If the Resentment Against Immigrants Resolved Issues

Some issues are multilayered but we should thank our politicians who make it look simple enough to everyone who can cast a ballot. That is the high point of democracy, where we understand a policy or not but we can decide its fate. To be honest, it is very enthralling and empowering to us common folks. Most elections are governed by specific agendas and it has been sometimes now that there is a growing resentment against immigrants in the US. It is a sentiment echoed in many other developed countries as well. It is hard to say if it is the collective psyche of historical events of the past where settlers plundered the resources of the land and pushed the natives to the brink of extinction or a genuine inconvenience to the country’s current citizens that immigrants are seen as a threat to the prosperity of the natives.

Since the inception of human civilization, human population has always seen an influx of settlers, governed by various needs. It has helped shape our current world, the way it is. Only if one bothers to look at the labels of items in the kitchen pantry of a regular American household, one would realize how well it represents the global diversity which one so abhors in the neighborhood or at workplace. From coffee, avocadoes, and salads, to breads, rice and nuts, our dietary needs are not limited to what the nation produces, so what unnerves the mind to thrive in a world governed by equal opportunity when it comes to workplace?

Centuries back there was a race among the advanced civilizations of the world to explore new lands. Most of these explorations were guided by the greed of more power and resources. Monarchies financed the voyagers, so that in the garb of trade these mercenaries could spy and evoke ruthless armies to take hold of the land of riches. The British, the French, the Spanish, the Portuguese, and the Dutch controlled almost all the richly endowed lands of the world. The plunder went beyond the material wealth and robbed the very psyche of the colonized nations, belittling their unique identity of indigenous language, culture, and way of life.

We have come a long way from that narration. This is the 21^st century, where Google. Facebook, and X have users across the globe; where Toyota and Honda vehicles roll the streets of most countries; and students find their dream colleges in any country they like. I know of an Indian national who completed his high school education from Indonesia (his family relocated because of his father’s job) and is currently pursuing medicine from a medical college in Norway. He is a global citizen who can call any country his home. And probably, that’s the way it should be.

So, is the fear of losing jobs and resources to immigrants unfounded? Not really, but there is a reality beyond the divisive political rhetoric and billionaire agendas. There lies the struggle of survival of the common folks who buy polarizing arguments and antagonism as the only logical explanation to their suffering. In a globalized world, where skill and ability seem to be the driving forces of progress, one suddenly stops to make reservations based on nativity. Well, even that criterion is flawed at its very core because the natives of today were the foreign settlers of yesteryears.

Statistically speaking, in the year 2022, immigrant households contributed $579.1 billion in taxes that helped in funding crucial social service programs like food stamps, healthcare insurance, and public schools. Taxes paid by undocumented households mounted to $35.1 billion. And not many would be aware that around six percent international students pursue higher education in US colleges and universities. According to the Department of Commerce, international students contributed about 50 billion dollars to the US economy in 2023.

It is an irony curated by commercialism and greed that a country which is the seat of many prestigious educational institutes fails to provide subsidized higher education to the majority of its population. On an average, the cost of a four-year undergraduate program is around $150,000 to $200,000, which is definitely a huge investment for millions of families across US. While the low-income group families might qualify for some financial assistance programs and pay subsidized college fee, not many high schoolers from such families make to colleges because of other socio-economic factors.

It is very surprising that the revered Ivy Leagues (MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, etc.), known across the globe for world class education do not offer merit-based scholarships to students. So, either their parents have to be quite rich to be able to afford the tuition and boarding fee or very poor (to fall under financial aid bracket) to belong to these campuses. To put it straight, a student’s merit is not enough if his/her parents do not fit in the financial bracket of either rich or poor. This is also true for other good universities and colleges.

Also, the college application procedure is tedious and exhaustive. Once in high school, students should have well curated subject choices (electives), extra-curriculars (after school clubs, sports, etc.), volunteering and internship experiences alongside managing an excellent GPA and an extraordinary SAT/ACT score, in order to make to a good college. College counselors advise students to apply to nine or ten colleges to have a chance to get accepted to a college of their choice, yet there is no guarantee.

Throughout the school years, kids are encouraged to chase their passion when it comes to choosing a career path, but no one tells them that if their dream college is out of state, it will substantially increase the college cost (in-state, out-of-state tuition fee varies). Taking a loan for higher education puts students at a greater disadvantage at the beginning of their professional career and many do not find it a logical path to future.

Community colleges are an option but they are very undermarketed and students generally have reservations opting for those. Also, for a generation that lives for societal validation, community colleges do not make a statement. Besides, a fresh graduate from an established university or college usually has an edge when it comes to campus placement and interview calls during the initial screening process.

Contrary to the cliched rhetoric of immigrants hogging the job sector, an analysis recently published by Lightcast, a labor market analytics organization, points to an expected labor gap of six million workers in healthcare, skilled trade, hospitality, and other services, over the next eight years. Clearly then, we need to focus on why this gap is created rather than who might fill in if the country’s human resource is not properly trained to take up these jobs.