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Assimilation is something that all immigrants deal with once they enter a new nation whether or not it works. In the case of economic assimilation, it differentiates for people; some might assimilate quicker than others. It is tough for a person to assimilate to something brand new when they have been accustomed to something totally different for so long. It comes down to the risk and reward. If the reward overweighs the risk, then it is plausible to take the risk, but if vice versus then it is where you truly need to think if it is worth it. 

The more recent immigrants have assimilated slower than earlier immigrants economically. The wages of earlier immigrants have shown a greater rate of increase than those of later immigrants. It is troubling to see that the improvement is lacking. Skills is one of the main factors for how quickly immigrants assimilate. Someone who is highly-educated will adapt to new skills easier thus assimilating faster. A lot of things can affect an immigrant’s assimilation. It can even be how often the newly acquired skills of an immigrant are used in daily life. It is one thing to arrive to the new desired country, but it is a totally different task when it comes to fitting in and adapting. It is basically starting a new life as if you were a child, but at an older age. In this given world, there are no handouts; so for an immigrant, they are already behind and catching up is something they may face for however long they live.

In George Borjas’s, ‘We Wanted Workers: Unraveling the Immigration Narrative’ the fifth chapter highlights economic assimilation in regards to immigrants. In short terms, economic assimilation is the amount of time it takes immigrants to close the wage gap with natives of a specific country. As of recently, economic assimilation has slowed down between the US and Mexico in recent years for two reasons. The reason one is that the tracking of immigration waves from census to census doesn’t seize the catch-up process correctly.  The second reason is that the tracking exercises reveal that recent waves of immigration are not acquiring valuable skills at the same rate as earlier waves did. Beyond the short-term effects of economic and social impacts of immigration, there are long ones too.

In George Borjas’s ‘We Wanted Workers: Unraveling the immigration narrative’ chapter 4 discusses much about the selection of immigrants within the United States. The immigration population within the United States is compromised by a diverse group of people. Borjas highlights several different themes throughout this chapter, they include: barriers to immigration, trends in the entry wage, and why national origin matters. In terms of barriers for immigrants to overcome, financial limitations stand out the most. The reason being is because moving costs are more overwhelming than the personal economic potential of financially progressing in a new environment. Possible migrants have psychological value to the social, cultural, and physical traits of their hometowns or cities and it is hard for them to give this up. Moving forward, immigrants are measured in regard to economic standards based on their past experiences such as work, education, and English language fluency. According to studies, it can be implied that since the mid-1900s, immigrants’ entry wages have been facing a decline. Such an occurrence has taken place due to the change in US labor markets. In contrast, some claim that it doesn’t even have an effect on immigration productivity. Lastly, Borjas mentions that national origins play a significant role in the success of immigrants within the United States. Generally speaking, Mexican immigrants earn less than say a German immigrant. Self-selection, the wealth of an individual’s prior country, and discrimination all play roles in this concept. If a migrant has more money than another, he or she is more likely to have a better lifestyle in terms of employment and economic opportunity. Discrimination also limits immigrants in many forms as some employers hold biases in the workforce. Overall, Borjas makes strong claims in this chapter and it is backed by profound research and data.

The first chapter of George Borjas’s book brings up a lot of topics. He touches on ideas of his own personal immigration and the reactions of Americans when the topic of immigration is brought up. It is interesting to see someone’s life story of being an immigrant into a country that has a reputation of being a melting pot, but to see how his interactions with the topic show something very different. 

            Borjas talks about how he was brought up in his early years in Havana. He witnessed the Cuban rebellion and did not seek refuge with his family right away. His father was sick during this time, so they had to endure the hardships that were given to them in Cuba. His school was shut down and the ‘crazy-eyed’ people were the ones teaching them about what was politically happening in their world. His stories bring a new light into why people leave their homelands to seek refuge in another. He came to the USA in the 60’s when he was only twelve years old, after his father had died. As a young teen he was excited to see what the US had to offer him for a new life. Yet he later found out it wasn’t all movie stars and money that awaited him. 

            The early parts of this book showed me a different side to the immigration argument. I always knew that people objected immigrants and claimed that they were stealing our jobs, but Borjas actually found they were helping America. These immigrants that we are trying to run out of the country are rising our national wealth and are actually making us a more productive country. They are taking the jobs that no one wants because Americans believe they are better than those jobs. The immigrant community is our working class. If we didn’t have this working class the economy would crumble, because everything would be outsourced to other countries. I found it very interesting how we are deliberately ignoring as a country that these immigrants are our backbone. 

In George Borjas’s, ‘We Wanted Workers: Unraveling the Immigration Narrative’ the first chapter mentions a comparison that stood out to me. He mentioned that immigration and international trade have much in common because they both involve the movement of something across national boundaries. Moving forward, he progresses his prior statements into the realm of the workforce and how immigrants fill needed labor slots. Despite the economic benefits that are generated from such an action, there are some downfalls to this. One of them being the fact that these jobs are only temporarily filled, leaving a specific country filled with unnecessary people. I found this topic to be interesting as there are two sides to the argument in terms of the utilization of immigrants in society.