Should Illegal Immigrants Be Granted Amnesty?

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According to CNN, 12 million illegal immigrants currently reside in the United States, which is approximately equivalent to the populations of Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, or Michigan. Removing all 12 million illegal immigrants, then, would be like removing one of the above states, a pretty incredulous task. In practical terms, it is not possible to send that many immigrants back to their respective countries efficiently and economically. This raises the issue of what to do with the immigrants that are already here, and how to increase security to keep the number of illegal immigrants entering under control. It may be feasible to grant citizenship to those illegal immigrants that have been in the United States for some time, however; that citizenship should come with certain set of restrictions. In other words, a probationary citizenship could be granted. In terms of future illegal immigrants, increased security measures to either restrict immigrants from crossing without proper citizenship authorization or better regulate the influx of immigrants coming in should be enforced. Taken together, current illegal immigrants should be provided a probationary citizenship license under the stipulation that they enroll in an English course, take and pass a citizenship test, be able to provide family support without government assistance, and keep a clean criminal record all within a set period of time before receiving a permanent citizenship; additionally, future immigrants should not be allowed into the United States by increasing border security measures to increase efficacy of controlling incoming immigrants which may include building a better border and hiring more law enforcement personnel. There have been many debates over g... ... middle of paper ... ...ream.” Works Cited Immigrant Profiling by Local Law Enforcement. (2010, May 3). Retrieved Month Day, Year, from Issues & Controversies database Immigrant Profiling by Local Law Enforcement. (2012, May 1). Retrieved Month Day, Year, from Issues & Controversies database (2005). Immigration stance. Senator Robert Byrd's Record On Immigration Reform And Illegal Aliens, Retrieved from http://immigrationstance.diggersrealm.com/ Millis, D. (2006, May 03). Bush's speech on immigration . The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com Holding, R. (2010, February 01). 'anchor babies': No getting around the constitution. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/ Balancing Border Enforcement and Environmental Protection (sidebar)." (2001, July 27). Issues & Controversies On File. Retrieved May 2, 2012, from Issues & Controversies database

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