The United States, commonly deemed a melting pot of cultures, has always been a country of immigrants. And its diversity is not limited to its people. The varied landscape of the home of the brave has cultivated migration within its boundary – as “close to 40 million Americans move from one home to another every year…with 4.3 million of them moving between states” (Bruner). The amount of movement into and in the country truly demonstrates the appeal of the land of liberty.
The promise of economic improvement is a major influence of global migration. Of course, each move may have its own distinct “motivations, but in aggregate they reflect the geographical marketplace during the boom and bust of the last decade” (Bruner). The change in the number of immigrants residing in the United States has fluctuated from decade to decade, reaching its peak in 1990 to 2000 period. But the United States has always hosted immigrants; after all, this country was founded by immigrants. After a slight decrease in immigration from 1930 to 1970 – which could be attributed to the quotas set forth by various immigration acts – the change in number of immigrants has continually increased since then. Due to the changes in statute that were established by the 1990 Immigration Amendments Act, the number of employment based immigrants increased by nearly 100,000 from 1986 to 2011 and the number of family based immigrants nearly doubled to roughly 453,000 – demonstrating that legislation considerably influences immigration patterns. With so many immigration laws in place, it is evident that the United States is cautiously inclusive to migrants. The United States permits legal immigration, on a larger scale compared to other countries, but considerably restricts legal and illegal immigration. The United States State Department “denials of petitions for legal permanent resident visas have increased in recent years” and “the number of criminal aliens removed from the United States increased to 188,382 in 2011” (Wasem). But while immigration has encouraged globalization, improving economies and communication, it has left host nations vulnerable to flagrant racism, illegal activity, and worker exploitation. There is support for illegal immigration because “migrant workers do jobs that Americans do not want to do” (Wallace). Constant movement leave borders susceptible to human and drug trafficking and “other forms of crime and corruption” (Shah). Thus, the appeal of America may lead to both beneficial and detrimental effects.
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- Bruner, J. (2011, November 16). Migration in America – Forbes. Forbes – Information for the World’s Business Leaders. Retrieved July 27, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com
- Shah, A. (2008, May 26). Immigration — Global Issues. Global Issues. Retrieved July 27, 2013, from http://www.globalissues.org
- Wallace, A. The Immigration Debate: Economic Impact. University of Michigan. Retrieved July 27, 2013, from http://www.umich.edu
- Wasem, R. E. (2013, March 7). United States Immigration Policy: Chart Book of Key Trends. Congressional Research Service, 7, 1-24.
