The United States is facing illegal complexities that are affecting the people. “Immigration Problem Is about Us, Not Them,” by Jo-Ann Pilardi poses some powerful arguments that get readers thinking about who the culprits actually are behind the illegal immigrants coming across the southwestern border. First she declares that citizens in the United States use the word “illegal” in a “narrow” way, therefore causing americans to oversee other “illegal” activities. Then she goes on to explain that it is the “INE’s” (illegal native employers) that are truly responsible for the illegal immigrants sneaking through in the first place and elaborates that these buisness owners aren’t getting proper surveillance for these illegal activities. She closes …show more content…
Her insistence that citizens use of the word illegal is narrow and it is time to add to the “American immigration lexicon”(Pilardi 386) is problematic because it is a stereotype about every American person, when in fact the majority of the population is immigrants and are generally opposed to the title of illegal immigrant, but it is true that the natural tendency is to associate that word to the brown skinned people trying to develope a better life for themselves. It is time to associate a different word to people known as illegal immigrants, this way the populace of America can look to other things hiding behind the word illegal that are faced in the country …show more content…
Her perseverance that the companies behind hiring these people should be exploited and her claim that there should be “establish[ed] a fair immigration program” (Pilardi 387) is a conflicting argument. She argues that there needs to be a fair program for illegal immigrants to work. By openly exploiting these illegal buisness owners you are taking the businesses that are hiring immigrants therefore terminating possible fair job opportunities. Instead, it would be better to work with these companies to establish a fair system, especially since these companies do have the greater
Ngai, Mae M. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. Princeton, N.J. [u.a.: Princeton Univ. Press, 2004. Print.
A leading American historian on race, policing, immigration, and incarceration in the United States, Kelly Lytle Hernandez’s Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol tells the story of how Mexican immigrant workers emerged as the primary target of the United States Border Patrol and how, in the process, the United States Border Patrol shaped the history of race in the United States. Migra! also explores social history, including the dynamics of Anglo-American nativism, the power of national security, and labor-control interests of capitalistic development in the American southwest. In short, Migra! explains
Hilda Solis courageously wrote and supported a bill to raise the minimum wage in California and enforced a law of anti-sweatshops despite the Republican Party’s opposition. When she was elected to the California State Senate, Solis immediately wrote a bill to raise the minimum wage; however, it failed to pass the legislature, so she fought for the bill to be passed by the voters with help of labor leaders (“Hilda Solis,” Newsmakers). Although the bill was rejected, Solis still fought for the rights of the people, jeopardizing her seat in the senate and the faith of the senate. The government “uncovered a sweatshop where 72 Thai workers were working. Solis held Senate hearings, questioned garment manufacturers, and pushed for stronger enforcement of anti-sweatshop laws” (“Hilda Solis,” Newsmakers). Afterwards, Solis clearly risked the trust of her town by questioning...
Mexican immigrants in the United States are willing to work hard and long hours throughout the day regardless of the amount of sleep or rest they may get. Conversely, this is not how Efren Mendoza, a public city bus driver, views Mexicans and he believes they are not motivated to achieve things in life. One would assume that he would understand how difficult it is for immigrants to assimilate in a new foreign country without knowing anyone or anything here, but he is not on their side and it is somewhat hypocritical of him because he himself is Mexican. It is as though Efren sees his own people as invisible individuals because he does not acknowledge all their hard work and sacrifices they may have gone through in order to arrive in the United States. He further proves his insincerity when he mentions that the “new wetbacks [are] picky about what jobs they’ll do [and that they] half-ass [the] work” that they are given to do (77).
Ehrenriech noticed in the restaurant business that those who cannot speak English are the ones who usually work in the kitchens, working at below minimum wage. Immigrants are usually the ones who are affected by this because they don’t know the laws of this country. All they know is that they can possibly work their way up socially, from the bottom to the top. To give these people an actual chance of climbing up the social ladder, the government should do something to stop managers of stores from cheating the workers out of benefits and wages.
The article by Rob Guerette is a case study involving the widely-reported increase of immigration into the United States. It tackles migration issues as well as related issues such as border security , security initiatives by individuals.. The article also provides in-depth research about the impact of illegal immigration into the United States including migrant deaths, deaths of non-migrants at the border, border security and the challenges faced by United States border patrol officers. The main purpose of the article was to provide an explanation as to whether the Border Patrol has any effect in saving the lives of people attempting to enter into the United States (Guerette, 2007).
Considering the ideas that both authors have brought to the table, I have concluded that in order to make progress in solving the problem of undocumented immigrants, we as a country must decide what’s best for our country. We either look at undocumented immigrants as an asset or a parasite. America is the ‘land of opportunity’ where millions of people want to live there and pursue the ‘American Dream’. We should not let people stop from achieving their dreams. But on the other hand, a quantity of immigrants leave their country because it does not have “stable democracies and free markets” that “ensure economic growth, rising standards of living and thus, lots of jobs”, because the countries of these immigrants “birth rates and native populations fall”.
Competing for jobs against native Americans, immigrants are not only using valuable government resources from welfare and other programs, but they are also increasing the rate of unemployment. True, the jobs immigrants are tak...
Out of the 11 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States, 8 million of them are currently working. Employers in America who want inexpensive workers, hire illegal immigrants and pay them under the table. Since the system does not have an efficient way of identifying and penalizing these employers, this has been an ongoing dilemma. As a result, the American economy suffers because illegal immigrants are not paying taxes like the rest of the legal citizens. Americans who are citizens consequently have difficulties finding jobs because employers would rather pay under the table so they can make higher profits. In my perspective, the employers are at fault here if they knowingly hire workers who are not eligible to work here. However, if the employer did not know about an immigrant’s illegal status than the immigrant is at fault for cheating the system. These are just some of the current issues related to illegal immigration t...
Avendano, Anabruce, Victoria.”The Labor Movement’s Solution To Illegal Immigration.” Social Policy 39.1 (2009): MasterFile Premier. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
The United States of America, being a country founded by immigrants, is known all over the world as the land of great opportunities. People from all walks of life travelled across the globe, taking a chance to find a better life for them and their family. Over the years, the population of immigrants has grown immensely, resulting in the currently controversial issue of illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants are the people who have overstayed the time granted on their US, visa or those who have broken the federal law by crossing the border illegally. Matt O’Brien stated in his article “The government thinks that 10.8 million illegal immigrants lived in the country in January 2009, down from a peak of nearly 12 million in 2007.”(Para, 2) While some argue that illegal immigrants burden the United States of America and its economy, others believe that they have become essential and are an important part of the US, economy.
Ngai, Mae M. 2004 “Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America” Publisher: Princeton University Press.
If the reader would notice, Eduardo used the word immigrants, as if they moved to the U.S legally, instead of using illegal immigrants like he should have, in my own opinion of course. Eduardo also mentions in the second to last paragraph “cutting illegal immigration entirely would be prohibitively costly”. Who would it be costly to? The government? Wall Street? Big Businesses? It wouldn 't cost the poor/middle class man, it would open more job opportunities. Yes, it will cost the some big businesses but, they should have hired ture citizens in the first place.
Recently, the U.S. government has been cracking down on illegal aliens and employers are in danger of raids and lawsuits for hiring illegal immigrants. Many employers either do not require any documentation or accept copies of documents (Rousmaniere 24-25), regarding legalization. Immigrants are desired employees and companies continue to hire them even with the risks. By working for lower wages, they keep the costs of goods and services down; the illegal alien work force helps improve the U.S. economy (Nadadur 1037-1052). However, illegal immigrants can have a negative effect when they encroach on American job opportunities (Carter 8). Some economists argue that illegal aliens actually help the host-country’s economy by adding to the labor force. However, other economists state that too many illegal...
Vaughan, Jessica M. “Aliens Who Overstay Their Visas Are a Serious Security Threat.” Opposing Viewpoints: Immigration. Eds. David M. Haugen, Susan Musser and Kacy Lovelace. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2009. 182-193. Print.