TOP 10 PROS AND CONS OF IMMIGRATION

https://www.immigroup.com/news/top-10-pros-and-cons-immigration The choice whether or not to pick up your family and immigrate to another country is a big decision indeed. In related news, Arizona is hot, Newfoundland is cold, Macbeth was a little power hungry, and the Maple Leafs have been a little bit unlucky since 1967. In all seriousness, though, weighing that question of whether or not to immigrate—or, on the flip side of things, how you as a natural-born citizen of a country should feel about immigration—is a complex one indeed. Here are just a few of the pros and cons of each respective position to help you ponder one of the great social phenomena of our time. PRO: TRADITION There’s no more time-honored social tradition for nations like the United States and Canada than immigration. Both are nations founded on immigration, and the virtues, values, and social fabric of both nations have been woven by a continuing stream of immigrants. Everything from our music, laws, sports, businesses and beer—both Canadian fresh and Coors swill—can either trace their roots to or have otherwise been influenced by immigrants. If you’re looking to immigrate somewhere, both the US and Canada are fantastic choices with a long history of—eventually—accepting immigrants (more on that in a bit.) Some countries have more of a history of immigration than others, and some nations, for a variety of reasons, prefer a more homogeneous population to the wonderful multicultural mixing that immigration allows. Thankfully, the US and Canada have historically stood at the forefront of the immigration game. After all, after all these years, how do immigrant-built nations such as the US and Canada still continue to attract the best talent, grow culturally and, yes, keep their balance? That we can tell you in one word—Tradition! CON: TRADITION On the other hand, as alluded to earlier, it’s not as if every immigrant story has always been a smooth one. Immigration and multiculturalism are wonderful things, but to pretend that each and every story of immigration to Ellis Island was filled with sunshine and rainbows would be just that—pretending. America has a long and proud history of immigration…and an equally-long and not-so-proud history of often being less than receptive towards immigrant groups when they first arrive. To be fair, this has far and away been more of a problem for the United States than Canada. In the US’s defense, it’s received record numbers of immigrants from around the world, and whether you’re talking about 1918 or 2018 New York, more immigrants means more competition for jobs, and thus more pressure on and potentially-less immediate acceptance of immigrants. By comparison, Canada is…well, just more polite—but then, everyone’s more polite than NYC, and New Yorkers wouldn’t have it any other way. That question of “tradition” cuts both ways as well. For as easy as it is to dismiss bigots who fear immigrants will somehow “corrupt” a native culture, there’s no denying that immigration has a cultural effect on those doing the immigrating as well. The age-old trope of immigrant children vs. immigrant parents is well-worn, but well-earned as well. Children of Jewish and Italian Immigrants to America in the early 1900s often had an easier time assimilating than did their parents, as reflected by two of baseball’s great Hall of Fame names—Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers and, of course, Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees. While this is a centuries-old cycle has affected the US and Canada alike, one potential answer to that question of tradition reveals itself in the aforementioned example. In the 20th century, a group’s having stars and acceptance in baseball was often a prelude to greater cultural acceptance within the US and Canada, such was the love for the game. Sports, social media, film, TV, literature, music—there are more outlets than ever for first-generation children of immigrants to find acceptance in US and Canadian society while still holding on to the traditions they and their own native culture hold so dear.