Immigration Reform in America

1007 Words3 Pages

America has always been a land of immigrants, which is why we need to fix our broken immigration system and laws. Coming to America has always been a dream for those living in other countries and it takes entirely too long for that to happen. They have to get behind all of the others that want to come and have been waiting for years. This is why we need to make a change. It takes too long to come to the United States and discourages anyone from coming here. We need immigration to help improve our not so good economy; we could do this by giving those who are already here a path to citizenship. Immigration could give our economy the boost it needs, especially since we are now $6 trillion in debt. America has always been defined as a land of immigrants, which is very true, especially today. Now, immigrants in the United States make up 12.4% of the total population (Lansford, Deckard, and Bornstein 1). Immigration is defined as coming to live permanently in a native country to someone. Latinos make up the largest minority in the United States. The Census says that 1 out of every 5 children under 18 in the United States are immigrants or children of immigrants (Lansford, Deckard, and Bornstein 1). There are individuals who are not here legally, which are called undocumented immigrants. In the U.S., there are roughly 11.7 million undocumented immigrants (Goldin, Cameron, and Balarajan 122). Imagine moving from Mexico to the United States when only a child because your parents said to. Crossing the border illegally, under no fault of your own because it was the fastest, though definitely not easiest way. The line to enter America is very long and there is a limit on visas that we are allowed to give out per year, which makes the wait... ... middle of paper ... ...sks that no one from America would dare do. Obviously, they deserve the chance that they always wanted: to be able to become legal citizens. Works Cited Lansford, Jennifer E., Kirby D. Deater-Deckard, and Marc H. Bornstein. Immigrant Families in Contemporary Society. New York: Guilford, 2007. Print. Goldin, Ian, Geoffrey Cameron, and Meera Balarajan. Exceptional People: How Migration Shaped Our World and Will Define Our Future. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2011. Print. "Health Care & Public Benefits." Immigration Reform. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. Furchtgott-Roth, Diana. "Issue Brief 18 | The Economic Benefits of Immigration." The Economic Benefits of Immigration. Manhattan Institute, Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. Spradley, Jermaine. “2 Years After Immigration Laws, Ga., Ala., Stable.” The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 06 July 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.

Open Document