Sociology - Immigration

Immigration is the movement of non-native people in order to settle in a different place or country. People move out of their country of origin for many reasons. Whether it is for a better job, better education, or simply to be with loved ones, immigrants have come to the United States with dreams of living a better life. The United States is none other than a make up of immigrants from diverse countries. Immigrants have been coming to the United States since its founding and have shaped the way this country is today. Some immigrants pursue the legal route – getting a visa in order to work for the status of a citizen while others illegally enter the country and risk being detained and deported. It is estimated there are approximately 11.7 million illegal immigrants living in the United States today (Preston). While some Americans believe that immigrants take away jobs, hurt the economy, and don’t fit in, I believe immigrants bring more benefits to our country than what meets the eye. Immigrants help boost our country economically and culturally. It may seem that immigrants act as threats, however it is proven that they improve our economic energy. Immigrants can offer a comparative advantage in the United States. Many U.S. businesses outsource abroad and hire foreign workers thereby reducing their production cost, improving competitiveness, and enabling them to offer goods and services at a much lower price. This is a positive effect as it makes goods and services more affordable, thereby stimulating economic activity. Immigrants act as an advantage to our businesses because hiring immigrants for low-wage jobs help keep many other jobs in the United States and still allows for consumer items to be cheap (Cowen 2010). Even if we do not realize it, there are occurrences of economic benefits that happen all of the time because of immigrants. As immigrants stay in the U.S. and progress their lives, it connects us to the rest of the world making doing business abroad