0292321_SPAN2311.MHS_ForeignLanguageWritingAssignment
Tanya Meinecke-Smith
SPAN_2311_MHS
06 December 2014
Immigration Policy in the United States and its Effects on Hispanic Immigrants
Whether with a cold shoulder welcome or a open arm embrace, the United States has constantly received a range of global immigrants, over half whom originate from Latin America (migrationpolicy.org). Largely driven by the prospect of the “American Dream,” the Latino immigration movement began in the 1840s and has fluctuated with new policies, including the bracero program, an oppressive operation for temporary migrant workers, during World War II, and the Immigration Act of 1965, which created the first immigration limit for the Western Hemisphere (Gutiérrez, Ewing). Since 1960, the Latino population in America has grown from 3.24% of the U.S. population to 16%, and recent estimates proclaim an approximate 11 million undocumented Hispanics, revealing the growing need for for a political reassessment of immigration policy (Gutiérrez, whitehouse.gov). Today, immigration policy, particularly pertaining to Hispanics, has become a controversial subject in the United States, bearing opposing views and proposals, accompanied by diverse impacts that could reverberate throughout the Americas.
Following the Mexican-American War, a colossal tract of land was sold to the U.S. and quickly trampled by the California Gold Rush, catalyzing the first modern wave of Hispanic immigration to America (Gutiérrez).
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” That statement holds strong for immigrants in America. Equal access to opportunities allows immigrants to achieve the American dream. Their success correlates with America’s success because of the contributions immigrants provide to America. Unfortunately, the current immigration policy in America denies many immigrants the American dream. It is crucial to understand the historical context of immigration in America. Initially, most immigrants were from Europe and were not restricted by any immigration laws. Now, most immigrants come from Latin America but are restricted to severe immigration laws. The Latino/a community is one of the most
The first major wave of Hispanic migration to the United States was in 1848, which was a result from the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. The newly acquired lands of the United States hosted a population of about 75,000-100,000 and the U.S. Government offered blanket naturalization to the former Mexican Citizens. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexican immigration to the U.S. “average[d] 3,000-5,000” persons per decade, with the exception of the California Gold Rush, where around 10,000 Mexican miners migrated to California, all totaling to about 100,000 Mexicans in the U.S. by the end of the 1900 (Gutierrez). However, “historical migration statistics for this period are inaccurate because of inconsistent enumeration techniques, changing methods of ethnic and racial classification in the U.S., and the constant movement of uncounted thousands of
Immigrating is to come to a country of which one is not a native, usually for permanent residence. It goes along with drive and determination to seek pleasure out of life, chase dreams, and purse happiness even in the most desperate of times. Migrating affects the communities that the migrants leave as well as the communities that receive them. There are many views as to why people migrate to different countries, the impact of immigration in countries, and how countries should go about regulating immigration. When discussing the ethics of immigration, it is important to view this topic from both sides and not just one side. In doing so, a person gets a sense of the bigger picture that the U.S. is currently dealing with due to immigration. With that being said, the United States should strive for an immigration policy that can benefit everyone involved as a whole.
When immigration policy is discussed, typically, it is discussed within the confines of egalitarian notions and sentiments, and inside the boundaries and parameters set by generally Marxist-influenced social democracy. Characteristically, it is not discussed pertaining to the concept of a social order built on the rights of property owners, sharers, and contributors to and of the common stock- which at their discretion- may exclude bad apples, lazy contributors, rotten characters, trespassers, and terrorists. Once egalitarian sentiments and notions are rejected full-scale- (only giving credence to those that have empirical weight or logical consistency) more proper, more substantive interdisciplinary analyses may reveal that the current investigative techniques employed by current mainstream political theorists are- in the context of reality, incorrect, superficial and quite shallow.
This paper explores the United States, Immigration Policy from an historical, fair and factual perspective. The Immigration Act of 1990 States limited “unskilled workers to 10,000 a year. Skilled labor requirements and immediate family reunification were major goals. The Act continued to promote the nuclear family model, foreign-born in the US was 7%”. This paper will also explore the demographics and diversity, of immigrants, throughout the U.S. This paper includes an article form the website of the Washington, D.C., Immigration Policy Center, and American Immigration Council. This paper will examines significant research data from the Pew Research web site on Hispanic trends and immigration, around the United States. This paper will also cover numbers, facts and trends which shape the immigration policy. This paper will also include five different books written by authors concerning the immigration policy and public issues which most concern Americans. This paper will cover topics of history of social problems and the policies that address immigration, special interest groups advocacy groups, political party and supporters, social justice and ethical issues, policy outcomes of illegal immigrants and how other countries compare to the United States when dealing with immigration.
The book Harvest of Empire offers many examples of the factors leading to migration, which include economic and political persecution. The book has a direct connection between the hardships Latinos faced economically and military in their perspective countries. By reading this book it is clearly stated that Latinos are on the verge of becoming the largest minority group in America. Juan Gonzalez presents a devastating perspective on U.S. history rarely found in mainstream publishing aimed at a popular audience. Few of those countries were immigrants from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Central Americans.
A diverse minority group of Latino and Spanish-speaking peoples has played an important part of what it means to be American and what it means to be a citizen in the United States today. Moving into the future, in order to analyze the trajectory that this group is in, we must first understand the group’s history in the United States and in territories that would become the United States. In addition, we must look at the origins of the most recent wave of Latino immigration in order to understand their current effect on American society and the intersection between both minority and majority groups. Finally, we get to the apex of this investigation: what lies in the future for Latino Americans in the United States? Although Latino
The book starts by presenting the complex interaction between Latinos and institutions. He argues that between 2001 and 2012, Latino migrant activists and their allies could not gain momentum following short-term victories because they are against an anti-migrant hegemony. Chapter 1 opens with The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act (HR 4437) also known as the Sensenbrenner
Immigration policies have had a tendency to violate human rights. These immigration policies, along with others, resulted in the global apartheid in the U.S. Some policies required more patrol enforcement at the border which made the journey for immigrants to the U.S. more rigorous. This enforcement has caused for immigrants to actually not look into migrating to the U.S. Also, with the local law enforcement working together with the border patrol has resulted into a huge problem, racial profiling. In racial profiling, even though there are immi-grants from all over the world, Latinos are mostly targeted. The policies, while they have in-creased deportation rates, they have affected the deportee’s U.S. citizen children.
Tienda, Marta, and Faith Mitchell. Preface. Hispanics and the Future of America. Washington, D.C.: National Academies, 2006. 191. Hispanics and the Future of America. Web.
We are now in the 21st century and like the beginning of the 20th century the United States finds itself in the throes of a period of mass immigration. More then one million immigrants enter the Unites States, both legally and illegally every single year. Many argue that this new wave of mass immigration may help sustain the success that our nation is having in regard to the way of living that many American have come accustomed to and yet others believe that although our nation was created by immigrants it is time to "shut down" our borders. The truth of the matter is that there will always be issues in regard to immigration and the policies that the government sets forth in order control who comes into this country. Also now
Yee, V., Davis, K., & Patel, J. (2017, March 06). Here’s the Reality About Illegal Immigrants in the United States. Retrieved November 10, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/06/us/politics/undocumented-illegal-immigrants.html
Being the only Canadian born in my family, integration and immigration were never a concern of mine. However, my older brothers and parents had to go through this entire process in the 90s. Back then it was much different than now. Integration and immigration in Canada was relatively easier than in countries such as Spain, which will be the focus of this essay. Immigration to Spain is quite new. In the 1990s, it became more common, and then over the years increased significantly. The drastic increase is due to the different types of immigrants to Spain. Prior, most of the newcomers were from Western Europe countries. Currently many immigrants are from countries such as Morocco, Latin American countries, sub-Saharan Africa and European Union member countries which are all of which less wealthy (Tranmer, 2014:118). Spain is a part of the EU members and is politically less stable; therefore, they struggle in creating effective immigration and integration policies (p.127). Over the year, the vast increase of immigrants has led to them being exploited, attacked, and separated from society. Policies fail to account for the recent influx of immigrants and the demand for resources. To improve immigration policies, I believe socio-cultural anthropologists are capable of developing new policies to help better immigration and integration policies in Spain. As anthropologists, they take a holistic approach and generate meanings for their observations that can apply to the whole country.
Immigration has always been a contentious issue in the United States. Benjamin Franklin thought that the influx in German immigration would flush out the predominately British culture in America at the time. (5) Furthermore, a continual wave of foreign cultures began pouring into the American metropolitan areas at the turn of the 20th century. The migration of Italians, Poles, and Jews across the Atlantic Ocean began a mass assimilation of cultural ideology and customs into the United States, yet many people thought that these migrants could not adapt. Today, the American society has become a melting pot of foreign influence; however, many cynics remain skeptical about the incorporation of Latin American people and their influences.
Immigration has been a major issue in the 21st century, especially since 2015 when then presidential-candidate Donald J. Trump spoke on building a wall. In 2015, there were an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States (Krogstad). With an influx of immigrants everyday, no wonder it is such a critical topic. America was founded on the principles of freedom and acceptance, and many families today can trace roots back to someone who immigrated to the United States. Today, the Hispanic presence in America is greater than ever, but not without its controversies. The issues included in immigration reform include the wall and recently the dying DACA, and