Free Essay Example. Negative Effects of Immigration

People have been moving into America from other parts of the world ever since the dawn of civilization with the hope of bettering their lives. These kinds of movements are what is referred to as immigration. Immigration has been a topic of interest in America for decades. Some strongly oppose immigration, while others support it. Advocates of immigration argue that it is the source of cheap labor transferred into America. However, immigration has adverse effects on America, such as increased costs of living, overcrowding and religious and cross-cultural conflicts.

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Immigration is the leading cause of increased costs of living in America. The massive influx of people into America negatively affects the ability of the government to provide quality services such as healthcare, food and security to the people. Many immigrants live in the streets as homeless due to a lack of affordable housing. The statistics of the Department of Housing and Urban Development of 2019 reveals that more than 600,000 immigrants are homeless living in the streets of New York, Chicago and other areas (Bauer, Flake, & Sinning, 2013). The high number of immigrants in these areas affects the ability of the state administration to provide medical care and security services. Therefore, the areas with a high number of immigrants experience high insecurity rates.

Overcrowding in cities has been a significant challenge of immigration. Undocumented immigration is the leading cause of poor urban planning which leads to congestion in many cities in the United States. The rampant increase in the population of the metropolitan cities creates pressures on available resources leading to increased poverty. The 2010 census reports indicate that immigration leads to lower wages which in turn affects the incomes of indigenous Americans (Ragazzi, 2016). The lower salaries significantly affect the living standards of Americans. It also leads to increased poverty. The high population leads to a situation where people are scrambling for scarce available resources.

Religious and cross-cultural conflicts increase with increased immigration. Immigration is the leading cause of religious disputes. People holding different religious beliefs move into the United States transferring their religion to the country. The difference in faith has adversely affected peace and security in the country. For example, radicalization which emanates from the difference in religious practices, is the leading cause of terrorism activities in America (Bourbeau, 2017). Nevertheless, immigration leads to increased racism and cross-cultural conflicts.

Admittedly, there are those advocating for immigration, stating that people should be freely allowed to move and live anywhere so long as they do not endanger national security. They argue that immigration is the source of cheap labor since the immigrants are ready to take on low paid unskilled jobs (Ma, & Hofmann, 2019). They also see immigration as a source of diverse culture and religion in the country. However, immigration has more cons than pros. It is the primary cause of insecurity, high poverty rates and increased moral degradation in America. Undocumented immigration is linked to an increase in illegal activities such as drug trafficking and violent crimes. Therefore, immigration is a danger to the safety and security of Americans.

In conclusion, immigration leads to increased costs of living as the high number of people scramble for scarce available resources. It also leads to overcrowding in cities, which affects the ability of the government to provide social services to the people. Therefore, there is inadequate housing facilities and medical services. Religious and cross-cultural conflicts have increased following the increase in immigration. Racism and cultural discrimination are some of the adverse effects of immigration. Undocumented immigration accounts for a significant portion of increased drug trafficking and violent crimes.

References

Bauer, T. K., Flake, R., & Sinning, M. G. (2013). Labor market effects of immigration: evidence from neighborhood data. Review of International Economics, 21(2), 370-385.

Bourbeau, P. (Ed.). (2017). Handbook on migration and security. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Ma, G., & Hofmann, E. T. (2019). Population, immigration, and air quality in the USA: a spatial panel study. Community and Environment, 40(3), 283-302.

Ragazzi, F. (2016). Frontiers of fear-immigration and insecurity in the United States and Europe.