Immigration and Immigration Policy Today - Coursework Example

Interview: Immigration and Immigration Policy Today Immigration is a social phenomenon which refers to the induction of new people from different land, creed and culture in to a new place. People have been taking part in such exercises for millions of years. History is an evident witness to the fact that man has always been on his toe tips when it comes to securing and striving for a better, prosperous future. It has come to our knowledge through a recent study by theInternational Organization for Migration (I.O.M) that there are more than 300 million migrants around the world today. The Middle West, some parts of Europe, small areas of South West Asia, and a few spots in the East Indies have the highest percentages of immigrant population recorded by the UN Census. A recent report shows that more than 700 million adults from around the globe would like to migrate to a developed country. Predominantly, there are two driving factors in the immigration process; push factors and pull factors. Push factors refer primarily to the motive for emigration from the country of origin. In the case of economic migration (usually labour migration), differentials in wage rates are prominent. If the value of wages in the new country surpasses the value of wages in one's native country, he or she may choose to migrate as long as the travel costs are not too high. Particularly in the 19th century, economic expansion of the U.S. increased immigrant flow, and in effect, nearly 20% of the population was foreign born versus today's values of 10%, making up a significant amount of the labour force. Poor individuals from less developed countries can have far higher standards of living in developed countries than in their originating countries. The cost of emigration, which includes both the explicit costs, the ticket price, and the implicit cost, lost work time and loss of community ties, also play a major role in the pull of emigrants away from their native country. American immigration or Immigration to U.S. is an act where people from all over the world especially under developed countries, non-residents, move to the U.S. for a better and secure future. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, religion, economic benefits, job growth, settlement patterns, environmental impact, and impact on upward social mobility, levels of criminality, nationalities, political loyalties, moral values, and work habits. As of 2006, the United States accepts more legal immigrants as permanent residents than any other country in the world. In 2006, the number of immigrants totalled 37.5 million. Immigration to the U.S. is one of the hot topics being discussed and debated upon around the globe these days, especially amongst the Third World countries. In order to get clearer picture of the whole situation and to look at it from an immigrant's point of view, I conducted a series of interviews with people coming from different ethnic backgrounds, age group and walks of life. Following are the exclusive accounts of different people and their view point on USA's immigration: Omar Rizvi, 15, student of Pleasant Valley High School is an American national with Asian background and has been living in the United States for over 13 years now. Here is what he had to say about our topic: Q. What are immigration reasons according to your understandings Explain with reasons under which circumstances its inevitable keeping the USA in mind. R. To escape war, poverty and to have better opportunities in life. Q. Is the current immigration policy catering to all creeds and cultures R. No Q. What factors and under currents should influence USA's immigration policy R. I have no idea. Q. Is the man in charge of immigration into and out of the USA most suitable for the job Explain why or why not. R. No, because he does not see all aspects of the issue properly. Q. How would you classify immigration As a plight to greener pastures Solution or living in a fool's paradise Justify your reasoning. R. A plight to greener pastures because most people immigrate to get better opportunities. Imelda Halim, 41, teaches in a local college, an American national of Spanish ethnic background who was born and raised in the US, had this feedback on the topic: Q. What are the immigration reasons according to your understandings Explain with reasons under which circumstances its inevitable keeping the USA in mind. There are no reasons in which one would keep the USA in mind since the USA provides support and ensures that many countries maintain democracy for its people. Q. Is the current immigration policy catering to all creeds and cultures Yes, the current Immigration policy caters to all creeds and cultures who embrace democracy. Q. What factors and under currents should influence USA's immigration policy The only factor that should influence USA's immigration policy is terrorism based on a case by case situation. Q. Is the man in charge of Immigration into and out of USA most suitable for the job In case of yes and no alike give explanatory reasons to support your answers Yes, the Immigration officer in and out of the USA is the most suitable person for the job since the Immigration officer is knowledgeable in the Immigration laws and execute his decision based on these. Q. Plight to greener pastures Solution or living in a fool's paradise. Justify your reasoning. Plight to greener pastures is not always so. People may seek greener pastures but not always find greener pastures on the other side. People should appreciate and be grateful for what they have and where they come from. Amna Rizvi, 18, a US national of Asian ethnicity, student of Medicine at University of Iowa has been living in the US for the past 13 years. Here is what she thought of the topic: Q.What are the immigration reasons according to your understandings Explain with reasons under which circumstances its inevitable keeping the USA in mind. Immigration reasons include: escaping injustices, finding work, and obtaining a better education. Q. Is the current immigration policy catering to all creeds and cultures Yes Q. What factors and under currents should influence USA's immigration policy R. Availability of jobs and economic strength in the country Q. Is the man in charge of Immigration into and out of USA most suitable for the job Explain why or why not. R. Yes because he has easy access to information pertaining to immigration (facts, figures, etc) Q. Plight to greener pastures Solution or living in a fool's paradise. Justify your reasoning. R. Immigration is definitely a solution. When one faces a problem in his/her home country that cannot be fixed in that location the only answer is to relocate to a place where that problem would vanish. Chloe, 19, a Caucasian American national, is a student of University of Iowa. This is what she knows about the topic: Q.What are immigration reasons according to your understandingsExplain with reasons under which circumstances its inevitable keeping the USA in mind. R. To escape poverty and oppression from horrible governmental systems Q.Is the current immigration policy catering to all creeds and cultures R. No Q. What factors and under currents should influence USA's immigration policy R. How poor and financially crunched people are when they come into our country Q.Is the man in charge of immigration into and out of the USA most suitable for the job Explain why or why not. R. President Obama I feel that he is because people are getting to and fro... Q.How would you classify immigration As a plight to greener pastures Solution or living in a fool's paradise Justify your reasoning. R. I feel that people think America is the country with best career opportunities in the world, and they are disappointed with the results because we are selfish. Owais Subzwari, 52, an employee of a local Airline Company, is an American national with Asian background and has been living in the United States for over 13 years now. Here is what he had to say about our topic: S. What are immigration reasons according to your understandings Explain with reasons under which circumstances its inevitable keeping the USA in mind. T. To escape war, poverty and to have better opportunities in life. S. Is the current immigration policy catering to all creeds and cultures T. No S. What factors and under currents should influence USA's immigration policy T. Talent should be given first priority and the laws should be more flexible for immigrants from the South Asian region. Ever since after 9/11, the immigrants are facing are lot of discrimination and are not being treated as equal U.S. citizens. Same is the case for prospective immigrants. S. Is the man in charge of immigration into and out of the USA most suitable for the job Explain why or why not. T. To some extent yes. But he should be more considerate and meritorious in his approach towards the matter. With the new Obama administration things have moved towards betterment but there is still more room to grow. S. How would you classify immigration As a plight to greener pastures Solution or living in a fool's paradise Justify your reasoning. T. A plight to greener pastures because most people immigrate to get better opportunities. Hayyan Yousuf, 15, an American national, now living in Pakistan, comes from a South Asian background. This is what he knows about the topic: Q.What are immigration reasons according to your understandingsExplain with reasons under which circumstances its inevitable keeping the USA in mind. R. Immigration reasons to my understanding are for the purpose of keeping who is going in and out of a country. More importantly however, it's to do a sort of background check in case any people with wrong intentions that are being tracked by government(s). In the USA's past, there have been many attacks by foreigners, resulting in great tragedy. In order to prevent this in the future, it is essential they take every safety step possible. Q.Is the current immigration policy catering to all creeds and cultures R. No. For example, recently in the USA, they have developed a new scanner, which can virtually see the human body naked. In some cultures, it is strictly forbidden (especially for a women) for them to be seen bare. Q. What factors and under currents should influence USA's immigration policy R. As in the past, a vast amount of attacks on USA, have been by Muslims. Therefore this has greatly angered Muslims, as they are checked physically and on their background more thoroughly then any other race. As a result, Muslims are now tending to find travelling to and from the USA. Q.Is the man in charge of immigration into and out of the USA most suitable for the job Explain why or why not. R. No. After all their measurements to prevent Immigration faults, there is still an error every now and again, and these errors usually have a effective impact. Nevertheless, one may argue that, in recent 5 years things have been running smoothly. Q.How would you classify immigration As a plight to greener pastures Solution or living in a fool's paradise Justify your reasoning. R. No idea hence no comments. Immigration to the U.S., as discussed earlier is because the Pull factor, which can be sub-classified into social, economic, political, environmental, educational, crime and health factor. The U.S. being the super power that she is caters to all these needs with eloquent proficiency. Immigrants enjoy full rights; be it political, social, educational, health facilities which acts as a strong magnet for upcoming immigrants. After conducting these interviews and having gone through their responses on several sub topics like politics, religion and social views, I have deduced that immigration to the U.S. has varied interpretation for different personals. Everyone has a different version of his/her immigration tale and look at things through their individual yellow glasses. For instance, the people who have migrated to the U.S. from the South Asia have primarily done it for their economic benefits. They wanted their families and children to have a secure and sufficient (financially) future which would not have been possible under the prevailing conditions of their country. But whilst safe guarding their monetary aspects, they had to live up with a few tradeoffs as well, freedom of religious practices is one of them. For instance, in the Muslim religion, growing a beard for men and observing veil i.e. wearing a head scarf for women is next to obligations. There have been a few cases in the U.S. where Muslims have been treated with biasness for practising their religion at workplace or colleges or markets etc and have been subjected to verbal and physical abuse. Having said this, the majority of immigrants still want to live and work in the U.S. as it provides better opportunities for them and elevates them from the poverty stricken conditions. On the other hand, people from other parts of the world such as Europe, Australia or even Canada have a slightly different take on the topic. They, already coming from a strong financial economy do not have the same needs as those coming from third world countries. They want to further expand their businesses, earn more profits, have access to a bigger market and get more exposure of it. Although the principle goal of both ethnicities is the same, but somewhere down the line, the minute specifications draw a differentiating line between them. View point on the U.S. immigration policy and immigration in general varies from one age group to another. The youngsters, between the ages of 15-19, believe that U.S. is still the land of opportunities given its short comings and racial/ethnic discrimination at times. But, majority of the mass is unaware of the current immigration policy of the U.S. All they see is bigger shopping malls, latest model cars, huge mansions, availability and access to latest gadgets, machines, apparels, better education and job vacancies etc. Their horizon is not that wide and is narrowed down because of their lack of exposure and age. On the other hand, people, immigrants of age group 23-27, have a more practical approach towards the process. They are of the opinion that immigration has its professional benefits let alone raising the standard of living. Better jobs mean better experience and exposure in their related field along with better salary package. A secure and prosperous career awaits them if they migrate to the U.S. For example, immigrants with engineering, medical, accounting and environmental sciences backgrounds prefer to migrate as in would not only add perks to their resume but will also give them a better exchange rate of the dollar if from a country of lower denomination. Lastly, the age group of 45 and above look at their retirement plans. Better medical, health, billing and household facilities are more than enough reasons for elderly to switch polarity. They want to have a peaceful retired life somewhere in the suburbs of the city and see their grandchildren grow and play in their fields of their countryside abode. U.S. being the diverse and tailor made country that it is, is a perfect solution for such people. Many a people have slightly different motive when they immigrate to the U.S., asylum. Immigrants get in to the U.S. illegally at times and seek political asylum as it has one of the best Protective Laws in the world. They, running from their poverty and crime stricken surroundings flee to the Land of Opportunity for a safer and secure future. Mexicans, Latins and South Asians ethic backgrounds are common amongst these refugees. Let's take a closer look in to the current Immigration Policy of the U.S. The United States of America has categorized its visa and immigration policy in to various different categories like H-1A, H-1B, H-2A, H-2B etc. People from different background and needs apply for any of the available visa category and get immigrated to the the U.S. after the whole process has been undergone. We humans are bound down by the fabric of profit. We want to attain more and more in our lives and strive for the betterment of our conditions. As lucrative as this philosophy may be, it has its de-merits. The opportunity cost that an immigrant has to pay is the freedom of his homeland. Although, in the long run he will have a bigger bank balance and a bigger house, but for starters he has to go through some hardships. Being emotionally and physically detached from his loved ones can also have its adverse effects of his physical and mental health alike but will also result in financial stability for both him and his family. This is the 'opportunity cost' that he should be ready to pay once he decides upon immigration to any other country. The economic, financial, at times environmental aspect of immigration cannot be over looked by flowing in the river of emotions but it does count to some extent. Like it is said, there is no place like home. Editor, author, or compiler name (if available).Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access. The following are the list of common sources used in Interview: Immigration and Immigration Policy Today: Telephonic and internet based interviews through Skype and Gmail. www.cfr.org , Council on Foreign Relations, Web, 19 Feb.10. www.newsbatch.com , Your Internet Guide to Understanding of Policy Issues, July 2007, Web, 18 Feb.10. www.facinghistory.org , Facing History and Ourselves, Web, 17 Feb.10. Read More