Free Essay: Comparison of Impact of Immigrants in America and Germany

Immigration involves the movement of individuals from their parent country to a host country. This is in search of better employment opportunities popularly referred to as greener pastures. In addition to that, other immigrants escape their countries due to civil strife, political tensions, natural disasters among others.

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This essay will focus on the effects of immigration in America and Germany. Concerning provisional results, 1,226,000 persons migrated into Germany in 2013 as opposed to the 1372000 persons reported in the year 2012. The Immigration department in Germany states that the year 2013 recorded the highest number of refugees since 1993. In addition to that, 11.9% of the total population of Germany is represented by immigrants. Germany is believed to be the largest home of immigrants in Western Europe. Concerning Americas population, the Spotlight article puts the immigration population at 42 million as of 2014. Similarly, by 2014 the population of foreign-born immigrants increased by a whopping one million people or a percentage of 2.5. India leads in the highest number of new immigrants with a population of 142,000 arriving in 2014. It is followed by China, Mexico, Canada and the Philippines. Statistics on the nativity of Americas population was first collected in the 1850s. That year was characterized with a majority of immigrants in the country accounting for 10% of the population. Between the years 1860 and 1920, the population fluctuated between 13 and 15 percent. The reason for this fluctuation is attributed to the high levels of immigrants in the United States.

The effects of this refugees and immigrants affect the host country in question economically, socially and politically. To begin with, the concentration is mainly placed on the social, economic, and political effects of this refugees and immigrants to America and Germany. Subsequently, this essay will compare and contrast the effects of these refugees and immigrants to the aforementioned countries.

With regards to economic effects that refugees and immigrants bring, research says it has both positive and negative effects on the economy. The United States experiences an increase in the labor market. With all the immigrants and refugees whether legally or illegally in the country, the labor market floods and the foreign laborers can give more than they can earn. On the negative side of the situation, refugees and immigrants in the United States bring about increased job competition with the native workers who in turn face wage cuts due to the cheap labor availed in the market. With the influx of low-skilled immigrants, native American low-skill labor force faces the problem of wage declines among others. In addition to that, refugees and immigrants are entitled to receiving social services in the United States. Since they pay little taxes and receive these social services, the extra costs incurred in issuing these services are heaped to the rest of the American taxpayers. Economists argue that refugees and immigrants in the United States impact both on the fiscal policies and the labor market negatively and positively in that order. The case is contrary in Germany. According to some anti- immigration organizations in Germany, refugees and foreigners are a drain on the state and the taxpayers to be precise. Migrants and special refugees that seek asylum in the country Germany are believed by the groups above to require government services before giving a meaningful contribution to the state itself. However, to prove the critics wrong, in the year 2012, the 6.6 million foreigners with foreign passports in Germany paid $4,127 high in taxes and on social security than they took in the social benefits they received during the same year. Consequently, they were able to contribute a whopping 22 billion in surplus for the German economy according to one report.German Minister Andrea Nahles attributes the rise in surplus Euros to migrants and refugees and encourages their influx into Germany. With Germanys low birth rates, it heavy relies on refugees and immigrants for a sustainable workforce that can rise above the occasion and place its economy as one of the most thriving in the world. With regards to Germanys state pension system, experts in the Deutsche Welle argue that 1.5 million skilled migrants are needed to stabilize those above. The influx of immigrants below the age of 30 is likely to enhance the countrys dependency ratio (Groden, 1).

On the social perspective, refugees and immigrants in the United States impact a lot to the social livelihood. The United States is characterized by people of varied races. There are the predominant whites, the blacks, Latin Americans, Indians among others. The majority of refugees and migrants are predominantly Indians, Blacks, and Latin Americans. Since the arrival of the first migrants, who happened to be of the black race and slaves to whites, the issue of racial discrimination, has been America second name. Racial discrimination has been a major issue undermining the integration of mixed races in the United States. All races in the United States seem to have their culture and religious beliefs. In addition to that, there have been intermarriages among individuals of different races. Contrary to the strong racism views before the mid -20thcentury, nowadays marriages among whites, blacks, Latinos, Indians are accepted in most states in the United States. A negative aspect of the social impact of refugees and migrants in America is the issue of housing congestion. Following the constant influx of migrants into the United States, the government is struggling to provide affordable housing to all migrants. Some migrants are forced to share houses and neighborhoods. An example of U.S neighborhoods that host a majority of migrants is Compton in Los Angeles, California and The Bronx in the state of New York. Concerning Germany, the situation is not different. Migrants face racial discrimination on a daily basis against the natives(Kohlmeier, 363). Germany, for a fact, has been termed as one of the most racist nations in the world referring to Hitlers Holocaust that was aimed at wiping at Jews in the 20th century. The influx of migrants, particularly of black descent, has led to increased racial discrimination. Most of Germany refugees and migrants are from neighboring Poland, Georgia, Switzerland, and Austria. The issue of poor housing facilities has also befallen Germany since migrants and refugees earn little hence they are incapable of the affording quality housing.

The political effects of immigrants and refugees in the United States have been widely discussed topics. With the increasing Latin migrants in the United States and their growing affiliation to the Democratic Party, observers believe the future of the party above is bright. According to the website Brookings, the issue of immigration is an issue that should be looked into with in-depth analysis(Hudak, 1). Immigrants and refugees are viewed as having the ability not just what society would be but influencing the response of societies to public policies. In addition to that, refugees and migrants have over the past influenced the politics in America. For example, the Obama Migration policy and pledges played a crucial part in his re-election as the president of the United States. He in turn reciprocated by issuing over 300,000 visas to migrants who belong to the Muslim religion in 2016. Furthermore, refugees and migrants play a significant role in the formulation of the United States foreign and public policies. Public policies such as the Obama care were formulated not only to benefit American citizens but also the refugees. This was due to the social strain of healthcare services in America hence Democrats under Obama opted for the scheme above to respond to this crisis.

As for Germany, the effects of refugees entering the country have led to a serious of political tensions within the ruling conservative party. The right wing AFD party is getting the better of the conservative party due to Chancellors Angela Merkel refugee policies. Through her refugee policies, more than 1.1 million refugees entered the German territories. In the just-concluded March general elections, a section of members of the conservative party who were for Merkels refugee stance lost the elections just because of that. The Alternative populist party with its main policies of fighting immigration won close to a quarter of the vote in the Saxony-Anhalt eastern state. Many Germans are against the refugee policies adopted by Chancellor Angela Merkel hence as a result punished the conservative party for its stance in the concluded March 2016 elections (Meyer, 1).

To conclude, migrants and refugees in America and Germany play a huge role in certain developments of the said nations. As depicted, migrants and refugees in Germany affect the Gross Domestic Product in a positive manner due to their influx and hard work towards further enhancement of the host country economy. This is contrary to how migrants affect the economy of America. With regards to how migrants and refugees in America socially, I can say that racial tensions have been to be registered have risen since the first immigrants arrived centuries ago. Similarly, for Germany, the same is the case. Racial tensions have been registered to have risen since the influx of migrants and refugees in Germany has been on the rise. Migrants and refugees have been known to play a significant role in the politics of these two countries under study. To crown it all, both the United States and the German governments should strive at providing favorable conditions for migrants and refugees in equal measure.

Works Cited

Groden, Claire. N.p., 2016. Web. 10 May 2016.

Hudak, John. "Immigration May Change American Politics As We Know It". The Brookings Institution. N.p., 2014. Web. 10 May 2016.

Kohlmeier, Manfred. N.p., 2016. Web. 10 May 2016.

Meyer, Henning. "Why German Political Tensions Over The Refugee Crisis Are Likely To Get Worse". Social Europe. N.p., 2016. Web. 10 May 2016.

Smith, James P and Barry Edmonston. The New Americans. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1997. Print.

Solman, Paul. "WhatS The Economic Impact Of Refugees In America?". PBS NewsHour. N.p., 2016. Web. 10 May 2016.