The United States traditionally has been one of the most popular world destinations for those seeking a new start and a better life away from their home country, primarily due to the perceived affluent economy with opportunities for those prepared to integrate and to work hard.
However, immigration to the USA is not without problems, even for legal immigrants. Obstacles in the way of settling in may arise from a number of social factors, viz:
Education – the type/quality available to new citizens and their children, especially if they have little English;
Employment – getting good jobs and decent pay to support a family;
Housing – immigrants may become isolated in immigrant communities, unaware of services and facilities available, and therefore unable to find decent housing;
Prejudice –instances of prejudice and discrimination, compounded by cultural differences may deter them from seeking official help.
So why do these difficulties exist and what can be done to overcome them? What can the government and people do to ease those difficulties for our new immigrants who – for the most part – really want integrate and so blend in with the rest of American society?
Education
Immigrants arriving from a non-English speaking country and having little or no English language ability find everyday things like using public transport or shopping a problem. Learning English is a priority for such people, so provision of facilities for that purpose is important.
The English as a Second Language (ESL) programs address this need. In most States there are many centers for ESL courses. Although many immigrant students succeed through these courses, even resorting to self-study to supplement learning in class, they may still have problems. For example, to enter university a minimum of four years of English study in high school is a prerequisite. For many school age ESL students bright enough to go on to college, the shortfall in years at a U.S. high school may be a real obstacle to their further progress.
For some young immigrants, especially those in refugee families, experiences in their country of origin such as being exposed to violent conflicts may have traumatized them, making learning more difficult. We need to find ways of helping such children. So there’s still more to be done on this aspect, to reduce the difficulties immigrants face.
Employment
Getting a job, and later moving on to a better one, is a priority for immigrants, but there are barriers to achieving career progression. Most employers demand that employees in even the humblest jobs can speak and write English. Adult education – to learn the language – is a barrier. There are initiatives targeting that need; e.g. a program through the Bollman Bridge Elementary School in Maryland teaches English to Burmese immigrant parents, as reported in “Immigrants Learn English With Their Children” (dailyQi, 2012). More needs to be done though.
For highly skilled jobs, employers demand diplomas or degrees from U.S. based sources only. It is difficult to see how we can overcome this problem. Although it is natural for an employer to give preference to a candidate with a home-grown degree, rather than one from overseas, such discrimination is prohibited under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Refer to the “Handbook for Employers” published by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (27) for details. Further efforts are needed to stamp out this discrimination.
Housing
The main obstacle for immigrants seeking better housing is cost. Also, renting housing is not easy when landlords demand proof of job and rent histories, which don’t exist for a new immigrant. It is difficult to find a solution; it is unreasonable to expect landlords to take tenants “on trust”; the landlords are in business. Perhaps a government initiative is needed?
Prejudice and Discrimination
This is a significant problem for immigrants, particularly those belonging to ethnic minorities. There are many reports of prejudice, discrimination and even endemic harassment, especially for Arab immigrants since the events of 9/11. The guilty are said to include police forces and officials in some cases. This situation can only improve by education of those guilty of discrimination, and/or by introducing targeted legislation.
Counterargument
There are real difficulties for new immigrants, but is it reasonable to expect the U.S. government – therefore the taxpayers – to meet the costs of helping them? Maybe our immigration policy must change so that immigrants either pay for their own education, etc or stay away. With rising living costs and the U.S. in a recession, this question should be asked.
Conclusions
Undoubtedly new immigrants to the U.S. face various problems, especially if they don’t speak English. The solution is either to increase funding for existing programs or to fund more programs to help them – meaning more taxes for U.S. citizens.
Alternatively, to change immigration policy so that immigrants fund their own help. I don’t think that’s a realistic or practical solution, so would recommend increasing government help in whatever way necessary.
Works Cited
“Handbook for Employers”. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. M-274 (Rev.06/01/11) N. (27). Web. 21 Feb. 2012. < http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/m-274.pdf>
“Immigrants Learn English With Their Children”. January 21, 2012. DailyQi. The Zhou-Li Business Group, Inc. Web. < http://dailyqi.com/?p=47822>
