sector, therefore, benefits from the widening market, and more opportunities are created here thus empowering a larger population that includes natives (Shirvanova).

Negative Impacts of Immigration

Despite the numerous advantages of immigration, it also has some drawbacks. One of these limitations is the contribution to global warming. Immigration bloats the population of a country and consequently culminates into its carbon footprint. The same is also caused by the increase in manufacturing activities which if not done using renewable energy, contributes to the devastation of the environment (Riddell et al.). Another negative impact of immigration is displacement on workers without a college degree and the lowering of wages. These jobs are lost mainly in the construction and agriculture industry. The presence of immigration here creates joblessness causing natives to lose income and thus affecting their quality of life. Despite job displacement, immigrants lower wages for low skill jobs thus causing natives to take pay cuts thus affecting the economic environment (Shirvanova).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the benefits of immigration outweigh the dangers. Countries need to legislate for friendly migration policies that facilitate the movement of people around the globe to promote the transfer of skills and wealth. Also, immigration is paramount for globalization by creating a market for international trade hence fostering trade. Migration can, therefore, be considered as a catalyst for the growth of the economy considering its direct and indirect impact to finance. Concerning the dangers of immigration, leaders need to develop policies that address these issues without affecting the positive effects of the movement. Valuable lessons can be learned from migration that if leveraged could produce valuable benefits to individual nations and the world. One of the ways to facilitate migration is by streamlining the legalization process and simplifying the path to citizenship.

Works Cited

Clark, J. R. et al. Does Immigration Impact Institutions? Public Choice, New York, 2014, pp. 321-335, https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2482370. Accessed 25 Apr 2019.

Riddell, W. Craig et al. "How Does Increasing Immigration Affect the Economy?" Policy Options, 2016, http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/november-2016/how-does-increasing-immigration-affect-economy/. Accessed 25 Apr 2019.

Runst, Petrik. "Does Immigration Affect Demand for Redistribution? - An Experimental Design." German Economic Review, vol.19, no.4, 2018, pp.384-400. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/geer.12133

Shirvanova, Terane. How Does Labor Migration Affect the Economies of Recipient Countries? Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency (VADEA), Varazdin, 2019. ProQuest, http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/2188518649?accountid=13158. Accessed 25 Apr 2019.

Tomohara, Akinori. "How Does Immigration Affect Modes Of Foreign Market Access: Trade And FDI?" Applied Economics Letters, vol 24, no. 18, 2017, pp. 1280-1284. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/13504851.2016.1270412. Accessed 25 Apr 2019.