Essay Sample on Immigration: Building Blocks of a Prosperous Nation

Introduction

Over the years, immigrations has been one of the hot topics raising eyebrows across the world and particularly in the United States. From the earliest days in the country, immigrants have played a critical role in developing what has become one of the most prosperous nations in the world. It is apparent from the onset of America as eight out of the fifty pioneers of the declaration of independence were foreign-born. Similarly, four of the first six United States secretary of treasury were also foreign like the Caribbean-born Alexander Hamilton. For many years, there have been constant debates about immigration. In the contemporary world, issues of unauthorized immigration and border security have dominated headline. Their problems need careful consideration, but it is important to remember that immigrants have made significant contributions to the United States economy. Immigrants such as Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Joseph Pulitzer, and Alexander Graham Bell are some of the best innovators in the world who shaped the prosperous future of the country. Thus, the paper endeavors to show the need for more immigration in United States and what it is set to gain from the venture.

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To begin with, one of the main reason for the need for more immigration from an economic perspective is the continued growth of cheap work and labor force. The most common way immigrants boost the economy of the country is by working, consequently increasing the labor force size. According to the United States census bureau, immigrants accounted for more than 10% of the population and more than 15% of the workforce in 2013. It is also not surprising that more than 60% of immigrants over the age of 16 years are employed, which is even more than the natives (Vangay et al 12). This incorporates both the lesser skilled and high skilled occupations depending on their educational backgrounds. A considerable percentage of immigrants possess low-level education level with some not even attaining high school diploma. However, a good potion also maintains a high level of education, possessing advanced degrees. They have proved to be important in science and technology sector as they have filled a quarter of mathematical social sciences, engineering and computer occupations (Hunt 5). Those with an average level of education and skills also play a critical role by filling the gaps of the lesser skilled areas of the country's economy. According to Orrenius (2017), more than 25% of farmworkers are immigrants as they also occupy[y more than 30% of construction, maintenance, and cleaning jobs. Other than filling these gaps, they also help in rejuvenating the workforce in the country (Orrenius 6). With the ageing native labor force, immigrants are a significant part of the economy as it entails a growing workforce. Immigrants also tend to come to the United States at the prime of their working years, which offers the country hardworking personnel in the workforce. Researchers feel they immigrants would become even more important in the coming years as Borjas (2014) suggest that between now and 2040, immigrants with their children will constitute more than 80% of the country's workforce (Borjas 2).

Secondly, immigrants also enhance productivity and innovation. In the long run, other than the addition of the workforce, it would often result in improved productivity. Improved productivity implies getting more output from each input. The most basic way an economy can improve productivity is through innovation. This means doing things differently or doing things in an entirely new way. It might be challenging to quantify innovation in a particular economy. Still, one of the most effective ways is by evaluating patent data which implies that immigrants in the United States have been remarkably innovative. Various economic analysts like Blau, Francine, and Jennifer (2019) posit that immigrants are five times more likely to be granted a patent compared to the Native Americans. Additionally, at least one immigrant innovator was awarded patent among the ten universities the 2011 universities that received patents. Another way through which immigrants enhance innovation in the country is through published researches. Studies suggest that a good number of immigrants who have gone through university studies in the United States report having published a book or an innovative research paper that can improve the economy.

In a different dimension, it is evident that entrepreneurship is one of the most important factors that improve the economy since it is this kind of individuals who take up innovative ideas and turn them into products. Over the years, immigrants have proved to be good entrepreneurs who can start and grow all kind of businesses. According to Blau, Francine, and Jennifer (2019), immigrants start small business twice as much as the natives. They constitute more than 15% of all small businesses in the United States, which is more than twice as much as other developed countries (Blau, Francine and Jennifer 16). Immigrants are also leading the way in the country's most promising new industries. Most researchers suggest that also 50% of all major technology and engineering organizations started between 2010 and 2019 had at least one immigrant as a pioneer.

Additionally, other than the economic benefits, diversity as a result of immigration has increased tolerance in the United States. This has resulted in not only stability in the domestic affairs in the county but also fostering peace internationally. Even though the terms diversity and immigration cannot be viewed as synonymous, diversity improves when any country receives a large number of immigrants. It is evident that the united states it the country with the largest number of immigrants, which implies that its citizens ought to learn domestic tolerance, a trait that results to community violence and the reduction of hate crimes (Ahmed 2). From the international point of view, diversity helps create a sense of peace and making them have the liability to talk with other countries in a manner that encourages tolerance and respect. Additionally, cultural diversity is often a source of mutual enrichment for humanity. The United Nations resolutions suggest that diversity is an important aspect in a country, especially its international relations. For instance, when the president visits another country, he would probably have an audience basing from the fact that some citizens in the country live in the United States.

Lastly, there are opponents who feel that immigration has more negative impacts in the country citing unauthorized immigration. It is evident that increased unauthorized immigration is problematic to the United States for various reasons. The major problem with unauthorized immigration is that it encourages lack of respect for the rule of law. Opponents of immigration also posit that illegal immigration also imposes an unwanted cost of the United States citizens. For instance, the United States border patrol unit employs close to 30,000 agents who are paid by the taxpayer's money. Other also feel that immigrants depress wages and take jobs that are supposed to be done by the natives. However, the reality is vice versa, as there is no evidence that immigration results in unemployment among Americans. There is also the notion that immigration increases crime rate and terrorism (Massey 5). Facts on the issue tend to differ as immigrants are less likely to be involved in crimes compared to the natives. Additionally, the risk of terrorism by immigrants is generally low compared to other factors.

Conclusion

In summation, from the earliest days in the country, immigrants have played a critical role in developing what has become one of the most prosperous nations in the world. This is clearly evident bearing in mind that some of the pioneers of the country were foreign individuals. Immigrants such as Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Joseph Pulitzer, and Alexander Graham Bell are also some of the best innovators in the world who shaped the prosperous future of the country. One of the main reason for the need for more immigration from an economic perspective is the continued growth of cheap work and labor force as they boost the economy by working, consequently increasing the labor force size. Immigrants also enhance productivity as a result of increased labor workforce. It is also apparent that immigrants have pushed forward the entrepreneurial culture as most small business over recent years have been opened by immigrants. Other than the economic benefits, immigration also initiates cultural diversity which is a source of mutual enrichment for humanity at the same time enhancing tolerance and respect. Some opponents feel that immigration has more negative impacts in the country, citing the downsides of unauthorized immigration. However, even though immigration has its downsides, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

References

Ahmed, Sameera T. "The cultural politics of US immigration: gender, race and media." (2018): 1476-1478.

Blau, Francine D., and Jennifer Hunt. "The economic and fiscal consequences of immigration: highlights from the National Academies report." Business Economics 54.3 (2019): 173-176.

Borjas, George J. "Does immigration grease the wheels of the labor market?." Brookings papers on economic activity 2001.1 (2014): 69-133.

Hunt, Jennifer. Are immigrants the best and brightest US engineers?. No. w18696. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013.

Massey, Douglas S. "Five myths about immigration: Common misconceptions underlying US border-enforcement policy." (2005).

Nowrasteh, Alex. "Terrorism and immigration: A risk analysis." Cato Institute Policy Analysis 798 (2016).

Orrenius, Pia M. "New Findings on the Fiscal Impact of Immigration in the United States." (2017).

Vangay, Pajau, et al. "US immigration westernizes the human gut microbiome." Cell 175.4 (2018): 962-972.