America’s Future Depends on Its Immigration Laws
Immigration laws in the United States are strict and often frustrating or confusing to immigrants and citizens alike. And, with the presidential election in only a few months, immigration reform will likely become a hot debate issue as the candidates fight to show who's best equipped to lead America in the coming years.
And, according to an excerpt from Fareed Zakaria's The post-American World published in Newsweek, immigration policy may play a larger role than some people expect in the United States' 21st-century presence on the global stage.
Basically, Zakaria makes the argument that, despite the economic problems currently plaguing the United States, it's still one of the strongest nations in the world. In fact, Zakaria argues, the U.S. has the potential to stay at the head of the class (so to speak), even as second- and third-world nations continue to step up their economic output and improve their standards of living.
But the key to doing this, he insists, is embracing the same concept of globalization that Americans have been pushing on the rest of the world for decades.
In other words, Zakaria believes that for America to remain one of the most powerful nations in the world in the 21st century, it will have to make its immigration policies welcoming enough that talented outsiders continue to view the country as an appealing place to emigrate to.
In support of his argument, Zakaria cites some interesting statistics:
- Almost 50% of all science researchers in the U.S. are immigrants or foreign-born students;
- 40% of all PhD recipients are immigrants or foreign-born; and
- By the year 2010, fully 75% of all science PhDs will likely be awarded to foreign students.
What's more, he notes that half of all digital startup companies in the Silicon Valley (where businesses like Google, Yahoo, Apple and more were started) have one foreign-born or first-generation American founding partner.
So what does this mean for immigration policymakers? It means that, unless America welcomes its foreign and immigrant students as permanent residents or citizens after they complete their studies, these innovative individuals will move elsewhere - and take their skills and new ideas with them.
Zakaria points out that immigrants to the United States - especially those who have unusual skills and creative ideas - contribute not only to the nation's cultural richness but also to its intellectual and economic richness.
The American response to the various waves of immigrants that have crashed on the shores of the United States in the past 200+ years has demonstrated the ability of American society to absorb new people and ideas and to adapt to new ways of regarding and interacting with the world.
But, unless the American government is willing to adopt immigration laws that facilitate the move of immigrants to the United States, that could change.
This excerpt from Zakaria's book serves at once as a celebration of the great innovation and prosperity immigrants have brought to the country and a warning that, without continued adaptation and change, that innovation and prosperity could leak right back out.