America is often called a melting pot; there are people from all over the world with different cultures and backgrounds. For decades immigration has been the backbone to our arts, industry, and culture. This makes America unique. Immigration was regulated as early as the late 1800s when the first processing center opened on Ellis Island. The issue of immigration is a complex and controversial debate today. There are millions of illegal immigrants in the country and even more people trying to come legally through the system. There is not one solution to immigration, making it a hot topic with a plethora of opinions. Although one point Americans seems to agree on is that the laws are inefficient and reform is necessary. New immigration laws need to consist of stronger border enforcement to prevent illegal immigrants and other contraband from coming across the border, make entry visas more selective, and answer the question of what to do with the millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States. Weak border enforcement allows millions of immigrants to illegally cross the border. In Statement in Support of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Dianne Feinstein, a California Senator who sits on the subcommittee for Immigration, Border Control, and Citizenship talks about how the tunnels that have “large-scale smuggling of drugs, weapons, and immigrants” is not illegal (Kirszner and Mandell 656). In addition, Feinstein supports stronger border control so “legal immigration is able to be handled in a more prompt manner” (657). She is correct in saying how there needs to be more border control and legislation to outlaw the tunnels. If the borders are strengthened it would allow us to focus on trying to enter the country legally. It... ... middle of paper ... ...of immigrants. When the United States soccer team was playing Mexico in Los Angeles in 1998 the Star Spangled banner was mocked. “The Mexican-American crowd showered the U.S. team with water bombs, beer bottles, and trash.”(674). Feinstein adds, “The American players later said they were better received in Mexico City than in their own country” (674). Lisa Chavez, in an article titled American Dreams, Foreign Flags urges Latino immigrants to change their approach if they want to be effective. Chavez talks about protesters shouting “Si, se puede!” (Yes, we can) and having signs which say “We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us” (651). There needs to be a limit in entry visas, while America assimilates the immigrants here and an installation of a point system to allow skilled immigrants from all over the world to contribute to the prosperity of America.
Immigration has always been a hot topic in America. There are many pros and cons, which makes it a delicate issue when it comes to debates. In an attempt to reform immigration, President Obama has issued an executive order that will overhaul the nation’s immigration system as we know it. The president’s changes will affect nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants who are currently residing in America. Focusing on 4 main changes, Obamas’ plan focuses on many aspects from enhancing border security to developing new processes in which workers can enter the country.
A nation without borders is not a nation. Today, every country is making effort to secure its borders not only from terrorists, drugs and smuggling but also from illegal immigration. All these recurring activities have sparked the United States to secure its borders against illegal immigrants and terrorism by creating a special department named the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headed by the Secretary of Homeland Security. After the terrorist attack of 9/11, terrorism and illegal immigration were two striking issues for the DHS. To solve these issues, the Department of Homeland Security further created two immigration enforcement agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Customs and
The border wall is one of the ways these two issues have been brought down. This makes it harder for both the immigrants and narcotics to cross the border. It is more dangerous for them if they are risking to climb up that wall not knowing if they will have a safe landing. Technology is another way to prevent this from happening. The border patrol has developed thermal detectives that can sense people from miles away of the border. This will give them a heads up that people are coming their
Among the problems that face our nation, illegal immigration seems to be one of the most regarded. “In 2005, there were 12.7 million people classified as refugees in the world. Refugees are forced to migrate because of danger in their own country.” (Cath Senker 12) Some push to end it while others want to have it legalized or less strict. There are many points that are argued on this topic. Although immigrants support the economy, they should have to pay taxes. Illegal immigration should be stopped or slowed until the legalization process and borders are improved. Due to the fact, that taxpayers are the backbone of our economy and nation as a whole.
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.
Illegal immigration has been an ongoing problem in America for many decades. The form of law that currently governs the immigration process is, the Immigration and Naturalization Act, and it has been broken for many years as immigrants still continue to pour into the states illegally. The immigration acts enacted in the past that have been continuously modified leads up to the current policy that falls under the Incrementalism model. However, it is important to note that the current American Immigration system is broken and is in dire need of reform. There are 11 million people living in the dark and too many employers cheating the system by hiring undocumented workers in exchange for offering lesser pay. The current system is hurting the economy and bringing down our country as a whole.
In the first article, The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Raúl Hinojosa- Ojeda argues that if the United States government moved from an ‘enforcement only policy’ to a comprehensive immigration reform, both individuals born in America and immigrants would increase benefits. The comprehensive immigration reform that Ojeda describes “legalizes current unauthorized immigrants and creates flexible legal limits on future immigration in the context of full labor rights…” (Ojeda page 175). Ojeda further argues that the current U.S. policy creates a wage floor, and if undocumented immigrants gain citizenship, the wage floor will rise, increasing the wages of all workers. The rise in wages cited in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) states that a comprehensive immigration reform would increase consumer consumption and wages and would increase the creation of jobs and tax revenue. This is mainly based on the concept that IRCA was implemented during a time of recession, but was still able to raise wages and investments made by immigrants. Ojeda explains, through the example of the IRCA, it is estimated that comprehensive reform, over 10 years, would create 1.5 trillion dollars in United States gross domestic product (GDP) (176). However, they add that one of the issues with the IRCA, is the lack of flexible limits set on the number of workers allowed to enter the United States. In the 1990, therefore, U.S. labor demands were not met.
Millman, Joe. "Beefed-Up Border Patrolling Fails to Curb Illegal Entry." Wall Street Journal. 17 July 2002
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...
A major issue that is always brought up at political debates is the issue of immigration. “Many Americans think the U.S. immigration system is urgently in need of reform” (Lee). The current immigration policy has started to decrease the number of illegals in America. As of right now, we currently have 20,000 Border Patrol Agents deployed along the borders (Lee). Although the number of illegals being deported is at an all-time high, Americans are still very concer...
There are currently 11.7 million immigrants living in the U.S. The United States is now again being named the land of immigrants. The new century has been introduced to the illegal immigrant. They are desperate to get into the American culture and are forced to disobey the laws of government to assimilate themselves in America. People come over because they have family, jobs or want a better life. This may cause some problems for Americans. Certain Americans believe immigration will cause the economy to drop, drop to wages, and job loss due to cheap labor, etc. But no one has thought of a solution for immigration that will work effectively.
Over the years it seems as though our country has become more populated and unsafe from the illegal immigrants and smuggled goods, such as drugs and weapons, which make it into the United States. Although there are many illegal immigrants and contraband that are able to make it into the U.S undetected, there are a significant amount of people and contraband that are caught by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The CBP is a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and was formed in 2003. “It is one of the world’s largest law enforcement organizations and is charged with keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S” (CBP). One of the departments of the CBP is border security, which is a team of individuals that work together to protect our country from “illegal immigrants, narcotics smuggling, and illegal importation” (CBP). Border patrol was established in 1924 and has changed dramatically over the decades. The one aspect that has not changed is “the overall mission to detect and prevent the illegal entry of aliens into the U.S” (CBP). The border patrol is responsible for patrolling the 6,000 miles of Mexican and Canadian land borders and 2,000 miles of coastal waters. According to CBP, “In 2013 420,789 nationwide illegal aliens were apprehended and 2.9 million pounds of drugs were seized.” As one could tell, there is a significant amount of illegal immigrants and smuggled goods coming into the U.S. However, the number of illegal immigrants that have been seized is lower than it has been in the past, but I still believe that having a strong border security is necessary in continuing to keep immigrants from trying to come into the U.S illegally and transporting illegal goods. “The primary goal of bo...
...ion and drug smuggling has been on the rise the past few decades and our current approach is not confronting the escalating issue at hand. America’s safekeeping at our borders is not robust enough to deter these illegal immigrants and drug smugglers. Our border wall and security checkpoints must be strengthened immediately.
One of the major issues surrounding border security is illegal immigration, “For the past two decades the United States, a country with a strong tradition of limited government, has been pursuing a widely popular initiative that requires one of the most ambitious expansions of government power in modern history: securing the nation’s borders against illegal immigration” (Alden, 2012). Many people are trying to enter the United States without the proper documentation and everyday they risk their lives and others just to make it across these borders. To avoid this law enforcement and other border security has threatened these illegal immigrants with detainment and arrest and different forms of punishment. In the efforts to deter the problem, it has been far beyond feasible because they still manage to get across and it does not change their intention...
With the United States borders extending over thousands of miles, the government does not have the ability to completely watch and secure this massive border. Therefore, a large number of illegal immigrants take an advantage of crossing the border undetected. With such large amount of illegal immigrants entering our country, the safety of our citizens is hindered because not just illegal immigrants can cross our border but criminals and terrorists can come across virtually unseen. There is basically no telling the sorts of individuals that enter the nation, killers, drug dealers, or terrorists a majority of these criminals live close to the border. With the government cannot completely control illegal immigration over the border, the security of legal citizens is at risk. All things considered, with the powerlessness to control and completely carry out the laws of immigration, potential criminals will constantly barge into the nation and further jeopardize the U.S. lives.