An immigrant is someone who relocates from one country to another, typically planning to stay permanently rather than temporarily. Despite arriving by legal means, they often face counterintuitive contentions known as immigrant paradox. This is because of a general perception that an immigrant is a stranger and an outsider who interferes, intrudes, or gets involved when not welcome.
There are several kinds of immigrants – refugees, settlers, or colonists.
Typically, refugees live off government grants and taxpayer money and are expected to move back when the situation in their country normalizes. But that rarely happens. Settlers intend to do business or offer their skills for the betterment of the country. More than often, they end up staying permanently – legally or illegally. Although a colonist intends to takeover and never leave, there are countries that have fought back and gotten independence.
However, there are still 17 territories that are under the US, UK, France, and New Zealand. These territories have some autonomy in terms of cultural identity and local governance, but they are still under the ultimate sovereignty of their ruling country.
Settler Colonialism must be considered when talking about immigrants. It implies that colonizers arrive not simply to govern or exploit resources but to settle permanently and replace Indigenous populations. This is brought about by violence, deprivation, forced adaptation, and existing culture elimination.
Barring a settler colonist, every immigrant is a human being. Nothing prepares one to start life anew. Most of them give their best, follow the law, and try to assimilate. But 'cultural hybridity' is not always a source of strength, making immigrants vulnerable and pushing them and their kids into global identity crisis.
Though illegal immigration is a tangible problem, there is a lot of unnecessary hate against legal immigrants. The resident population sometimes don’t understand the complex relationship between tax paying immigrant and a nation's economic framework. Skilled labors power essential sectors from agriculture to tech by filling critical skill gaps.
The questions to ask before forming an opinion about an immigrant are:
-Are they really draining the taxpayer’s money?
-If yes, are they not worthy of kindness given their unfortunate situation?
-Could you be a descendant of an immigrant or a product of settler colonialism?
Because let's face it…The old rules that define an immigrant are obsolete. We're entering an era where 'who you are' is more fluid than ever. And 'home' isn't a place, but a feeling made of different ideas we identify with. Our 'identity' is too complex to fit inside a single box.