Immigration Impact On National Identity

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Effects of Immigration on Countries’ National Identity
The main ways by which immigration is believed to affect countries’ national identity is through the effects of globalization and multiculturalism. Because of the increased immigration in recent times, debates on national identity have become central in national communities. Although the immigration and multiculturalism is a healthy topic, in some cases, it borders of racism. For instance, in the United Kingdom, the society is already multicultural with quite many ethnic groups, cultures, and races represented and living together (Werbner & Modood, 1997). On the other hand, in Australia, the national identity and heritage is jealously guarded and new immigrants are prevented at all cost (Grant, 1998). In 2012 there was a reported case of death threats to a tourist singing in French in a Melbourne bus, for not speaking English, which all occupants would understand.
One of the strategies the Australian authorities use to preserve their national, cultural and social identity is directing that immigrants seeking permanent residency become Australians (Grant, 1998). Ironically, in the process of becoming Australian, these immigrants also lose their national, cultural, and social identity (Grant, 1998). Similarly, the United Kingdom is also fighting immigration, albeit with little success. The main factor that limits the success of the fight against immigration in UK and other sections of Western Europe are the strict EU