Mexican immigration into USA - Assignment Example

Mexican immigration into USA Currently, a significant portion of the American population is either Mexican or Mexican American following constant immigration of the Mexican citizens into the Unites states of America. Most of the immigrants have found a safe haven in the US after receiving a warm welcome by the American citizens (Borjas 8). However, public opinion in the US has judged some illegal immigrants harshly, many of whom Mexico is their native country. This has been especially so for illegal immigrants. The aim of this essay is to compare and contrast modern immigrants and past immigrants, discuss how the popular sentiment in the 20th century affected Mexican migration to the US, and outline the impact of this immigration in my city. Major difference between past and current immigrants Recent census suggests that over 12 million Mexican emigrants reside in the US, indigenous Mexicans excluded. Nevertheless, the current Mexican immigration rate in the US is near zero as more Mexicans leave the US than those that come in. Although this trend has ensued due to a number of factors, there are notable differences between current and past Mexican immigrants into the US. In the 19th century over 300,000 Mexican citizens settled in the US following the grisly Mexican American war that ended with a treaty in the year 1848. This incident saw many Mexican citizens migrate from the war Zones to safer places (Borjas 16). This immigration however, extended unrestrictedly into the late 20th century. Back then, most of the Mexican citizens who immigrated into the US Came looking for employment in the construction industry like the railway line. This service was especially important for the American labor market so the Mexicans easily crossed the border into the USA (Borjas 20). A key dissimilarity is that today, some Mexican citizens through the US green card lottery. This was the case in 2011 where the US government granted over 140,000 Mexican citizens the green card to live and work in the US. Recent reports indicate that an unaccountable number of Mexican citizens illegally immigrate into the US on a daily basis despite the stringent immigration laws. Illegal immigration is undoubtedly one of the current thorny issues in the US immigration department with Mexico taking a special focus (Borjas 32). How popular sentiment in the 20th century affected Mexican immigration into the US Prior to World War II, Mexicans freely crossed the border to become laborers for American citizens as the Europeans faced restrictions of immigrating into the US (Borjas 89). From the 19th century to mid-20th century, the US experienced an influx of Mexican immigrants, a factor that was biting into their economy and affecting their wellbeing. After encountering the effects of the World War II and the return of American citizens that had immigrated into Europe and other countries, some of the American nativists and anti-immigration activists felt that the number of immigrants was too high (Borjas 108). This was especially so as far as the Mexican immigrants were concerned. Most of the Mexican immigrants had now started to naturalize, an issue that the American nativists blamed for their lack of employment and increased economic hardships. According to Borjas, many sentimentalists piled pressure on the US government to review the immigration laws and take the necessary step in repatriating unwarranted Mexican immigrants back to their country (Borjas 112). This idea was a conceptualization that anchored its reasoning on the fact that, if all illegal non-Americans went back to their country, the financial difficulties in the US at the time would vaporize. This move led to the Congress passing a number of bills that would see the suspension of any immigration act into the US and possible repatriation of non-American citizens perceived to be experiencing financial difficulties (Borjas 117). Although some would have termed the move as being undemocratic and discriminatory, it produced some positive results as far as alleviating the challenges that America was facing back then. This 20th century sentiment had a great impact on the number of Mexican immigrants into the US in that, the more the restrictive measures and policies, the lesser the number of genuine immigrants that checked into USA from Mexico. The US deported most Mexican citizens during the 20th century sentiment, discouraging any prospective immigrants into the US soil (Borjas 132). The impacts of immigration in the city I live in Borjas predicts that the demographics in this city will experience a major shift in the near future because currently, the total population on Hispanic population nearly equals that of the non-Hispanic while population, a trend that the US Census Bureau has projected will rise by 2050 (273). This means that we are moving towards a situation where the inhabitants of most US cites will be non-American. When it comes to the economic development, the increase in the demographic of this city has seen the attainment major economic milestones that would otherwise not materialize without the input of the immigrants. Mexican immigrants, more so the illegal immigrants have pumped in this city a great deal of labor and other services at a lower cost, which has been beneficial to the city and the US in general (Borjas 269). The Mexican immigration into the US has had its fair share of the social impact in my city where the enhancement of all aspects of human diversity is the in thing in this town. Borjas states that while many Mexican immigrants lack fluency in the English language, their Mexican American counterparts are better. Despite their moderately poor spoken English, the immigrants spice up the city by their Spanish language and their heavy Mexican accent (270). Owing to the fact that the Roman Catholic Church is prevalent in Mexico, most Mexican immigrants have influence the city by establishing more catholic churches in their quest for religious consolation. This sociocultural mix has enriched the city in terms of diversity. As far as politics of the city is concerned, the large populations of Mexican immigrants play a major role in determining the political course of the city. In addition, the crime rate in the city has escalated in the recent past due to the high unemployment rate of the Mexican immigrants. Most of their youth engage in criminal activities in their quest to make ends meet, which is unsafe for the city (Borjas 272). Works Cited Borjas, George J. Mexican Immigration to the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. Print. Read More