According to the American Community Survey (ACS) and the United States Census Bureau's data as of 2018, over 44.7 million immigrants are residing in the United States (Landgrave, & Nowrasteh, 2018). The United States is considered to have the largest immigrant population worldwide; immigration policy has become a highly contentious issue in America. However, much of the debate centers on cultural issues, while the economic effects of immigration have contributed positively to the growth of the United States economy. Several academic research and the economic theory predictions confirm that the long-term immigration economic effects have mostly positive impacts on the overall economy and the native citizens of the state. This paper highlights and discusses how immigration has significantly contributed to the political, social, and economic growth of the United States; it also gives various reasons as to why the immigration process should not end.
The future of the United States economy often depends on the ability of its businesses to compete globally. One of the significant factors that enable the United States to grow their businesses and create new employment is their ability to recruit and retain talent from different nations (National Science Foundation, 2017). The United States has always prospered by welcoming the brightest and best talents from different countries. According to Wadhwa (2012), many innovative entrepreneurs who contributed to the United States economic development were immigrants, from Charles Pfizer, Alexander Graham Bell, and Andrew Carnegie to Elon Musk, Vinod Khosla, and Sergey Brin. Immigrants founded several small businesses and Fortune companies employing millions of workers and generating trillions of dollars annually. Foreign nations started nearly 25% of United States venture capital-backed public companies adding significant value to the American economy. Thus, foreign-born individuals have helped the United States advance as the most technologically and entrepreneurial society worldwide (Landgrave, & Nowrasteh, 2018). Highly educated immigrant professionals make one of the United States' most significant competitive advantages; therefore, it must not shut the door on these talented minds.
The foreign-born population plays an increasingly pivotal role in the United States economy, Americans usually benefits from the money immigrants spend on consumer goods and services and the taxes that they pay (Lowe, 2017). The increased demand for products and services resulting from the increased population has increased job opportunities and boosts economic growth. The revenue collected from immigrants' helps cover the cost of public services at all levels, including local, state, and federal levels. Although the immigrants' contributions are often overlooked, these contributions are significantly beneficial to all Americans. For instance, in 2014, Immigrants paid an estimate of $223.6 billion in federal taxes, this also included $ 32.9 billion in Medicare tax and $123.7 billion in Social Security tax (Kosten, 2018). They also paid nearly $104.6 billion at the local level taxes; their contribution combined was $328.2 billion in taxes with California, immigrants contributing up to 28% of the total taxes in the state (Kosten, 2018). The increased immigration is thus accompanied by the increase in the United States revenue collection (Kosten, 2018).
Another economic benefit of immigration is that it enhances cultural diversity and the diversity of the population. Diversity enriches the individuals living and trading environments and contributes to greater creativity (Joseph, 2010). When immigrants move from different countries of the world and come to the United States as their destination country, they carry a new and essential range of skills and perspectives, which allows technological innovation, thus stimulating economic growth (Kosten, 2018). Diversity among workers also improves their performance since workers from different backgrounds learn necessary skills, experiences, and abilities in daily interactions. A diverse range of customs, ethics, and societal norms develop technological innovation. The diffusion of new skills and ideas leads to the production of a greater variety of goods and services (Kosten, 2018). Increased cultural diversity, therefore, has positive impacts on creating coordination, social cohesion, and reducing communication barriers, which help enhances global businesses, thus improving economic development.
In the modern globalized world, American natives are increasingly mobile, and they often need to communicate across different languages. According to Petraki (2019), learning a new language and becoming multilingual is an investment in human capital. Apart from communicating effectively with various people from different nations, multilingualism is beneficial for the United States economy in that it ensures a more innovative workforce and successful exports (American Immigration Council, 2020). According to Pogacar, Lowrey & Shrum (2017), one can best sell goods and services advertised or written in the consumers' native languages. Language has proved to be as crucial to business in the 21st century as the technology was in the past centuries. For the last two decades, emerging markets less developed, and non-English speaking nations have increased the size of the United States market. A report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), emerging markets accounted for almost half of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013 based on purchasing power (Rodrigues, 2018). The transformation of the global market has allowed firms and businesses to provide United States consumers with products and services in English without leaving their respective countries, thus bypassing the American workforce. The United States should, therefore, welcome the talented and multilingual immigrants to compete in the global markets effectively. A report presented by the New American economy that the demand for multilingual employees significantly increased from 2010 to 2015, and the increase in demand continues (Bernstein, & Vilter, 2018). Specifically, the need for multilingual workers who speak Arabic, Chinese and Spanish, has increased, particularly in the customer service, legal services, finance, and healthcare sectors, hence the need to form multilingual immigrants.
Generally, immigration has historically defined the characteristics of the United States, and it remains one of the state's most significant economic advantages (Lynch, & Oakford, 2013). The system of American higher education consistently gets recognized as the best worldwide; this reputation depends on United States universities' and colleges' ability to hire the best faculty members and attract the best learners from a global market. It also improves the Native American education quality (Executive Office of the President and the United States, 2013). In 2016, six American Nobel Prize laureates in sciences and economics were foreign-born; immigrants are profoundly represented in American Nobel laureates in physics, medicine, and chemistry. By winning 40% (31 of 78) of American Nobel prizes, they only make 13.5% of the population, which shows how the immigrants can be talented and skilled (Redden, 2016). Spillover effects have existed in the private sector, with nearly 40% of Fortune 500 companies founded by foreigners or the offspring of immigrants. These Fortune companies, including American icons like Google, McDonald's, Apple, and Budweiser, have contributed positively to the United States' economic growth. Research by National Foundation for American Policy noticed that immigrants co-founded most of the 87 technology startups estimated at over $1 billion; these companies had created several new jobs for the natives, thus improving their economic lives. Another industry that could be severely influenced by restrictive immigration policies is the Health care sector: according to the American Medical Association, 25% of physicians practicing in the United States were foreign-born (Redden, 2016). They usually accept jobs that are not American-born physicians willing to take both in underserved and rural areas of the state; they also help in primary care and general practice. The revised Executive Order targets over 7,000 doctors from the six countries on immigration, concentrated in Ohio, Michigan, and Appalachia, these doctors have saved many Americans lives (Minier, 2017). Some Americans have also adopted the culture and religion of immigrants, thus changing their social life.
Although immigration is considered among the most critical issues the states face, misperceptions continue on the fundamental aspects of this critical topic. Critics have strongly questioned the composition and size of the immigrant population that should be allowed in the country; they have argued that immigration leads to overpopulation hence stretching the country's resources (Ramakrishnan, & Gulasekaram, 2014). The population of immigrants has grown to 41 million representing 13.1% of the United States population. There are also 37.1 million of the United States-born children of immigrants, commonly known as the second generation, representing another 12% of the community (Joseph, & Marrow, 2017). Thus, the first and second generations account for a significant population in the United States. However, the flood of illegal immigrants, especially across United States borders, enrages several native-born citizens. They hold that immigrants compete for employment, unfairly attract government gains, and radically alter America's social foundation. They also say that the increased population has adversely affected public resource allocation.
Opponents of immigration frequently insist that immigrants, particularly unauthorized immigrants, are more likely than American-born to pose a threat to public safety by committing crimes (Landgrave, & Nowrasteh, 2019). The relationship between immigration and crime is a heated topic right now; however, it is not new. There has been a claim in congressional debates that foreign countries actively helped convicts to immigrate to the United States. Immigration also considered as underlying the increase of criminal organizations such as the mafia in the United States (BBC News, 2018). The characterization of the United States-Mexico border as a lawless place full of crime and illicit activities dates back over a century.
Conclusion
Immigration has contributed to the development of the United States as a nation; this dates back many years ago when the first immigrants arrived. Immigration has profoundly contributed to many political social and economic developments that are foundational to the United States. The increase in population is also associated with an increase in revenue collection, as evidenced in the 2014 Federal and local tax revenue collections. Several studies have shown that there is no causal relationship between crime and immigration in the United States. Even though some cases have been reported regarding unauthorized immigrants who committed crimes, it does not guarantee the general association of immigrants with crime. Besides, immigrants commit statistically fewer crimes and are more law-abiding than other demographics, thus the old myths should be disregarded. Therefore, the relevant authorities should treat all people with decorum, and ensure that everyone is safe. They should also avoid targeting an isolated group of people and hold each criminal responsible for their deeds regardless of their background.
