Skip to main content
Humanities LibreTexts

Immigration in the United States - by Humberto Hernandez

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF
  • Page ID
    186601

    • Humberto Hernandez at Pima Community College
    \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    The United States of America is known worldwide as the Oasis in the Desert, the place where all of your dreams will become a reality. The land where freedom is the foundation of people’s rights, and where you will be greeted with joy by your cheerful neighbors. Is it, though? Why do people want to immigrate to the United States at the rate we have experienced? Does immigration help the American economy? Do immigrants take all the jobs that belong to the American people? Indeed, America was built on immigration, but does the government support immigration? What about those professional immigrants that end up working a minimum-wage job? Skillful immigrants that had respectful jobs are ending up working for McDonald’s or have been mistreated by employers. This essay will discuss the importance of paying attention to immigration in general, the lack of public attention, and the effects of politics on people’s lives.

    Residents living in border towns and border states are familiarized with immigration policies, illegal immigration, the variety of languages spoken in certain regions, foreign traditions, culture, and the good and bad things that come along with immigrants. The main claim that Americans against immigration discuss is that immigrants will take all the jobs, hurt the poor by taking advantage of welfare, and lower everyone’s wages. Although, according to Nowrasteh (2018) “this claim has the greatest amount of evidence rebutting it. First, the displacement effect is small if it even affects natives at all. Immigrants are typically attracted to growing regions and they increase the supply and demand sides of the economy once they are there, expanding employment opportunities”. Essentially, immigration boosts economic production by expanding the workforce while also raising productivity. Sadly, ignorance and prejudice prevail most of the time because people are not informed before starting accusations.

    Immigrants tend to seek a better life for various reasons, such as better jobs, to escape crime, negligence, corruption, lack of human rights, starvation, decent educational opportunities, or to reunite with loved ones. In order to be considered a legal immigrant in the United States, green cards are issued when they have been cleared to stay in the country as lawful permanent residents. There are different types of green cards including longtime-resident green cards, diversity green cards, humanitarian green cards, employment-based green cards, and family-based green cards. Lawful permanent residents qualify for American citizenship after five years of continuous stay. According to Micu (2020) “All in all, Hispanic immigrants had the highest overall levels of life satisfaction compared to any other racial group, the team reports. This finding meshed well with previous research of its kind, which found something researchers call the Hispanic paradox. It would be an awesome superhero name, but it’s actually the observation that older Hispanic immigrants in the United States tend to have better health outcomes than non-Hispanic whites — despite more limited socioeconomic resources”.

    However, immigrating to America is not a garden of roses, as immigrants face constant discrimination. For instance, “immigrant workers and their families face major hurdles in obtaining jobs according to research published by the International Labour Office” (ILO, 2000).

    I have experienced mixed sentiments and emotions of Mexican green card holders that work and live in both Tucson and Phoenix, and they dream to retire back in Sonora, Mexico. Why is this? If you ask this question to multiple immigrants, regardless of nationality, they want to retire back to their countries because they feel welcomed there. They do not have to face unnecessary racial comments, ignorance, racial jokes, staring when speaking their native language, and most importantly, discrimination. This makes me wonder if they were ever happy in America. Why would they want to go back to the country where they decided to immigrate to America?

    The government’s stance on immigration is silent, it neither condemns it nor supports it. Sadly, people that do immigrate to the United States have a hard time translating credentials or degrees. There are not enough sources to help people transfer equivalency of college credits to get American licenses or degrees, which; eventually, makes it difficult for immigrants to find good jobs. “Depending on your field and the US state you are applying in, there might be additional requirements that US employers will look for. For example, in fields such as nursing and education, you might need to take a state examination and obtain licensure to practice in your field” (Feeback, 2020). I argue that the government should provide professionals and skillful technicians with all the necessary resources to translate and transfer credentials from foreign countries. Essentially, this could give lawful permanent residents the chance to start on the right foot, start paying more taxes, and overall, improve their lives, and the United States of America. It has been proven by both research and statistics that immigrants who get a higher education degree thrive in their professional careers, most of them just need that “stepping-stone” to start higher education in the United States.

    People can help undocumented immigrants to thrive in our educational system. Currently, undocumented Arizona immigrants have to pay 50% more tuition than regular Arizona residents, which makes it really hard for them to pursue higher education. However, Proposition 308 would allow undocumented students eligible for regular in-state tuition in our state universities. Literally, people can help undocumented immigrants directly by voting “yes” on Proposition 308. Arizona’s residents argue that by accepting this proposition, the state is not directly preventing illegal immigration; moreover, many argue that this proposition would increase illegal immigration in Arizona. Although, according to AIC (2022), “more than 3,600 Arizona students would benefit from an in-state tuition policy every year; hence, boosting earnings of Arizona’s Dreamers by more than $28 million annually, increasing spending power by more than $23 million annually. Eventually, in-state tuition access could raise an additional $4.9 million per year in federal income taxes, state, and local taxes”. Essentially, we have the power to help undocumented immigrants to make their lives better while also boosting our economy.

    We need to understand that supporting each other as a community will make things better in our country. It is always good to see both sides of the same coin in all the situations presented to us as a society. It is never good to stick with just one version of the facts. Critical thinking, facts, statistics, research, and overall knowledge are very important before we even take a stance. The purpose of this essay was to invite you to reflect on immigration, to make you think and decide your own stance on an issue that has prevailed in the United States for a while, and to make you understand what these people feel as immigrants and naturalized U.S. citizens.

    References

    AIC. (2022, June 14). The Economic Benefits of Proposition 308: Expanding In-State Tuition to Arizona Dreamers. American Immigration Council, https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/proposition-308-arizona-dreamers

    Feeback. (2020, June 16). Will US Employers Accept My Degree From Abroad? Scholaro Database, https://www.scholaro.com/db/News/will-us-employers-accept-my-degree-from-abroad-193

    Fortin. (2017, March 21). Our Nation Under Immigration, Discrimination and Incarceration [Photograph]. https://medium.com/@nicole.fortin/one-nation-under-immigration-discrimination-and-incarceration-934d134b08de

    ILO. (2000, March 8). Migrants Face Significant Discrimination in Job Markets. International Labour Organization, https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_007881/lang--en/index.htm

    Micu. (2020, February 14). Immigrants to the US are Happier Later in Life Than Natives – Despite Generally Being Worse off Financially. ZME Science, https://www.zmescience.com/science/us-immigrants-happiness-92952424/

    Nowrasteh. (2018, May 2). The 14 Most Common Arguments Against Immigration and Why They’re Wrong. CATO, https://www.cato.org/blog/14-most-common-arguments-against-immigration-why-theyre-wrong

    This page titled Immigration in the United States - by Humberto Hernandez is shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Humberto Hernandez at Pima Community College.