According to the Census bureau, Fairfax County’s population is 1,142,234 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). Also according to the Census bureau, 13% of the United States’ population is foreign-born (Kraut 2014). If you adhere to this 13% rule, that means 148,490 of the people that live in Fairfax County are immigrants. Unfortunately, many of these immigrants face an assumption that they are stealing jobs. Immigrants also encounter intense societal rejection, not only from U.S. natives, but from those from their origin country. In an attempt to combat this rejection many immigrants go about extreme methods of assimilation.
One American mindset is that immigrants are stealing jobs that belong to native born Americans. According to Luxury, Necessity, and Anachronistic Workers, this isn’t the case. In fact, immigrants stimulate the economy and cause job growth. It “derives from the fact that less expensive immigrant labor reduces the cost of many goods and services to natives, which boosts demand and production in the process and, thus, subsequent job growth” (Cortes, 2008). Besides, the United States is producing fewer and fewer “less-skilled” workers, so we need someone to fill the ever-widening gap (Bean, F. D., Brown, S. K., Bachmeier, J. D., Gubernskaya, Z., & Smith, C. D., 2012). One reason for this gap is dropping birth rates in the United States. “After 10 years of current levels of childbearing, the native-born population would contain almost 6 million fewer persons (Bean, F. D., et al., 2012). Also, there is a trend in “exposure to secondary schooling” (Bean, F. D., et al., 2012). This means that the number of American-born unskilled workers are dwindling. Essentially, we need more immigrants to take on jobs in the United States or there is no way to keep up with current levels of production. There will not be enough native-born people interested in less-skilled work, let alone native-born people alive to fill said jobs. Thus, immigrants are a positive force in the job market. Sadly, many immigrants still face rejection for their presence in the United States. When the term immigrant exclusion is mentioned …show more content…
Coincidentally, native-born Americans rejecting Latinos for the sake of being Latino was not found to result in increased Latino identification. It is almost easier and more effective to disassociate with anything that makes you look, sound, or act like an immigrant in the United States.
From the moment they arrive, immigrants are taught that in order to succeed they must “do as Americans do” (Kraut, 2014). Assimilation is defined as, “a process of mutual adaptation between native and newcomer, characterized by an ongoing negotiation that each newcomer conducts over the price of opportunity in the United States” (Kraut, 2014). In other words, immigrants must forget where they came from in order to fit in. Fitting in is the only way to succeed in a society that cringes at the touch of a foreign …show more content…
to flourish economically. They are faced with relentless pressure to conform, yet when they do they are often ostracized by those who share their country of origin, as well as by those they are trying to conform for. They are told to succeed they must forget where they came from. Being a U.S. immigrant is a tiring, life-long commitment. As U.S. citizens, we should leave our stereotypes and standards at the door. We were all immigrants once. Instead of shaming, we should encourage immigrants, not build up walls between us and them; we are all
One American mindset is that immigrants are stealing jobs that belong to native born Americans. According to Luxury, Necessity, and Anachronistic Workers, this isn’t the case. In fact, immigrants stimulate the economy and cause job growth. It “derives from the fact that less expensive immigrant labor reduces the cost of many goods and services to natives, which boosts demand and production in the process and, thus, subsequent job growth” (Cortes, 2008). Besides, the United States is producing fewer and fewer “less-skilled” workers, so we need someone to fill the ever-widening gap (Bean, F. D., Brown, S. K., Bachmeier, J. D., Gubernskaya, Z., & Smith, C. D., 2012). One reason for this gap is dropping birth rates in the United States. “After 10 years of current levels of childbearing, the native-born population would contain almost 6 million fewer persons (Bean, F. D., et al., 2012). Also, there is a trend in “exposure to secondary schooling” (Bean, F. D., et al., 2012). This means that the number of American-born unskilled workers are dwindling. Essentially, we need more immigrants to take on jobs in the United States or there is no way to keep up with current levels of production. There will not be enough native-born people interested in less-skilled work, let alone native-born people alive to fill said jobs. Thus, immigrants are a positive force in the job market. Sadly, many immigrants still face rejection for their presence in the United States. When the term immigrant exclusion is mentioned …show more content…
Coincidentally, native-born Americans rejecting Latinos for the sake of being Latino was not found to result in increased Latino identification. It is almost easier and more effective to disassociate with anything that makes you look, sound, or act like an immigrant in the United States.
From the moment they arrive, immigrants are taught that in order to succeed they must “do as Americans do” (Kraut, 2014). Assimilation is defined as, “a process of mutual adaptation between native and newcomer, characterized by an ongoing negotiation that each newcomer conducts over the price of opportunity in the United States” (Kraut, 2014). In other words, immigrants must forget where they came from in order to fit in. Fitting in is the only way to succeed in a society that cringes at the touch of a foreign …show more content…
to flourish economically. They are faced with relentless pressure to conform, yet when they do they are often ostracized by those who share their country of origin, as well as by those they are trying to conform for. They are told to succeed they must forget where they came from. Being a U.S. immigrant is a tiring, life-long commitment. As U.S. citizens, we should leave our stereotypes and standards at the door. We were all immigrants once. Instead of shaming, we should encourage immigrants, not build up walls between us and them; we are all