In the last two decades, there has been a significant change in our population. The number of Latinos living and working in the USA has usurped the number of African Americans in the country (Sequeira, Nunn & Qian, 2017). Immigration has become an extremely normal phenomenon. Wealthy people worldwide are looking for better investment opportunities, while poor people are looking for a better life, employment opportunities, and betterment for themselves and their families. Some argue that incoming immigrants are a bonus for our economy, while others see a lot of problems in this.
Biologically speaking, there are no distinct races, even in a country as diverse as the United States. However, racist people in the USA have created racial and gender stratification that discourages outside potential immigrants from relocating despite the appeal of a better life (Miller & Garran, 2017). People also experience religious discrimination due to their country of origin and religious affiliation. In several instances, Arabs, who are predominantly Muslim, suffer unfair temporary detention at airports and are often denied entry into the country (Schaefer & Schaffer, 1995). Consequently, some Arabs fear relocating to the US for fear of being profiled as terrorists because all it takes is a pattern of incidents to cause a new norm.
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Another harmful effect of immigration is racial segregation. This practice is physically separating two or more groups at the workplace, residence, or social functions. Sometimes racial groups create their own haven where they do not want any form of segregation. One of the most prominent physical segregation efforts is the rise of Chinatowns, where people from Asian countries often cluster to reminisce about their culture and diet (Schaefer & Schaffer, 1995). Moreover, not even members of dominant communities would feel welcome in such neighborhoods, even in the absence of malicious racism. For example, in Detroit, blacks and whites are very segregated from each other in all jurisdictions in the country. Research among white men revealed that many of the respondents spent most of their lives in a white ‘bubble’ in which they learn in white-majority schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces that have a minimal composition of other minority races (Schaefer & Schaffer, 1995). These men had a deeply embedded superiority complex over other men from minority communities. Thus, it is difficult for them to mingle freely with these people.
In the instances when migrants are unskilled and have poor education, they are unfit for most of the well-paying jobs (Miller & Garran, 2017). Consequently, they cannot provide for their families and resort to criminal activities, especially those that provide quick revenue. As a result, many drug traffickers and robbers are usually from minority groups.
Additionally, the ballooning of the population places excessive pressure on natural resources, social amenities, and public services (Schaefer & Schaffer, 1995). A knock-on effect is that the natives experience a reduced quality of life as the government strives to accommodate incoming immigrants.
A final, slightly less visible consequence of migration to new countries is that incoming migrants are introducing foreign breeds of animals and crops that may alter the landscape. Sometimes when immigrants start raising domestic animals in foreign countries as an economic activity, wild animals are displaced or killed for fear that they might prey on domesticated animals (Schaefer & Schaffer, 1995). In the 21st century, only those who have deep-seated hobbies such as hunting and gathering can adversely affect the natural ecosystem in their new home. They are unlikely to stop their habits even after immigrating to other countries.
Since the turn of the millennium, the composition of the United States has been changing rapidly due to the changes in migration patterns. The main reasons for relocation include the search for better employment, better education, running away from political and religious persecution in their home countries, and better amenities. The influx of immigrants into a country has both merits and demerits, however, if we talk about the latter, the main one is that immigrants often lead to the stretching of natural resources, an increase in crime, and the rise in levels of racial discrimination and segregation.
References
- Lee, P. D. (2019). Looking at Illegal Immigration in the United States through the Lenses of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
- Miller, J., & Garran, A. M. (2017). Racism in the United States: Implications for the Helping Professions. Springer Publishing Company.
- Schaefer, R. T., & Schaffer, R. T. (1995). Race and Ethnicity in the United States. HarperCollins College Publishers.
- Sequeira, S., Nunn, N., & Qian, N. (2017). Migrants and the Making of America: The Short-and Long-Run Effects of Immigration during the Age of Mass Migration (No. w23289). National Bureau of Economic Research.
- Thomas, A. (2016, Jun, 7). The Cost of China’s Millionaire Migration. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZs2i3Bpxx4
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