The topic in hand is the unfairness toward illegal immigrants in the United States and the lack of acknowledgement to their contribution to the country. This topic has constantly arised when immigration reforms are being discussed, most states speak negatively of immigrants; how they take American jobs, infiltrate the welfare, do not pay taxes, etc. When on the contraire they are the ones negatively being affected due to the necessity of a social security number. America is known as the “land of opportunity”, however the opportunity is not being given to immigrants in search of a better life, the values of the country – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness— is now limited, which should not.
The United States was established by immigrants and is still dependent among them; the unfairness towards immigrants is not what the United States was established for— “promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty” is what is stated in the constitution— the government is disregarding a central contribution to the economy, rather than accommodating their needs. Since the early years of America, the country has been known as the “land of opportunity”, with the promise of jobs, land and freedom from persecution. In the nineteenth century the English boarded the Mayflower destined to a country where an individual could commence a new life with an equal chance of success or failure, no matter what country he or she came from (Ewig, 2012). The nineteenth century immigrant view of the United States has not changed much in twenty first century; America is still seen as “the land of opportunity”, however entering the country and becoming a citizen has amount to be more difficult now; laws and bills have been enacted to regul...
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America is a nation consisting of many immigrants: it has its gates opened to the world. These immigrants transition smoothly and slowly from settlement, to assimilation then citizenship. These immigrants are first admitted lawfully as permanent residents before they naturalize to become full citizens. In her book “Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America”, the historian Mae Ngai draws our attention to the history of immigration and citizenship in America. Her book examines an understudied period of immigration regulation between 1924 and 1965.
America is a land filled with immigrants coming from different corners of the worlds, all in hopes of finding a better life in the country. However, No one had an easy transition from his or her home country to this foreign land. Not every race thrived the same way—some were luckier than others, while some have faced enormous obstacles in settling down and being part of the American society. Many people have suffered
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”.
As the hostility toward immigrants had begun to relax, the residency period was reduced to two years by 1824. More reforms were made over several decades, and by 1870 new legislation gave persons of African descent, Asians and other non-white groups access to citizenship. As the country matured and became more multiracial, additional legislation would be passed to prevent “protected groups” from discrimination and exclusion. Present day, the United States is still a country of immigrants and continues to expand its laws to be inclusive of all its citizens and residents. All participants who contributed to the diversity of this county helped to create the vibrant economy and democracy that we know
Passel, Jeffrey S., and D’Vera Cohn. “Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contributions. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).” The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). N.p., July 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Erika, Lee. "U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Laws and Issues." Journal of American Ethnic History. Vol. 20. Issue 2 (2001): n. page. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.
Chapter 13 of Golash-Boza’s Race and Racisms highlights United States immigration policies from 1790 to 1996. The passage of the Naturalization Law of 1790 set the precedent that white people have a larger claim on the United States and therefore they are the most deserving to be citizens. Once this white superiority was set, many laws were put into place to systematically restrict other races from entering the country. These restrictions have proven to mainly affect those who are classified non-white and continue to criminalize people whose only crime is trying to find a better life in a new country.
Among many of the highly disputed issues in the United States, illegal immigration is near the top, as it is continually growing and must be brought to an end. The term “illegal immigration” is used to describe the migration of people into another country without the government’s permission. Due to the United States’ highly desirable lifestyle, illegal immigration is more common than many other countries in the world. Even before the Constitution was written, significant political and social idols, such as Benjamin Franklin worried about the outcome of immigration. His ideas were particularly towards the increase of German immigrants, for he would caution that “Pennsylvania will in a few years become a German colony; instead of their learning our language, we must learn their, or live as in a foreign country.” Although Franklin’s thoughts influenced a large number of people living in the country, the first hundred years of the nation were established with an open border (Hing). This would welcome foreign nationals displaced by the ravages of war or persecuted by totalitarian governments in hope of a better life. The fourteenth amendment, ratified in 1868, would establish the rights of citizens, or legally recognized subjects or nationals of a state or commonwealth, either native or naturalized (McClenaghan). Many illegal immigrants refuse to assimilate into their surroundings of which they have brought themselves upon. They also take a variety of unskilled jobs that citizens could use, but instead become unemployed. The concept of immigration is what allowed the United States to flourish in its early years to the present day; however, when it is done illegally, it can hurt the domestic tranquility and security of the nation, as we...
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
Historical Background: Colonial America and The United States that followed were created by repeated waves of immigration. Those immigrants came from every part of the globe, but particularly from England, France, Germany, and Western Europe. The descendants of this first wave of immigrants would view later immigrants from Italy, Poland, and Russia with a great deal of suspicion and uncertainty. This is not surprising as our country’s uncertainty about immigrants is reflected in our policies. For instance, there were no numerical restrictions or central regulation on immigration until one hundred years after our nation’s founding. When they were finally introduced they were created with bias against would be immigrants from certain countries. Among the first on that list were Chinese laborers followed by immigrants from the Asian Pacific (Ewing, 2012). These restrictions were first adopted in 1921, and were in favor of European immigrants. They would later be followed by national quotas that placed restrictions on immigrants based on existing proportions of the population. A shortage in laborers brought on by World War II would result in lifting those restrictions. This eventually led to a growth in immigration and a change in the origin of those arriving from Europe to Latin America and Asia. As the number immigrants from these countries began to grow, so did the concern about the number of them who were illegal (Ewing, 2012). Resulting policies issued to address those concerns would arguably lead to a resurgence of the problem that they were intended to correct.
Many Americans do not want immigrants in this country, but they also do not want to do the dirty jobs that immigrants do. The topic of immigrants is a touchy subject. Just the mere mentioning of them can cause a furor. Through all this controversy immigrants are not treated as citizens in America. Americans believe they do not belong. In the poem “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora, the memoir Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas, the historical document “Executive Order 9066” by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the NPR interview “Breaking Down the Complexities of U.S. Migration Law” by Michel Martin and Karen Tumlin immigrants are not treated as they should be. In the eyes of natural born citizens immigrants never are full-fledged citizens. Also immigrants are
A topic crucial to the world today is illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is when people live in a country without permission from the government, nor have any legal documentation. As more and more illegal immigrants enter the United States, it either upsets some people, or others feel like they should just grant them ability to pursue life, liberty, and happiness because that is what the Constitution says. Some people feel that illegal immigrants should be protected by the same rights and laws as American citizens. On the other hand, many people believe that this is a horrible mistake. They feel that the rights of citizenship should be earned and not extended to people who haven broken the law just by being in the United States.
Perea, Juan. Immigrants Out! The New Nativism and the Anti-Immigrant Impulse in the United States. New York or London: New York University Press, 1997. Print.
...ol.” Debates on Immigration. Ed Judith Gans, Elaine M. Repogle, and Daniel J. Tichenor. Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Reference, 2012: 144. Gale Virtual Library. Web. 22 Apr, 2014.
Haines, David W and Rosenblum, Karen E.: Illegal Immigration in America: A Reference Handbook. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. 1999. EBook. , Database: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost).