By: Aidan King
When examining the historical pattern of immigration and technology in the U.S, there were two main components that could be split up. On one side we have the technology used to keep immigrants out of the country and on the other we have the technological advancements that immigrants have provided for the U.S.
Regarding the security aspect, there has been a clear trend for technological advancement and effectiveness. Border control security increases have come in waves that seem to be correlated directly to large U.S. related tragedies such as pearl harbor and 9/11 even though in the majority of these events, there are little to no relations to the countries in which we share our borders with. And although incredibly safe and humane technologies have been proposed to be used for undocumented immigrants, the implementation has been incredibly stagnant. A Harvard research paper exclaims how over the past century, the only developments made at the U.S. – Mexico border has been building and expanding the wall (Cholakian). From 1908 where the wall was only a 6-foot-tall wire fence to today where it spans across almost the entire border and goes up to 30 feet high. But no matter how large it grows, a clear pattern is present. Rates of immigrants entering the United States have never dropped after an update to the wall. Private sectors have created inventions such as facial detection devices which are so detailed that they would even allow a detained immigrant to be safely associated and returned to family members. Even though there are several productive and sustainable pieces of technology created for the purpose of border control, legislation refuses to implement it, leading to a consistent cycle of ineffective efforts.
On the other side of things, Immigrants have played a massive role in technological innovation as the United States has expanded. In a study conducted by the Center of Economic Policy Research, it was found that between 1880 and 1940, immigrants accounted for 20% of the inventors in the United States (Reinsch and Thibault). Fast forward to 2000 and that percentage has grown to over 30%. Many of these early inventors still hold a great impact today. One such example comes from Scottish immigrant Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Inventions such as the telephone have allowed the United States to gain a steep competitive advantage over rivaling countries.
With technological advancement comes many other benefits within other lenses. Innovation directly corresponds to job creation. A graph provided by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that immigrants receiving high level degrees in STEM fields have drastically increased through the past several decades (Belsie). Thousands of these graduates then create companies to aid their innovative ideas and with that, create a multitude of job opportunities for Americans. A 2022 National Foundation for American Policy study found that 55% of billion-dollar corporations were founded by at least 1 immigrant, further exemplifying how greatly their tech innovation contributes to the improvement of our economic livelihoods (Anderson).
As time progresses, a country’s success has relied less on military strength and more on technological power. We have entered an era where virtual abilities such as AI and internet security are much more valuable than physical abilities. It can be predicted that as countries modernize and technological advancements become more important in foreign competition, immigrants will be acknowledged as greater valuable assets. It can also be predicted that although there are effective pieces of technology available for tightened border security, legislation will fail to administer them. This will ultimately reestablish the cycle of dangerous crossing attempts as well as an insecure and easy to infiltrate border.