Immigration issues
The issues surrounding immigration has been controversial for a long time, especially in the United States. There has been a long debate as to whether borders should be opened to accommodate new people from various countries. In the recent past, the United States has been struggling to make amends regarding immigration into the country and have invested massive capital towards restricting illegal immigrants into the country. Most of the illegal immigrants came from the neighboring country, Mexico on foot, and this is an issue that has not been well received in the United States. Recently, as a group of immigrants were trying their luck into the United States by crossing the border, the United States Border Control agents fired teargas at the immigrants. It wasn’t the only case that the immigrants were being mistreated by the authority. As a result, this has resulted in a global debate regarding the immigration policy, an issue that has attracted strong opinions from both sides. It has become increasingly clear that the closed borders are not a good policy to be adopted by the countries. Therefore, states should recognize that the restrictions on immigration have a huge potential to not only impact on the diversity and rights of the immigrants, but also to the economy of the nations involved. However, a large part of the political divide might contrast, arguing that the states are under no moral obligation to allow immigration, as it leads to economic brain drain in the countries from which people desert.
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that postulates that an action is considered to be moral or good when it produces the greatest amount of good and for the greatest number of people. Based on this concept, utilitarianism tends to answer the question of the greatest good with an economic analysis that emphasizes human lives as well as the actions which are aimed to make people feel happy. For example, whether it is moral for the politicians to spend billions of dollar in their campaigns. Utilitarianism may examine how the money has been spent and whether the campaigns resulted directly or indirectly in improving the people’s lives or it could be possible to use the money in a better way that could have an impact to many people.
The utilitarian perception of immigration is that it increases an overall measure of utility and in this case, happiness for the immigrants. Any person regardless of their social, ethnic, or economic characteristics should be treated with the utmost respect as well as in accordance with the basic human rights and never denied the opportunity to seek happiness. Happiness in this concept implies the search for a better life since most of the immigrants, whether legal or illegal are faced with the same problem, the lack of basic needs that will make their lives better. Individuals in support of immigration point to the fact that immigrants who move from the developing nations to the already developed countries end up gaining significant income gain. Getting a better income is great for the immigrants as it helps to advance their lifestyles, therefore making them happy for the attainment of needs.
However, even despite earning a significant income, it doesn’t necessarily fulfil the utilitarian requirements as wealth is not a guarantor of happiness or any other value that is associated with utilitarianism. According to research, the link between income and happiness is mostly an illusion and therefore, there is little or no correlation between the two. Even if there is an association increasing the level of happiness for the immigrants, it is not the only relevant factor in happiness as it all depends on the country of destination. Many of the immigrants are not happy even after being in countries that have relaxed immigration laws. For example, in Europe, there has been a significant backlash as there have been increasing sentiments, and as a result, the nativist political leaders have gained lots of support. Regardless of whether or not the anti-immigrant sentiments are justified in making the residents unhappy, it must be factored out into the moral examination. The utilitarian theory may become a useless measure of morality if some other moral justifications are required for an immigrant’s happiness to count.
Immigration in the United States is justified among the immigrants in that it offers significant economic impact, and this has been used to reduce the barriers to immigration. The destination countries of immigration have a better chance of improving economically in that people who tend to migrate to other countries do not rely much on the welfare of the nation as they are not dependents. Most of them are hardworking individuals who migrate to another country in search of a better life. A better life implies having a good income that will help sustain their families. As a result of this, the destination country is highly advantaged, with increased taxes paid to the government and therefore improve the nation’s economy.
The United States economy relies on hard work, and this has been the case since the foundation of the nation, as the country’s pillars are founded in the American Dream. The founders of the nation believed that every person in the United States should be given an equal opportunity to fulfil their dreams in pursuit of happiness. Based on the American Dream, the quest for happiness implies attaining economic stability. Therefore, a foundation of hard work was set to give everyone a baseline to achieve their dreams. In the United States, hard work is the only legal way that an individual can achieve a financial breakthrough as any other means are considered illegal, and may result in punishment by the law. Since the American Dream was not specified to a specific group and considering that America as a nation is made up of immigrants from all corners of the world, everyone including the illegal immigrants should be allowed to achieve the American Dream as long as they are doing it the right way, and that is through hard work. Opening up the borders for all the people to realize the American Dream will not only have positive impacts to the growth of the United States economy but also, increase the happiness of both the immigrants as well as the locals, working together to make America great again.
Other than the pursuit for happiness, the United States is a democratic nation and to which upholds that all people are equal. Closing the borders can be termed as an act of discrimination. The United States Constitution provides guarantees protection for all citizens in the United States. Furthermore, it contains the bill of rights that ensure that all human beings, including the immigrants, are treated humanly and therefore, everyone is protected as long as they are in the United States. Besides, the United States has made diplomatic relations with other nations across the world; this acts as a way of controlling mishandling of immigrants across borders. Global organizations such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects individuals worldwide. The human rights guaranteed by the organization include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, the right to work and education and freedom of opinion and expression. Based on this, any individual has the right to work and express themselves in any nation without being discriminated on their ethnicity, race and class. Therefore, it would be unethical if a country closed its border to forbid immigrants in search of happiness. It would thus be essential if the United States opened the border and allow the greatest good for the greatest number of immigrants.
Despite having massive benefits and being considered ethical in opening borders for the immigrants, it opponents of immigration claim that it leads to becoming brain drain from the underdeveloped counties, weakening the economic system. The cons of allowing immigration may not be evident in the eyes of many, as most people consider positive impacts while taking for granted the adverse impacts. Many of the learned people from developing nations feel that it is not possible to gain happiness in their country due to minimal opportunities. As a result, they sought to go to developed countries such as the United States where they find better opportunities which enrich their lives. With every elite migrating to their country of interest, they not only depopulate their home country but also reduce the number of professionals to drive their country’s economy. In an economic perspective, allowing immigration implies a brain drain as nations spends billions in educating their citizens who then happen to go and work in other countries, therefore, enriching other nations other than their home country. Therefore, economically, it is unethical to allow immigration, and therefore countries should institute stricter measures to limit immigration.
In conclusion, immigration is one of the common social issues that have continued to spark strong debates regarding whether strict measures should be instituted or relaxed. Over the decades, the number of immigrants, especially in the United States, have continued to rise, with all the immigrants attracted to better lifestyles as well as employment opportunities in the United States. However, some of the immigrants are mistreated in the borders as some of them are illegal immigrants. Still, according to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, every person has the right to work at any country of choice without discrimination. Based on this, with the United States mistreating immigrants, whether legal or illegal, is considered unethical and against human rights. However, immigration has massive benefits to the immigrants that include better lifestyle, increased employment opportunities as well as higher income. However, immigration deprives underdeveloped countries the potential professionals who could jumpstart the economy, leading to brain drain and a declining economy. However, I advocate for a relaxation of the immigration policies to allow people to migrate easily.