Problems Facing the U.S. Immigration System Essay

Introduction

Immigration is a source of division in the United States (Chen, 2015). It not only divides the public but also brings division among the political parties in the nation. A survey was done, and when the participants were asked about the contribution of immigrants to the U.S society, seventy percent of the survey respondents said that the immigration has positive impacts on the nation. However, when asked about the immigration level, forty-five percent support the idea of reducing the immigration level. The American citizens are therefore divided between those who prefer to reduce the number of immigrants to the nation and those that prefer to maintain the level of immigration at the current rate. Although the migration of people to the USA offers many benefits to the country, there are some costs associated with having many foreigners in the society. This paper explains the problems faced by the U.S immigration system in different areas, current U.S immigration laws and the challenges encountered when solving those problems.

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Non-immigrants

According to Schuck (2018), U.S spending and tax policies have a significant impact on individuals' decisions about how much to work, how to save and invest. Immigration, by accepting a large number of immigrants who low-skilled brings inefficiencies associated with the welfare of the country. Immigration has also led to increased population in the U.S which has led to the inadequate definition of property rights over air, water, highways and common places. It has also led to congestion and increased pollution in the country.

If immigrants pay more taxes than the benefits they receive from the U.S government, then immigration causes the net fiscal transfer to the non-immigrant taxpayers (Schuck, 201). The reason is that when total effect of immigration on the residents is compared to the sum of the immigration surplus and the net fiscal transfer from immigrants, the result cannot be positive. On the other side, when immigrants pay less tax than the benefits they receive from the government, immigration is going to cause a burden to the U.S taxpayers. Natives will be forced to make an income transfer to the immigrants hence forcing the government to increase taxes and reduce government benefits for the natives. The U.S government will also be forced to issue government debts to increase borrowing from future generations. The end impact of immigration to the U.S natives can only be positive if the immigration surplus is higher than the fiscal transfer made to the immigrants.

The challenges associated with solving the problem of natives making the fiscal transfer to immigrants are; one, immigrants have larger households with more children compared to the natives. As a result, they are therefore able to make more use of public facilities and services such as education. Two, immigrants earn low incomes making them benefit from most welfare programs and contributing less tax to the native government.

Family-based immigrants

There are two categories of family-based immigrants; the immediate relative and the family preferences (Lakhan, 2016). Immediate relatives include parents, spouses and unmarried children of U.S citizens while all other qualified relationships are considered family preference. There is an unlimited number of immigrant visas for immediate relatives. However, for the family preference category, the immigration law limits the number of green cards that can be issued each year and therefore the number of visas available is limited. Thus, many U.S citizens and legal permanent residents have to wait in long backlogs since more relatives qualify than the possible number of green cards each year.

Promoting family-based immigration is vital because of various reasons; well organized family-based immigration helps in reducing illegal immigration to U.S. Research has shown that most of the family-based immigrants are highly-skilled and are adaptable to the labor market. They, therefore, become entrepreneurs and contribute to the growth of the economy. Family-based immigration also enables individuals to thrive and survive in U.S. Individuals unite and live with their families and the entire immigrant community which makes them comfortable hence being productive in the country.

However, challenges are hindering the promotion of family-based immigration in U.S. According to the U.S constitution; there is a limit on the number of family-based immigrants who should be issued with visas each year (Lakhani, 2018). It is the role of the U.S Department of State to allocate immigrants with permits after which the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services determine whether the immigrant visas are eligible. Family-based immigration demands two people, that is, petitioner and beneficiary to participate. The petitioner must be U.S citizen or permanent resident who is lawfully in the U.S and willing to sponsor a foreign member of his/her family to obtain a green card. The beneficiary is the foreign family member who wants to receive the green card.

Employment-based immigrants

There have many claims by the U.S natives that immigrants are a burden to the country since they receive more government benefits than the amount of tax they pay. Some natives also argue that immigrants bring competition in the job market and drive down wages. However, all these are just mere statements that do not have any evidence. Since the U.S population is slowly becoming low with low birth rates, a significant proportion of the population is composed of old people. The old people retire every day, and there is a need to replace them in the workplaces hence the need for employment-based immigrants. Immigrants also provide a market for products and services produced in the native country. Studies on national and state levels have shown that immigrant workers boost wages since their skills complement and enhance native workers' productivity hence increasing earnings (Schuck, 2018).

According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, there are five categories of green cards provided for people migrating to the U.S for employment reasons. After the Immigration Act of 1924, which gave preference to immigrants who had adequate agricultural skills (Lakhani, 2016), the immigration law has granted admission to immigrants with exceptional abilities that can be useful in promoting economic growth and development. In the year 1990, the Congress increased the number of green cards available for the employment-based immigrants hence establishing the current preferences. The challenges faced in the employment-based immigration sector include the need of the immigrants to carry along their spouses and minor children. However, the Immigration and Nationality Act limits nations to seven percent of the family-based and employment-based green cards issued on each year.

Legal immigrants

According to U.S law, for one to become a legal immigrant to the nation, he/she has to acquire the Green card (Lakhani, 2018). Holders of green cards are allowed to live and work in the country, join the armed forces and later on apply for U.S citizenship. The period after which one can apply for the citizenship is five years, but if married to a U.S citizen it is three years. The number of immigrants to be allowed to the U.S is determined by the Congress which surprisingly the last time it acted to adjust the system was back in the year 1990 (Chen, 2015). Previously, U.S had received many immigrants who were attracted by the demand for workers. The highly-skilled immigrants helped in economic growth and defining American culture. Afterward, the number of immigrants continued to increase to higher levels with some illegally settling in the U.S. The current immigration system is inadequate since it is not allowed to adjust workforce demands. It also forces so many families to experience separation from their loved one because of having so many restrictions on immigration.

Conclusion

The U.S immigration system needs to be repaired because it is already broken. Both past and current immigrants are very crucial to the economy of the country. It will be very dangerous to deport every illegal resident as some Americans would demand. To worsen the condition, failing to provide legal opportunities for both immigrants and their family members will have more adverse impacts on the country. To solve the problems faced by the U.S immigration system, the Congress needs to act and formulate laws which will provide a conducive environment for all immigrants and at the same time ensure that the U.S is not negatively affected in any manner.

References

Chen, A., & Gill, J. (2015). Unaccompanied children and the US immigration system: challenges and reforms. Journal of International Affairs, 68(2), 115.

Menjivar, C., & Lakhani, S. M. (2016). Transformative effects of immigration law: Immigrants' personal and social metamorphoses through regularization. American Journal of Sociology, 121(6), 1818-1855.

Schuck, P. (2018). Citizens, strangers, and in-betweens: essays on immigration and citizenship. Routledge.