Benefits of Immigration
With the continued proliferation of the globalization process, immigration has become a ubiquitous phenomenon in the contemporary world (Peters, 2017 P 136). One primary objective of globalization is the free movement of people from one region to another in search of employment or for adventure. Generally, the factors associated with immigrations include; the cultural, economic, social, political, and environmental reasons (Abramitzky & Bousan 2017 P 1311). Besides, the notable development in the travel sector across the globe has increased the need for people to move from one place to another to explore better opportunities provided by foreign lands. Although immigration has, for many years, remained a controversial prodigy, it has been of great benefit to states, especially the host nations, in fostering social, economic, and cultural development of individual countries. Besides, immigration has led to the integration of different multicultural societies with varied cultures and ethnicity into one functioning social group. How do host states benefit from the process of immigration? Even though immigration is usually a personal arrangement, immigrants bring a wide range of benefits to the host country, including social, economic, cultural, and economic advantages to a host country. This stance is the main focus of this study.
Immigration leads to the expansion of the labor market in the host country. Most immigrants travel to overseas countries to explore opportunities and expand their career dreams. Therefore, immigrants not only provide a surplus labor force but also boost the economy of the host nation. The increase of the input workforce is directly proportional to the output, which is the main driving force behind economic development. Also, the flexibility of the immigrants in the host nation means an increase in labor flows because the immigrants have no direct preference and can move from one place to another within the state that is hosting them. In the end, labor is allocated where it is most required. Even though immigrants regularly send money back home, they spend a lot in the host countries as they have to settle bills and mortgages in the host country, leading to economic development. Having noted, this, the leadership of the host nations should develop a system involving a stable inflow of skilled immigrants to fuel economic growth in their states (Palat, 2017 P 167)
According to the Marxism theory of capitalism and exploitation, the labor class is often exploited by the business owner class. Another scholar, Wilson, on the split market theory, suggests that the capitalist class aims to maximize profits from the cheapest out. Does immigration provide labor? It is important to note that most immigrants, especially from the struggling developing countries, will be readily available to offer both skilled and unskilled labor at low pay (Brunello et al. 2019 P 77). From this stance, the host nations can reap a lot of benefits because the immigrants will, in turn, reduce the cost of production and, in the long run, increase the output, thus leading to the economic development of the host state.
Still, under economic benefits, the immigrants balance the demography of the host nation (Bah, 2018 P99). A practical instance is when a country’s population is dominated by the aged; the young and energetic immigrants will come in handy to provide solutions to such crises by filling the labor aperture left by the retirees—a good case study in the United States in the 1950s. The research shows that the native-born American citizens had an average of 36 years old while the immigrants were five years averaged at 31 years. During this period, the immigrants were able to stabilize the country’s economy by paying taxes by balancing the demography, which was very imbalanced at the time. Similarly, in times of calamities such as natural disasters, diseases, and epidemics, the immigrants play a pivotal role in sustaining the under threat economy of the host states.
Fundamentally, the introduction of new skills by the immigrants to the host state is another advantage. Very educated immigrants bring new skills that may be absent in the local countries. The introduction of new skills is a crucial ingredient of innovation, which plays a pivotal role in the development of a country’s economy. Immigrants are key actors in the foundation of major successful companies in the world of technology. According to the World Bank statistics, the most developed countries in the world have for many years provided a hospitable environment for the settlement of immigrants in their countries. As a matter of fact, the top 25 wealthiest countries in the world have the highest number of immigrants (Batalova, 2018 P55). As an illustration, the use of remittance was founded by the immigrants. This type of economy has been widely used by immigrants to send money back to their mother countries to improve the tremendous savings of their native lands. This economy is beneficial from both ends. Apart from improving the economic states of their mother countries, the remittance economy contributes significantly to the economy of the host nations. It is vital also to note that immigrants who possess quality skills present innovative ideas which help the host state in becoming economically stable in the very competitive global economy (Barett et al. 2013 P 127)
Away from the economic benefits, immigration also plays a critical role in the socio-cultural environment. First, to note is that immigration leads to the expansion of culture in the host states. This is because people from diverse backgrounds come together to share new ideas and customs. Most importantly, the cultural integration leads to peaceful co-existence among people of different races and social contexts. Also, the connecting power of immigration and settlement is arguable plays an essential role in fight social vices. People jointly engage in the war against poverty, gender disparities, and hunger. More importantly, diversification enhances a global need to restore peace in military combatant countries due to the regard of fellow humans.
The numerous benefits of immigration, notwithstanding, immigration is flawed with several undesirable characteristics. These disadvantages have created a controversy between the dissenting and the supporting ideas. According to the critics of immigration, the movement of people from their countries to other countries bestows a heavy burden on the host nations. This is because the influx number of immigrants leads to an increased population, which may lead to overcrowding (Fetzer, 2016 P 65). As a result, there would be increased competition for resources between the immigrants and the natives of the host state. The governments of the host nations are also put under pressure to provide for everyone, even if it is incapable because they are under the watch of the global human rights activists.
Secondly, an uncontrolled number of newcomers in the host state might lead to unemployment. Most of the immigrants move to other nations to seek employment. If the population of immigrants increases, the natives in the host states might have minimal chances of securing jobs. If they can obtain any work, the wage bill will be too high for the government to meet, leading to low wages, which will, in the end, hinder economic development. Again, the increased population will reduce the housing facilities leading to poor housing conditions in the host state.
It is also important to note that not all cultures can comfortably blend. In this case, diversity will lead to increased conflicts. The conflict may arise due to cultural differences and different religious ideologies such as radicalism. Race factors can also hinder social integration in the host states because some races perceive other races as inferior. Racism and discrimination might lead to stigmatization of the immigrants making the environment too harsh for them to produce good results in production. Hence the projected economic development will be hindered (Economy G, 2017 P 98)
Lastly, immigration increases the risk of terrorism and criminal activities in the host nations. It is important to note that not all immigrants are officially recognized by the host states (Peck & Smith, 2018 P 193). In fact, a good number of immigrants sneak in other countries without following the legal procedures. A significant cause of this is because of their criminal nature ranging from smuggling, terrorism, and drug trafficking. If the host state is unable to prevent such illegal moves, the country will face the threat of attacks and increased criminal activities, which hinders economic growth.
The topic of the benefits of immigrants to host states is an important subject that should be considered by the countries. Countries with a social development agenda should embrace this strategy by allowing the inflow of immigrants because, as the study has shown, it is true that i8mmigration brings economic and cultural growth in the host nation.
In a nutshell, this study has successfully analyzed the positive contribution of immigration to host states. For nations to harvest more from this international strategy, they must formulate guiding policies that control the process of migration, to enhance its efficacy. As a result, there will be increased regional mobility, which will encourage the flow of labor and skills to and their appropriate allocation to the required places. Consequently, there will be reduced skills and labor gaps resulting from the expansion of the economic environment, which will provide more options to the job-seeking immigrants. In the long run, immigration will be the foundation for the realization of the globalization dream.
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