Donald Trump And Immigration In America

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, immigration is the “process through which individuals become permanent residents or citizens of another country.” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Taking a look at American history we can see that immigration is definitely not something new, it has been happening since the Europeans came to the country and colonized it, and still happens. Nowadays crossing borders became something controversial and very political, considering that immigration policies have been more discussed lately and new laws have been approved since Trump won the elections. There would be no America if it was not for the immigrants that came here, America still is (or at least should be) a nation of immigrants.

One of the reasons why President Trump became so popular while he was running for presidency was because of the sassy way he talks, especially when it is related to immigration. He is clearly against illegal immigrants mostly because those are known to increase poverty and criminality in the country. “There is increasing concern about the presence of immigrants in the criminal justice system of the United States, especially about the number of legal and illegal immigrants in prisons. In this chapter we include estimates that from 4 to 7 percent of the more than 1.5 million persons held in American jails and prisons are noncitizens.”(National Academies Press). The manner he talks is definitely an influence on how immigrants are seem in this country, especially when the immigrant comes from a third world country, is Hispanic/Latin or from a Middle East country (most extreme countries). Immigration should always be done legally, but not all immigrants are criminals, bring poverty or steal jobs and that is they way he makes it sound.

After all the prejudice, judgement and labels that immigrants go through some Americans come and say, why they do not come legally it is so much easier? The truth is that, legal immigration is not as simple as most people think. For sure, people should not be coming illegally to a country just because they want to, that is not enough of a reason. However, the process of migration for those who want to be here legally takes long time and it is hard. To be legible people must have some family member that is an American citizen or that already holds citizenship, otherwise the person will need to have a job offer or potential job offer. There are also the opportunity of citizenship for those who are asylum seekers or refugees, but still that is not enough does not give people the chance when compared to the huge amount of people that have an amazing capability to do great things in the “land of opportunities”.

Illegal immigration most of the times happens due to the lack of convenience the country of the outsider is not offering, and that should not be America’s problem. But the fact that the process for people to come legally is so hard, that people who wants to be legal end up not having the chance to be here not only because of those who are illegal but also because is practically impossible. “Many people wonder why all immigrants do not just come to the United States legally or simply apply for citizenship while living here without authorization. These suggestions miss the point: There is no line available for current unauthorized immigrants and the “regular channels” are largely not available to prospective immigrants who end up entering the country through unauthorized channels. Even though most unauthorized immigrants have lived in the United States for nearly 15 years, many could live out the rest of their lives without any opportunity to become legal residents of this country.” (American Immigration Council). Since there are all kinds of cases, why not evaluate each of them and deport who should be deported, and give opportunities for more people to come legally like the ancestors/descendants of many of those who are here now.

It is not a news to most of people that immigration has its bad side, like every pro has a con too. However if we stop to think, as said before, immigration has always been part of the American history somehow. But it has never been so polemic like the way it has been lately. The manner how Donald Trump talks about it is definitely a huge influence on how people will see and think about it. He is a leader, he represents a whole country, surely he has the power and attention enough to convince, persuade people. But the fact that he has all this influence does not mean or even make him right in every aspect of it, Hitler also had millions of followers but it did not make him good either right. For sure the immigration system in the United States has not been one of the best and its definitely far from being perfect, not only by the fact of being too restrictive but also because the problem with illegals is a real issue that need to be solved.

Some individuals see the population growth as a disadvantage immigrants can bring because of modern problems. The necessity of deforestation and pollution to settle people down can be seen as an issue. However, there is not enough evidence that the presence of aliens can actually cause significant environmental impact to the country. “Julian Simon - a free-marketeer who's loathed by most environmentalists - have argued that immigration-fuelled population increases will make little or no long-term difference to the US environment. It's even been suggested that on a global scale, immigration helps to slow population growth. Immigrants from the developing world tend to reproduce more slowly than they would have done if they'd stayed home, while their remittances promote economic development and slow population growth in their home countries.”(The Guardian). The logic that the more people the country carries more prejudices it will cause to the environment is not valid, especially considering that Americans are in the highest ranks of waste producer.

One of the most interesting facts about immigration is how enriching it can be to the land. Trump recently said to European countries that immigration is changing their culture and they should be careful about that. Nonetheless, immigration is not the only thing that can change culture considering that the people who are born in America, new technologies, time or even social media already do that and its still not a big of influence. Altogether, foreigners enrich the culture introducing more art, customs, culinary, languages and even learn more about the American culture. “With this added diversification, there is more strength to be found within the community. Immigrants start businesses, earn an income, and support others on the local level. This creates an increase in local production, which creates more profits, which further helps the economy. Strong economies that are based on immigrant perspectives tend to find the most success.”(Ittana).