The Reality Behind the Land of Opportunity

There are many who view America as the land of opportunity.  People from different parts of the globe move here to earn a living.   Many reside in urban areas where jobs are readily available, especially for employers seeking to hire foreigners willing to work for little pay.  Immigrants are a big part of a city’s ability to expand.  This week’s readings recognize the effect immigrants have on numerous aspects of the city, and the benefits to the occurrence of population churning. 

           

            Immigrants move to large cities in the United States for different reasons.  A few examples are refugees looking to live a better life in a sustainable country, and those who come here for work in order to support their extended family in their respective countries.  Many immigrants are coming from developing countries where working wages are far less than America’s minimum wage.  Foreigners who are desperate for money are more willing to work the lower waged jobs that which an average working class American wouldn’t bother applying for. 

The ongoing arrival of immigrants to these large cities offer employers a constant flow of workers expendable to them, that is until a more useful hire comes around willing to do more work for lesser pay.  Businesses in the city are on the prowl for workers that agree to do manual labor for hours on end, with little to no complaints.  Immigrants working in occupations with the lowest wages have more to lose, especially during economic decline.  Because of the increased need to find work, keeping a job can be as difficult as finding one.  Employee turnover rates may have a risk of increasing when job opportunities are nil.  One explanation could be that there are plenty of other people looking for jobs, perhaps from being laid off from a previous job, making business owners more inclined to offer lesser wages for the next worker in line for that position. 

 It’s not uncommon for immigrant workers to get paid “under the table”, which is essentially a term used to describe wages that are paid with cash, and go unreported to the government.  For instance, certain employers may use this as an alternative to paying illegal foreign workers, since important documents are unnecessary with this form of monetary exchange for labor.  This is not to say that getting paid under the table is exclusive to illegal immigrants only, but to show how this form of pay is a route that can be taken for employers who intend on keeping up with population churning.  Immigrants who continue to climb up the socioeconomic ladder are able to make their way out of city apartments and into single-family homes in suburbia.  As this happens, new waves of immigrants come in to replace the ones moving out.  This cycle continues to sustain city businesses that thrive on the ebb and flow of eager foreigners willing to do manual labor for minimum wage or lower.  Illegal immigrants, though unlawfully so, help to fill in for the kind of jobs that no one else wants to do.  Their limited occupational options help to ensure that these forms of labor can continue to be used as a form of exploitation.

Minneapolis is a place where Somali refugees are granted with job opportunities.  The nice thing about this is that refugees have the means of providing for themselves and for family in Somalia.  But their naivety with America’s job force may encourage current employers to take advantage of them.  An article regarding Somali refugees in Minnesota stresses on the certain issues that arise when new waves of refugees continue to immigrate there.  Refugees coming to America intend on achieving economic success, but soon come to realize that finding work and housing is challenging when there are thousands doing the same thing.  For the fortunate ones, they will establish themselves through time to become sponsors of the next generation of Somali refugees, supporting the circulation of the city’s population.           

Another way in which immigrants help advance the economy of cities is through maintaining the areas that are predominated by a specific culture.  Think of China town in San Francisco or Chicago, where most workers and consumers commonly seen tend to be Asian.  Areas like these give immigrants the chance to find their niche, a home away from home.  Coming to America requires having to adjust to contrasting cultural practices.  Areas in the city where certain ethnicities prosper allow immigrants to become socialized at their own pace, among people with similar backgrounds.  Businesses found here also enable diverse cultures to continue to practice their native customs, while also giving Americans a chance to experience another culture’s food, or to look into the cultural artifacts being sold in the area’s shops.  Immigrants help in supporting business revenue with their active participation as consumers and employees, thus being an integral factor to the expansion of urban areas.     

The article on Somali refugees mentioned above can be found here: New Somali refugee arrivals in Minnesota are increasing