Philosophical Underpinnings of the Current Immigration Debate in the United States

What is it about?

Immigration to the United States is certainly not a new phenomenon, and it is therefore natural for immigration, culture and identity to be given due attention by the public and policy makers. However, current discussion of immigration, legal and illegal, and the philosophical underpinnings is lost in translation, not necessarily on ideological lines, but on political orientation. In this paper we reexamine the philosophical underpinnings of the melting pot versus multiculturalism as antecedents and precedents of current immigration debate and how the core issues are lost in translation. We take a brief look at immigrants and the economy to situate the current immigration debate. We then discuss the two philosophical approaches to immigration and how the understanding of the philosophical foundations can help streamline the current immigration debate.

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Photo by Fabian Fauth on Unsplash

Photo by Fabian Fauth on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Immigrants do affect wages and employment in the short run; so there is certainly validity to arguments about some job opportunities not being available to US-born Americans. However, at the end of the day, it comes down to supply and demand. Therefore, finding long-term solutions to these legitimate economic problems would require genuinely addressing the issue of supply and demand and looking at how the economy has been transformed; otherwise, immigrants will continue to be blamed for things far beyond their control.

Perspectives