Immigration in America: Consequences

The United States as the Largest Refugee Community

The United States is currently the largest refugee community in the world today. The influx of this population into the United States motivated the implementation of the program of immigration. Similarly, the increase in migration over the past few years has clear economic and cultural consequences. The paper explores the effects of globalization, immigration policies, and immigration backlash on U.S. social and economic growth.

Four of the Waves

With most refugees settled in California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey, the practice of bigotry and prejudice in the U.S. between 1880 and 1943 was a result of immigration. Over time, immigrants moved to the U.S. As a result of the settlement of immigrants near industrial centers, urban centers grew rapidly. According to Corbett et al., immigrants made up a great percentage of industrial workers and urban population. Rapid changes in industrialization in the mid-nineteenth century were due to the influx of immigrants into the U.S. Cities grew rapidly to accommodate the high number of immigrants who sought investment and employment opportunities. Different communities such as Little Italy and Chinatown developed in the U.S. as a result of the massive wave of immigrants between 1900 and 1910. Similarly, they argue that America succeeded in economic development because of the cheap labor that was provided by the immigrants. According to Corbett et al., immigrants, including children, women, and men, worked for long hours in industries boosting economic development. The long hours for men, women and children further shows the unethical nature immigrants were treated in the United States.

Protestantism, Anti-Semitism, and Anti-Catholicism

Protestantism, anti-Semitism together with anti-Catholicism is attributed to the immigration backlash. The increasing number of immigrants in the U.S. became a threat to the Native Americans, forcing them to call for control of immigration into the U.S. Such calls and unethical treatment of people of color led to the emergence of groups such as Jazz Age that “pushed for social and cultural boundaries”. Jazz Age, which was composed mainly of blacks, introduced new dances and music that spread in the U.S., changing the social and cultural practices of the Americans. In addition to this, the immigration backlash contributed to the occurrence of sporadic race riots that affected the economic development in the US. Immigration is a very diverse topic that has been covered immensely over the years. It sparks controversy and inspires people to investigate the stories and struggles of immigrants. This is often apparent from movies and literature, with films such as Under the same moon, A better life, District 9, etc. Immigration is what started America as we know it today, so this topic is inseparable from this country.

The Introduction of Stricter Immigration Policies

Introduction of stricter immigration policies contributed to the western expansion. Strict policies made Chinese immigrants to recoil, allowing Americans to occupy more lands for economic development. They also led to the occurrence of normalcy in the U.S. since immigrants were obliged to follow the laid rules to survive in the state. In addition to this, immigration policies controlled the movement of people into the U.S., allowing the country to provide jobs to the Native Americans without much difficulty. The policies also led to the reduction of crimes in the U.S. since they created fear in immigrants. Moreover, these policies allowed execution of criminal the immigrants which was unethical but considered essential for installation of social order in the U.S.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, the influx of immigrants into the U.S. led to the social and economic development in the country. Racism and immigration started to be practiced in the U.S. as a result of immigration. Immigration is also associated with rapid industrialization in the U.S. Immigrants were part of the population that offered services in the industries. They also influenced rapid urbanization of the U.S. since they were part of the population in the urban centers. Immigration also led to the emergence of social groups such as Protestants and anti-Catholics. It also led to the emergence of Jazz Age that introduced new dances and music to the U.S. Equally, the introduction of immigration policies led to the economic expansion of the U.S. since Americans managed to occupy more land as well as to reduce pressure on the available resources and job opportunities.

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