November 10, 2024

Law

World's finest Law

Positive Aspects of Immigration: America Thrives on Diversity

The United States is made up of a diverse population of ‘natives’ and immigrants. Most of the people that refer to themselves as natives had relatives that crossed the ocean or drove across the border to come to a country filled with opportunity. There are many positive influences that immigrants have brought to the U.S. economically, culturally, and through ingenuity.

Economics

Although many may think that immigrants damage the U.S. economy they actually help it out. Immigrants whether illegal or legal pay sales taxes. Legal immigrants must pay income taxes. Also, the age group of immigrants that come to the U.S. has already been educated in their home country and come to the United States adding to our labor force. Another positive is “immigration increases the demand for housing and land and existing owners benefit from an increase in the current value of their property” (Cohn). Many immigrants come to the U.S. on an H-1B visa. Bring over a set of highly skilled professionals. Another visa type that pumps money into the United States Economy is the E-2 visa which has a foreign company start a United States branch of their company putting in at least one million dollars in capital or half a million if it is an economically depressed area (Bray).

Culture

Immigrants not only bring a new set of workers to the U.S., they also bring their culture. The U.S. has many different languages spoken, customs followed, and food to eat, because of immigrants influence. “Immigrants come and change America and are changed by America ” (Pavlik). Immigrants bring food that is unique to their country and share it with the United States. They bring music, which is integrated into our music, and combined to make a whole new sound such as Reggaeton. This form of music combines hip-hop, reggae, and dance hall music (Wikipedia). It came to the United States in 2004 and quickly gained popularity. Many of the popular foods that Americans enjoy have found their way to their dinner table through immigrants. Foods such as pizza, burritos, and chow mein are enjoyed by those that bring them to America and immigrants. “Williamson quotes Lawrence Auster to the effect that in many respects contemporary multiculturalism is the child of mass immigration” (Pavlik).

Ingenuity

Americans appreciate those who can engineer or create a new idea to help make our economy better.

This is why many immigrants move to U.S. to capitalize on their new ideas and create a market for a new idea. Cohn argues that “Immigrants may engage in inventive or scientific activity, with the result being a gain to everyone. Evidence exists for both the historical and more recent periods that the United States has attracted individuals with an inventive/scientific nature. The United States has always been a leader in these areas. Individuals are more likely to be successful in such an environment than in one where these activities are not as highly valued.” In their home country these new ideas may have been stunted, but in the United States ingenuity is valued and cultivated.

Conclusion

Immigrants bring many positive attributes to the United States. They bring their own culture, ideas, and skills to create a diverse America.

Sources

Raymond L. Cohn, “Immigration to the United States.” Illinois State University. 4 Aug. 2011
Pavlik, Gregory.” Immigration A Moral Issue.” Volume 7, Number 1 (Fall 1996) Issue theme: “‘Anchor babies’ – the citizen-child loophole” 4 Aug. 2011
“Reggaeton”, Wikipedia 4 Aug. 2011
Bray, Ilona. U.S. Immigration Made Easy. Berkley: 2008