Immigration Paper: An Overview
Other countries from around the world see the United States of America as a “Welcome Home” door mat. Today the act of deportation has been misconstrued for mistreating people in need. This is a recent controversial topic specifically between the President and Republicans of the Congress as well as a great number of people in our nation that it affects. Thousands of illegal immigrants cross our border every day without consequences, instead they are free to stay. The illegal immigrants that cross our borders on a daily basis take advantage of the benefits that are given to them and they aren’t officially here on a visa or green card. The fault lies in several branches of our government, but there has not been a compromise to deal with the ongoing situation. Limitations on immigration would highly benefit our nation and it should be done in the near future.
The Department of Homeland Security has the job of securing our borders, but has failed to do so under the orders of the President Barrack Obama. In response, “Congressional Republicans tried to attach a provision to the bill funding the Department of Homeland Security stipulating that no funds could be spent to implement the president’s unconstitutional amnesty” (The Week). Since immigration laws and regulations are not being enforced this welcomes any potential threats to cross our borders freely. Strengthening our protection would ensure our national security which would decrease the likelihood of any dangers such as possible terrorist scares or criminal activities. Although this would help with the immigration, it is not entirely a solution.
Illegal immigrants that live in our country have taken our jobs and tax money, which they depend on while we allow them to stay here. “Amnesty will not boost the economy, even though it might raise the GDP slightly, because amnesty does not address the underlying weakness of our economy: namely the shortage of well-paying, career oriented jobs,” shows that illegal immigrants don’t help our economy financially (Ruark, 3). The occupations that require little to no education and they tend to have lower wages are jobs in construction, service, and manufacturing. With jobs employing illegal aliens, wages tend to decrease and Americans tend to be driven away from this type of workforce. Since we offer these people social security and work privileges it will allow them to have all of the rights that a natural born citizen would have.
When there are large concentrations of illegal citizens living in one area this could be concerning amongst the others that live in nearby communities. “According to the Becker-Ehrlich model of crime, a lower income from legitimate activities means a higher propensity to participate in illicit activities,” this may not always be the circumstances but there have been surveys done asking how they feel about these people (Pinotti, 1). With research and observations, there has been a profile conducted for a typical illegal immigrant that could possibly commit a crime. This profile states that this individual is usually young, single, male, and less educated than a legal immigrant (Pinotti, 1). If immigration policies were being enforced this could lower any chances of criminal activity.
As American citizens we are granted liberties and rights that cannot be taken away from us, but that doesn’t include all people that reside in the United States. Barbara Jordan believed that, “ending illegal immigration and restoring integrity to the immigration system by vigorously enforcing the law was in accord with the Constitution and vital to ensuring the civil rights and civil liberties of Americans” (Federation for American Immigration Reform). It is not fair to those immigrants that went through the legal process of becoming an American citizen when illegal immigrants are given a pass. This is infringing on an American’s rights, because we have no say to whether that is okay.
The Dream Act (Develop, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) was first introduced in August 2001, but has never been passed in the US Senate. The proposal was to give an opportunity to alien minors to be educated to achieve goals, allow them to later serve the country, and permanent residency. These alien minors were brought to the US by their parents and have always known the US as their home. It was not their fault, so they shouldn’t be punished for being here, instead the Dream Act can give them a chance to make something of themselves and achieve their goals. According to the White House the Dream Act will benefit our economy, make our country more competitive in the global economy, contribute to our military’s recruitment efforts and readiness, and will allow our immigration and border security experts to focus on those who pose a serious threat to our nation’s security (White House).
Another exception to illegal immigrants would be refugees that come to the United States for a certain reason. The U.S. refugee resettlement program reflects the United States’ highest values and aspirations to compassion, generosity and leadership (Refugee Admissions). For example, I had a Spanish teacher in middle school that came to the United States, because she was threatened in her country of Columbia. A drug cartel in Columbia killed her brother and threatened to kill her too, so she came to America as a refugee in search for political asylum. She now is an American citizen and is now a teacher with a college education. Other refugees come to America for the same reasons, such as war or a natural disaster that is taking place in their home country.
However, there are some immigrants that come to the United States are here on green cards. A green card allows a person to live in the United States permanently for an approved reason. In order for an immigrant to be granted a green card it has to be for work, asylum or political status, or through family. Another way for a person to come to the United States is on a Visa. This allows a person to reside here for a period of time and it has to be renewed every so often. People that come on either a green card or visa are not illegal immigrants. This is because they are not “under the radar” rather they are here with permission and the US government knows they are here.
The Immigration Policy is not being strictly enforced across the nation which could be detrimental to the native inhabitants. It is a problem that may never be solved but there are several things that could be limited. The people that have earned their rights to stay here have went through the legal process and have a real reason to be here are accounted for. It is our government’s job to take action and deport illegal immigrants back to their home countries. If failed to do so we as a nation wouldn’t have abided by the Constitution, by giving countless numbers of people equal rights as someone who has earned them versus someone who has not.
Works Cited
Editors, NR. 'The Week.' National Review 23 Mar. 2015, Sections. NewsBank. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
Pinotti, Paolo. 'Clicking on Heaven's Door.' Research Briefs In Economic Policy. Cato Institute, Aug. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
Ruark, Eric A. 'Executive Action Harmful.' Scribd., 30 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
'Home | Federation for American Immigration Reform.' Home | Federation for American Immigration Reform.Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
'Jobs Americans Won't Do? A Detailed Look at Immigrant Employment by Occupation.' Center for Immigration Studies. Web. 1 May 2015.
'Refugee Admissions.' U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Web. 1 May 2015.
