Thesis statement
Immigration is the movement of people to another country which they are not natives. People immigrate for several reasons that are not limited to search for employment, free from war in their own countries, natural disasters and family reunification. In the current century, there has been considerable high level of immigration by natives from low developed nations to developed nations. This social behavior has been characterized by both legal and illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants lack identification documents to verify their area of origin which is a contravention of the host country. Therefore it would be detrimental for the country to advocate policies that permit people to reside in countries without the necessary documents. In my opinion, the disadvantages of permitting undocumented immigrants exceed the benefits. In this essay, I will prove the reasons behind my opposition.
Historical perspective on immigration
Immigration is not a new term in the any country. It has been there since time immemorial. In the early years, disparity between labor forces between countries was high and thus opened a gap for labor force movement. Developing nations experienced a shortage of unskilled labor which was available in less developed nations. Consequently, there developed a loop-hole for developing nations to sneak in unskilled laborers into their countries through the borders. This led to influx of foreigners and diversity of culture. This colonial activity became the basis of immigrants that were difficult for the government to identify.
Almost all countries have experienced an influx of immigrants at one time in its history. Immigration in US could be traced since the early 17th and 19th century where an estimated 640000 Africans settled in the United States. This influx was higher than the previous average of 8000 immigrants annually. This rapid increase in population of immigrants was attributed to slavery which had increased to seal the deficiency of labors. With time, the population fluctuated due to restrictive immigration rules which were imposed. Between 1850 and1930, United States recorded a rise in immigrants’ population mostly from to an approximate 14 million from a low of 2.2 million. This was due to reduced transoceanic costs and travel time which enticed a significant number of European immigra.nts to the US.Us promising opportunities had attracted immigrants from other continents.
The enactment of Immigration Act of 1924 drastically reduced the immigrants’ population. The Act reduced the limit of the allowable number of immigrants from 3% to 2% of the number of people already living in US by 1890.In subsequent years, the Great Depression led to reduced number of immigrants in the United States. Over the years, several amendment Acts have been made to realign the immigration policy in the United States.
In the year 2005, Statistics revealed that the total number of immigrants had increased to approximately 191 million, which was about 3% of the world’s population. This was a rise compared to 165 million in early 90s. Of this population, Europe accounted for approximately 70 million immigrants. In the recent years, Asian continent has been leading in immigrant’s population.
Immigration is an activity that will continue for a long time to come. This is due to varied preferences by people. In a recent survey, a roughly 150 million of a 600 million people surveyed indicated United States as their best choice of destination if they had resources and a chance to travel .United Kingdom trailed second with Germany France and Spain following
This is an indication that immigration is a continuous social activity driven by economic changes among countries. This creates an opportunity for both legal and illegal immigrants to enter in other countries in search of suitable economic environment.
Reasons why I oppose undocumented immigrants from being allowed to work in US
- Crime
- Spread of diseases
- Economic and social welfare destabilization
Crime
Some people free from their countries to evade authorities. This is due to their past criminal records in their native countries. If allowed to enter another country, oblivious of their previous activities may pose a challenge to the host country and risk peace stability. In case an immigrant is accused of criminal activities in the host country, it may risk diplomatic relations between countries as the culprit may claim to be a citizen of another country.
Approximately 95% of arrest warrants issued on crime activities in Los Angeles accounted for Illegal immigrants. Further 75% of automobiles stolen in Arizona were stolen by illegal immigrants (FBI, 2005).
In California, proliferation of crime was attributed to an increased number of immigrants. Records indicated that perpetrators had no identification documents and their entry records at the immigration department were missing
According to the author, crime is a social threat to the country. It destabilizes the social cohesiveness and integration of the citizens. Moreover the situation is aggravated by the existence of new members of the society. With their hidden identities, illegal immigrants can execute crimes at the expense of the society’s innocence.
Spread of diseases
It is imperative that every immigrant is cross-checked to determine his or her origin. Besides, health status should be updated to caution the citizens of host country against epidemic diseases. Immigrants who enter the country illegally and oblivious of their health status may risk the society’s health environment. It is therefore, not appropriate to allow immigrants without all the necessary documents including health documents.
Economic and Social welfare destabilization
One of the economic factors that is affected by immigration is labor. Most developing countries have cheap and readily available work force. However, due to low wages in their own countries, they immigrate to United States in search of better payment. Due to their low-skilled labor, the employers opt to pay them lower wages than the host citizens. This act destabilizes the minimum wages, thus worsening the economic conditions of the citizens. This is a threat to the welfare of the community.
Counter arguments
Strengthened Foreign relations
Despite being overwhelmed by many disadvantages, there could be some little benefits. Allowing immigrants to the United States, the country builds cordial relations with its neighbors and other nations. This will depend on the circumstances of hosting the immigrants. For instance, Kenya has been applauded for hosting Somali refugees during turmoil period in their country
Multiculturalism
Immigrants form part of the host community. Their interaction may lead to intermarriage among them. Consequently, cultural diversity proliferates among them leading to harmonious living. In addition, Cultural diversity enhances innovation as each person is eager to learn from the other about their social behavior and culture.
However, despite these benefits, the country will not enjoy the benefits without security and health status
Work cited
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