The statistics for migration to the USA are the lowest they have ever been. Alongside tumultuous governments, perilous societal crises, and the low quality of free healthcare, the home of the American Dream is now promising little to individuals searching for a new life.
Since 2017, there has been an immense shift in perspective in the USA. Gallup World Poll data released a report this week that highlights how although the USA is still the most desired country to migrate to in the world, the number is the lowest it has ever been.
Due to the political turmoil occurring in the US since 2017 when Trump’s presidential campaign was in full form, people have begun returning their Green Cards due to a shift in interest in living in the nation.
The survey by Gallup World Poll questioned 16% of all adults around the globe. That sums to around 900 million people. For ten years, people’s desire to migrate has reached its highest point in this year; however, the desire to move to the US plummeted.
Only 1 in 5 potential migrants answered that if they had to move country, they would head to the US to live. Usually, the US averages around 20-24% of questioned adults wanting to migrate to the States. However, in 2017, this number declined to 17%; this year, it again reached low levels.
Some political potential reasons could be the effect that Trump’s first act of presidency was to ban travelers from multiple Muslim-majority countries. There was also a zero-tolerance program implemented that saw multiple children being separated from their parents at the Southern border.
This violence was highly reported as many saw the injustice against children, forcibly being taken away from their parents, as an inexcusable and inhumane approach to people searching for a better life.
The managing editor of the World News Gallup, Julie Ray, claimed that the “well-documented, chilling effect” of such policies is likely what deterred people so drastically from trying to move to the USA.
After the harsh anti-migration policies of 2017, police brutality active in America also began to deter people of color from moving to the States.
When George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis in 2020 by police officers, the world brought the crime to a global stage. It is hard to deny the fear that this instilled and the rage that this caused, as it is not the first time American police officers have behaved so brutely.
The ‘infinite opportunities’ that America once promised now turned sour. Although America may still offer positive career prospects for many, it also offers a workaholic attitude, lack of fulfillment, and productivity pressure that leads a lot of its population to feel a high level of stress and personal value diminishing to one’s job status. Combined with the poor quality of social protection shown by harsh anti-migration policies and police brutalities.
The country no longer aligns itself with the global values of security and personal freedom that it once promised.
Read here how the USA is ranked the only 25th most democratic nation in the world.
