The Evolution of American Immigration Policy Essay Example

the time of increased economic crisis. The study shows that America has been a country of great immigrants at the times between the 1880s and 1920s; the original inhabitants to get to America crossed the land bridge connecting North America and Asia in early centuries. During this time, the first immigrant groups from Europe led by French and Spanish began to establish their settlements in the United States.

Likewise, in 1607, England made their permanent settlements in America in Virginia colony at Jamestown. The first American migrants in 1600s were pilgrims who arrived in search of religious freedom. These migrants came to the US in search of freedom of faith and involved more than 100 pilgrims who fled religious persecution in Europe. On arriving in the US, Most of them settled in Plymouth and Massachusetts. Other groups such as Puritans, a larger religious group in search of freedom established their territory at the same spot. More than 20,000 Puritans migrated between 1630 and 1640 in America (Morgan, 1972). Consequently, more than one-half of the white immigrant from Europe managed to make the voyage to America by becoming indentured servants. In other words, the price of passage was becoming very steep. While some chose to do so, others were kidnapped from European big cities to become servants in America settlements.

West African black slaves were forced into immigration unwillingly to provide slave work in American colonies. The first group of these slaves included more than 20 Africans who were forced into indentured servitude in Virginia. By 1680, this number rose to more than 7,000 immigrants in the American colonies. This figure shot to 700,000 by 1790. The American

civil war of 1861 led to the emancipation of more than four million slaves. Most of these immigrants are believed to have been from Western Africa and Northern Europe. The study shows that more than 600,000 African were brought slaves brought to America in 16th and 17th centuries (Norton &Chudacoff, 2011).

BY the mid -19th century, immigrants from Ireland Migrated to America after experiencing massive famine. From history, it is documented that 4.5 million Irish moved into America between 1820 and 1930. In early 19th century, United States received more than five million German immigrants. Most of them went to farms and congregated in St. Louis and other parts of Milwaukee. In 1900, the federal government pushed for the enactment of the immigration policies to all state governments in America. Because of this, it is hard to control the high influx of immigrants in Europe. The rise of industrialization and urbanization lead to rapid population growth in America where over 20 million immigrants settled in the US.

In the 1890s, the whole world was attracted to America with over 600,000 arrivals from Italy. The majority of other groups came from southern, eastern and central Europe. Moreover, over two million Jews fled persecution of religion and migrated to America in early 1880 and 1920. For instance, 1907 was marked as the peak year of immigrant admission in the United States where over 1.3 million entered the country legally. The decline of Immigrant entry came in 1914 and 1918 at times when the Congress enacted legislation limiting the entry of Immigrants. The Congress required all immigrants aged 16 years and above to pass the certain literacy test.

Afterward, the immigration

quotas were established in the United States in 1920’s (Abram, 1997).). The dramatic decrease of immigrants was also witnessed in 1930 and 1950 where the America’s population on foreign-born reduced to 10.3 from over 14.2 million. Following the communist revolution in Cuba in 1959, thousands of refugees from Cuba were admitted in the United States. In 1965, the Congress tightened their rules on immigration to do away with the quotas through the nationality immigration act. This act allowed Americans to sponsor their relatives. In the mid-1980s, millions of immigrants and noncitizens were declared to be illegally living in the country.

The formation of the immigration reforms and control Act (IRCA) in 1986 enforced immigrant Sanctions. Some of the policies were against the employment of unauthorized employer immigrants. Breach of these policies was punishable with high fines and penalties on criminology. Border enforcement policies were formulated to prevent future and illegal immigrants. Moreover, Legalization for granting legal status to the unauthorized immigrants who had lived in the country for about five years was formulated. The 1999 reforms on the immigration act after a failure of the IRCA to revamp immigration system led the admission of a large number of highly skilled and educated immigrants (Joppke, 1999).

The immigration department in United States outlines that people willing to transfer to U.S must meet certain requirements through established legal procedures. For instance, new applicants must possess a certified passport applied within a period of six months prior to the visa application. Moreover, the applicant must possess online application to the U.S department of immigrants together with the applicant’s birth certificates and other copies for the next of in. Marriage records

and Police certificate from the home country of residence is also a requirement. In addition to that, the applicant must possess a number of valid Visa photographs.

The current immigration policies are very terrifying to the immigrant groups in the United States. For instance, the strict policies and restrictions imposed on the immigrants who established their settlement in the nation pose a significant risk to the immigrant groups. Most of these immigrants carried out various economic and social activities. Few groups were farmers, businesspersons while the majority groups worked in various industries. After the settlement, these groups began integrating through intermarriages and trade activities.

This absorption led to the rise of the second generation of immigration groups that were considered as the newborn of the first generation. The new generation groups include the Latin Americans, African Americans and Asian American groups. Africans and Asian immigrants since the past faced social problems arising from the issue of immigration in the US. Many discriminations on immigration were based on color. The original Americans saw the new groups stemming from the intermarriages as inferior. The discrimination extended from political to social places through interactions and activities. Amendment of the constitution reduced discrimination through the abolition of slave trade. These changes accommodated the needs of the second-generation groups protecting them from Americans discrimination.

The high influx of immigrants in America has both demographic, political and social impact on the country. Politically, the number of registered voters of the second-generation groups and the original American has risen significantly over time. Data shows that the number of immigrants registered as voters in America increased by over 10.6 million in 1996. This is approximately 143.3%

increase. Demographically, the number of Asian American voters is ever growing. The study reported in 1996 shows more than 9.8 million increase in voters from Latin American. Another demographic effect associated with immigration is on language.

As a result, there has been a high rise of many different groups in the country; these groups of various nationalities have intermarried leading to mixed languages that depend on the nationalities of the immigrant groups. Intermarriages and integration of different people resulted in the erosion of native languages. As a result, the new religion is born with religious cults being absorbed in the nation. The high influx of immigrant groups into the country introduces diverse beliefs and faith leading to the emergency of new forms of religion and churches. The environment is also at significant risk due to population pressure resulting from the increased number of immigrants in the United States. The increase of people in a given place has adverse effects that influence the environment and its surrounding. (Cornelius & Rosenblum, 2005).

The United States immigrant has influenced the U.S economy in various ways. Foremost, immigrants participate greatly in economy building. Most immigrants in United States have adequate sills necessary for transforming the labor force. Most of the immigrants portray competitive entrepreneurial advantage in business thus creating more jobs to the Native Americans. Immigrants have also transformed American research in the field of science and engineering to a greater height. This has promoted Americans spirit of competition and innovation leading to overall economic production.

Consequently, the rise of Immigration in the United States has a significant impact on the economy and resources In United States. For instance, entry of more

immigrants in the United States exerts more pressure on the available national resources and job opportunities. The United States is at high risk of economic sabotage from the groups illegally living in their country. The available resources are short of meeting the increased population pressure exerted by the rising immigrants in the country. The majority of the immigrants who went to the United States for refuge were not qualified to be in the US. Others who went for economic and religious freedoms lacked the required documentation to qualify as American citizens.

The increase of Immigrants in the United States results in the formation of Human right association that try to fight for the rights of immigrants especially those seeking refuge due to war from their home countries. The majority of immigrants in the United States are in danger of inadequate human basic needs. This ranges from health, education and other social factors. United States government has enacted laws and amendments that serve to provide for the needs of the immigrants ever increasing in over decades. Despite the fact that high entry of immigrants exerts more pressure on the government services, United States government has established policies to support immigrants vulnerable to health disparities.

Health disparities among the immigrants are experiencing higher mortality rates than the other groups. The majority of them suffer from deadly diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart attacks and HIV/AIDS conditions. These disparities are caused by the worsening living conditions subjected to the immigrant people. The majority of them lack direct access to health facilities. The government spends the majority of its resources to provide basic needs such as to cater for the education

of the immigrant children. As a result, the state suffers substantial economic impacts trying to provide for the needs of the so-called immigrant groups (Delgado & Trueba, 1991).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the United States government is adjusting its immigration policies to ensure that only eligible migrants benefit from the policies. Additionally, application of Visa by nonimmigrant is denied if it has the dual intention of coming to the United States. Immigrants need to demonstrate sufficient ties to their home country and their long-range plans for the United States. It is clear that billions of US resources are used to boost the worsening security along their borders. It is evident that majority of people end up succumbing to harsh conditions due to failure in their attempt to access entry to the United States. This entry serves to pursue better economic prosperity. To enhance better immigration policies, the political class must aim to improve discretion and promote humanity in the United States. Moreover, proportionality and use of supportive information must be utilized while formulating public policies on immigration.

Reference

• Abram, R. J. (1997). Immigrants in America. The Public Historian, 19(1), 45-48.
• Borjas, G. J. (2011). Heaven's door: Immigration policy and the American economy. Princeton University Press.
• Cornelius, W. A., & Rosenblum, M. R. (2005). Immigration and politics.Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci., 8, 99-119.
• Delgado-Gaitan, C., & Trueba, H. (1991). Crossing Cultural Borders: Education for Immigrant Families in America. Falmer Press, Taylor & Francis Inc., 1900 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol, PA 19007..
• Joppke, C. (1998). Challenge to the nation-state: Immigration in Western Europe and the United States. Oxford University Press on Demand.
• Joppke, C. (1999). Immigration and the nation-state: the United States, Germany, and Great Britain. Clarendon Press.