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CHAPTER 35 North America Population Geography I The Immigration Debate ) When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in 2015 , he shocked many Americans , and delighted many others , with a stridently message When do we beat Mexico at the border ?
They re laughing at us , at our stupidity The has become a dumping ground for everybody problems When Mexico sends its people , they re not sending their best They re sending people that have lots of problems , and they re bringing those problems with us . They re bringing drugs . They re bringing crime . They re Trump message catered to those who feared that immigration rates were at a dangerous and unprecedented level , and upset those who believed his message was unprecedented in its divisiveness . Of course , any student of American history knows that current rates of immigration to the United States are not unprecedented , and that ugly and divisive debates about immigration are also nothing new . Immigration to the United States has ebbed and flowed over the years , largely due to changes in American immigration policies , as well as to fluctuations in both the American and the global economy . As a result , the percentage of residents of the United States has risen and fallen over the years . It peaked in 1890 , when of Americans had been born in a foreign country . It fell to its lowest level in 1970 , when just of Americans were . Throughout much of American history , that number has usually hovered around Created by from Noun 162
NORTH AMERICA POPULATION GEOGRAPHY I 163 11 . As of the 2010 census , of Americans were born in a foreign country , just a little above the historic average . Immigration is nothing new , nor is resistance to it . Every March , millions of Americans deck themselves out in green , and flock to parades , festivals , and parties to celebrate Patrick Day . They are celebrating Irish culture , and the contributions of Irish immigrants to American culture . The Irish were not always so celebrated in America . This cartoon , entitled Usual Irish Way of Doing Things , was published in 1871 , and drawn by Thomas Nast . It depicts an Irishman as an unruly , apelike creature , waving a liquor bottle as he sets off a powder keg . Nast was infamous for his , sentiments , but he was not , in his time , regarded as a dangerous radical . Nast was one of the most popular political cartoonists of his day , and his attitude was shared by millions of Americans . were not the first group to face an backlash , and they certainly would be the last . Immigrants from Poland , Japan , China , Mexico , and dozens of other countries have faced similar discrimination . Here , we will examine and arguments . It is a nuanced debate . Some are hardliners in their sentiments , believing that immigration should be greatly reduced , or even eliminated entirely , and that all undocumented immigrants should be deported . Others agree that immigration is necessary and inevitable , but that immigration rates should be reduced and immigration rules more strictly enforced . On the other end of the spectrum , many argue that immigration is beneficial to the United States , and that current immigration rates should be at least maintained , and perhaps even increased . Many believe that undocumented immigrants should be given a clear pathway to citizenship . THE TION ARGUMENT
164 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL Created by Matt from Noun We begin with two very common arguments that do hold up under scrutiny . Many advocates argue that immigration leads to increased crime rates ( as evidenced in the excerpt from the Trump speech above ) and that immigrants are a drain on public funds , utilizing many public services , but paying few taxes . Of course , it would be ridiculous to argue that immigrants commit no crimes . That said , the evidence suggests that not only does immigration not lead to an increase in crime , but that immigrants are , in fact , less likely to commit crimes than those born in the United States . As for the public funding debate , a sudden influx of immigrants into a place can indeed put a strain on public resources . This is particularly true in public education . Still , in the larger picture , immigrants are hardly a drain on the tax base . They most certainly pay taxes . Everyone is obligated to pay sales taxes there is no way around that and immigrants pay property taxes , either directly through property they own , or indirectly through property they rent . Documented immigrants must pay federal and state income taxes , just like everyone else . The widely held belief that undocumented immigrants do not pay income taxes is untrue . Hoping to avoid a crime that may lead to their deportation , and to create a paper trail that may aid in their eventual citizenship , most undocumented immigrants do file a tax return . In 2015 , it was estimated that undocumented immigrants paid billion in federal income taxes . A far more sound argument against immigration can be found in the labor market . Increased immigration inevitably leads to increased job competition and wage deflation . It is often argued that immigrants that native citizens are unable or unwilling to take , and there is certainly some merit to that argument . Still , there is no denying that increased immigration means that many native citizens will eventually find themselves competing for ajob with an immigrant . Since many immigrants come from countries that are poorer than the United States , they are often willing to work for much lower wages than native citizens , and are thus more attractive to employers . Additionally , increased immigration will drive wages down because economic laws . supply of anything increases , its value decreases . This is why gold is more expensive than cardboard one is rare , the other is not . As immigration increases the supply of labor , it becomes cheaper , and its value declines . Put simply , more immigration means more labor , which means lower wages . This has long been true in the workforce , and is becoming increasingly true in fields as well . Finally , cultural forces play a very important , although often unspoken , role in the movement . often use two terms when examining the cultural forces involved in immigration acculturation and assimilation . Acculturation is a process in which immigrants shed some of their ethnic traits , while absorbing some traits of the mainstream culture . Assimilation is complete acculturation , where immigrants shed all of their ethnic traits , and fully adopt the traits of the mainstream . In America , acculturation is inevitable . The children and grandchildren of immigrants will shed some of their ethnic traits , and replace them with the traits of classmates , coworkers , friends , and neighbors who are not part
NORTH AMERICA POPULATION GEOGRAPHY I 165 of their ethnic group ( often to the dismay of their parents and grandparents ) Total assimilation by ethnic groups , however , is rare . And if it does happen , it often takes many generations . As a result , a place that receives lots of immigrants will inevitably look different . The civic , religious , economic , and political institutions of the place will change . The faces , the food , the music , and dozens of other cultural traits will never be the same . For many Americans , this is a source dismay . They see their towns and neighborhoods become less and less recognizable . That is why older Americans are more likely to be than younger Americans . They have longer memories and often a greater sense of cultural change and loss . THE ARGUMENT Created by Gan Lay from Noun Culture also plays a role in the argument . Advocates of immigration argue that the United States is a multicultural mosaic created by immigration , and that further immigration only serves to enrich that mosaic . They might also argue that the movement is hypocritical , since the vast majority of Americans are either immigrants or the descendants of immigrants . But perhaps the strongest arguments are based on profound economic and demographic realities of modern America . First , there is the labor market . As mentioned above , immigration makes labor cheaper , and while that is not popular with workers , it is quite popular with employers . Some industries , notably agriculture and food processing , would simply not be profitable in their current forms without access to cheap immigrant labor . And , as mentioned above , immigrants are increasingly filling as well . It is difficult , if not almost impossible , to go to an American hospital , university , research lab , or engineering firm , and not find an immigrant working as a doctor , nurse , technician , professor , scientist , or engineer . Among the immigrants who have arrived in the United States since 2010 , 50 have held college degrees . That is significantly higher than the population of the United States , among whom only 30 have college degrees . This process is known as a brain gain , in which wealthy countries successfully draw the best and brightest from the world poorer countries . Immigrants are important to the current economy , and they will only grow more vital over time . The current total fertility rate in the United States is , meaning that the average American woman has just under two children . That is below the replacement rate of . Without immigration , the population of the United States will eventually begin to decline . Low birth rates are also leading to a rapidly aging population . It is extremely difficult for a country to maintain economic growth without population growth , and an aging population leads to a diminished tax base , as well as decreased rates of production and consumption . Immigration provides a new pool of young workers , consumers , and taxpayers to offset declining birth rates .
166 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL Years from now , people may find our current immigration debate profoundly ironic . Today , many people are arguing about how to keep immigrants out ofthe country . In the future , the United States may very well be trying to figure out how to get more immigrants into the country . Did You Know ?
Thomas Nast is widely regarded as the founding figure of American political . He invented or popularized national icon Uncle Sam , the donkey and elephant mascots of the Democratic and Republican parties , as well as the modern face of Christmas Santa Claus . His reputation has been tarnished by his views . Ironically , Nast was himself an immigrant , having migrated with his family from Germany to New York at the age of six . BIBLIOGRAPHY Nast , Thomas . 1871 . The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things . Harper Weekly . Public Domain .