The Vicious Cycle: Immigration in America

Cindy Sung
February 20, 2018

Intern Mentor
Dr. Melissa Kiehl
 Throughout history, race has been a dividing factor of people not only of the United

States, but of the world. The roots of American history and culture stem from hate, fear, and

ignorance, halting the progression of America as a nation. This history has set precedence in our

systems of government, and the subtle tones of this racial bias still live today in our courts and

our legislation. The American culture puts emphasis on nationalism and pride in one’s country,

but this breeds misinformed Americans, fueled by media corporations that peddle biased agendas

with incorrect information. This culture also produces heavy amounts of tension, whether it is

between race or political party. This culture is what affects all legislation and in turn,

immigration laws and policies. America has been unable to grow and it reflects in our legislation,

especially those regarding immigration, creating an ineffective and outdated immigration system,

and therefore causing a cycle of negative attitudes towards immigration and further rendering the

immigration system as ineffective. The immigration system in America is broken by a vicious

cycle of anti-immigration attitudes and an already broken system and the polarization of the

American people.

The theme that a vicious cycle of anti-immigration attitudes and a broken immigration

cycle is very apparent throughout this research. The majority of attitudes towards immigration, in

America, is surprisingly positive. According to a survey done by Gallup in 2017, 71% of

Americans believe that immigration is a positive aspect of the country, and only 23% believe that

it is a bad thing (Gallup, n.d.). Although the majority opinion on immigration is seemingly

positive, these opinions are not reflected in the American immigration system or laws regarding

immigration. A country that mirrors this trend found in America, would be Canada. According to

a survey done in Canada in 2010, roughly two-thirds, or 65.3%, of participants stated that they
feel immigration is a positive feature of their country and 51.8% of the survey participants stated

that immigration is vital to to strengthening the economy. (Nanos, N. 2010) Based off of these

statistics, American attitudes towards immigration is similar to Canadian outlooks, however, how

these attitudes are reflected in policy are completely different.

Statistically, Canada has had more success with their immigration system, in comparison

to America. One large factor to this difference would simply be the different systems. Canada

has implemented a points system in regards to the immigration process. The points system is

divided by qualities such as language fluency and education level and it gives more points to

those who meet higher requirements, for example an individual fluent in french and english

would receive more points that an individual who is fluent in just one language, and then they

will admit applicants based on their score. This points system also focuses on employment-based

visas, both stressing the importance of high and low skilled labor. This system has proved to be

effective, statistically presenting higher levels of economic success and domestic peace. In

America, the immigration system is more focused on family reunification rather than labor.

Based on statistics presented by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 68% of all, new

lawful permanent residents, were admitted based on family-sponsored immigration and only

11% were based on employment-based visas (Baugh, Ryan. 2017, December). Based on

statistics presented by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 67% of new lawful permanent

residents were admitted on the basis of employment and 23% were based on family-sponsored

visas (Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 2017, December.). This alone, shows how different

these to immigration systems are, and therefore the results. The U.S. implementing a points

system would not necessarily be beneficial, however. Current president, Donald Trump, has
endorsed the idea of a points based system but because of this cycle, success would be hard to

obtain when taking into consideration all of the factors that are working against immigration

reform in America.

Another factor to consider is that the American immigration puts heavy emphasis on high

skilled labor, although many low skilled labor positions remain unfilled or employ a majority of

immigrants both authorized and unauthorized. Both countries have temporary foreign worker

programs, which are essentially programs that provide work visas to applicants. In the United

States, 9.9%, out of the 11.7% immigrants that obtained a lawful permanent resident card in the

work-based category, were high skilled workers; individuals with high levels of education and

noteworthy work experience (Orrenius, P., & Zavodny, M. 2014, September). Opposite to that,

roughly half of 67% of individuals admitted for work visas in Canada were dedicated to

low-skilled workers such as seasonal agriculture workers (Orrenius, P., & Zavodny, M. 2014,

September). The difference in how each country admits employment-based immigrants reflect

accurately back upon each economy. The emphasis put on low skilled labor in the Canadian

immigration system incites more opportunity to stimulate the economy, as opposed to the

American emphasis on high skilled labor. This emphasis on high skilled labor leaves low skilled

labor positions to be filled mainly by immigrants, both authorized and unauthorized, or empty.

Americans simply do not want to fill these low skilled labor positions, they want to lament about

how immigrants take American jobs while either being unemployed or obtaining higher

education levels to fill high skilled labor positions, a luxury that many immigrants cannot afford.

This is reflected accurately in statistics found in North Carolina. In 2011, North Carolina

advertised 6,500 farming job opportunities. 256 Americans applied for the position and only 7
were able to make it through the harvest season (Matthews, D. 2013, May 15). It is interesting to

note that in 2011, 489,095 North Carolinians were unemployed (United States Department of

Labor. 2012). This situation found in North Carolina is reflected in multiple states, making this

not the exception, but the rule. According to the Migration Policy Institute, based on data from

the U.S. Census Bureau, foreign born workers make up a larger percentage than native born

workers in occupational groups such as service, construction, maintenance, transportation, and

production. In 2016, 12.9% of all foreign born workers worked in the natural resources industry,

as opposed to 8% of native born workers. This very accurately depicts how many opportunities

to perform low-skilled labor are available to everyone, especially native born workers when

considering their general privilege, however many immigrants take on those jobs, dispelling the

commonly accepted idea that immigrants take away jobs from Americans.

The division of the American people has a big effect on this vicious cycle. America is

defined by a general division of the American people whether it is based on race or political

party, tensions are high. These tensions are violent and deadly in nature, but also have

unforeseen consequences, one being that it reflects back on American government and policies.

A common stereotype of America is the country’s patriotic, nationalistic citizens. According to a

survey done by the World Values Survey, in 1990, 75% of participants said that they were very

proud of their nationality but between 1999-2000, it lowered to only 72%. Bloemraad, I. (2012,

July).

This downward trend continues as time goes on. In 2016, a survey done by Gallup polls, only

52% of participants stated that they were extremely proud to be American (New low of 52%

“extremely proud” to be Americans. 2016, July 1). This very accurately reflects on changing
attitudes in America and this change not being seen in government and policy. Another issue

arises as Americans do not consider themselves as being nationalistic, which poses an unlikely

issue. A reluctance to acknowledge causes a chain reaction. This ignorance of a country’s own

nationalism creates a sense of prejudice in a country. This, in turn, affects everything about that

country, such as its citizens, policies, and world relations. Americans have refused to

acknowledge their nationalism due to the negative connotation the word. Nationalism has

traditionally been used to describe communist nations, ideas that are opposite to American’s.

This refusal leads the United States to believe that they are better than other countries and that

their policies are universal, causing world events such as America’s involvement in Vietnam/the

Vietnam War. In the case of Vietnam, America’s anti-communist beliefs and interference with

Vietnam’s attempt at independence and unity, caused many years of unnecessary tension and

violence around the world. This also shows how these stifled views on their own nationalism has

caused a sense of arrogance that their country’s ways are universal and all countries should adopt

the same policies. American nationalism is dangerous in a way that it is lead by citizens and it is

seen as civic duty for an American to be patriotic. This makes this nationalism more alluring to

citizens of America because it is seen as a duty, not an option, and it is seen as a fundamental

attribution to be an American. This all has an effect on the American immigration system

because all of this tension and misunderstanding of the country’s own nationalism causes a rift in

the American people. Americans are becoming increasingly negative towards the American

government and majority opinions are not even being shown in their policies. This creates a

sense of mistrust between the American people and their government. Americans feel that they

are being misrepresented in their government, an idea becoming increasingly relevant after the
2016 election in which Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but Donald Trump won the

electoral college, winning the presidential election. Donald Trump campaigned vigorously on the

promise of strict immigration reform and especially the building of a southern border wall,

although a majority of Americans do not support these ideas. A study done by Quinnipiac

University showed that only 34% of Americans support a southern border wall and 64% opposed

the creation of the wall (Two-Thirds of U.S. voters take climate personally, Quinnipiac

university national poll finds; Opposition to the wall hits new high, 2017, April 5). This distrust

breeds negative views, especially on a controversial topic like immigration and especially when a

majority of opinions on immigration are positive, but the American government is working

against the wishes of the majority and cracking down on immigration and implementing systems

that the majority do not support. The opposite situation is seen in Canada. Canadians are able to

feel a stronger sense of reliability in their government, especially considering economic success

found in immigration. Canadians feel as though they are able to trust their government because

the effective flow of their governmental systems, the positive outcomes of their policies, and a

feeling of representation in their government.

Another important factor of division and tension in countries are nativist groups.

Nativism is defined as prejudice against the foreign born population of a country and a desire to

protect native born inhabitants over immigrants. Canada has less involvement with these

extremist groups and while they are present, they are small. This could be why the Canadian

immigration system reaps more positive benefits than the American system. This shows that the

people of Canada are generally more unified than countries like America, with a large number of

nativist groups and especially a history of violence and tension caused especially by these
groups. The U.S. contains many extremist groups whether they are far right or far left and this

divide in the country divides the people of the United States and then polarizes them on the

spectrum of politics and dividing the people and their voting, causing an unwillingness in people

to negotiate or be able to sympathize with people with different views. In 2016, it was estimated

that there were 130 Ku Klux Klan, 101 Anti-Muslim, 100 White Nationalist, and 193 Black

Separatist groups, and a total of 954 general hate groups in America (Track hate groups in

America with our hate watch, n.d.). Tensions in America are created by many other factors as

well, such as race and political parties. Historically, race has always been a dividing issue in

America starting from when Christopher Columbus first interacted with and began to oppress the

indigenous people found in America, to present times in which people of color still face many

disparities in different areas of life. The increasing amount of violence deriving from police

brutality especially concentrated on African Americans, are furthering this distrust found

between the American people and the American government. Americans are unable to find

comfort in governmental systems, such as the police, when they feel that they are being targeted

by forces that were created to protect. Statistics show that 15% of Black Americans stated that

they trust in the American government, as opposed to 21% of White Americans. The disparity

between the two races may not seem like much, however both ratings are lower than they have

ever been, the average approval rating being 18%. This clearly represents that even in a time

where racial inequality remains a large part of American life, the general consensus seems to be

that the majority of the public does not endorse their own government.
 References

Baugh, R. (2017, December). ​U.S. lawful permanent residents: 2016​. Retrieved from

https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Lawful_Permanent_Residents_2016.

pdf

Bloemraad, I. (2012, July). ​Understanding "Canadian exceptionalism" in immigration and

pluralism policy​. Retrieved from

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact

=8&ved=0ahUKEwj9oKz58IrYAhVBhuAKHbvrCxkQFgg8MAM&url=https%3A%2F

%2Fwww.migrationpolicy.org%2Fpubs%2FCanadianExceptionalism.pdf&usg=AOvVa

w3TZpwS1U8lkJFF_px2DQfb

Gallup, (n.d.). ​Immigration​. Retrieved from

http://news.gallup.com/poll/1660/immigration.asp

Government of Canada. (2017, December). ​Immigration, refugees and citizenship Canada

(Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Author). Retrieved from

https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/0186868b-a04d-4a0e-962e-bdfbac51bfb3?_ga=2.1

07108290.1973475942.1520391895-2107715409.1513974070

Matthews, D. (2013, May 15). North Carolina needed 6,500 farm workers. Only 7 Americans

stuck it out. Retrieved February 2, 2018, from The Washington Post website:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/05/15/north-carolina-needed-650

0-farm-workers-only-7-americans-stuck-it-out/?utm_term=.5a1c667c2684
Nanos, N. (2010). Canadians strongly support immigration, but don't want current levels

increased. ​Policy Options​, 10-14. Retrieved from

http://irpp.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/po/immigration-jobs-and-canadas-future/nanos.

pdf

New low of 52% "extremely proud" to be Americans. (2016, July 1). Retrieved January 23,

2018, from

http://news.gallup.com/poll/193379/new-low-extremely-proud-americans.aspx

Track hate groups in America with our hate watch. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2018, from

https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map

Two-Thirds of U.S. voters take climate personally, quinnipiac university national poll finds;

Opposition to the wall hits new high. (2017, April 5). Retrieved January 13, 2018, from

https://poll.qu.edu/images/polling/us/us04052017_Ubgw27pk.pdf/

United States Department of Labor. (2012). ​Local area unemployment statistics: North Carolina​.

Retrieved from Bureau of Labor Statistics database.