The Best Country In The World To Be An Immigrant Might Surprise You
A lot of Americans might think their country is among the best in the world to be an immigrant, but it doesn't even rank in the top five, according to a new study conducted by U.S. News & World Report.
In fact, based on the study's findings, Sweden, a robust social welfare state, is the number one country to be an immigrant.
Based on the report, the U.S. has a lot of room for improvement in terms of being viewed as a land of opportunity.
U.S. News & World Report looked at global views of countries, as well as immigration policy and economic data (economic stability, income equality, and job markets).
In addition to Sweden, three other Nordic countries ranked in the top 10: Norway, Finland, and Denmark.
This is linked to the fact these countries have strong economies that are dedicated to eradicating income inequality.
It's not surprising countries dedicated to the welfare of all individuals (not just a privileged few) rank among the top countries for immigrants (Nordic countries also rank among the world's happiest countries, with Norway at number one).
The United States ranked seven on the list.
President Donald Trump's harsh stance toward immigrants, which includes policies such as his travel ban and desire to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, had a negative impact on America's ranking, according to the report.
America has not always been welcoming to different waves of immigrants, but the history of this country cannot even begin to be explained without discussing the millions who have come to its shores in search of a better life.
The U.S. is home to 46.6 million migrants and is the world's top migrant host country. But, in spite of this fact -- and America's long immigrant tradition -- the report contends nationalism has placed the future of immigration in the U.S. into question.
This seems to be part of a larger, disturbing trend in terms of how the world views America.
America is becoming less popular worldwide, and it's linked to Trump becoming president.
A recent Pew Research Center survey showed Trump has had an extremely negative impact on the United State's image and overall global approval rating, even though he's not yet been president for a full year.
The survey showed countries worldwide have far less confidence in Trump's leadership than they did in former President Barack Obama's (22 percent for Trump, 64 perfect for Obama).
On top of this, in the final years of Obama, the United States had a favorability rating of 64 percent.
Now that Trump is president, however, America's favorability rating has declined all the way to 49 percent.
Trump's immigration policies have also already negatively impacted U.S. tourism, and are projected to do even more damage in the future.
It seems many across the globe are not a fan of Trump's push to isolate the U.S. from the wider world.
