Dealing With Immigrants

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Dealing with Immigrants

Introduction

Globalization is an agent of the prevalent immigrant records in many countries as people cross

borders for various reasons. While nearly all countries experience the problems of such

international movements, developed countries bear the greatest burden (Kerr and Kerr 4).

However, these regions have different strategies for responding to pressures arising from such

issues. Even though there are several ways of doing this, whiteness and assimilation are

synonymous with some of the western countries, such as the U.S. and other Western powers.

Notably, the preferred method for dealing with the menace depends on the benefits that arise

from the procedures. Additionally, stemming the problem of immigration is important given that

there are numerous results linked to foreign settlements. Drug trafficking and other social evils,

such as insecurity, require that the concerned authorities establish a suitable mechanism for

solving immigration problems (Stivachtis 1). While assimilation explains the problem by

exposing the struggles immigrants endure during integration to a new society, whiteness displays

the differences in cultural superiority of the indigenous white over immigrants.

The Theories

Assimilation Theory. Assimilation of immigrants is a way of integrating newcomers into the

host country by helping them to settle and lead meaningful lives. In this regard, people from

across borders learn the new country's culture, practices, and education among other attributes

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(Hirschman 29). Notably, people from different parts of the world possess diverse cultural,

social, and behavioral traits. Similarly, the indigenous inhabitants have their unique

characteristics. As such, the resulting interactions result in a hybrid culture that strengthens a

society's diversity.

While there are many attributes that foreigners introduce to a host country, football talent

is one of those that could significantly improve the sports standards of many Western nations

(Myers and Pitkin 1). In the U.S., many immigrant athletes join football leagues and perform

excellently to improve the level of the country's sports. Viewed from another perspective,

involving foreigners in recreational activities is another way of reducing crime and creating a

source of income for new members of society. However, instead of viewing these actions as

contributing factors to the growth of a country's economy as well as building a better national

heritage, they appear to compete with the natives for certain positions. Such views are an

indication that assimilation does not necessarily lead to improved interactions between

immigrants and residents of a host country.

Whiteness Theory. On the other hand, the whiteness theory can be used to explain how

immigrants struggle in foreign countries. The limited number of African Americans in the labor

market is an indication of whiteness theory in practice even though their positive contribution is

evident in the growth of America's economy. There are various ways through which the

whiteness theory contributes to the problem of dealing with immigrants. Besides maintaining the

cultural superiority of Native Americans, this method amplifies the issue of cultural heritage and

the economic effects of accepting foreigners. Given that settling newcomers would require

equipping them with the necessary skills for surviving in the host country, the whiteness theory

views this as the starting point for losing the cultural heritage of people of the Native Americans.

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In this regard, the issue of white cultural dominance gets in. From the whiteness theory, it is

apparent that the problem of immigration is amplified by the unequal distribution of

opportunities between immigrants and indigenous Americans.

How Whiteness Theory Explains the Problem of Immigrants

Notably, whiteness theory limits the number of opportunities available for immigrants compared

to that of Native Americans (Shiells 790). Since newcomers enjoy fewer privileges than the

natives, they have to endure racial conflict between them and the natives (Guess 654). Notably, it

includes material dominance where the indigenous race receives better access to higher learning

opportunities and even better and safer housing facilities. Additionally, the theory uses whiteness

as a symbol of intelligence and beauty while excluding blackness and brownness. In contrast to

assimilation, whiteness brings out the differences between newcomers and indigenous

communities hence aggravating the process of settling newcomers to a new nation.

Another way to explain immigration problem through whiteness theory is by examining

the effects that dealing with immigrants would have on the cultural heritage of Native

Americans. Given that whiteness views the indigenous people as a symbol of superiority,

integrating other peoples' culture would dilute their dominance and render their culture useless.

In this view, the white Americans confront attempts to deal with this problem in the fear that

their customs will be eroded and tainted by the less valuable cultural practices of the immigrants.

Other areas that risk competition would include intellectual levels if immigrants were allowed to

seek equal educational opportunities with the white people. Besides, it would mean that they

have to compete in numerous other possibilities including housing and employment in areas and

positions that have long been reserved for the whites only.

Main Analysis

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One of the groups that best describes immigration as a social issue is the African American

immigrants in the United States of America. For a long time, this population has maintained a

consistent fight for inclusion. As such, they have put up efforts to incorporate diversity in the

U.S. through a learning system (assimilation) that supports education for all. Additionally, the

sports industry has been a crucial area where African Americans strive to interact with Native

Americans. Even though significant achievements are arising from the efforts of assimilating this

group of people into the American society, the same system is a major drawback to the process.

Most Native Americans believe that learning the indigenous peoples' way of life would have

several impacts on the culture, economy, and social aspects of their lives. Such activities show

how assimilation theory explains the problem of immigration in the U.S.

Although assimilation is expected to improve the economic position of a host country,

some believe that it could result in a decrease in productivity levels of that region. Notably,

research shows that not all immigrants have enough academic knowledge in different fields that

is important in the development of an economy (Camarota 22). Given that assimilation involves

offering educational opportunities among other privileges to foreigners, a nation that has a high

number of immigrants would require huge budgetary allocations to turn the situation around in

achieving massive technological advancements. Such success does not only contribute to the

economic value of a country but also to the improvement of social standards of its citizens.

However, the cost of assimilation is so immense that it would require a nation like America to

increase the amount of resources set for social welfare programs to cater for such.

Even though the assimilation theory has numerous positive outcomes, it is hampered by

several factors that affect the process of integrating immigrants into the American system. The

U.S. has a social welfare program that caters for immigrants. Consequently, the government

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makes massive budgetary allocations every year that provide for the unemployed who include

immigrants. Such funds include money meant for providing housing, medical cover, and

education among other necessary factors of assimilation. Additionally, the U.S. is already

grappling with a significant rate of unemployment. To this effect, the process of assimilating

more immigrants and offering learning opportunities becomes an avenue for increasing the

number of jobless people in the population. In this regard, assimilation becomes an expensive

way for governments to deal with immigrants.

Assimilation theory best explains issues of immigration by exposing the noninvolvement

of African American immigrants into American culture. Research shows that integrating the

foreigners' talents and culture is a sure path to enriching America's cultural heritage and saving

national expenditure on social security. Even though many youths have enrolled in football clubs

to grow their talent and form a career, having to contend with exclusion from other areas is still a

major drawback to the issue of immigrants. Further, there are indications that the inclusive

education system -which is one aspect of assimilation - is still an unexploited solution to cross-

border movement.

Applying assimilation theory, immigrants can best fit into another culture when they have

sufficient support to learn and fit into it. Notably, assimilating them into American education is

only part of the process that needs much more, such as creating an all-inclusive labor market.

Besides, the impact of the few African American employees is a profound fact. However, such

steps become difficult to implement owing to the amount of resources required to cater for the all

the expenses arising from the complex processes. For example, given the low rate of literacy

among African American, it requires the American government a lot of time and resources to

educate and later absorb them into the working class.

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Conclusion

All in all, the issue of immigrants remains a significant challenge to most countries especially the

developed nations. Notably, the issue has led to other problems including increased crime and

other vices. While many of these regions have different ways of dealing with the menace,

whiteness and assimilation explain the reason for the prevalence of the problem. Notably, the

latter mechanism explains how immigrants struggle to integrate into the culture and status of a

host country. On the other hand, whiteness purports that indigenous residents deserve more

privileges than newcomers so as to maintain their superior culture and status. Notably, these

theories explain the problems that arise in the process of dealing with the menace of immigrants.

In this view, they show how foreigners have to fight for equal opportunities in the different

aspects of life, such as in education, employment, and housing. However, each of these methods

has a different magnitude on the issue of immigration in the U.S. Besides being a challenge due

to its cost of implementation, assimilation is also a threat to the heritage of Americans. On the

contrary, whiteness strives to prevent cultural erosion and stifle competition for prestigious

positions in different fields by newcomers. Given the complex system arrangement needed to

facilitate the integration of immigrants into a foreign culture, assimilation theory seems the most

plausible way of explaining this problem.

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Works Cited

Camarota, Steven A. "Immigrants in the United States: A Profile of America’s Foreign-Born

Population." Center For Immigration Studies (2012): 1-85.

Guess, Teresa J.. "The Social Construction of Whiteness: Racism by Intent, Racism by

Consequence." Critical Sociology (2006): 649-673.

Hansen, Jorgen, and Magnus Lofstrum. "Immigrants Assimilation and Welfare Participation: Do

Immigrants Assimilate into or Out of Welfare." The Journal of Human Resources (2003):

74-98.

Hirschman, Charles. "The Contributions of Immigrants to American Culture." The Journal of

American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2013): 26-43.

Kerr, Sari Pekkala, and William R. Kerr. "Economic Impacts of Immigration: A Survey ."

Havard Business School (2011): 1-38.

Myers, Dowell, and John Pitkin. "Assimilation Today: New Evidence Shows the Latest

Immigrants to America Are Following in Our History’s Footsteps." Center for American

Progress (2010): 1-43.

Shiells, Georgia. "Immigration History and Whiteness Studies: American and Australian

Approaches Compared." History Compass (2010): 790–804.

Stivachtis, Yannis A. "International Migration and the Politics of Identity and Security ."

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (2008): 1-23.

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