I’m quite confused by this piece of American exceptionalism; Do you really think that no other country has immigrants?
What do you think America does with its immigrants that is so special?
What do you think America does with its immigrants that is so special?
For a long time, the US has slurped up the top talent of the world, as well as cheap labor to support domestic industries like agriculture. Ironic that American “excellence” is about poaching excellence from elsewhere? Perhaps. Nobody wants to admit it, since it would mean “real Americans” don’t get special treatment for being born in the US and A. But all industries benefit, and politicians know this.
In Europe for instance, immigration has failed largely at talent acquisition. It has succeeded partially at the humanitarian goals, but at a large cost. In my experience, EU immigration policy has been more about safety than opportunity. It’s hard for low skilled immigrants to break into strongly regulated labor markets like in Western Europe, and at no fault of their own are instead supported by welfare systems. I don’t know if it’s a net-negative in absolute cost, but certainly in opportunity cost. It’s also raised a lot of anti-immigration sentiment.
That said, I think increasing inequality is transforming immigration also in America. The opportunity for poor (both immigrants and “native”) to move upwards with “hard work and dedication” is diminishing quickly. I think the current generation of immigrants won’t get such a big quality-of-life improvements as they used to.
Our immigrants have no legal and very few practical limitations once they become legal citizens. The only exception I can think of is that you can only be President if you were born on US soil.
Our immigrants can, have, and continue to become highly successful. The cultural difference is that we acknowledge that nearly all of us are descended from immigrants.
Honest question, what makes you say that?
This is true in nearly every developed country. It would be puzzling if it weren’t. In the eyes of the law a citizen is a citizen, regardless of birth, in most of the developed world. The US is not unique in this way.
> Would your country allow an American to become a full citizen as easily as America does?
Yes, actually, although I will concede that the path to citizenship varies VERY substantially from place to place. I don’t think it’s true to say that the US is especially outstanding in how easy it is to gain citizenship.