IMMIGRATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

IMMIGRATION - Essay Example The U.S. has never been the melting pot that was expected. Instead, immigrant ethnic groups have maintained their unique identities for generation after generation. The immigrant heritage has worked itself into the basic fabric of American life. The cycle of anti-immigrant feelings and politics seems closely tied to economic issues: when the nation needs laborers, immigrants of all kinds are welcomed, when jobs are scarce, immigrants are excluded. (Purcell, p.xii). In â€Å"Unchecked Immigration† what is Peter Brimelow’s claim, and what solutions does he propose? Using secondary sources to advance your argument, state whether you agree or disagree with Brimelow’s claim and solutions. According to Peter Brimelow, in the article Unchecked Immigration, the 1965 Immigration Act triggered an influx of historically high proportions, particularly compared to current U.S. birth rates. If the present trends continue, the U.S. population will reach 390 million by 2050. More than a third of the population would be post-1970 immigrants and their descendants. Because the 1965 Act arbitrarily choked off immigration from Europe, this influx has been almost completely from the third world. As recently as 1960, whites who were 90% of the population, by 2050 will be on the verge of becoming a minority. A demographic transformation such as this is without precedent in the history of the world. Also, the 1990 census revealed that native-born Americans both black and white were fleeing from the immigrant-favored areas, where they were being replaced in equal numbers by immigrants. They fled to two different parts of the country, where their own people were. Peter Brimelow claims that the U.S. is coming apart ethnically under the impact of the enormous influx. He wonders whether America continues to be the integration of ethnicity and culture as a nation, and whether the American nation-state can survive. The solutions to the problem, that Peter Brimelow offers are that: In