It's Time for Immigration Reform
News article after news article on immigration characterizes anyone who
opposes the current level of immigration as anti-immigrant. This is
biased and deceitful. It's like saying that anyone who doesn't want 10
or 12 children is anti-children. The truth is that many people are
pro-immigration but recognize that the present level of immigration is
unsustainable and will eventually be detrimental to Americans and
immigrants alike.
One often-used irrelevant argument is that we are a nation of
immigrants. While true, it does not shed light on the question of how
many immigrants should be admitted annually and what should be the
criteria for admission. To
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Given the present
immigration trends, which will account for 70 to 80 percent of the
population growth in the next century, it is only a matter of time
before the population of the U.S. surpasses that of India and China.
Why would any nation want to implement such a disastrous policy?
The answer is that few Americans, especially politicians, look past the
next couple of years. It is sometimes suggested that if we find we are
overpopulated we can then cut back on immigration. But even if we
halted all immigration today, it would take at least 50 years before
U.S. population would level out. The reason is, of course, the
fertility rate of immigrants is far higher than that of native-born
Americans. It takes two to three generations before the rate drops to
about the national American average,
The argument that without immigration there will be nobody to do the
jobs that immigrants do is the same logic that was used to justify
slavery: "Without slaves, who will pick the cotton?" The answer, as any
economist knows, is that in a market economy wage rates will always
adjust to the level necessary to attract sufficient labor or stimulate
innovation to mechanize the jobs.
The persons most hurt by excessive immigration are low-skilled
Americans
Jonathan Edwards, a preacher during the American Enlightenment period, was mostly known for his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. The Enlightenment, an eighteenth-century movement distinguished by the belief in the power of human reason and by advancements in political, religious, and educational doctrine. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God was written as a response to the Puritans losing their faith because of the new scientific theories and emphasis on human reason that contradicted the word of God. Jonathan Edwards wrote the sermon to persuade the Puritans that lost faith, by threatening and warning them of the wrath of God. He used this tactic to convince the perplexed Puritans that continuing to sin would guarantee their condemnation to hell.
The United States population is growing each and every second. “Americans manage to accept 1.2 million legal immigrants into the United States annually. Continuing that mass immigration guarantees an added 100 million people to the United States by 2035” (Wooldridge, par. 6 ). Although this immigration benefits the growth of the American society, some argue to build a barrier to completely stop immigration. In Dr. John Tanton's essay entitled “International Migration” he asks, "What restrictions are appropriate to today's world?”(par. 8). America is the result of years of immigrants adding to the economic growth of the country, and without changes to immigration laws it will have a negative impact on the country’s future.The United States government
As far as reducing the immigration and restricting the policies in the United States more than they are now, my standing is that we should not. Immigrants bring innovative ideas and an entrepreneurial spirit to the U.S. economy. Because they have close contact with other counties, they enhance the U.S.’s ability to trade and thrive globally. Immigrants also tend to fill jobs that Americans can’t or won’t take, and also raise demand for goods as well as supply. Another argument for stricter immigration is that these aliens are draining funds, and that taxpayers’ paychecks are being exhausted to support these foreigners. Contrary to popular belief however, NAS found a study that the “typical immigrant and his or her offspring will pay a net $80,000 more in taxes during their lifetime {in America} than they collect in government services.”
The evening news is ripe with controversial legislation, policy and debate from the lawmakers of the United States. Some of the most interesting headlines in recent history discuss the huge battles on labor laws in Wisconsin and Iowa, the anticipation of a Republican front runner for the upcoming Presidential elections, and discussion of our nation’s ability to understand and predict future happenings in Libya, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Any of these topics could spark a heated conversation in any coffee house or roadside diner in this country but perhaps there is no issue which stays on the forefront, which riles testy tempers, and which needs to be discussed so much as this country’s policies on
Have you ever wondered how it feels moving to a new place where everything the language, the culture and the people are different? Do you know what it is like to leave everything you like and love behind including your family, your friends, school and much more? For many times, people from all over the world comes to the United States looking for a better future-- new opportunists and by doing so achieve the American dream, for themselves and also for their family. Illegal immigration is a major problem that affects the United States. For almost twenty-five years, Maria Gonzalez lived in the United States without a legal status. Her husband and two children are all U.S citizens. Even though she is the wife and the mother of U.S citizens, it is hard
Within the United States, there has not been a president to solve the issue of immigration reform. This has been a problem for conservatives and liberals in politics. Throughout the 2016 election, the question of immigration reform was posed from both the republican and democratic candidates running for president. The candidate that brought up this significant issue during their campaign was, Donald Trump. Now, a year after being president, the issue of immigration is more crucial than ever before. Since taking office, Trump has taken steps to crack down on undocumented immigrants by ending programs such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and giving more power to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. (Andrea Gonzalez-Ramirez).
Camarota (2007, p.1), a director of the Immigration Studies Center, reports the data from Census Bureau, the United States department of commerce, there are 1.6 million documented and undocumented migrants take up residence in the United States annually. Camarota goes on to say that the immigrants now take up one-eighth of the total population, who settle in the U.S. Namely, the number of immigrant population with rapid growth. In social leap development's today, the flood of aliens, in a significant degree, hinders the development of the United States. Therefore, the issues which relate to immigration must not be neglected and the government should keep the number of immigration from increasing since it reduces the work opportunity for
The U.S. is slammed by growing numbers in population. It seems that many do not think of the long term effects of this increase. This is one of the most significant problems Americans face today, yet no one talks about the problem, when it comes to the debate over immigration. “The current world population is over 6 billion and increases at a rate of 76,570,430 people every year. Since 1950, U.S. population has nearly doubled - growing from 151 million to over 294 million today. If present trends continue, our population will exceed 400 million by the year 2050. Immigration contributes over one million people to the U.S. population annually. The total foreign-born population in the U.S. is now 31.1 million, a record 57 percent
In immigration policy, there has been several programs and acts that are represented through significant moments. The first to discuss is the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was among one of the first immigration policy to exist within the United States. As stated in American immigration: a very short introduction, Gerber explains that Dennis Kearney, a Californian politician, had a disdain for Chinese immigrants and feared they would take over the workforce in California. In 1882, Kearney succeeds in promoting his agenda and passes the Chinese Exclusion Act, which calls for the deportation of Chinese immigrant workers (Gerber 35). Furthermore, Gerber quotes historian Mae Ngai, as she states that this act soughts “for massive racial engineering”
Immigration to the United States is a complicated analytical circumstance that has been a major reason for cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States and population
In this paper I will discuss how the United States needs a new immigration policy that is based less on wishful thinking and more on realism. Spending vast sums of money trying to enforce arbitrary numerical limits on immigration that bear no relationship to economic reality is a fool’s errand. We need flexible limits on immigration that rise and fall with U.S. labor demand, coupled with strict enforcement of tough wage and labor laws that protect all workers, regardless of where they were born. We need to respect the natural human desire for family reunification, while recognizing that even family-based immigrants are unlikely to come here if jobs are not available. And we need to
The questions of how many illegal immigrants should be admitted to the United States, and what level of skills these immigrants should have, are among the most divisive issues in the current U.S. domestic policy. Much of the controversy that they spark can be traced to a single issue: do immigrants help or harm the economy? “Immigration benefits America in at least two ways. First, increased immigration expands the American workforce and encourages more business start-ups. Second, immigrants increase economic efficiency by raising the supply of low- and high-skilled immigrants. In many cases immigrants ' educational backgrounds complement, rather than displace, the
The United States’ immigration system has several flaws that no one seems to know how to address. There have been several attempts to correct these flaws like accommodating immigrants with the Dream Act and trying to eliminate illegal entries into the U.S by spending billions of dollars on border patrol. However, there are flaws in those attempts also. For example, according to Daniel Gonzalez, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients are having a hard time finding jobs and, in some states, are prohibited from getting a drivers license. Also, the billions of dollars that have been poured into increased border patrol “reduced but did not stop unauthorized entries” (Mae M. Ngai). Perhaps the flaws in the U.S. immigration system are present because the attempts to fix them contradict one another. Congress tries to make border patrol stricter, but yet attempt to accommodate undocumented immigrants. Nevertheless, these contradictions should be brought to the attention of the public and even Congress for three reasons: the U.S. have attempted to accommodate migrants, but their actions are severely flawed, there is too much money being spent on border patrol, but illegal entry still exists and is somewhat encouraged, and the House of Representatives and Senate can’t agree on how to approach the issue. These are issues that both current and future migrants and immigrants should care about because they should be accommodated in a way that is easy for them to live the
If many people that had and have hate against every single immigrant and gave them a chance many of them would show that they can be a good use for the economy if we provide a pathway to citizenship, we will bring millions of taxpayers into our system , which is good for our financial future. Yes there is a large reform needed for immigration laws. The current laws, we have clearly do not work because there are so many illegal aliens in the country. Immigration is a great thing for this country, but it needs to be done legally. Illegal immigration is not doing anything good for our country.Illegal immigration has been a widely discussed topic in politics in the US. Some argue that immigrants are necessary as they take the jobs Americans do not wish to take, and that they therefore should be given permission to stay in the country. Others however, are of the opinion that they should be severely punished, seeing as what they are doing is illegal, arguing that the illegal immigrants are taking away jobs from Americans and not paying their taxes. Although there are arguments supporting the claim that undocumented immigrants should be
The United States has long served as a refuge for people who seek to escape hunger, poverty, torture, and the oppression of the human spirit in their own countries. However, the issue of immigration in the United States has become a political flashpoint since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The sacralization of the tragedy has served to paint all immigrants with the same fear-ladened brush, and has marginalized and stereotyped an already vulnerable population. Today, more than ever, immigrants in the United States face increasing stressors as they try to assimilate in a politically charged post 9/11 world. To be an effective social worker, immigration issues and multicultural awareness is critical. Mary and Mario, a couple who