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Introduction
Migration is one of the most common scenarios in many countries today. All of us probably know more than a handful of people from our circle who came here from another country, due to different personal reasons.
From a big picture perspective, what are the advantages and disadvantages of immigration? The author of this essay explores the pros and cons of this phenomenon, both for the host country and the nation that loses more people.
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Pros of Immigration
First, it is important to distinguish immigration from emigration. Immigration refers to the scenario of receiving people from another country, while emigration refers to the act of leaving one’s home base. For the country receiving immigrants from all over the world, there are great benefits. I would like to share some of them in this essay.
Immigrant workers send money home
For the home nation, remittances from those who have chosen to work abroad can help boost economic growth. The Philippines, for instance, owes its thriving economy to the countless Overseas Filipino Workers who emigrate to other nations. Not only does this help the economy, but it also alleviates families of workers who may be experiencing subpar living conditions. In the Philippines, the greatest motivation and most common reason for Filipinos to leave their loved ones is the need for additional income and savings.
Immigrants return home with an expanded skillset
After pursuing the American dream and deciding that it is time to come home, foreign people often return with the intention to give back to their countries. Plenty of them leave with literally no money or contingency funds, and they go through many difficulties adjusting to a new life and culture, and they come home after thriving in suitable jobs. As they return to their nations, immigrants bring with them a wealth of work and life experiences that will add value to their communities and society.
Host nations become a wonderful melting pot of cultures
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of having immigrants join native-born citizens in their countries is that it creates a vibrant atmosphere of diversity. This makes our daily lives more colorful and interesting, and we realize that we have much to learn from people from different ethnic backgrounds. Here in the United States of America, we are blessed to be surrounded by so much diversity. We are home to countless legal immigrants who came here for better jobs and a better life, and in turn, have taught us new ways to live and enjoy life. They have become experts in navigating two cultures, and we have much to learn from them in terms of learning to embrace and integrate differences.
Host nations eliminate shortages in the labor market.
Since most immigrants come with the intent to find better jobs, they sometimes start out as low-skilled workers filling in specific skill shortages in a particular industry. This enables employers to improve their operations, products, and services, in turn boosting the economy. We owe a big chunk of our economic growth to the many diligent immigrant workers who work long hours to fill in a crucial gap in our workplaces. These people are willing to receive lower wages and experience average living standards in order to give their families a better life.
Cons of Immigration
While we can celebrate the many ways in which our country has benefited from the presence of immigrants, immigration continues to be a heated topic in many circles these days, causing an ongoing debate on whether or not the positive effects of immigration outweigh the negative effects.
In this essay, I would also like to outline the various negative effects of immigration.
Reduction of potential workforce in home countries
As skilled workers leave to offer their services to another nation, their original home suffers a crucial loss: the talents of the immigrants. The new country will benefit from their skillset while these individuals are slowly gaining citizenship, while the place they left will scramble to fill in the gaps left by these workers. For example, in the Philippines, there is always a high demand for more nurses because these professionals tend to leave for other countries after passing the boards, in hopes of enjoying better income.
The immigrant’s home may experience gender imbalances
Men are the ones who most commonly leave their families and homes in search of greener pastures. As a result, females and children will comprise the majority of the population, which may affect movements in government, leadership, the workforce, and other important aspects of social services.
The hard reality of illegal immigration
It cannot be denied that countless individuals come to other places as unauthorized immigrants. They manage to pass the necessary migration requirements and overcrowd the host country with their inability to pay taxes like official citizens. There are also plenty of undocumented immigrants from different ethnicities who flee from their homes due to a political crisis at home, or personal experiences of abuse or violence. A large number of these people manage to get low-profile cheap labor jobs on low wages and hide out in crowded communities to avoid exposure and deportation. They mostly live their lives escaping unwanted attention because once they are caught and sent back to their homes, they will most likely be banned from coming back for years. Some of them strategically marry native-born citizens so that they can be protected from the full measure of immigration policy.
Cross-cultural tension
While diversity always looks attractive at the outset, it is not always a good example of unity. Without the ability and willingness to come together, collaborate, and cooperate, the result of mixing ethnicities often becomes the opposite of unity: division. Immigrants approach key issues from a personal agenda, often unable to find a compromise or middle ground when discussing topics in the political, social, and personal arenas. They identify many reasons why it is impossible to communicate and be heard and end up giving up or accepting ongoing tension in the process. Here in the United States of America, we see this in various ethnic cliques. We tend to stay together in the same herd and go on the defensive when our way of life is questioned by a different group. It is sometimes difficult for immigrants to get along with their counterparts from other parts of the world, and so it is much easier to go their own ways and stay within their comfort zones.
The problem of overcrowding
Since most new immigrants choose to go to densely-populated urban cities given that there are more employers looking for people like them to fill in skill gaps and new jobs, and the already congested city becomes even more crowded. As a result, spaces become smaller and smaller and living standards get poorer. Urban planning fails to secure appropriate spaces in light of the influx of these workers, and the whole locality is affected because of it. Not only is there physical overcrowding, but this can also happen in the labor market. When there are too many applicants for the same job, both native-born residents and immigrants fight harder to secure the same slot. In light of this, job-seeking becomes harder for both groups, and resentment and division begin to build. Citizens will feel threatened and invaded, and immigrants will feel unsafe and discriminated against. This then will contribute to cross-cultural tension and an outright refusal to mingle with each other. While the global market becomes richer and more interesting and economic benefits are enjoyed, relationships in the community become strained and difficult to resolve.