Thoughts: Immigrants Are Extremely Important To America

Source: Newton Free Library

America is a nation of immigrants...Right?  I am sure that you have heard some permutation of that statement frequently over the course of the last few years.  Under debate is that currently, the Trump Administration is trying to limit the number of 'H-2 visas' which are awarded to immigrants each year -- in hope of bringing more jobs back to American citizens.  Lets stop and take a look at an excerpt from 'Politico Agriculture' which arrived in my e-mail box recently:

H-2A APPLICATIONS JUMP IN 2017: As President Donald Trump continues to push for limiting the number of foreign-born workers in the U.S., the success of the H-2A agricultural guestworker program is sending a different message. In fiscal 2017, the Labor Department received a record number of applications for H-2A visas - upward of 200,000 and an almost 15 percent increase from fiscal 2016.

Florida tops the list: Even though California is the largest agricultural-producing state, Florida had the most applications for the Labor Department's H-2A visas. The top 5 states - Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Washington and California - have more than half of the total H-2A visa recipients in the country.

In 2017, California growers and contractors, who produce over one-third of the nation's vegetables and two-thirds of fruits and nuts, set a state record for recruiting its largest number of H-2A guestworkers, a new Los Angeles Times analysis found. The visas are for temporary or seasonal jobs that last under 10 months.

Even if the food/Agricultural sector was ignored, other areas would suffer from deficiencies in losing immigrant workers.  Immigrants make up the American population.  Immigrants, until recently, were able to pay taxes -- even if here 'undocumented' - What?  Yep.  People coming to our country to work make Americans better people!  Yes.  I have written about my own experience here.  Check it out.



When the Administration considered a travel ban last year, I wrote a blog post about the implications from the biotechnology sector - which can be accessed here.  The travel ban imposed stood to hurt many different sectors.  One of which would be the enrollment of international students which brings in a large amount of money, not to mention the political relationship formed between countries.  Here is a blog post briefly discussing the fall-out on American Universities due to travel restrictions.



Additionally, the improvement of immigrants to our system of education is not very well understood.  Having a greater diversity is better for American culture as a whole.  Diversifying viewpoints and thought processes brings out the best inventions which lead to better technology down the line.  California State University (CSUN) is made up of a large portion of DACA students.  Just a year ago, CSUN students made the news for contributing the highest number of scientific publications to prestigious journals over a specified amount of time.  Read about that achievement here.



If the advancements in society were not enough to motivate the inclusion of talent from various nations, just look at our precious food supply.  Who are the people who keep food on our table?  One could argue the person who brings the food to life from the soil in the Earth to your marketplace.  Of that process, a sizable portion of that workforce are here on H-2 visas.  Meaning, U.S. residents depend upon immigrants for their food supply.  Stop and think about that for a second.



Conclusion...



Before any U.S. citizen treats immigrants (of which we were at one time) like a baby in the bathwater, each of us would be well served to stop and consider the accomplishments of the United States as a nation that are due to immigrants.  There are many.  Furthermore, before any immigrant is 'discounted', think about the  critical services such personnel choose to work for to support the nation on a day to day basis.  As noted in the excerpt above, the national food network would definitely take a large hit if immigrants were not of service to our nation.



Finally, the diversification and inclusion of many different ideas into a single culture can only improve the outlook over a given time.  Diversifying the viewpoints in a nation alone -- brings out creativity which might not have existed before.  We are a nation of immigrants and should therefore be accepting of our own people -- i.e. immigrants.  Until next time, have a great Martin Luther King holiday!



Related Blog Posts:


Republicans Take Away Undocumented Immigrants Tax Cuts?


Undergraduate Institution Leads The Change In Publications -- Yeah!


The Biotech Industry Takes A Stance Against Immigration Ban


President Trump's Immigration Rhetoric Damages International Science Student Enrollment


President's Executive Order on Immigration Harms Science Research


International Students Make American Science Stronger