A Chinese International Student, Immigration And Labor

Name
Tutor
Course
Date
Immigration and Labor
Every year, millions of people move from their native countries to foreign countries for various reasons. Furthering education, escaping war and migrating to join the family are just some of these reasons. However, the major reason why people migrate is to escape the lack of opportunities in their native countries and to look for greener pastures in their destination countries (Hagen-Zanker 8). The idea of getting a more rewarding job with higher and better benefits is tempting to any worker. However, with various forces at play in the labor market, getting that dream job is not as easy.
In the past, immigrant workers were faced with problems such as racism and xenophobia, but this has quite changed over time. Immigrants did not automatically get the jobs that natives with similar qualifications got. They mostly got the low-wage jobs with little or no benefits at all. Since some immigrants cannot satisfy the immigration policies, they migrate into foreign countries illegally. This means that they cannot get good employment and they end up being exploited in low wage jobs and working under risky conditions. Other immigrants move into the country with business, tourist or student visas and therefore, are not allowed by law to work. Some of them extend their stay in the foreign country and seek employment. Similarly, they end up with poorly remunerated jobs and poor working conditions (Ness 20).
On top of the legislative barriers that hinder immigrants from getting employment like the natives today, employers show some form of veiled discrimination against immigrants. People born, educated and with job experience within the country are more likely to get into high paying professional jobs as compared to immigrants with similar qualifications. However, in the recent past, immigrants have become more vocal and active in seeking better wages and working conditions. One such example is the Justice for Janitors (JFJ), where janitors in New York and Los Angeles joined hands and demanded for better pay and working conditions. Such efforts have borne fruit as evidenced by formation of unions, increased wages and better working conditions (Ness 23; Waldinger, Erickson and Milkman 14)
Despite the conspicuous bias that may exist in the labor industry as seen by a certain group of immigrants having a certain type of employment, the interaction between immigrants...