Undocumented Immigration

Without a doubt, the topic of immigration and refugees is a pressing matter around the globe. With more than 60 million displaced individuals around the words and 41 million immigrants in the United States, there is a wide spread migration; however, for many individuals, migration was not a choice but a necessity (Fadzillah,20016). In the United States, the issue of immigration and refugees has been at the forefront of the upcoming presidential election due to the candidates’ drastically different policies on immigration. Although the topic of immigration and refugees is prevalent in the news and media, many Americans are undereducated and misinformed about the key terms and concepts of immigration and refugees, which leads many citizens to

One of the most persistent and common misrepresentations of undocumented immigrants is they prefer to be in the United States undocumented. However, according to the Equal Rights Center (2008), 98% of undocumented immigrants would legalize their status if they United States government would permit; however, despite their desire to become US citizens, many undocumented immigrants are either rejected for citizenship or are afraid to apply due to the potential consequences of being in the country without the necessary paperwork, such as deportation (Desnoë, 2008). Additionally, another common misconception of undocumented immigrants is that they come to America specifically to benefit from the social welfare system. However, any immigrant regardless of his or her status, are ineligible for most benefits, such as welfare, assisted housing, unemployment compensation, or food assistance; also, documented immigrants are required to wait five years before they are eligible to receive most forms of assistance (Desnoë, 2008). Although these are two of the most common biases towards immigrants, there are multiple other misconceptions that are prevalent across the United

According to the Pew Research Center, the number of displaced is over 60 million, or 1 in 100 people; additionally, of the 60 million displaced, 12.5 million refugees are from Syria alone (Conner & Krogstad, 2016). Despite the growing number of refugees, American citizens are divided about to refugees coming to America. To explain, after recent international terror attacks, 53% of Americans felt the United States should not accept any refugees, while an additional 11% believe only Christian refugees should be allowed from Syria (Conner & Krogstad, 2016). Moreover, the American attitude towards refugees was further illustrated after President Obama vowed to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees in 2015. To explain, after President Obama guaranteed 10,000 refugees asylum, 30 state governors, including Tennessee’s governor Bill Haslam, have declared their respective states would not accept refugees until security concerns have been addressed (Seipel, 2015). Although nearly a year has passed, the United States is still divided from the average citizen to government officials and presidential candidates as to how American should proceed with welcoming