Introduction to the Problem of Immigration - Term Paper Example

?Duy Do (Tony) Sabeen Sandhu SOCI 33 14 July Immigration Part Extended Introduction to the Social Problem My research will focus on the subject of immigration and I will develop the study with the attempt to explain how immigration is a social problem. The paradigm of symbolic interactionism would be the best theory for this topic. Immigration is an issue of great interest world over conceivably because of its perceived effects on society. In essence, there is no region in the world where immigration does not influence social and political discourse. America is a perfect illustration of the extent of immigration as a social issue and how it influences society in a significant way (Fairchild 48-50). America is a country whose growth and development was greatly derived from immigrant communities most of which later became Americans. Immigration has equally been a source of social, cultural and political confrontations that have shaped America. Immigration is of great interest to me because of the immense role it plays in society both negatively and positively. In America, for instance, immigration has been incidental to the development of the country in several ways. Immigrants provided cheap labor during the industrial evolution and early development stages of the country. Furthermore, the assimilation of immigrant communities into the American society advanced the country’s diversity profile. Conflicts created by immigration often revolve around the perceived threat to a country’s culture by the immigrants who are torn between two cultures. Such a concern leads to strife between resident communities and immigrants though most of the conflicts are merely based on perceptions. According to Carl (45-52) immigration is a social problem because of how it creates tensions and misunderstandings in society. Basically, immigration is a source of social strife pitting resident communities and immigrant communities most of which are based on culture and economic factors. Culturally, immigrants are perceived as a threat to a nation’s culture owing to the fact that immigrants belong to a different cultural heritage that is seen as a huge threat to the already existing culture of their new home. Also, immigrants present a threat of cultural erosion in the sense that future generations of a country will not have anything in common. Though this problem is more attributed to the failure of immigrants to assimilate and become part of the resident culture than their presence in the country. Carl (79-81) further suggests that immigration has immense economic implications in society. Economically, immigrants are perceived as a challenge to materials and opportunities, therefore, creating competition for resources and jobs with local communities. Other considerations include crime whereby immigration is often linked to increased levels of crime in the society or sometimes the society may resort to crime as a way of articulating the immigration problem. However, there are some researches that show the opposite. For instance, Sampson’s research indicates that areas with many immigrants are significantly safer areas. Immigration has been subject to literary dialogue since time immemorial and many thinkers and scholars share their diverse opinion on the vast subject. Numerous scholars examine immigration in detail evaluating the nature of a problem it presents to society. In essence, immigration as a social problem has attracted the attention of numerous researchers, authors and scholars who examine the issue from different theoretical perspectives. Robert Sampson tackles the subject from a practical perspective by unearthing the recent conflicts and issues emanating from immigration in the United States through which he presents the prevailing conflicts regarding immigration (Sampson 28-33). In his article, Rethinking Crime and Immigration, Robert Sampson reveals that immigration is indeed a social problem, and it greatly influences the society. The role played by immigration in the political discourse particularly in the political contests has been captured by the author in a very explicit manner capturing the real essence of immigration in America. Though the author specifically focuses on immigration as a social problem in the United States, it is evident that the predicament affects all countries without discrimination. Robert Sampson (29) asserts that cultural and social issues associated with immigration easily become subjects of political arguments in the run up to elections. This is typical to all countries and regions having immigrant communities. Robert Sampson exemplifies how each presidential candidate spells out the vision for the immigration issue indicating the magnitude in the America society. The real storm was set by the incidences of the crime involving immigrant communities that led to a national outcry against illegal immigration that has prevailed in America for a lengthy period of time. Similarly, Pamela Paxton and Anthony Mughan, examine immigration as a social problem from a perspective of assimilation where they assert that the conflicts associated with immigration are centered on their failure to fully assimilate into the culture of their new country. Therefore, they think that if immigrants assimilate into the culture of the new country such conflicts could be reduced significantly. In their article titled What's to Fear from Immigrants? Creating an Assimilationist Threat Scale, the two authors describe threat to culture as a huge factor behind conflicts with immigrant communities (Paxton and Mughan 549-550). Immigrants are perceived as people trapped in two cultures and that they may dilute the culture of their resident countries. Publications on this topic will be of great significance in making this research. In developing this research, I will endeavor to review a publication that fully covers the immigration issue from a pragmatic perspective. To this effect I will review Article Rethinking Crime and Immigration by Robert Sampson in my effort to underscore the political and social significance of immigration. Another publication that will be necessary in developing this research is What's to Fear from Immigrants? Creating an Assimilationist Threat Scale that has been co-authored by Pamela Paxton and Anthony Mughan that will provide crucial guidelines to immigration as a social problem. The subject of immigration has been thoroughly researched and many hypotheses have been advance towards understanding the practical problem of immigration (Borjas 38). The most studied parameter of immigration is the thorough laws of immigration that have been instituted in various states to curb immigration and their implications. Hence, immigration legislation along with their impact is an area that has been well studied and several deductions offered with regard to the same. In essence, the touch laws can be described as discriminatory and oppressive on one hand and unnecessary and counterproductive on the other. This field of research endeavors to further examination into the issue of immigration. Among the most debated issues is the implication of the enacted laws for immigration; as to whether they serve the purpose or not. The discussion of the study will be organized in an orderly manner so as to reflect the essence of the topic as regards the theoretical background of the subject. Therefore, the discussion will begin with the evaluation of the background of immigration; this will provide the required basis upon which to base the discussion of the wider research. Subsequently, a detailed literature review will be developed to underscore the contents of other publications and previous research. The research will have several headings that will reflect the order, purpose and nature of the research. At the heart of the headings will be the clear representation of the inherent attributes of the research that will be developed in accordance to the subject being addressed. Of course the headings will include abstract, introduction, and background information, literature reviews, methodology, data collection, findings, and discussion of findings, conclusions and recommendations. The headings will symbolize the relevant stage of the study and will be used as indicators of the progress of the study. Similarly, the purpose of the paper will be broken into the respective stages that will be represented by the headings. Studies relate to each other in several ways, which include subject under review, methods, findings, conclusions and recommendations (Bray 35). As a result, the research process is a uniform process that involves similar features that in every aspect resemble each other in a wide way. The research is limited by budgetary constraints, unavailability of sufficient information, poor response from participants and time limitations. However, efforts will be put in place to guarantee plenty resources and time for purposes of the study and the researcher employs the best methods in evaluating the research. The research will expound and complement previous studies on immigrations more so the impacts of immigration laws as well as the social and political implications of immigration. This will illuminate current and future polices regarding immigration through the process of evaluating and learning from the past. America is the best example of a country of immigrants and will be perfectly utilized in evaluating the holistic essence of immigration. In the end, the research will be successful in determining the underlying issues of immigration along with conducting a thorough examination of the relevant issues affecting the wider subject of immigration. Part 2: Literature Review Invisible Immigrants, Old and Left With ‘Nobody to Talk To’ Immigration is a multifaceted issue and as can be seen in Invisible Immigrants, Old and Left With ‘Nobody to Talk To,’ its effects spun generations and manifest is diverse form. America remains an epitome of immigration and its effects as can be seen in the article the prevalence of certain scenarios is evidence of the diverse effects of the subject of immigration. The elderly members of society congregate 5 days a week at a shopping precinct called the Hub, sitting on real planters and sipping flasks of chai. These aged immigrants from India are associates of an all-male cluster called The 100 Years Living Club (Brown 3). They talk concerning crime in close by Oakland, the low-priced flights to Delhi plus how to deal with disobedient daughters-in-law. Collectively, they repel the well of solitude and separation that so frequently accompany the progress to this nation late in life from far-off places. Meeting alongside the parking bay, the men were insensible to their associate mall rats, backpack-carrying youngsters swigging power drinks. In this nation of twittering youth, Mr. Singh along with his friends constitutes a gathering force: the aged, who now constitute America’s highest-growing migrant grouping. Since 1990, the amount of foreign-born people beyond 65 has developed to 4.3 million up from 2.7 million — or approximately 11 percent of the state’s newly arrived immigrants. Their positions are expected to enlarge to 16m by 2050. In California, one in almost three seniors is currently foreign born, consistent with a 2007 census survey. Several are aging parents of adapted American citizens, joining up with their families. Yet specialists say that America’s cultural elderly are in the middle of the most secluded populace in America. 70 percent of fresh older immigrants converse little or no English. A good number do not drive. Certain studies propose depression as well as psychological predicaments are extensive, the consequence of language barricades, a dearth of social associations and values that sometimes are divergence with the overriding American culture, counting those of their incorporated children. The velocity of the demographic alteration is leading numerous cities to straighten to the growing numbers of aged parents in their midst. Fremont started a mobile mental health entity for homebound seniors and recruited helper ambassadors to assist older immigrants steer social service officialdoms. In Chicago, a system of nonprofit factions has started The Depression Project, a complex of society groups assisting elderly migrants and others survive. But their difficulties can go unseen because they regularly do not seek out help. There is a sentiment that problems are incredibly individual, and within the family, said Gwen Yeo, the co-executive of the Geriatric Education Center at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Many who have pursued their grown kids here have pleasing lives; excluding life in this nation does not forever go according to chart for seniors piloting the new, at times pointy, emotional ground, which regularly implies living under a child’s roof. What's to Fear from Immigrants? Creating an Assimilationist Threat Scale The plight of immigration stems from the fear associated with immigrants as aliens and strangers to the local culture. Therefore, such a phobia is extremely associated with the immigrant’s inability to embrace the culture and assimilate into their new home. An as the article, What's to Fear from Immigrants? Creating an Assimilationist Threat asserts, if immigrants can assimilate into the new culture, problems associated with the fear of immigrant will immensely reduce. This is because immigrants are perceived as aliens and people belonging to a different cultural inclination. As a result, they are treated like people who cannot foster the host country culture in future generations. It is affirmed here that cultural threat, affirmed in latest studies of anti-immigrant opinion, is properly evaluated in the U.S. case as assimilationist threat: an indignant view that migrants are failing to assume the cultural customs and existence of their new homeland. We discover the meaning in addition to form of assimilationist risk in the minds of Americans in the course of an examination of four focus groups (i.e. 2 in Los Angeles, CA, and 2 in Columbus, OH). Using data from the focus groupings, we build up and test a set of review questions covering three elements of immigrants' promise to their new state: language, efficiency, and citizenship. We generate a synopsis scale of assimilationist hazard that can be employed by other investigators seeking to comprehend the causes and outcomes of anti-immigrant emotion. A hostile rejoinder to immigrants is and has long been, characteristic of the world’s democracies. Yet the United States, itself conceivably the archetypal immigrant society, has a long history of prejudice against newcomers to its shores. Our objectives in this manuscript are to map the shape that cultural menace takes in the intellect of Americans and to measure it consistently so that its collision on social and political manners can be investigated. This sufficiently, completely, and dependably measure what we tag assimilationist threat; we merge focus group psychiatry and review research (Paxton and Mughan 550-553). This blend of methodologies permits us to appreciate assimilationist threat as it prevails in the psyches of Americans instead of compelling our own predetermined ideas. Center groups permit people to state their opinions in their own utterances, make their own organizations, and increase their own ideas, promising as absolute a picture of participants' thinking as probable (Paxton and Mughan 552-554). They as well help us to write survey questions in the everyday language of prospective respondents. A review of over 300 students, intended around these questions, permits us to test and authenticate a scale of use to other researchers. Works Cited Borjas, George. Mexican Immigration to the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. Print Bray, Ilona. U.S. Immigration Made Easy. London: Nolo, 2011. Print Brown, Patricia. “Invisible Immigrants, Old and Left With ‘Nobody to Talk To’”. New York Times. Aug 30, 2009. Web. 14 Jul 2012. Paxton, Pamela and Mughan, Anthony. “What's to Fear from Immigrants? Creating an Assimilationist Threat Scale.” Political Psychology, Vol. 27, No. 4, 2006. Read More