Pros and Cons of Immigration

The movement of people between countries is known as immigration. Immigration is an expression of the right to freedom of movement that is guaranteed by the Constitution as a civil right. Immigration has been taking place since historical times but that of the modern times implies a long-term stay in a non-native country. People of today cross their nation's boundaries in search of better opportunities in education and careers. Many seek a business growth and migrate to foreign country with an intent of making money. People immigrate in search of a new lifestyle, a new experience and an exposure to everything that lies beyond their nation's boundary. Immigration can neither be said as being completely advantageous nor can it be blamed for its cons. Let us look at the pros and cons of immigration.

Pros of Immigration

At times, immigration becomes a person's need. In case of personal reasons such as shifting a person's family, in case of a marriage with someone staying abroad and in case of family needs to move to another nation, a person is forced to move out of the country. The immigration laws that facilitate the migration of people between the two countries are of great help in such cases.

Immigration leads to an exchange of cultural values. It results in an exchange of knowledge and expertise between two nations. Immigration serves as an opportunity to interact with people of other countries. It gives a platform for people from diverse backgrounds to come together and share their views.

Immigration brings in new opportunities for the people of different countries. It exposes the people of a nation to the atmosphere of another country that may be very different from one's motherland. Immigration has resulted in gifting the knowledge of one nation to another, thus resulting in the creation of new fields of education and newer career options.

Immigration results in an open global market. It gives a global perspective to the social and economic growth of society, thus widening the horizons of the development. Supporters of immigration believe that immigration has the potential of bringing about a global prosperity.

Cons of Immigration

Crowding is one of the basic disadvantages of immigration. The migration of people from one country to another leads to crowding in one nation. It implies an excessive use of the resources of one nation that may lead to an imbalance of the natural resources.

Immigrants may bring in diseases that prevailed in their country. Pathogens, viruses and certain serious infections have a chance of being transferred between countries through the immigrants. To reduce the risk of such transfer of diseases, many nations have started carrying out a screening of immigrants on their arrival. Reportedly, AIDS was transferred to the United States in 1969 through one infected immigrant from Haiti.

Those opposing immigration argue that the jobs and the wealth of a nation are its property and that allowing immigration implies the distribution of this property among the non-natives. Immigration implies the distribution of a nation's wealth to those who do not have a right on it.

The costs incurred in the provision of resources such as education and health facilities to the immigrants are a burden on the nation that hosts immigrants in large numbers. Critics say that the economic growth brought about by immigration is nullified by the costs that the nation's government has to bear in providing the immigrants with the resources.

Less educated immigrants are believed to increase theft, violence and other malpractices in a nation. The different kinds of people that migrate across national boundaries may put the nations' security at stake. Illegal immigration that has emerged in some parts of the world has proven being a curse to the nations' economy and their social welfare.

Ethics opposes immigration on grounds on brain drain that results from it. What some call an exchange of expertise between nations can also be seen as a drain of knowledge from one country to another. When a nation loses its people to another nation, it also loses its talents. A poor country might end up donating its educated minority to other richer countries, thus suffering from a severe loss.

Thus we see that while immigration can lead to an opportunity for a blend of cultures, it can also lead to an imbalance in the natural wealth. Moreover, can patriotism be transferred?