For many years the United States of America has been held by many to be the land of opportunity where everyone can achieve their dreams. Like in any area of the world the immigration and migration of people both legally and illegally shapes our country’s population and the economy. In the United States there are millions of illegal immigrants that struggle to find a way to live and then there are the legal foreign-born individuals that abide by our laws and still struggle to get by. A great deal of the population growth we have seen in the past and will see in the future is due to the immigration of foreign people into this land. As one studies our nation he can see there are many differences between the status and living conditions of natives and foreign-born population. There are many migrant workers that come into this country every year to work in the farms and industries that offer seasonal work with little pay. In light of the recent terrorist acts against this country the immigration laws and border patrols are coming under greater scrutiny. Immigrants and Their Place in our Population There are all kinds of immigrants in the United States and they have different kinds of statuses. First of all there are legal immigrants that were foreign born but have become citizens of the United States. There are also people who come into the country legally and are given permission to live here permanently but are not naturalized citizens because they have either never applied for citizenship or do not meet a requirement for citizenship. We also have those who come here legally to stay for a set amount of time for things such as education, or work. On the other end of the spectrum are the millions of illegal immigrants that sneak into our country hoping to find asylum and a better way of life. As is apparent in any area that receives immigrants the influx of new people has an effect on population size and diversity. The Department of Labor expects the population of the United States to grow by around fifty percent over the next fifty years. They also say that immigration will have the biggest role in growth through mid-century and that other changes come only because of birth rate and death rates. We are to expect around 820,000 immigrants to arrive in our country every year not including those who come illegally.
Immigration practices, both historical and current, has had various types of impacts on immigration policies and processes, as well as on people who have immigrated. According to Nilsson, Schale and Khamphakdy-Brown (2011) the various issues that face immigrant populations is pre and post immigration trauma, the acculturation process, poverty and low education and training levels. Immigration also impacts family relationships and possible language barriers. Immigration policies have always been exclusionary and biased against various cultural groups (Sue & Sue, 2013). For example, historically, European immigrants were granted citizenship more
millions of immigrants migrated into America, the more difficult it became for people to live in
The U.S. is slammed by growing numbers in population. It seems that many do not think of the long term effects of this increase. This is one of the most significant problems Americans face today, yet no one talks about the problem, when it comes to the debate over immigration. “The current world population is over 6 billion and increases at a rate of 76,570,430 people every year. Since 1950, U.S. population has nearly doubled - growing from 151 million to over 294 million today. If present trends continue, our population will exceed 400 million by the year 2050. Immigration contributes over one million people to the U.S. population annually. The total foreign-born population in the U.S. is now 31.1 million, a record 57 percent increase since 1990. About 8 million of those are here illegally--a 4.5 million increase since 1990. Almost one-third of all immigration during the 1990s was illegal. An NPG demographic analysis of age distribution, fertility, and mortality data shows that if there had been no immigration to the U.S. since 1990, the population in 2000 would have been 262 million–19 million less than the 281 million counted. Thus, post-1990 immigrants and their children accounted for 61 percent of population growth during the last decade.” (Negative Population Growth. 2004. http://www.npg.org/index.html).
There are several schools of thought on the issue, but two of them seem to stand out in our Nation’s ongoing efforts to find a solution to illegal immigrants entering the country, and those who are already living in the country, many of whom have been here for a number of years and have had children born as United States Citizens.
Throughout the past centuries, immigration has had many positive and adverse effects on our country and society. Law and order have been the founding cornerstone of our democracy, and the mandate of the U.S. Constitution is for Congress to do the work of the people and that of the nation. Immigration has continuously been a passionate debate within our society. This particular topic will always be a sensitive subject due to Americans personal beliefs and morals.
People from all over the world migrate to the United States in an attempt to live the American dream and have a prosperous, happy life. Jimmy Santiago Baca captures this in “Immigrants in Our Own Land” where he compares the dreams and realities of immigrants to what it’s like in a prison, segregated, unpromising and disillusioned. “We came here to get away from false promises, from dictators in our neighborhoods.”(Baca) “We are born with dreams in our hearts, looking for better days ahead.” (Baca) Instead of being honored for the hard work and dedication it takes to relocate in a foreign place, immigrants are met with criticism and disrespect. “Right away we are sent to work as dishwashers, to work in fields for three cents an hour.” (Baca) Immigrants are tasked with not having the opportunity to use the skills they have or may be able to pick up; instead they are forced to work janitorial jobs and those not lucrative at all.
Immigrants have always been an important part of United States’ population. Each year, there are hundreds of thousands of immigrants, from all around the world, including legal and illegal, come into the United States for job opportunities, new life, or the American Dream. “Immigrants have contributed significantly to the development of the United States. During the Lincoln administration, immigrants were actually encouraged to come to America, as they were considered valuable to the development of the country.” (Soylu & Buchanan, 2013). They believe that the US will give them more freedom, protection, and opportunities, which sometimes it becomes the major issues for immigrants. That’s why “the U.S. population is becoming more racially and
In the history of United States political pressures and economic disparities are the primary reasons for immigration. Irrespective of race, color, language, gender, religion, property, birth or other status the Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledge and protected the inherent dignity and unalienable rights equally to all humans. Out of 36 million people, 12% of the population is foreign-born. Rapid grow of immigrants and the fact that where immigrants are spreading to many more communities across the county are most like to keep immigration in the national policy debate and healthcare reform. Immigrants are based on 3 categories. Lawful immigrants, refugees and unauthorized immigrants. Lawful immigrants are legally entered into United
The United States immigration policy has for a very long time been a benchmark for political debate as policy makers deliberate on the need to uphold an international competitiveness by means of drawing of top talent as opposed to the need to control illegal immigration and secure the United States borders. The U.S. has been faced with a period of mass immigration during the last decade. Illegal immigration has become a very severe issue as a result of the view that it hurts the United States citizens. An illegal immigrant is someone who migrates into a country for permanent residence even without any type of identification. Every year, there are many illegal immigrants who enter the U.S. borders illegally due to the fact that the some parts
America has long been viewed as a nation of immigrants and now finds itself at
According to the U.S. News Education, there are over one million children that are illegal immigrants that live in the United States, but fewer than 6500 attend college. (Sheehy) Why is this? In this case, they don’t have assistance such as financial aid or government loans nor the information that is available for other students. Although, these students are undocumented they still have other options that allow them to attend college and universities at in-state fees. Is this fair that immigrants pay the same tuition as students that are legal?
The United States is sometimes referred to as “melting pot”, “land of opportunity” and “The land of Free”. These are names that acknowledge the fact that the nation is made up of a wide variety of peoples from different parts of the world. These names in many ways symbolize a chance of “new beginnings” to some people who wish to come to America. Immigration is generally recognized as an economic benefit, despite claims that foreign workers take jobs from citizens and resident aliens. Our text tells us that “numerous studies have been conducted and suggest that overall wages for citizens’ increase when migrant workers fill jobs that others are not qualified to perform or those jobs that others simply choose not to do. Nations tend to welcome outsiders who bring a benefit to the society and economy. There is “approximately 100 million people that live outside of their home country worldwide” (Nowak & Laird, 2010).
As residents of the United States, the majority of people living here are legal citizens. They have either been born here or naturalized. Being a legal citizen