Immigration and immigrants: key concepts and issues

Immigration and Immigrants

Applied Problem/Social Issue:

This paper discusses identity theory as a concept in sociological theory as related to immigration and immigrants. Should the United States continue to allow Immigrants to enter the U.S. seeking refuge and citizenship, when our nations states are already overly populated? Should Immigrants be allowed to enter the U.S. And work when there are hundreds of citizens and native-born Americans already unemployed and desperately searching for work? These are but a couple of questions that add to the conflicting messages immigrants and their children face in modern day society. They add to the increasingly complex problem of finding identity in a torn nation.

The United States is world known for its ethnic diversity, due in part to the immigration allowed over several years. Many people however, fail to find a means to foster inter-racial and ethnic identities, thus causing much conflict and a lack of a uniform sense of identity. The social issue relates to finding a common identity in a nation of multi-ethnicities. Children of immigrants are now coming of age, and from a social psychological stand will make the most lasting impression on society. The character of society will be shaped by their experiences.

In recent years there has been much outrage and dispute over the issue of immigration in within the U.S. borders. In past times, the U.S. was often sought out as a place of refuge and renewed hope for immigrants traveling great distances in search of a new life. However, in recent years economic hardships and the needs of native citizens have caused not only government officials, but also citizens to question the reality and smartness of allowing future immigration in the U.S. Our borders have become increasingly full. However, the U.S. has benefited from the influx of cultural diversity and influx, becoming increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-racial over time. The U.S. is often considered a diverse nation, a cornucopia of ethnicities and talents, due in part to immigration. Children that have grown up surrounded by such diversity face the complex task of ascertaining their role as influenced by the ethnicity of their parents and Americanization of their peers. Their behavior is often shaped by these experiences.

According to the article "Culture Contact," "Unless ways are found to foster positive inter-group attitudes, group conflict can undermine the principles of tolerance and social acceptance that are essential to the successful functioning of democracy. Social science has an important role to play in examining the impact of cultural differences and in fostering a climate of mutual tolerance and understanding" (Herrmann, 2000). The key to successful integration of the population of the U.S. will be finding a common substance to unite people of different cultural backgrounds and personalities.

Social Psychological Theory and Research

Social Psychological theory has indicated that children suffer more frequently than adults as the result of migration (Kao, 410). Research indicates that children have to balance the adult world of their parents with that of their peers. According to Rumbault in the Journal of Psychological Well Being and Education, children constitute the "most consequential and lasting legacy of the mass migration of the United States" (Rumbaut, 1995).

Analysis of The Applied Problem

In section two was reviewed the social psychological theory that children are the most influenced group, emotionally and physically by immigration. Children often face the complex task of making sense out of a "split personality." They face a world where they are trying to relate the culture of their ancestors with the Americanized ways of their peers. In section one, the topic of diversity was exposed as a source of much confusion and dilemma for American's. The United States has prided itself on being a melting pot of ethnic diversities and talent.

The question to answer is how will people foster an ethnic identity and culturally diverse lifestyle in a country that is currently looking less favorably on immigrants? Children of immigrants face a different set of circumstances growing up than did their parents. There parents commonly associated one cultural identity and source of tradition with shaping their lifestyle and belief systems. Children being raised in the melting pot of America, do not have this luxury. They are conflicted with the task of mixing the "old" ways of their parents with the often much more lackadaisical ways of their peers. They must find ways to combine the two realities to form a new identity, one that will shape the future of America.

The idea of identity theory explains the more violent behavior of many children today. Children who grow up with torn traditions and conflicted images of self and family will have emotional problems, which may result in violent or aggressive behavior. Much hatred has come forth from children who don't know where they belong or where they fit in. As presented in section two, children who are struggling with there identities grow up to be adults that struggle with their emotions and place in society.

Children of immigrants also may feel much emotional conflict in times as chaotic and volatile as today. With pending war and recent terrorist attacks, it is likely that many children, especially those with Middle Eastern and related ancestry, may be struggling the most to find identity in a nation that may not be truly supportive. How can sociological theorists and citizens foster an improved sense of unified identity?

Solutions To The Applied Problem

How might society foster a more cohesive social identity for the children of immigrants, specifically in the United States? Social theory indicates that in order to develop identity, the children of immigrants will have to find a common ground between their parents and peers. School may be the first place to begin developing the concepts of self and identity. Currently school curriculum requirements do not necessarily entail much training in the way of diversity. Children may benefit from more instruction and activity in school related to this idea. They should be encouraged to share with their peers the unique nature of their own traditions, while also taught more about the heritage and history of the country in which they now live.