Immigrants Displacing Young Labor?

FUNCTIONALIST STANDPOINT:

From a functionalist standpoint, these immigrants are a part of our society that provides a vital function in the workforce which is contributing to our societies' equilibrium. A functionalist would say that without the fulfillment of this groups function, our society would come to an unbalance resulting in a sort of chaos. These immigrants often labor in jobs which teens, young adults, and most U.S. born workers do not want because of interests and social stigmas. Hence if they did not fulfill these functions, these jobs would remain vacant, and thus our economy would become crippled. A functionalist might also suggest that with the retirement of the baby boomers generation, a large need for employment will be created, and furthermore, the need for immigrant workers to satisfy these jobs will also be augmented.

CONFLICT STANDPOINT:

A conflict theorist would suggest that these immigrant workers are taking valued and limited jobs from able-bodied U.S. workers, especially among teenage and young adult workers. Both immigrants and young adults frequently compete for the same jobs because these employment opportunities are largely available for unskilled workers. They also might add that because of these immigrant workers taking jobs, the youth are then forced to look to outside interests such as education and recreation. Conflicts theorists would argue that if this trend continues, a greater percentage of jobs that belong to U.S. born citizens will be held by foreigners than they themselves.

BEST EXPLANATION:

The best explanation would have to be a synthesis of both arguments. The problem is too broad to be solved by one theory. There is no conclusive evidence in this article whatsoever as to whether or not this is even a valid thesis. The only data shown was vague and unsupported by facts. However, the problem still exists. And though true that these immigrants fill necessary labor roles, and generally at a much cheaper cost, taking a job from a U.S. born citizen in his own country is fundamentally wrong.