Questions 4-6. Ryan Seliger

Are there specific challenges the country is facing today? 

England is facing numerous challenges, both immigration based and not. One large issue is property shortages. Britain, unlike the United States, is a very densely populated country, and citizens compete with the newcomers for housing. Especially since 42% of immigrants live in the most densely populated area, the London area. Only 5% of the immigrants live in the northern part of the country. Another immigration based problem is the myths associated with immigrants here. The common thought is that all the immigrants are plumbers. 38% of immigrants have university degrees. The top 4 immigrant professions are finance, health, retain and then manufacturing. The amount of Britons who have lost their jobs is 7 times as much as the immigrants. This shows that immigrants are not the stereotypes and are outworking Britons. Many people also claim that immigration levels are too high. UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage says that immigration levels have been too high for the last 15 years. "The biggest social problem is that is has led to a massive oversupply in the unskilled labor market". He is claiming that the immigrants coming in are uneducated and not contributing to the economy. He also says that "It has led to a lot of youngsters being unable to get work - a doubling roughly of youth unemployment since 2004 - and that affecting not just the white working class ... but also affecting the settled ethnic minorities in this country."

Distribution of UK jobs in 2002 compared to in 2009

How has immigration helped the country? Have there been negative effects? 

Immigration has helped the country is many ways. For one, immigrants to England have made a net contribution of 25 billion dollars to public finances. Public opinion is that immigrants are more likely to receive housing preferences and finance from the government. In fact, recent immigrants are 45% less likely to receive state benefits or tax credits than native Britons. Immigrants are also 3% less likely to live in social housing and to receive those benefits. This completely disputes those myths. Immigrants also contribute to a larger labor force, which Britain needs. Immigrants raise the country's GDP and raise the need for goods and services, which betters the economy. The only negative about immigration to the UK is the immigrants worsen the property shortages. The country is so densely populated, and immigration adds to that. This causes there to be not enough housing, and if more and more immigrants are coming into the country without a solution to this problem it will be worse and worse.

http://news.sky.com/story/1154511/immigration-brit-workers-against-the-world

This link will take you to a video talking about the economics behind immigration to the United Kingdom.

"Waving Flags" by British Sea Power

This song was described by the band as the second ever pro-immigration song. Written by the British band, British Sea Power, this song celebrates freedom of movement. It was written against the hate that Eastern European immigrants faced. This song welcomes immigrants from that area, saying "Oh, welcome in."

If I was a refugee, would I choose this country?

England has shown that they are mostly welcoming to immigration, and there has been many showings of immigrants succeeded economically and socially in this country. If I was a refugee, by definition, I would need somewhere to go. If I could migrate to England, I definitely would immigrate there.  On top of helping my chances of being successful as a refugee, England is a part of the European Union which has the concept of free movement. This means I could travel to other EU countries without worrying about citizenship there. England is also a force in the global economy. Finally, there are many small parts of London dedicated to other cultures. Wherever an immigrant is coming from, they could feel at home with their ethnic cuisines and shops. As a citizen there, I would be able to have infinite chances to better my life globally, nationally, and locally.

Bibliography:

Don, Jay Y. "Immigration: Brit Workers 'Against The World'" Sky News. Sky, 09 Mar. 13. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.

Don, Jay Y. "Business Groups Call for Action on ‘chronic’ UK Housing Shortage - FT.com." Financial Times. Sky, O9 Mar. 13. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.

Don, Jay Y. "Immigration: Britons Want 'Drastic Action'" Sky News. Sky, 09 Mar. 3. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.

Brown, Phil J. "Migrants and Housing in the UK: Experiences and Impacts."The Migration Observatory. Uk, 8 Jan. 4. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.

Johnson, Jakob R. "Immigration." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 7 Aug. 14. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.