{ Why are People in the United States Afraid of Immigration? Ian Heagren SOC 2640 Race and Ethnicity

1. Why I Chose this Question 2. My Thoughts Without Research 3. “Traditional American Values” 4. The “Smart”Visa 5. Heart of the Problem 6. Works Cited Table of Contents

 My personal view on why people are afraid or are against immigration is because they simply don’t understand why people would leave their country.  Family: The main ethnicity of current immigrants are Latino’s or to be more specific Central Americans. Central America as a whole is not a safe place to reside as there are many organized gangs with little defense from the home country’s police.  Economy: Central America lacks the jobs to provide for the basic essentials like job, shelter, clothes, and education to better their children. Thoughts Without Research

 According to S.A. Miller from the Washington Times a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that around 70% of Americans fear that illegal immigrants threaten traditional American customs and values, 86% of Republicans felt this way.  Many would believe that the region of the United States that would feel this way most would be along the Southern Border of the country but that is incorrect. 80% of New Englanders state that new illegal immigrants “threaten U.S. beliefs and customs” according to this poll. Traditional American Values

 The “Smart” Visa.. You might wonder where this is coming from but it’s a real thing. The H-1 B Visa, is reserved for foreign workers, mainly Indian, that are highly skilled in the Technology world and is highly supported by the Tech giants in Silicon Valley.  Workers in the tech field were surveyed and ones that felt that their job was threatened were highly more likely to support in a decrease in H-1 B Visa’s while white collar workers outside of the field were significantly less-likely to support in a decrease. The Smart Visa

 While many state they want to keep the “traditional” American values and customs, the majority of the United States are like the people of the last slide, afraid to lose their jobs to immigrants.  Neil Malhotra of Stanford University, says this “You can’t do broad omnibus studies, you have to do a targeted research” referring to asking how citizens feel about immigration. The real question he asks is “The question is: What is actually driving people in their hearts?”  He says if the opposition is rooted economically “there are policy interventions you can have” but he expresses later that if the opposition is based in racism or cultural bias it will be harder to address. Heart of the Problem

 Miller, S.A. "Most Americans Fear Illegal Immigrants Hurt U.S. Culture, Economy: Poll." Washington Times. The Washington Times, n.d. Web. 31 July  Zacharia, Janine. "Neil Malhotra: Are Americans' Fears of Immigration Overstated?" Stanford Graduate School of Business. N.p., 30 Sept Web. 31 July Works Cited