Immigration: limited or unlimited? On the subject of immigration, one student at J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church, Virginia commented, “we make America more interesting” (Swerdlow 61). As true as these words are, the question of how much more interest should be allowed to cross our borders each year, and what exactly defines an American these days puzzle the already 281 million residents who find comfort in the freedoms of America. America is a land of immigrants, also referred to as the “melting pot of the world.” However, the possibility that America’s kettle is over-flowing concerns its citizens and some politicians. Ideas for capping immigration have been voiced in the past, but have not been heard. While some will argue legal immigration should have no restrictions, most Americans will agree illegal immigration is indeed a problem. With some 6 million people living in America illegally, and only 46, 750 deportations last year, a solution must take hold soon (Zarembo 26). President George W. Bush has been working on a plan to reform immigration that could make millions of undocumented workers legal. Bush may only open the application for legal residency to Mexicans, but nothing will be final for at least another year. As a result of negotiations, mayhem has broken out on Capitol Hill, with politicians pulling fiercely on both sides. Some believe this will trigger more ill...
The immigration debate has been in the news a great deal recently. Most of the attention has been focused on the illegal immigrants entering our country from Mexico, mostly Hispanics and Latinos. Uncontrolled immigration is harmful to the United States. It harms the American worker and it harms the American economy. The open borders are a threat to national security because terrorists, smugglers, and drug dealers can also freely cross the border. These key facts cannot be ignored and outweigh the claims that race and ethnicity are part of the debate. Immigration should be restricted and a better I.D. system would help stabilize the immigration problem.
The United States has been known as the “Melting Pot ”and “The Land of Opportunity” for decades, but the title is slowly diminishing as scrutiny has been bombarding immigrants for wanting a better life. As questions arise of what is needed to protect the borders from possible terrorist other factors come into play such as what immigrants have to contribute to the country. Immigration is actually vital to our country since it provides the government more income, it brings the country a positive image, and DACA helps the community come together.
The United States was formed by the immigration of many people from all over the world. Americans take pride in knowing that we are a people of vast ethnic backgrounds and culture. However, at the present time, the flow of illegal immigration, as well as a large influx of other legal immigrants is placing a strain on our land of "huddled masses." Legal immigration to the United States can easily be handled and is welcomed by most Americans. However, the flow of illegal immigrants, especially from Mexico, must be stemmed, due to the strain it is placing on the government, (at the local, state and federal level), as well as the general population. Illegal immigrants are costing the United States over 24 billion dollars a year in taxpayers money (National Review 12.13.93). Something must be done to reduce the flow of illegal immigration into the United States. The focus of this paper will be the problems caused by and possible solutions to the problem of illegal immigration.
The United States of America has the largest foreign-born population in the world. With nearly thirteen percent of the total population being foreign-born, one may find it hard to imagine an immigrant-free country (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Immigration has been an integral part of the United States’ overall success and the country’s economy since it was established and without it, would have never been founded at all. Although there are some negative issues associated with immigration and many native-born Americans believe to be more of a problem than a solution, overall it actually has a positive effect. Immigrants in America, among other things, fill jobs where native-born Americans may not want to work or cannot work, they contribute to Social Services and Medicaid through taxes and they help provide the backbone of America, especially by working jobs that natives may have not even considered.
...e private sector to find new growth opportunities and create new jobs. Furthermore, America always has been, and always will be a country of immigrants. Despite that rich tradition, Congress has not updated the country’s immigration policies in three decades. However, Congress now has an opportunity to fix the immigration system and improve the economic well-being of all Americans. Failure to address the issue will have severe consequences for America’s future and well-being, and that is why how America reforms the immigration system will determine its future. The current immigration system is outdated, broken, and reveals that Comprehensive Immigration Reform is urgently needed, and is good for America’s workers and the economy. Despite the claims, complaints and the resistance of many, Americans should welcome, accept and support Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
It has been nearly three decades since the last time Congress reformed our immigration system. From the Reagan era to the Obama administration, the country has undergone financial, social and political changes yet our immigration policies continue to be the same. Since the implementation of the last immigration reform in 1986, the United States government has spent nearly $187 billion ($220 billion when adjusted to 2013 dollars) in immigration enforcement agencies and programs alone (Meissner, Kerwin, Muzaffar & Bergeron, 2013). The high costs and the increasing public concern has led Americans to recognize the brokenness of our current immigration system and how it has not kept up with changing times. Research has shown 71% of Americans say undocumented immigrants should have a pathway to remain in the country legally (Pew Research Center, 2013). Although Congress and the White House have had numerous failed attempts to pass immigration reform in the past, H.R. 15 proposes an updated bipartisan system that can further secure the borders and solve problems surrounding immigration (Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, 2013.
Star Parkers essay, “Se Habla Entitlement” was published in 2006 on the website WorldNetDaily.com. In the essay, Parker attempts to convince the reader that the United States should not have an open border policy. She uses the techniques of Ethos, Pathos, and logos to present a compelling argument to the reader, which in the end falls a bit short.
In the United States, the cliché of a nation of immigrants is often invoked. Indeed, very few Americans can trace their ancestry to what is now the United States, and the origins of its immigrants have changed many times in American history. Despite the identity of an immigrant nation, changes in the origins of immigrants have often been met with resistance. What began with white, western European settlers fleeing religious persecution morphed into a multicultural nation as immigrants from countries across the globe came to the U.S. in increasing numbers. Like the colonial immigrants before them, these new immigrants sailed to the Americas to gain freedom, flee poverty and famine, and make a better life for themselves. Forgetting their origins as persecuted and excluded people, the older and more established immigrants became possessive about their country and tried to exclude and persecute the immigrant groups from non-western European backgrounds arriving in the U.S. This hostile, defensive, and xenophobic reaction to influxes of “new” immigrants known as Nativism was not far out of the mainstream. Nativism became a part of the American cultural and political landscape and helped to shape, through exclusion, the face of the United States for years to come.
Following the 1890’s, the world began to undergo the first stages of globalization. Countries and peoples, who, until now, were barely connected, now found themselves neighbors in a planet vastly resembling a global village. Despite the idealized image of camaraderie and brotherhood this may seem to suggest, the reality was only discrimination and distrust. Immigration to new lands became a far more difficult affair, as emigrants from different nations came to be viewed as increasingly foreign. In the white-dominated society of the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the only way to truly count oneself as American was to become “white”. For this reason, the idea of race, a socially constructed issue with no real physical basis, has become one of the most defining factors which shape immigration and assimilation in the United States.
For over ten years, efforts to make changes to the United States immigration system have been put aside due to wars, attacks within our homeland and even worldwide financial crisis but it seems as though this being brought up more and more often. The history of the US immigration policy was more concerned with immigration enforcement over immigration reform. It was not until a few years ago that the US citizens voted they were tired of enforcement-only immigration policies and the pain they caused on immigrant families. So most feel now is the time to draw up new immigration laws that reflect American values and beliefs, and it ne...
The United States has often been referred to as a global “melting pot” due to its assimilation of diverse cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities. In today’s society, this metaphor may be an understatement. Between 1990 and 2010, the number of foreign born United States residents nearly doubled from 20 million to 40 million, increasing the U.S. population from almost 250 million to 350 million people. With U.S. born children and grandchildren of immigrants, immigration contributed to half of this population growth. These immigrants, consisting of mostly Asian and Hispanic backgrounds, have drastically changed the composition of the U.S. population. In 2010, Asians and Hispanics made up 20 percent of the U.S. population, in contrast to a 6 percent share of Asians and Hispanics in 1970. It is predicted that by 2050, the share of immigrants in the United States will increase to one half of the entire population. With this rapid increase in diversity, many citizens have opposing views on its impact on the United States. In my opinion, an increase in immigration does contain both positive and negatives effects, but in general it provides an overriding positive influence on America’s society (“Population”).
America is sometimes referred to as a "nation of immigrants" because of our largely open-door policy toward accepting foreigners pursuing their vision of the American Dream. Recently, there has been a clamor by some politicians and citizens toward creating a predominantly closed-door policy on immigration, arguing that immigrants "threaten" American life by creating unemployment by taking jobs from American workers, using much-needed social services, and encroaching on the "American way of life." While these arguments may seem valid to many, they are almost overwhelmingly false, and more than likely confused with the subject of illegal immigration. In fact, immigrants actually enhance American life by creating, not taking jobs, bolster social service funds through tax payments, and bring valuable technical knowledge and skills to our country. If we are to continue to excel as a nation, the traditionalists who fear an encroachment of foreign-born Americans must learn to accept that we achieved our greatness as a result of being "a nation of immigrants."
America has, is, and will always be a nation of immigrants: the great melting pot. In the
The first major concern regarding the borders for the United States is illegal immigration. In January of 2000, the INS estimated that there were 7 million illegal immigrants in the United States with the number growing by about 500,000 a year. Under the Bush Administration, funding has increased along main entry points, displacing illegal immigrants points of entry into the country. Yet the increase has displaced immigration to rural immigration points, causing many every year to die from starvation and heat stroke. Despite the harsh conditions, immigration has grown rather th...
The age old question that many ask today is “what is an American?” America is continued to be called the “melting pot” of the world. This statement refers to the combination of different cultures and ethnicities throughout the United States. The diversity of America should not take away from the history and foundation it was found upon. ...