Introduction
Immigration is a brainchild of globalization and has been a subject of critique by a group of Americans who may take a xenophobic or protectionist cast. These critics argue that immigration undermines the US economy due to the access gained by immigrants to jobs and other important resources. Others also argue that employment of immigrants encourages cheap labor and undermines the US industries. On the other hand, the subject of immigration is hugely supported by the IMF body that argues that overall, immigration and integration will extend its benefits to everyone both the American community and the rest of the world (Chomsky, 2008).
Historically, the concerns circulating around immigration have been present since the declaration of the country’s independence when Thomas Jefferson the grievance surrounding the obstruction of immigration. For a great part of the US history, immigration wasn’t regulated until 1882 when the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. The three presidents that reigned during the Progressive Era; Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson, pushed very strong agendas against immigration and as a result passed the Immigration Act of 1921. The greatest issue pushing their anti-immigration views was the myth that immigrants took away jobs from Americans and also led to a suppression of wages due to the attraction of cheap labor. This issue of immigrants taking away jobs from Americans is untrue and in fact, immigrants may create as many jobs they fill through creation of startups that pave way for more employment and overall, improve the economy of the country (Boehm, 2006).
How this myth is used by particular interest groups and why it perpetuates a popular discourse in social media
Citing the Chinese Exclusion Act as an example, the law was motivated by the rising number of Chinese residents in America and the speed at which they began to climb the social ladder and obtain professional and office jobs in subsequent generations in spite of their humble beginnings as minors and laborers in American farms (Railton, 2013). In fact, based on statistical evidence, most the Chinese and other Asians were able to take up most of the white collar jobs due to their value for education and thus pose a threat to Americans (Louie, 2004).
Emanating from the potential threat by the Chinese immigrants as seen by the less educated and qualified Americans, this group were opposed to the immigration of the Asian Americans who were seen as a highly competitive for the professional and office jobs due to their high achievement in the field of academia. This group would then push for a consolidation of immigration laws whose irrational was premised on the background that these native born Americans possessed a right to particular jobs, not because they earned it, but as a birth right of being American born citizens. Therefore, such immigration laws denied the employers the right to choose their employees based on their qualifications and abilities in a presidency to set aside jobs for these less qualified Americans without much effort (Boehm, 2006).
The issue of immigration perpetuates a popular discourse in social media due to the racial affiliation that is attached to it. Through social media, the subject of immigration and how it has taken away American jobs has intensified public opinion and created a moral panic that has led to the continued push for enactment of more stringent laws restricting immigration. However, the push for such laws through social media has been faced by great criticism with the argument that enactment of such laws would only perpetuate the discrimination against specific races and even gender (Morewitz & Goldstein, 2013).
Why the myth that immigrants take away jobs from Americans is inaccurate
The myth that immigrants take away jobs from Americans is highly inaccurate. According to Nash (2006), immigrants create as many jobs as they are employed in. Many studies have indicated that immigrants are more inclined to be self-employed through startup businesses than the native born citizens. This can be backed up by the high level of academic attainment by most of the immigrants (Viewcaps, 2013).
Also, the new immigrants take up jobs that the native born Americans are either not willing to take up or are unable to undertake and particularly the labor intensive industrial and/or service jobs and also high tech jobs. For instance, illegal immigrants are heavily employed or used in the agricultural sector and in fact, the businesses that hire illegal immigrants in these sectors argue that most Americans are unwilling to take up the jobs that the illegal immigrants take up. According to Viewcaps (2013), if the nation was to enact stricter laws in regards to immigration such as employee verification on legal status by employers with the complete removal of all illegal immigrants from the US, most of these businesses would collapse due to a shortage of workers.
Conclusion
The myth about immigrants taking away jobs from Americans has been there since the declaration of Independence to America and has been a subject of political interest by various promoting the passage of the Immigration Act of 1921. The greatest beneficiaries of the myth and the enactment of such laws were the less educated and less qualified Americans who employers were forced to employ; not based on their qualifications but due to the fact that they are native born. The debate has also fueled public opinion and outcry in social media from both sides with those opposed arguing that enactment of laws that restrict immigration would only contribute to more discrimination against gender and race.
However, contrary to the misconception surrounding the myth, immigrants have resulted in an increase in employment through the creation of new businesses that continue to employ Americans. In addition, according to most employers, most of the jobs taken up by immigrants, both legal and illegal, are jobs that most native born Americans are unwilling to take up and would in fact collapse if stringer laws regarding immigration were to be enacted. Therefore, the myth that immigrants take away jobs from Americans is inaccurate and is only driven by groups of native-born Americans who are unwilling to compete in the job market and only yearn for an effortless entry into the job market.
References
Boehm, J. (2006). The Handbook for Exploding the Economic Myths of the Political Sound Bite. Infinity Publishing.
Chomsky, A. (2008). Linked labor histories.
Louie, V. (2004). Compelled to excel. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.
Morewitz, S., & Goldstein, M. (2013). Handbook of forensic sociology and psychology.
Nash, A. (2006). Through the Lens of Social Justice: Using the Change Agent in Adult Education. World Education, Inc.
Railton, B. (2013). The Chinese Exclusion Act. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Viewcaps,. (2013). Immigration: The Pros and Cons of the Issue. BookCaps Study Guides.
