Abstract
Immigration has been a thorny subject for the past centuries. The issue has been widely debated and talked about since the influx of the movement of people from their original home countries to new countries for various reasons. Immigration can be defined as the movement of people from their native countries to countries where they do not hold citizenship with the main aim of settling there permanently or to take up employment. People who often cross international borders to other countries to look for jobs or with the intention of settling there are called immigrants. Whereas people continue to move from their countries of origin for various reasons, this subject has elicited sharp criticism, and it has also been embraced in equal measure. The objective of this paper is to analyze the different benefits of international immigration and its consequences on the host countries as well as the native countries of the people who immigrate. The paper will also explore the profound effects of incorporation and assimilation to the population of the host country as well as the foreigners who move to that particular country.
Many push factors have led to immigration since the past centuries. Some of the reasons may include seeking better employment opportunities, escaping religious persecution, seeking political asylum, to find more educational opportunities, seeking better economic prosperity, lack of essential resources in their home countries, fleeing natural disasters, family reunification, and escape from war among other reasons. Despite the fact of continued mobility of people and substantial research on why some people emigrate more than others, there has been a lack of an accepted theoretical framework for studies on this subject and the cumulative knowledge to explain this phenomenon has continued to remain elusive (Castle 1566).European countries also allowed Europeans who were living under communist regimes to travel but soon after post-war Europe, the Iron Curtain was put up to prevent immigration which is an irony to the freedom of migration that was formulated (Bocker 218). Among the most common reason for immigration, today is escaping a war. In the height of raging war particularly in the Middle East, there have been a soaring number of immigrants seeking asylum in European countries and America and Canada.
Immigration has some distinct advantages as well as disadvantages both to the countries that people migrate to and their native countries. Immigration is a formidable engine of economic growth, and countries have substantially benefited from the labor and expertise that immigrants have offered in various sectors. By design, immigration has always been beneficial to the ‘rational’ immigrants because this forms the primary basis of their migration (Koven & Gotzke 37). The increasing number of immigrants today has pushed countries to formulate restrictive immigration policies which provide guidelines and structures about the process. As the related talks keep on circulating, strategies shift, and the migration procedure turns out to be progressively prohibitive. It is imperative to comprehend the ways essentialized developments of immigrant subjectivities bearing in mind meeting thoughts of sex, race, capacity, and sexuality limit individuals' potential outcomes for self-determination and intensified the precariousness of their status (Aberman 64).
The migration of people from one country to another as immigrants has social, cultural, political and economic impacts. Immigration has lately become a subject of global debate in the political, social and economic spheres as to why countries should allow the movement of more people into their countries. Citizens of countries that have a high number of immigrants have continued to urge their governments to enact restrictive and strict laws that will bar more people moving into their countries because they believe that they take up their jobs and contribute to growing number of crime cases. In spite of all this standoff, some quarters have acknowledged the significant benefits of immigration in the growth of economies, integration, and cultural diversity. The global economies have become more integrated through immigration that has occurred as a result of globalization. From the mid-twentieth century, globalization has become a driving force in the movement of people from their native countries to foreign countries in search of better economic prosperity, seeking opportunities and achieving a certain quality of life. Their movement has substantially helped in the rapid industrialization that has been witnessed in the developed countries which are the majority of host countries. Immigrants have significantly contributed to the growth of the economies of their host countries through providing the required labor for industrialization. However, despite the strict immigration laws that have been set up by Western nations to deter immigrants in recent decades, there have been illegal immigrants who live and work illegally in these countries. The subject of illegal immigration has elicited sharp public debate as to whether they should be deported to their native countries.
Embracing more flexible immigration rules and systems will ensure more benefits in the economy due to the important part that immigrants play in the growth and development of various sectors. Economic efficiency is achieved due to the low shortage of labor in low-skilled as well as high-skilled markets. Increased immigration will provide a perfect platform for increasing the workforce, and this will, in turn, give rise to more business start-ups in the host countries. Large corporations will be able to get workers that they need to offer labor and expertise in the various levels of the workforce. The benefits that these group of people offers to the overall economy cannot be underestimated because of the invaluable link they provide which would otherwise not be provided by the natives of that country. For instance, Britain has one of the most flexible immigration laws among the developed countries. It is also one of the most culturally diverse countries in Europe and the West. The larger number of students in public schools in Britain is Indo-Asian and other mixed races. The immigrants in Britain provide significant workforce in sectors like agriculture and construction, hence contributing significantly to the economic growth of this country.
However, in countries like the United States, which have very strict laws concerning immigration, people who move to this countries have always been received negatively because they are a perceived threat to jobs and security. For instance, Mexicans are seen to be a menace and a threat to safety because of their perceived involvement in drugs, crime, and gangs. Critics may argue that too much tax money may be lost due to social services to immigrants and lower the wages and take on jobs, they need to realize that the immigrants only take up jobs that the citizens of the host countries are not willing to take. Therefore, they fill this crucial gap in providing labor and workforce and hence economic growth.
However, immigration has contributed to the growth of the United States GDP by marginally more than one-tenth of a percent which is considered to be a modest benefit (Hanson 38).
The citizens of host countries also benefit from the cost reductions that are passed on to them due to the low-cost labor that the immigrants provide. The goods produced by such industries through the efforts of immigrant workers can also be sold at lower prices which in turn may lead to the generation of additional profits. The restrictive immigration laws should be continuously revised to ensure that there is a flexible framework that provides immigrants both skilled and unskilled to offer their services with a recognized legal status. In the global age of movement, the endeavors to limit, control, direct and deal with the mobility of immigrants and permanent settlement in host nations has achieved national policies and administration methodologies that are overhauling the normative and regulatory frameworks (Goldring & Landolt 326).
Besides the economic benefits of immigration, there are also some social as well as cultural benefits that can be derived from immigration both to the host country and the countries where people emigrate. Social interaction has brought about assimilation and incorporation which has considerably contributed to harmony among the hosts and immigrants alike. The cultural and economic integration that comes as a result of immigration has a profound influence on the members of both societies, and they are passed on from one generation to the next leading to a more cohesive, assimilated and incorporated community. The reaction of the host community also has a significant impact on how their interaction with the visitors will affect them, their society as well as the countries where they originated. There has been cultural harmony between different generations of both immigrants and their hosts through the interactions and exchanges that they have had, and this has led to congruent social bonds.
Through globalization and technological innovations and advancements, the world has become a smaller place or what is now referred to as a ‘global village.’ Different cultures are within reaching today more that any time before and this has also improved ties and exchanged between the citizens of host countries as well as the immigrants and their mother countries. Therefore, immigration has increased diversity and multiplicity which has led to harmony within diverse communities. There is a rise in cultural centers that typically come up after a particular community has a substantial number of members in a host country, and this also provides jobs and other opportunities for other people.
Many establishments like restaurants also come up as a result of immigration and people from different communities and ethnic background gets to sample different culinary foods from various parts of the world. The integration that comes about due to such activities also fosters unity and harmony among citizens of the host country and the immigrants. People can also get access to products that can only be found in certain countries due to immigration because there are exchanges and interaction that occurs when people from different communities meet. As a result, there exists a very vibrant culture for instance in countries like United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, which comprises people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
It is no doubt that the movement of people across international borders has had substantial benefits and positive impacts in many sectors and aspects of life. It is clear that the positive influence of immigration outweighs the adverse impact by far. The social way of life in developed countries like the United States have completely changed as a result of immigration. If people directed their energies in the positive impacts of the movement of individuals to these countries, then there would be more harmony and less tension on ethnic and racial lines among communities. There are tremendous positive benefits that have resulted from immigration and citizens of the host countries should learn to interact and incorporate the visitors into their community with ease. Immigrations bring about development and change, whereby the quality of life significantly increases due to the cross-border movement of people. The host country usually does not experience this benefit, but it is the most significant advantage that is derived from immigration. Immigrants get access to better opportunities and better chances of attaining their objectives and fulfilling their goals and by so doing they achieve prosperity due to these opportunities.
It is also worth noting that in spite the fact that both native countries and host countries of immigrant stand to gain benefits from immigration, it is the host countries that gain more benefits as a result of immigration. Immigrants often make the host countries their homes, thus setting up businesses, pursuing educational opportunities and offering labor force to that country. From all these, the host country sets to gain taxes, more economic growth as well as diversity in its culture due to assimilation, incorporation and integration of the immigrants into its system. For instance, the United States has gained substantially due to immigration. The immigrants have gone ahead to become great musicians, athletes, and even business people. All this combination of individuals has considerably contributed to the growth of the country both socially, economically and culturally. As a result of the citizens of the host country also have gained a lot of benefits through interactions with the immigrants. There have been calls to ease the immigration rules so as to allow them to work freely while investing in their host countries.
There are also a significantly higher number of people who are retiring in the developed countries and immigration becomes beneficial so as to fill the void or gap that retirees may leave. Steady service to senior citizens or older people will also be maintained by the immigrant workers because the citizens of the host countries are usually unwilling to offer such services. The aging population requires certain services and attention which is readily available in the immigrant population. By allowing the immigrants to work in facilities that offer services and necessary help to this group of people will be very helpful in sustaining their needs. As a result, through the labor and service that immigrants offer, the host countries will greatly benefit from the capital, entrepreneurship, and labor that in turn caters to a global market. However, most economic benefits are realized or concentrated at the areas where these services, labor, and businesses are set up.
In as much as the host countries benefit from immigration, countries of origin for immigrants also benefit from the revenue that is sent home by those working in foreign countries. Most immigrants come from developing countries and the remittances that they send back to their country also help in the improvement of the economic status of their native countries. When people move from one country to another in search of better opportunities and improved status of living, the rate of unemployment in their native countries significantly reduce hence raises the prospects of employment. When immigrants also return to their country of origin, they are set to bring expertise and improved skills which proof to be very crucial in various sectors of their countries. They also come with international contacts and savings which can also help in enhancing economic growth and cooperation between their country of origin and their host countries. In spite, the loss of young workers who move to other nations to search for opportunities, those who go back to their countries of origin or maintain correspondence provide crucial skills and expertise to their native countries.
Immigrants make many sacrifices that include separation from their families and leaving their jobs to pursue secure lives in developed countries. It is no doubt those high skilled and professionally trained foreign workers who have high paying jobs before immigration face insurmountable challenges upon their arrival in other countries like Canada (Das Gupta, Man, Mirchandani & Ng 55, 56). The challenges they face may include racial stereotyping, language barriers, credentialism, and discrimination which often pushes even the most educated and experienced immigrants into precarious and low paying jobs. They take many risks to travel through treacherous journeys and face many legal challenges in the host countries. Many are not accepted due to their ethnic or racial background. But there is a significant cultural and social exchange that takes place through interactions. When immigrants return to their homes, they bring with them new cultural practices of which some are beneficial to their country of origin. Through this exchange, the world becomes an easier place to interact because of the tolerance that exists towards different cultures. Cultural exchange has led to people visiting countries that have rich cultures for purposes of research and exploration to give deeper insight into how individuals in the past centuries lived and interacted. By studying such phenomena, different ethnicities learn about their origins and relations and, therefore; they learn to live in harmony and tolerance towards each other.
Generations of immigrants are also set to benefit when their family members seek greener pastures in developed countries with stronger economies. Through this migration, cultures can be sustained and upheld and later on passed to new generations. The economy of any nation that hosts immigrants is set to be stimulated rapidly through the labor and skills that the immigrants offer. Immigrants from countries with better family values and ethical standards also transfer them to their host countries. For instance, countries from East Asia are believed to possess the best family values and ethical standards. When people from such countries move to new countries, they are set to transfer that kind of values and lifestyle to their new countries. The citizens of host countries will adopt those standards and hence improve family ties and relationships between families. People from these countries also value the core unit of society which is a family. Issues like divorce, domestic violence, and absentee parenting are unheard. Members of the host country will adopt these kinds of values and live with them which will, in turn, improve family relations and foster unity among communities.
Immigration becomes beneficial to both host countries and the countries of origin of the immigrants if their rights are protected and their status is recognized so as to provide them with security both socially and economically. It is no doubt that both countries benefit from immigration, but the most financially stable and prosperous countries benefit more. Migration also brings about cultural, social, political and economic pressure which should be taken into consideration to plan for future services. It also offers a potential of bringing people together and closer culturally and socially despite the fact that frictions may occur among the people. The citizens of host countries should realize the benefits of migration and embrace it because they are also beneficiaries of this phenomenon. The people who migrate should also be given adequate information about life in the new countries that they are moving to, and structures should also be put in place to ensure they integrate and interact with the hosts to foster harmony.
Countries with a higher number of immigrants also tend to be competitive when it comes to issues like internal trade and business. Through the skills that they provide, there is more productivity and outputs which place the host country at a better position when it comes to conducting business and opening international trade routes and opportunities. As a result, tourism springs out and draws many visitors to that particular country, and it also gains more revenue from tourism. If developed countries like United States, Canada, Britain and other western nations adopted more flexible immigration policies and structure, economic growth would be spurred and raise the living standards of both the immigrants and the citizens of host countries. Flexible immigration law and policy that focus on economic growth and development would look for means and ways of admitting more immigrants who have advanced skills and education levels that are desired by the employers of host countries. Immigration policies which are growth-oriented should be formulated to ensure more immigrants can enter legally, stay and work in developed countries as well as other nations so as to offer their skills and generate more revenue for these countries.
Immigration is an issue that has elicited a lot of debate and cannot be underestimated due to its benefits. Both host countries and donor countries are set to benefit substantially from immigration. The most notable benefit is the economic growth due to high productivity due to skilled labor that immigrants offer as well as the revenue that they submit in the form of taxes to their host countries. The saving remittances to their native countries also are a crucial source of capital for enterprises and businesses in their countries of origin, and this also ensures economic growth. Through interactions with citizens of host countries, there is also cultural exchange that takes place, and this provides diversity and harmony within immigrants and the citizens of their host countries. Due to globalization immigration has become more rapid and governments should formulate flexible policies and laws to enable immigrants to move, stay and work in their host countries legally without any discrimination or impediments.
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