THE HISTORY OF HOW IMMIGRANTS AFFECTED THE SOCIAL PROGRESS IN THE U.S.

The history of how immigrants affected the social progress in the U.S.

How does illegal immigration affect social progress in the United States?

Word count:1320
THE HISTORY OF HOW IMMIGRANTS AFFECTED THE SOCIAL PROGRESS IN THE U.S. 2

Immigrants have long been at the heart of U.S. growth and remain that way. They are a

major contributor to the nation's culture, economy, and society. Between 1870 and 1900, almost

12 million immigrants arrived in the United States, motivated by financial hardship, persecution,

and the prospect of opportunity, as stated by Libary of Congress (2024). These immigrants

brought with them their unique cultures. Illegal immigration is among the situations the United

States has had during its history, creating both contributions and burdens simultaneously. While

undocumented immigrants are working in sectors involving agriculture, construction, and other

services that the economy is seriously in need of, cultural diversity and growing workforce

participation can be added to the list of advantages. Living without legal status promotes social

inequalities, at least in areas involving healthcare and education. This also results in society

becoming polarized and in fear of deportation and being treated unfairly, which also fuels this

problem. Immigration impacts the policy of the government toward welfare, borders, and

citizenship. To provide a secure and fair society, we need to balance the nation's security and the

worth of what each contributes, irrespective of legal status. How illegal immigration is managed

outlines the nation's economic success as well as its social cohesion. The balance of what illegal

immigrants contribute and how they are confronted with challenges illustrates their influence on

social development in the US. Illegal immigrants make the economy stronger and the country's

culture more diverse, yet their illegal nature complicates health and education, which have

implications for social development. A balance of what they provide and fair treatment will be

the central way of solving these problems.

Immigrants are vital in making America a fusion of cultures. With the variety of cultures,

customs, traditions, languages, arts, and beliefs that they introduce, they greatly influence

American culture. They introduce new styles and points of view. In the article The Cultural
THE HISTORY OF HOW IMMIGRANTS AFFECTED THE SOCIAL PROGRESS IN THE U.S. 3

Impact of Immigration in the United States, Law, Virguez discusses how immigrants have been

influential in the United States for a long time. They introduced creative mainsprings and a new

style of art, which truly affected the United States. The importance of new themes, styles, and

perspectives helped shape the landscapes of art, literature, and music for the nation. It remains a

reflection of the huge impact immigrants have had on American culture over the years. Their

influence can be felt in almost every aspect of life from traditions to food and art. also explains

the impact immigrants have had. The author goes over how immigrants have brought their

culture to the United States. It has expanded their knowledge and blended many cultures, as well

as the importance of immigrants in the U.S. Equally important research from the Library of

Congress (1851-1900) Nearly 12 million immigrants arrived in the U.S. seeking better

opportunities, fleeing, or escaping debts, settling in cities, or moving inland for work or farming.

Despite facing discrimination, low wages, and poor working conditions, they were crucial in

shaping America’s diverse society and culture. The information shows how many immigrants

came seeking a better life in the United States and helped structure the United States' culture.

The author views immigrants as an important part of the history of the U.S. By helping provide a

diverse society and their significant influence on America. Although immigrants have indeed

helped structure the U.S. culture and economy, however, many people like presidents want

immigrants out of the U.S. and have made organizations to help deport/ take them back to their

countries.

Illegal immigration can slow down social progress in America by fostering divisiveness

and fear. Deporting unlawful immigrants may further put the economy and culture in check

besides robbing the work pool leaving pathologies to thwart effective immigration reform. ICE

started in 2003 and has two divisions: Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which
THE HISTORY OF HOW IMMIGRANTS AFFECTED THE SOCIAL PROGRESS IN THE U.S. 4

enforces immigration laws, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which conducts

criminal investigations. ICE hence stands in charge of border security and also engages in the

investigation of transnational crime and immigration offenses. This discusses the organization

that was formed to deport undocumented persons and has existed for a long time, and how

groups focus on different sections regarding the deportation of immigrants. ICE describes itself

as an enforcer of deporting undocumented individuals. ICE has created different groups to deal

with different situations, and the deportees have already contributed to the U.S. economy and

culture. Obama deported more immigrants but also brought in DACA to help a handful of

unauthorized immigrants. Break-off from Trump has included a focus on stricter immigration

cuts, walling-off of the border, rescission of DACA in full, and execution against employers

harboring illegal immigrant workers. (2021) This helps us understand how presidents felt about

immigrants, with one side wanting to help the immigrants who obey the law and are good

citizens and the other wanting all documents out, Not letting them in the United States. The

authors go over how presidents view immigrants and how their view has impacted

undocumented individuals who want to protect the immigrants, contribute to the economy and

culture, and deport the rest. Some may argue that immigrants also take away from the economy

of the United States by taking jobs away from natives. The view of our claim is that they are the

foundation and have helped shape the economy forming it into how we have it today.

A standard opposing point is that immigrants take away from the economy of the United

States by taking jobs away from natives and overcrowding the U.S. The history of immigrants

stimulated the economy by expanding markets and addressing labor shortages. Immigrants

became increasingly challenging as cities became more crowded, and immigration caused native

people to lose their jobs. Which made native workers dislike immigrants (2016). On the other
THE HISTORY OF HOW IMMIGRANTS AFFECTED THE SOCIAL PROGRESS IN THE U.S. 5

hand, this stance overlooks the significance of immigrants and how they have impacted the

economy of the United States. Despite the continuous doubts as to the effects of immigration on

wages and employment chances for native workers, immigration has been an essential factor in

enhancing the economy and satisfying the demand for labor (2017). Therefore immigrants have

played a major role in forming the history, and social progress of the United States, immigrants

contribute significantly to the country's economy by their hard work and helping with labor

demands.

American history and social advancement have been significantly shaped by immigrants.

They have a major impact on the cultural, economic, and social advancement of the nation. Even

though DACA was established as a safeguard by President Obama (Cato, 2021), it has failed to

accept new applicants and has been effectively paused. This becoming invalid has resulted in the

deportation of many immigrants, taking away their chances for a better life. Taking into account

the flaws in the recent pause on DACA, several alternative proposals have emerged. Cato (2021)

suggests that issuing visas could protect immigrants from deportation and give them legal status

in the United States. On a similar note, Group, Sinclair, and WSTM (2018) provide Biden's

efforts to provide citizenship pathways, also by opening its borders to more outsiders and letting

more immigrants into the U.S. Providing a clear path to citizenship would offer many

immigrants the opportunity for a better life. This plan can require them to pay taxes for three to

five years, maintain stable employment, and have a clean criminal record. With this plan,

numerous immigrants will have greater opportunities in the United States by having an avenue to

become a citizen of the United States. With the same drive, Immigrants came to the United

States between 1870 and 1900 for the same reasons: poverty, seeking a better life, and seeking to

escape punishment or abuse. The immigrants should be provided with a chance to become
THE HISTORY OF HOW IMMIGRANTS AFFECTED THE SOCIAL PROGRESS IN THE U.S. 6

citizens because they have continually contributed to American society and culture. They are

making the country stronger, diverse, and economically sustainable.

References.

Ice. “History.” Ice.gov, 2016, www.ice.gov/history.

Group, Sinclair Broadcast. “LIST: Presidential Immigration Policies in History.” WSTM,

2015, cnycentral.com/news/nation-world/list-presidential-immigration-policies-in-history.

Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

Baxter, Andrew, and Alex Nowrasteh. “A Brief History of U.S. Immigration Policy from

the Colonial Period to the Present Day.” Cato.org, 3 Aug. 2021,

www.cato.org/policy-analysis/brief-history-us-immigration-policy-colonial-period-present-day#i

mmigration-policy-21st-century-2000-2020.

Library of Congress. “Immigration to the United States, 1851-1900 | Rise of Industrial

America, 1876-1900 | U.S. History Primary Source Timeline | Classroom Materials at the

Library of Congress | Library of Congress.” Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA,

2024,

www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/rise-of-industria

l-america-1876-1900/immigration-to-united-states-1851-1900/.

Law, Virguez. “The Cultural Impact of Immigration in the United States: A

Comprehensive Overview.” Virguezlaw.com, 2023,

virguezlaw.com/2023/06/21/the-cultural-impact-of-immigration-in-the-united-states/.

Rubenstein, Edwin. THE NEGATIVE ECONOMIC IMPACT of IMMIGRATION on

AMERICAN WORKERS an NPG Forum Paper. Mar. 2016.

Abramitzky, Ran, and Leah Boustan. “Immigration in American Economic History.”

Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 55, no. 4, Dec. 2017, pp. 1311–1345,

https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20151189.