There is not one person on this planet who decided where they wanted to be born. A person’s birthplace is an extremely unselective, random and sometimes (if one is lucky) privileged experience. It can be difficult to say, if not completely impossible,that a person born in an impoverished country will have the same opportunities than one born to a first world nation.The problem with birth-place privilege becomes the manner in which individuals tend to forget about the “privilege” portion, constantly blaming and criminalizing immigrants who have had to venture into different countries without proper documentation for a better life. More specifically the criminalization and witch hunt has been place on latino communities in countries such as …show more content…
As the 2016 presidential election draws near many presidential candidates from both the democratic and republican side have attempted to provide their own ideas on the issue. As a whole, democratic candidate Senator Bernie Sanders,the individual to which this memo is directed to, provides a comprehensive immigration policy. This proposed measure titled Fair and Humane Immigration Policy aims to reform the manner in which immigration is operated in the United States. The policy targets the multifaceted debate by attempting to reform the current immigration system, tackling social and racial misconceptions. The problem to understanding current immigration policy arises from long overlooked historical events and lingering racial discrimination which shaped the way through which the topic is discussed in the U.S. and the methods through which the term “illegals” and “criminal” have targeted the latino …show more content…
Manifest destiny became the cornerstone for many territorial takeover in early American history. This manifest was the belief that the U.S. was entitled- by God- to take over as much land as possible, but this God given doctrine immensely reduced the quality of life for the native individuals whose lands were stolen (Desmond and Emirbayer;Molina; Class Notes). American soldiers took over the lands of Native Americans as well as Mexican territories, colonialism “when a foreign power invades a territory and establishes enduring systems of exploitation and domination over that territory’s indigenous populations (Racial Domination-55)” became the rule of the land and the ways in which the U.S. controlled and exploited the native people. The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and its consequential Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, reduced Mexico to nearly half of its original size, while chasing way most of its original inhabitants (Molina and Class notes). Most notably, the land the U.S decided to conquer, territories such as Texas, Nevada, areas in California housed the least amount of Mexicans, thus the least likely to house “diseases” that the natives might transfer onto the new white American residents(Class Notes and Molina). The Mexicans who decided to stay in the conquered areas were granted U.S. citizenship, but they were not considered to
The term “Manifest Destiny” was never actually used until 1845, but the idea was always implied from the Doctrine of Discovery. Without understanding the Doctrine, it is impossible to understand the reasons and fundamentals behind why Manifest Destiny began.This Doctrine was a set of ten steps and rules that European nations followed in order to avoid conflict over land holdings, created in the early 1400s. The first few steps give the discovering country full rights to buy the land from the native peoples. This is important, since it gave the discovering country the power of preemption. Conquered Indian peoples lose sovereign powers and the rights to free trade and diplomatic relations, and the land they occupy is said to be vacant. Religion played a massive role in the regulations of the Doctrine, since “non-Christian people were not deemed to have the same rights to land, sovereignty, and self determination as Christians”(Miller 4). These rules were all meant to favor the ethnocentric, with full understanding of the repercussions on those who lived in the places being conquered.
In the 1830’s America was highly influenced by the Manifest Destiny Ideal. Manifest Destiny was the motivating force behind the rapid expansion of America into the West. This ideal was highly sponsored by posters, newspapers, and various other methods of communication. Propaganda was and is still an incredibly common way to spread an idea to the masses. Though Manifest Destiny was not an official government policy, it led to the passing of the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act gave applicants freehold titles of undeveloped land outside of the original thirteen colonies. It encouraged Westward colonization and territorial acquisition. The Homestead Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. To America, Manifest Destiny was the idea that America was destined to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic, to the Pacific Ocean. Throughout this time Native Americans were seen as obstacles because they occupied land that the United States needed to conquer to continue with their Manifest Destiny Ideal. Many wars were fought between the A...
Therefore, reforming the immigration policies today should not be based on racism, or nativism. In addition, it is important to dispel the misconceptions of the Latino/a immigration today because it is a mistake to formulate policies based on preconceptions of racialized groups. Works Cited Aoki, Andrew, and Okiyoshi Takeda. Asian American Politics. Polity Pr, 2009 -.
Manifest Destiny is a phrase used to express the belief that the United States had a mission to expand its borders, thereby spreading its form of democracy and freedom. Originally a political catchphrase of the nineteenth-century, Manifest Destiny eventually became a standard historical term, often used as a synonym for the territorial expansion of the United States across North America towards the Pacific Ocean. The United States government believed that the Native Americans were a problem that was hindering Manifest Destiny from being fulfilled (or at the very least, used the idea of Manifest Destiny to gain land and resources the Indians possessed), and would do everything in their power to exterminate the “Indian Problem.” The U.S. government, along with the majority of the U.S. population, eradicated this problem through lies, forced removal, and murder. This eradication nearly wiped out a race of people, whose only crime was mere existence in a land they had lived on, respected, and cherished for hundreds of years. The U.S. government had three main ways of solving the “Indian Problem”. They would remove them, kill them, or segregate them from the “civilized” white man by placing the Indian on reservations. The Indians soon learned that the U.S. government could not be trusted, and fought fiercely against the harsh injustices that were being administered. Tragically, the Indians would eventually have their spirits broken, living out their meager existence in the terrible homes called reservations.
The United States is a country with fusion of ethnic diversity. Each year, illegal aliens find their ways into the country through the border of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. The increasing figure of illegal aliens has become a problem. American citizens presuppose that illegal aliens are only those who enter the country without permission by crossing the border. These citizens don’t know that illegal alien’s population is similarly composed of people who are granted entry—via visa— and then stay beyond the permissible time. In addition, there are also those who violated the terms of permanent resident card or refugee permit, voluntarily or involuntarily. The bottom-line of this conflict is that, besides brutally disrespected Native Americans, all of the people within the United States who are granted American citizenship are either immigrants or descendants of immigrants. The past and current presence of immigrants causes constant modification of economy and culture in the persistently expanding system of the USA. Illegal aliens bring to this country additional tax revenue, expand the low-cost labor pool, and bring in good values and motivation consistent with the American Dream. They are working at extremely low wages, trying to live a better life than they had in their indigenous land. Illegal aliens are living in the invisible world, full of fictitious promises, with no rights. Because of these conditions, we will make a proposal to end this situation and give these communalized aliens the opportunity that they are worthy of.
Nowadays, United States is the country that has variety of cultures, races, etc. mixing together by having immigrants in their countries. However, they need to control these group of people also. More people out of country are trying to stay in the U.S. However, this is not an easy process to deal with. There is an immigrant policy that they have to go through. In the past, United States is wide open for people to settle down on this land. There is no process of immigrants. However, in the middle of 1840 to 1880, immigrants started to come in the U.S. such as Irish and Chinese because of demanding of unskilled and cheap labors. In the 1920, automation replaced unskilled labors as a result immigrant’s policy is limited quotas for immigrants
The question this research will attempt to answer is why an immigration reform is needed? One of the reason is that are more than 11 million of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Many people come all around the world with one dream in their hand and is to make better life for themselves and their families. Our immigration system needs to start to realize the hardships, and the contributions for those undocumented immigrants moving here. Trying to keep their families together here in this country, with the hope of creating a legal path or process of citizenship in the country. The same hope that will compensate the United States rather than create more expensive by trying to deport millions of people, and building a wall between two
Although the Americans faced unbeatable odds, it was the belief in the “manifest destiny,” that became their driving force to win an impossible war. The “manifest destiny” was a vision of some American citizens that the territory including California, New Mexico, Utah, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada belonged to the United States. Using this belief gave courage and determination to each soldier to win this war for America and their families. In doing so, their sacrifices would not only improve the wealth and land rights of the United States, but also create more future opportunities for
Before the Gold rush, the United States was at war with Mexico over territory. If it had not been for the Treaty of Guadalupe in 1848 the United States might have turned out differently than it currently is today. The Treaty of Guadalupe was signed on February 2, 1848 and ended the Mexican-American war. Mexico transferred nearly half of their land to the U.S. (Rohrbough 12). Some Americans felt it was part of Manifest Destiny, especially by believer President James Polk (Smith, Orsi, and Rawls 26). The Treaty of Guadalupe guaranteed that any Mexican citizen in California who did not want to continue their allegiance to Mexico would within a year be granted the automatic “title and rights of citizens...
Immigration is the greatest part of American history. In the beginning, Immigrants brought a vast variety of cultures and beliefs and turned America in to the beauty it is today. Immigrants are still doing this. However, the issue with immigration can be it 's illegal status. Many undocumented immigrants are entering this country causing questions among the American citizens. Rather than asking if this is right or wrong, a solution can be found. Illegal immigrants come here for a purpose and can be helped with this purpose. Most come fleeing persecution, although some come here for more demented reasons. Those, illegal immigrants will be done away with. However, Those immigrants who come here for pure reasons need to be taken Care of in proper
When people first stepped foot on American soil as pilgrims, and eventually established a great nation, it was known as the land of the free. Now, when you look at America, it is considered to be a nation of immigrants. Today, in 2014, we have Americans that are mad with immigrants trying to get into this country, as they are taking our jobs away from us. On the other hand, you have those Americans who yearn for their far off families and friends to come to America from other countries to pursue a better life and utilize the opportunities America offers which their current locations cannot. Why should we let these people into the country without forcing them to first go through all the proper legal actions? It’s great that
The U.S. govemment has faced the struggle for various decades to put an end to unauthorized immigration from Mexico and into the United States. Immigration as a whole has increased from 71,877,120 in 1960 to 213,316,418 in 2010 according to the data created and also reported by the World Bank. The government has made multiple attempts to stop the immigration process by implementing harsher measures along the U.S. and Mexico border and at work sites across the entire country. These measures however, have failed to end unauthorized immigration as a whole as immigrants still find a way to sneak by, settle, and make a living.. Americans who have a reason to oppose immigration argue that the safety and the strength of the nation’s economy are greatly threatened. However, strong supporters argue that instead of damaging and putting the economy at risk they provide a more stable environment.
The study also took a close look at how the courts deal with the issue, the administrative interpretation of the law, and the application of the reform to be very critical and increasingly impossible. The author discovered that immigration reform has chronic problems, citizens’ disinterest to participate in the political process, government inefficacy, and centralized decision making away from the very communities imparted. The lack of enforcement is mounting pressure on states’ budgets (appropriation and allocations) of resources as the number of beneficiaries for social services increased. On the other hand, Dorsey and Diaz-Barriza (2007) studied President Barack Obama stands on immigration when he was then senator and compared them to conservative and liberal position. In the research, the author lamented that then senator Obama called for a comprehensive immigration reform that would deal with the issues of border security, employers sanction for hiring illegal individuals and a path to earned citizenship. Both sides agreed in part, but disagreed with the issue of path to citizenship which created gray lack. Today, the debate continues between the both political parties and the states leading the president executive action on immigration in recent
With the recent Paris attacks and rumors of foreboding ISIS attacks, the topic of immigration comes up quite often in conversations. Topics such as how the immigrants should be dealt with, what exactly are the benefits and/or detriments of immigration, Donald Trump’s immigration plan, et cetera are usually discussed. With immigration gradually becoming a trending issue, various people have expressed their thoughts through means like social media and news sites. Joining this movement, this will be another text on the topic of immigration. The benefits of immigration will be presented, false information will be proven wrong, and why some people oppose immigration will be explained and discussed. Immigration should be widely accepted rather than
Illegal immigrants are makers, not takers. Many American citizens see these approximate 11 million illegal immigrants in a negative view and don’t want them living in their communities. However, many of these American citizens don’t know why illegal immigrants come here and what good they actually do to this country. Illegal immigration should be allowed because their quality of life is improved, they help the economy, and they bring job growth.