Borjas went into significant detail to describe the current and historical trajectory of immigration and the types and periods that have occurred in America’s history. Overall, America has had rocky opinions of immigration and especially the different immigrating froups that have entered in separate waves. One specific difference that Borjas has made clear is how immigration before 1990 and after reconstruction was much more restricted and eurocentric then immigration after 1990 which included many groups from outside of the developed world and has had incredibly high rates of illegal immigration. In the first period, racial groups were kept more or less proportional to the existing American population while in the second period the new immigrants were overwhelmingly ethnically different and the vast majority of these immigrants were Hispanic. These two different periods might explain the difference in the success of immigrants in America over these times.
In addition to these separate time periods, Borjas has dipped into the benefits and struggles of managing immigration into the United States of America. One, great benifit that the American nation benefits from is the “best and Brightest” from abroad often come to this country to seek out success and a better future. This allows an influx of well educated and greatly ambitious individuals to come to the nation and benefit the GDP and American economy. Furthermore, the greatest struggle is the overwhelming number of illegal immigrants that have come for the same reasons but often lack the same levels of education and often are not registered in many of the American systems causing burdens on the governmental structure. Borjas offers a very level headed and multifaceted argument.
One reply on “ERA #3 We Wanted Workers 3-4”
Your post offers some interesting insights and opinions as to the current state of legal/illegal immigration. I understand that the United States is obviously open to welcoming highly educated, already well-established individuals into the country legally. But could this same welcoming spirit be extended to the less intelligent illegal immigrants? The short and immediate answer would be no, but do these illegal individuals who risk their entire lives and sometimes even leave their families behind not share the same ambition as the higher class, more highly educated legal immigrants? Is there any way we can extend to them the same gratitude for entering our country and perhaps channel their ambition into something productive that could in turn allow them to earn legal citizenship?