RAISE Immigration Policy Essay Example

Introduction

Over the years the question on the social, economic and political benefits of immigrants have significantly been on the rise. Immigration has been a significant challenge globally, whereby people move from one country to the other legally or illegally while in search of better lives and seeking better employment. In the US the question of immigrants contribution towards the US economic, social, political and cultural aspect have reemerged severally which always leads to the development of a new policy (Czaika & De Haas, 2013). As a result, the US has established numerous policies which aim at direct and indirectly impacting the lives of the immigrants. In the recent past in 2017, the US passed the Reforming American Immigration for Strong employment (RAISE) Act (Borias et al., 2017). The Raise act has attracted debate because it restricts the number of immigrants into the US and at the same time determines the nature of immigrants entering the US. Specifically, the act focuses on reducing the number of immigrants by half in the next decade as well as attracting skilled immigrants. The new bill raises a debate on its benefits on the US affairs. A broader focus on the RAISE act reveals why the use policies have been shifting to a more closed system as opposed to open as well as explaining the impact of the plan.

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Trending Towards Closure

Over the years, the US has been faced with a large number of immigrants who move to the country directly or indirectly. As a result of the ever increasing number of immigrants, the US has established the RAISE act in an attempt to regulate the level of immigrants entering the US territory annually (Borias et al., 2017). Specifically, the law aims at reducing the number of immigrants by half in ten years since its establishment.

Focus on Skilled Labor

The US aims at acquiring highly skilled immigrants who will positively contribute to the country's economic growth and development (Borias et al., 2017). The trained individuals will provide the US working population with diverse working experience, different knowledge, and skills which will in turn help to enhance the performance of the US firms by creating a pool of diverse skills which will further lead to innovation (Borias et al., 2017). Additionally, the US aims at restricting the number and type of immigrants with the aim of ensuring that the country economically benefits from high-skilled individuals.

Reducing Employment Competition

Over the years, the immigrants have been viewed as a significant threat to the US population concerning job opportunity (Borias et al., 2017). While some economist argues that the immigrants do not take up US population job opportunities, some economist argues that the immigrants pose a threat to the US population job opportunities. The increasing number of immigrants into the US poses a threat to the US-born population employment opportunity (Borias et al., 2017). In this case, the immigrants are viewed as competitors as well as individuals who take up jobs that belong to the US-born population. As a result, the RAISE act focuses on reducing the level of employment competition that arises from the high level of immigration (Borias et al., 2017).

Adverse Effects

Demographic Composition

The US focus on regulating the number and type of immigrants settling in the US will adversely impact on the US demographic population. Statistics indicate that the US population comprises of the older generation, therefore, regulating the number of immigrants into the US who mainly comprise of young families and young age in search of better lives and working condition will lead to an old population (Swanson, 2016). As a result, the US economy is likely to face serious labor challenges which will, in turn, see the US reduce its productivity levels. Majority of the US population comprises of high retiring age as well as older generation, which in turn poses a threat to future US labor market and productivity (Czaika & De Haas, 2013). Therefore, it is essential to focus on the amendment the RAISE policy to allow more immigrants into the US in an attempt to prevent future labor market and productivity challenges (Clemens, 2017).

Shortage of Unskilled Labor

The immigrants play an important role in providing unskilled labor. The RAISE act focuses on providing legal rights of immigration to highly skilled immigrants (Clemens, 2017). The focus on skilled immigrants will adversely impact on the US labor pool for unskilled laborers. The unskilled laborers play an essential role in the US economy as they engage in manual jobs that the American natives cannot participate in such as washing toilets and milking cows (Clemens, 2017). Although the Americans might be provided with similar or better wages to work on the task, there are relatively few individuals ready to work on such a task. Therefore, restricting the number and type of immigrants entering the US will lead to the labor shortage in the US economy which will in turn adversely impact on the general economic performance of the country.

Culture Factors

In addition to economic benefits that arise from the immigrants, the unrestricted immigration has in the past allowed diversity in the US. People from different countries entering the US bring different practices, believes, attitudes and cultures which have significantly led to the diverse population being experienced in the US (Swanson, 2016). Limiting the number and nature of people migrating to the US through the RAISE act will adversely impact on the cultural diversity encountered in the US. The immigrants represent the different cultures from different countries, and therefore, restricting the immigrants will reduce the diverse population, which will, in turn, affect the diverse culture (Swanson, 2016).

Reduced Tax

The immigrants play an important role in contributing to the US revenue. Hence, restricting the number of immigrants migrating to the US will adversely influence the revenue collection. For example, the immigrants, directly and indirectly, contribute towards revenue through the tax on the salary and purchasing products that are taxed (Chavez, 2017). In addition to the immigrants' contribution to the US revenue, the immigrants also allow the social security systems to collect a pool of funds that are used to cater for other individuals including the US citizens. For example, statistics indicate that the majority of the immigrant population comprise of the young population which hardly falls sick, don't use their retirement funds and pay tax to the US government (Chavez, 2017). Therefore, restricting the number of immigrants entering the US will adversely impact on the revenue levels.

Conclusion

The topic on immigrants has raised concerns from different people. Importantly, people focus on the benefits that the immigrants provide to the state. The question of whether or not immigrants have economic benefits or not has been a significant focus on US immigrant policies. In the recent past, the US established the RAISE policy which aims at restricting the level and type of immigrants entering the US with a focus on increasing the number of skilled immigrants in the US. The system aims at protecting the Americans from competition in employment, which arises from high numbers of immigrants. Also, the strategy seeks to attract skilled immigrants in an attempt to boot its economy by offering skilled and professional labor. It is however, it is essential to amend the policy as it will have adverse effects on the US economy, which ranges from reduced unskilled labor, changes in demographic completion and adversely impact on cultural diversity. Therefore, the RAISE act should be amended to ensure that the US maximally benefit from the immigrants aiming to settle in the US.

References

Borias, G. J., Kruse, M., Kitman, J. L., & Lowry, R. (2017, August 04). Why Trump's New Immigration Bill Makes Sense. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/04/why-trumps-new-immigration-bill-makes-sense-215457.

Czaika, M., & De Haas, H. (2013). The effectiveness of immigration policies. Population and Development Review, 39(3), 487-508.

Swanson, A. (2016, October 14). Opening up borders: An idea economists tend to love and politicians detest. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/14/why-economists-love-and-politicians-detest-the-idea-of-opening-the-borders-to-lots-more-immigrants/

Chavez, L. (2017, September 11). Trump Doesn't Understand the Economics of Immigration. Retrieved from https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/09/11/trump-doesnt-understand-economics-immigration-daca-raise-act/

Clemens, M. A. (2017, December 04). The Need for a Bilateral Labor Agreement Between the US and Mexico, and the Responsibility for Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.cgdev.org/publication/need-bilateral-labor-agreement-between-us-and-mexico-and-responsibility-leadership