United States Immigration Policy

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Dictionary.Com defines illegal immigrant as “a foreigner who enters the U.S. without an entry or immigrant visa, especially a person who crosses the border by avoiding inspection or who overstays the period of time allowed as a visitor, tourist, or businessperson” (Dictionary.com). There are thousands of illegal immigrants in this country today. Some people believe that they should be here, and some people think they shouldn’t be here. Defining a “path to citizenship” is very important to the topic of illegal immigrants, as well as the Dream Act . “Path” means “a route or avenue that one can walk along.” “Citizenship” means “the obligations and responsibilities one has as a citizen.” And citizen means “someone with the right to live in a particular country” However the "path to citizenship" means a great deal more than a path or road along which one may travel (Immigration Reform/ Dream Act and Election 2012). Basically it is a process with requirements a person must follow to become a citizen legally in the United States of America. This path to citizenship may be extremely difficult, or incredibly easy to follow. It all depends on the situation (Everyday Debate).

The Dream Act, in my opinion, may be one of the most controversial bills ever introduced to the United States Congress. Again, this is just my personal opinion. The Act is for the Development, Relief and Education for illegal immigrants. It gives young undocumented immigrants in the U.S. the opportunity to become legal citizens (Everyday Debate). One way this can be accomplished is if they have been living in the country since they were 15 years old or younger. Another requirement is whether they have graduated from an American high school, or have completed two yea...

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... workers, and make the penalties strict but fair. Third, hold undocumented immigrants accountable before they can earn their citizenship. This means requiring undocumented workers to pay their taxes. Learning English and doing well on background checks is also equally as important. Fourth, update the legal immigration system for families, workers, and employers. I would say that I agree with president Obama’s plan because I think strengthening our boarders, learning English, etc. are all important to the safety of everyone in the country (Slack). If I was in congress, I would do exactly what Obama is doing because I don’t see any better solution out there that will solve the immigration problem. I would give President Obama a “B+” grade because, while everything he is doing isn’t perfect, he is still doing the best that is humanly possible in my opinion (Slack).

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