American History

Immigration connotes a movement or migration of workers into a nation of which one is not a native with the intent of settling in it. Importance of the impact of immigration on world future is explained by a couple of major reasons. First, immigration trend, in particular immigration to developed nations, has been growing since the 1800s and is expected to grow further. Consequently, its positive and negative effects will only magnify in the future, enhancing its world impact. Second, the cultural, social and economic effects of immigration are considerable for both developed and developing nations. Consequently, immigration will have the most significant impact on world future.
   
Immigration as a trend is growing and expected to rise in the foreseeable future. Immigration statistics bear testimony to the growth of immigrants in developed nations in the past. Immigration in the United States has grown from 8,358 immigrants in 1820, 448,572 in 1900, 568,149 in 1985 to 1,107,126 in 2008 (httpwww.dhs.gov). In United Kingdom, the number of immigrants was 119,000 in 1995-1996. This number rose to 590,000 in 2008 (httpwww.statistics.gov.uk). Trends for other industrial nations are similar. As regards expected future growth, lowering transportation costs, favorable immigration and emigration barriers and greater attempts to improve education and skills in poor nations will facilitate continual growth of immigration. Economists have found that workers prefer to match their education and skill levels (Easterly, 2002, p. 156). Consequently, as emphasis on education and skills rises and more and more high-skilled workers are created in developing nations, they will have an incentive to migrate to developed countries exhibiting matching skill levels (Easterly, 2002, p. 158). This trend will continue till developing nations reach an overall high level of skill and economic development which, in turn, is deterred by constant movement of skilled workforce batches to foreign nations. Accordingly, immigration in US is expected to account for 82 percent of population increase between 2005 and 2050 (Pew Research Center, 2010). Moreover, 19 percent of American population is anticipated to be immigrant by 2050 (Pew Research Center, 2010). Thus, trend of immigration will continue to rise drastically, magnifying its effects on nations.
   
The cultural, social and political impact of immigration is significant. Native citizens in a country share a common culture, language, heritage and ethnicity that unite them in their commitment to certain values and ideologies (Levin Institute, n. d.). This constitutes the basis for national identity. Immigration cuts into the heart of this culture by introducing elements who share a different language, heritage or ethnicity. This intervenes with both culture and national identity. Neither the native culture nor the immigrant culture is preserved in totality, creating problems on both fronts. The problem is even more severe for immigrant generations who are accepted by neither culture in totality. While intercultural interaction enhances tolerance among few, extremist elements and ethnic clashes ensue (Levin Institute, n. d.). Attacks on immigrants in Greece (Levin Institute, n. d.) and recent clashes against Indian immigrants in Australia bear testimony to this. Cultural homogeneity, considered vital for stability of liberal democracy, also suffers. Political divide between groups favoring immigration and those against it results. Opposition to immigration is a vital issue in elections in Britain, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, and Sweden (Levin Institute, n. d.). Given the extent of globalization and the fact that significant immigrant population comes from economic giants China and India (httpwww.dhs.gov), immigration not only has the capability to cause clashes within nation but also the ability to destroy or weaken bilateral relations among present and future world powers. Given the importance of cooperation among world powers for economic stability, environmental preservation and poor nation growth, immigration clashes can wreak havoc with world future.
   
Economic effects on immigration are equally severe. Wage declines for citizens and unemployment for low-skilled native individuals are some of the detrimental economic effects of immigration. Census data revealed that wages of black workers declined by 3.6 percent and white workers by 3.8 percent between 1960 and 2000, following a 10 percent rise in immigration (National Center for Policy Analysis, 2007). Unemployment increased from 88.6 percent to 55.7 percent for high school black dropouts during the time frame (National Center for Policy Analysis, 2007). These economic drawbacks for native citizens also further agitation against immigrants and immigration. For developing nations, a loss of skilled workforce results in poorer economic development that would have been feasible on workforce retention (Easterly, 2002, p. 158). On a positive scale, presence of economies of scale and a dearth of workers, allows efficiency of production to improve with immigration. Such has been the case with nations like Canada facing a considerable shortage of manpower (Easterly, 2002, p. 157). As immigration rises, each of the aforementioned negative effect will rise more than proportionately, and positive effects will rise initially and then fall as economies of scale are consumed. Consequently, the impact of immigration will continue to increase in the world, worsening with higher rates of immigration.
   
In a nutshell, immigration constitutes the most important trend influencing future of the world due to its present extent, anticipated future growth and highly severe cultural, political and economic effects that may even prove life threatening in future.