Illegal Immigrants: Immigration Reform, Citizenship and Deportation

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Illegal Immigrants: Immigration Reform, Citizenship and Deportation Introduction The United States has seen a gradual increase in the number of illegal immigrants who cross its borders for the past fifteen years. According to a 2013 report by the Pew Research Center, almost twelve million undocumented immigrants were living in the United States in 2012. (Gomez, A.) According to William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, immigration is “starting to have a bigger impact on more States while it continues to have a very big impact on traditional immigrant magnets such as California” (Haya El, N. and Kiely, K.) 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. The Pro-Reformists In one corner are those, like Vice President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who are strongly and openly in favor of passing the immigration reform bill that would, amongst other things, grant immediate citizenship to qualifying illegal immigrants already in the country. Biden’s strongest argument in supporting the bill may very well be that “…America is losing thousands of engineers and scientists who earn PhD’s in American universities [but who can’t work because they have no legal status]” (Fischer, S.) The Anti-Reformists In the opposite corner are those who believe that all illegal immigrants should be deported and the country’s borders made more secure. These individuals argue that allowing immigrants to enter the country illegally, letting t... ... middle of paper ... ...h the problem internally and fortifying the country’s borders will help us ensure our country remains safe and flourishes. Works Cited Carter, Sara. "Study Finds Nearly 70,000 Criminal Illegal Aliens Released Back Into the U.S." The Blaze. Mercury Radio Arts, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. Fischer, Sara. "Biden: Undocumented Immigrants 'already American Citizens'" CNN Political Ticker RSS. Cable News Network, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. Gomez, Alana and TODAY USA. "Illegal immigration may be rising." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. Haya El, Nasser, and Kiely, Kathy. "More immigrants than ever flow into USA; nearly half do .." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. Rubin, Jennifer. "Social Conservatives and Immigration Reform." The Washington Post. Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.

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