Ever since the discovery of America many centuries ago, the country has continued to attract millions of immigrants from all over the world. Some of the common reasons that have led to the increased number of immigrants into the country are plentiful job opportunities, cases of overpopulations in other countries, the search for religious and political asylum, and the advertisement for the free land.
However, some of the main reasons behind the immigrations include, but are not limited to education, economics, social security, and cultural aspects. Using the above four reasons as the main points, this paper helps to explain why the USA remains a major attraction for immigrants across the globe.
In fact, the USA offers a lot in terms of education compared to the offers other countries are able to provide for their citizens (Rumbaut, 1994).
The country is home for some of the best universities and colleges in the world, and for that reason, it has continued to attract students from all parts of the world. Some of the famous institutions of higher education in the country include universities like the California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, the University of California, New York University, the University of Michigan, Yale University, and the University of Chicago.
Most of these institutions have constantly featured in the World University Rankings, thus amassing too much recognition globally. More importantly, these establishments have also continued to offer superior career programs to learners to maximize their opportunities for professional lives, and that way, have become considerable attractions of prospective immigrants from other states.
Apart from its ability to offer exclusive education programs, the US has always been in search for new talents and skills in various disciplines to help drive its economy forward. Through immigration initiatives such as the Green Card lottery where people from other countries are given direct opportunities to live, study, and work in the US, America has successfully managed to acquire qualified personnel from all over the world, to serve in key sectors of the economy.
As the largest national economy in the world today, America is an open society full of career possibilities for immigrants. This, however, explains the reason why the immigrants tend to abandon everything in their home countries to establish new lives in America, which is considered a land of opportunity by many.
Apart from coming to the US as job seekers, the immigrants have also been aware of the country’s economic prosperity, thus seeing it as a promising land for business. In this regard, many of the foreigners who happen to find their way into the country would be entrepreneurs or investors who are attracted by the country’s economic development.
As it would be observed, the vast job and business opportunities provided by the US have over the time given the immigrants a chance to live their full potential as they make positive contributions towards the country’s economy. In just another perspective, the USA relies on foreign professionals to drive its economy, and for that reason, will tend to attract immigrants from all over the world to serve in various economic sectors (Chellaraj, Maskus & Mattoo, 2005).
Culture is a very powerful tool when it comes to the economic development of any country. Notable, cultural aspects play a significant role in developing institutions that would in turn create avenues for economic growth and development (Eagan, Cook & Joeres, 2002). America must have realized the huge benefit behind this principle, thus opening its doors to immigrants in an attempt to create a rich cultural mix among its population.
The country’s rich cultural diversity has been more conducive for its economical and political development over the years. The main reason for this is various aspects of cultural diversity that are likely to bring together different patterns of development as they are practiced in different regions of the world, thus helping to shape the economy of the host country.
For this reason, the US has continued to attract immigrants from other countries, further advancing its economy. In just another perspective, some foreigners are assured of getting reunited with their own cultures in the USA, considering the country’s status as a multicultural society; and this explains the reason why they would shift to the country.
Social security is another reason, which has helped to spearhead immigrations to the US. Political and religious wars, tensions, and conflicts have been common aspects of many communities in the world. These regular unrests have brought serious humanitarian, developmental, economic, and security consequences to the affected nations, pressurizing people to seek asylum in other nations (Gibney, 2004).
In this regard, America has over the years continued to receive large numbers of immigrants in the search of political and religious asylum coming from oppressive regions in the world. The US has always welcomed this move, considering its constitutional position on freedom of religion and freedom of speech, which helps to cast some light on the reasons why foreigners come to the country in search for asylum.
References
Chellaraj, G., Maskus, K., & Mattoo, A. (2005). The contribution of skilled immigration and international graduate students to US innovation. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, 16(35), 65-71.
Eagan, P., Cook, T., & Joeres, E. (2002). Teaching the importance of culture and interdisciplinary education for sustainable development. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 3(1), 48-66.
Gibney, M. (2004). The ethics and politics of asylum: liberal democracy and the response to refugees. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Rumbaut, R. (1994). Origins and destinies: immigration to the United States since World War II. Sociological Forum, 9(4), 583-621.