Immigration has been one of the most contentious issues in American history. In an article called Is Third World Immigration a Threat to America’s Way of Life? Two authors take sides in the article. The article gives a summary of how immigration has been a major issue in American history. Immigration has shaped American history from cultural, economic, and political aspects. Authors like Mark Krikorian agree that immigration should be limited in America.
The author points out several aspects of how immigration is affecting the American way of life negatively. The author points to how immigration has negatively affected the economy, education, governance, and lifestyle. Krikorian seems to argue that there is no complete assimilation of immigrants’ culture into the American culture (Finsterbusch 25). The author does not see the viability and benefit of immigration into a fast-evolving modern world. The author’s views are about the fact that immigrants originate from third world countries into a globally leading economy.
Jason Riley wants immigrants to be allowed into America. The author is a supporter of open border policy (Finsterbusch 32). The author’s arguments are not in agreement that immigration poses a threat to the American way of life. Unlike Krikorian, Riley argues that immigration has a positive impact on the economy, politics, and social aspects.
The article is a well-researched paper on how immigration and its impact on the American way of life have evoked different views. The article does not take any position on whether immigration should continue in America. The article leaves the reader with an urge to reflect on the two positions presented by the respective authors.
The depiction of the assimilation concept as a cracked melting pot aids in understanding immigration as a social problem (Finsterbusch 27). According to Krikorian, total assimilation in what is referred to as Americanization has become difficult in modern times. This is because some immigrants still retain ties of interest in their homeland. Krikorian also uses the concept of cheap labor against modern America (Krikorian 13). In his views, cheap labor from immigrants has affected the economy negatively by reducing workers’ bargaining power and slowing industrialization progress (Finsterbusch 29).
On the other hand, Riley argues that the assimilation of immigrants into the American way of life has always been easy (Finsterbusch 31). Riley argues that the fundamental idea of immigration is that America has always been short of labor (Riley 35). Without the needed labor, America has made sure that productivity in America remains high through immigrants.
By using statistics, Riley shows how immigrants are the reason behind the creation of jobs and the improvement of the country’s GDP. Riley draws facts that imply how some states like California and New York have benefited from immigrants (Finsterbusch 34).
The issue of cultural assimilation, labor market, economy, education, and politics remains the most contested values in the immigration debate.
As a student of sociology, I am limited to concluding how issues such as immigrants should be conducted. I believe that society is made up of values that are tolerable and share common goals. Every person irrespective of culture, race, and gender deserves a chance to have a life in America.
The article is an insightful piece in understanding the significance of assimilation of cultures in America. Moreover, the article delivers a foundation in understanding different views on how immigration impacts America’s economy, labor market education, and politics. This article is a foundation for answering the following questions.
- Should immigration laws be revised in America?
- Should there be a stipulated assimilation process in America?
- What is the future of immigration in America?
- What are the benefits and limitations of continuous immigration in America?
Works Cited
Finsterbusch, Kurt. “Is Third World Immigration a Threat to America’s Way of Life?” Taking sides: clashing views on social issues. n.d: 22-40. Web.
Krikorian, Mark. The new case against immigration: Both legal and illegal. Orlando: Sentinel, 2008. Print.
Riley, Jason. Let them in: The case for open borders. New York: Gotham Books, 2008. Print.