The debate over immigration in America often takes the form of two equally persuasive but irreconcilable assertions. The economic impact of immigrants is one area in which such views are especially entrenched. Opponents of immigration argue that large numbers of new immigrants strain the economy by competing for scarce jobs and by draining social service funds. Many immigration advocates, on the other hand, believe that immigration stimulate the economy by providing cheap labor and by increasing the demand for goods and services and even stabilizing the population. When it comes to illegal immigrants, the debate gets hotter. Legal immigrants are more socially acceptable but there is problem with the competition some of the talented legal immigrants bring to the work place for Americans as well.
This essay answers the question, what is America? and in doing so, takes on immigration, which is one of the controversial issues in America and how it defines America. The goal of this essay is to bring a fresh voice that aims at suggesting solid and smart solutions to end the indirect immigration war in America. It is very clear that America can no longer wait to find a solution to the immigration problem that is dividing its people apart and killing innocent people along the Mexican border. The time to face this menace in society is overdue and my greatest hope in this essay is to persuade you and any other person to rethink immigration in the United States and support these strategies that I’m advocating to end the immigration problem in the United States and bring peace and harmony to both immigrants and Americans.
I’ll starts by considering the current immigration problem and how its affecting the nation and later, takes on the two components of this phenomenon, which are hard to tell if Americans can fully adopt one and forget about it’s side effects. In the attempt to bring the discussion as close as possible, l will be considering the current Mexican immigrants in the United States and explain how the Mexicans got to where they are and how their immigration originated. My work never ends until l introduce my solutions to the immigration problem in the United States which l think can end this menace in the American Society. Lets start by looking at how immigration defines America.
In the present United States, more than fifty percent of the population is made up of immigrants. The population is made up of people from other countries or whose parents or grandparents are from other countries. The immigrant population keeps growing like wild fire in almost every state in the United States and this is bringing great diversity in various aspects of the American society. There’s literally no constitutional law that the government of the United States can put into effect without first considering the effect of such laws on immigrants. That is to say, whatever decision the government of the United States is to make, immigrants must be considered and factored in such decisions or else such constitutions will never become part of the rules of the land. Political figures, knowing how fragile the subject is, have used it in many situations to score great points in the public eye and convinced the American people to elect them into power. Immigration is not a modern act; it has existed since the discovery of the United States. One major form of immigration in the past which we barely consider is slavery.
l refer to slavery as the most forceful form of immigration where people were brought to the United States against their will, to work in the fields to produce food and other agriculture products to feed Americans. In those days, slaves were the most wanted assets in the United States because without them, the economy will not survive. If immigration is really bad for the United States as some Americans claim, why were the slaves not transported back to their home countries after they were given their freedom? The slaves were immigrants from other countries just like every other person from Mexico, Africa, Asia, Europe and any other part of the world and their labor was so much needed to build the economy which Americans enjoy today.
The immigration of people from almost every country in the world to the United States has great impact on the food, religion, culture, economy and governance of America. Some people have given wrong judgments on immigration in various dimensions. Legrain points out the fear raised by Samuel Huntington, a Harvard professor, when he warned of the risk of a “bifurcated America, with two languages, Spanish and English, and two cultures, Anglo-Protestant and Hispanic” and the potential for a backlash against this: an “exclusivist America”, once again defined by race and ethnicity and that excludes and or subordinates those who are not white and European(11). l trully disagree with Samuel Huntington on this assertion because immigrants bring with them different cultures and languages to their adopted country but to consider it as divisive subverts the main idea behind immigration, which is to learn new things about a different environment than yours and use those opportunities to make a better person. l can argue most immigrants do not come to the United States to divide the country or to establish their religion and make it permanent, rather, immigrants focus on how to fit better in their new adopted country and make good use of all the resources available to make their life better than what it used to be in their home countries. There is no doubt about the exchange of culture and language whenever two groups of people from different countries reside in the same area but this does not in anyway harmfully divide them as Samuel Huntington suggested. My point is if immigrants want to be divided in a way as suggested by Samuel Huntington, then they wouldn’t even border coming to the United States. They would have stayed in their home countries where everything is the same rather coming here to encounter various cultures and religions.
Another major concern of the America people according to Legrain is the fear that immigrants will make them jobless(133). I have some disagreements with this assertion because the thought of every immigrant admitted into the United States replacing or filling the next job position that an American would like to occupy is simply not true. I can argue most Americans, even the unqualified ones will not do some of the dirty jobs that some immigrants do. Jobs such as cleaning toilets, collecting rubbish, waiting tables, picking fruits, mowing lawns and other low class jobs are just not what some Americans are willing to do. Some of these immigrants rather supplement the lives of families who need such low class services in order to keep their professional jobs going on well.
It is very clear that human beings are very jealous and discriminatory in nature and Americans are no exceptions. The only difference is that, Americans pretend the problem doesn’t exist and use other tactics to express their feelings. Legrain emphasized the complain of Americans in regard to the pressure immigrants put on the welfare system. I actually consider this to be a legitimate concern because the United States is not a pile of money; it’s more like a lifeboat, and just as a lifeboat will sink when more and more people get on board, so will the welfare system. However, immigrants tend to be very hard working and do not sit around to be taken care of by the government. Also, taking into consideration the huge amount of taxes contributed by the immigrants, the economy will virtually stabilize despite their admission and rather result in a positive growth. I try so hard to figure out why the United States can import goods from other countries but will not allow the same people who produce the goods to come to the United States and render their service directly to the United States. Does it cost less to import goods than making it yourself? These immigrants are talented in many ways and this contributes tremendously to America’s success in the global market where competition is the major key player. So why do Americans cry when the immigrants are doing the United States the very best in life? It is not hard to spot hard working immigrants or descendants of immigrants in both lower and higher levels of organizations in the United States. One important person that shows how significant immigrants are to the United States is President Barrack Obama. In 1959, just after her high school graduation, Ann Dunham, mother of President Obama, moved with her parents to Honolulu, Hawaii. Ann enrolled in the University of Hawaii where she met Barack Obama, father of President Obama, the first African student accepted to the university. Ann and Barack fell in love and were married, despite the misgivings of Barack’s father, who wrote from Kenya that he didn’t approve of the marriage. Ann’s parents were wary at first but soon accepted their son-in-law. On August 4, 1961, Ann and Barack gave birth to President Obama. Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Several events brought him to national attention, such as his prime-time televised keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. Part of his speech during this convention that lingers in my mind over and over again is as follows:
Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let’s face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. What’s interesting is how deeply American I feel, considering this exotic background. Some of it is the Midwestern roots of my grandparents, my mother, and the values that they reflect. But some of it is also a deep abiding sense that what is quintessentially American, is all these different threads coming together to make a single quilt. And I feel very much like I’m one of those threads that belong in this quilt, that I’m a product of all these different forces, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American. That, somehow, all this amalgam is part of who I am, and that’s part of the reason I love this country so much (nytimes.com).
Obama has impressed the whole world at this convention and many had realized a star is born in America and could be the turn around for America’s history. He began his presidential campaign in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party’s nomination. In the 2008 general election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain and was inaugurated as first black president on January 20, 2009. Obama is also the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
We can conclude from Obama’s work that, he built his work on determination and discovery of the United States and used it to reach the highest office in the land. As a son of an immigrant, he was possessed with the zeal to overcome challenges facing people and worked tirelessly to establish such a powerful status quo which was unmatched by the most powerful republican presidential nominee. The American spirit is the belief that everyone can be successful if they work harder and pursue their dreams persistently. This makes Americans very successful in discovering new methods and technologies in every field of life. Such hard work and determination is what drives people from other countries to the United States to make life better for themselves and their family. This American story is made possible because of immigration and no one should be denied access if they follow the proper procedures.
Most people have a negative view about immigration because of how Mexicans have abused it in coming to the United States, but I think the United States did not play their part well in dealing with the issue with Mexico. Erecting walls to separate two countries is more of a low class treatment of humanity and such actions should not be taken. There should be an immigration reform and proper easy steps laid for Mexicans to come to the United States. I will say the United States is married to immigration and there’s never going to be a divorce. The only option available is to solve the problems of immigration and let there be peace in the country.
As l said earlier, l will now throw some light on the two fragile components of this issue which politicians as well as civilians in the United States find very mind-boggling and hard to talk about. That is legal and illegal immigration. Which of these two components will Americans fully embrace without any whining or regret in the future? Barbour concludes the statistics and the influx of immigrants in the United States as follows:
The United States is one of the few advanced countries in the world that does not effectively control immigration. Large numbers of immigrants continue to enter the United States illegally each year, most of them from Latin America, and most of those from Mexico. Conservative estimates place the number of illegal immigrants residing in the United States at three to four million. Some estimates run as high as ten million. The illegal immigrant population may be increasing by as many as 300,000 people each year. The Center for Immigration Studies in Washington estimates that the pool of illegal Mexican settlers alone currently may be increasing by as many as 250,000 annually(17).
It is very clear immigration is an important engine of growth for America’s population, which has increased more rapidly than the population of any other advanced country. Apart from the legal and illegal immigrants pouring in the United States, their high fertility rate after arrival helped drive the national fertility rate to what is expected in the United States. I’m not suggesting a blatant disagreement with skeptics of the adverse effects of illegal immigration on the United States because there are, of course, negative side effects of this phenomenon which should be of concern to anyone who loves his country. My point is we should not close our eyes to the positive sides of this issue when judging it. Let’s imagine there are not enough people to reproduce to occupy the country or make up for those who are dead. The country will be weak in labor, it’s army will shrink drastically, and any other sector which requires a human input for it’s survival will face major problems. Worst of it all, more Americans are cutting back on their reproductive rate and some are even turning to homosexual marriages. It’s obvious the national population will drop if immigrants and their children do not make up the difference to maintain a well populated country. l will not promote illegal immigration but l think it at least has some good impact on the United States by helping to stabilize its population in this instance.
When it comes to the job market, there is huge controversy over the problems of illegal immigration as well as legal immigration. According to Barbour, illegal immigration leads to a foreign underclass in the job market(30). l strongly agree with him on this point because people who do not have proper documentation actually live in a world of fear of detection by authorities and resultant imprisonment and deportation to their homelands. It is this fear that made such illegal immigrants resort to false identification papers, including social security cards and driver licenses to help them get jobs in order to live. Unfortunately, these helpless immigrants are unscrupulously exploited by some employers in a variety of ways to get their business done at a very cheap cost. The underclass of illegal immigrants also tend to make them vulnerable to serious criminal activities such as drug- smuggling and prostitution on the streets. People always judge these illegal aliens as criminals by nature, but l could argue some of these people were actually upright and law abiding citizens of their home country before coming to the United States to face situations that change their life from good to bad. What actually is the reason why the United States will not accept these illegal immigrants who are already in the country and forms part of it’s population? Based on it’s history, the United States is founded on the principle that others have the right to enjoy its fruits as long as they work hard and obey the law. The illegal aliens are obviously hard working individuals trying to find greener pastures and what is left for the United States to make this dream come true is a sensible immigration reform that provides a forum for everybody to achieve their dreams and live by the law.
Legal immigration is a little bit more socially acceptable than illegal immigration in the United States, but there are still criticisms against it too. According to Legrain, most Americans consider legal immigrants competitors in their work place(136). l think this competition is fair because it will make workers more committed and very productive. Americans are hard working but just as any human being, people turn to be lazing around work place when they feel they are irreplaceable. This competition will keep such people on their toes to give the best shot of their production, knowing there are people as good as them who can easily replace them. It might sound unfair but this is what the economy needs to be stable and out win other challenging economies of the world. In the real world, life is about survival of the fittest and Americans must be ready to face such competitions if they want to keep their economy above water.
When you’ll think people have nothing to say against them no more, then come one of the ridiculous excuses which legrain raised about the Americans’ fear of the spread of disease by both legal and illegal immigrants in the United States. l do not fully disagree with Americans about this concern because our health is our wealth but as part of the immigration procedures, l want to remind such Americans that immigrants are screened for all kinds of contagious diseases and are admitted standard vaccines required by the department of health for all persons legally changing their status to a permanent residence or a citizen of the United States. This means all legal immigrants in the United States have been cleared in terms of their health but illegal immigrants are left unattended to and this should be the main concern. l think when it comes to health, it’s good for everybody to be concerned but we must also think of the long term results of our decisions before making them. Many have cried for the denial of public services such as health care and hospitals for illegal immigrants, forgetting that illegal immigrants reside among us and if they don’t have treatment for whatever contagious disease they have, it will eventually land in our system and can kill us. Of course, many will probably disagree with this assertion because they think illegal immigrants will be a burden to these public services and some critics will say it will then make them not illegal. l think it’s wise to let them get the care they need for their sickness so that they don’t transmit it to anybody.
Immigration is one of the most talked about political issues that lasts years and decades without finding a solid solution to it. Corzic describes the situation of immigration in America as follows:
Immigration is in the spotlight not because of money but because it so impinges on issues like race, the role of government, national identity and change. One side looks at crime, failing schools and others see America, the greatest nation on earth, built on the backs of immigrants and still benefiting enormously from the brains, energy and determination(not to speak of low wages) of the next generation of newcomers. Right now the debate is more emotional than informed. It’s all temper tantrums and red-hot sound bit…(17).
The problem of immigration is just like any other issue of national concern, such as the current recession in America. Everyone can feel it, and everybody has varying ideas and conclusions about the problem. l don’t think the Bush administration’s wall on the Mexican border solved the problem. It rather escalated it because there is more awareness of immigration in Mexico and people have deduced strategies to pass by the wall and come to the United States. Sending more border patrols to protect the border was just waste of money because the number of Mexicans trying to cross the border is far beyond the security these border patrols can provide. It has also increased drug smuggling because the more difficult they make it to cross the border, the more daring people become and indulge in such black market business which can instantly get them rich or end their life. There are immigration raids across some states to arrest and deport any illegal immigrant but the question is, can this solve the problem? l think America is too scared to solve the problem and those politicians elected and trusted by civilians only go around beating around the bush. Lets face it, can America close it’s borders and totally restrict foreigners from entering the country? The answer is a big no, why? because America needs foreigners to accomplish very important tasks in the economy. l think America can solve the problem of immigration if the government and people have taken politics out of the situation and treat this problem as helping someone out while getting helped. That is to say, the United States has to help the immigrants so that the immigrants can help the United States. It is a common principle of “give and take” which can bridge the gap between Americans and immigrants. Many will oppose these ideas and l absolutely agree with them but the fact that we live in a world where we have to give something in return to take or get something, this problem of illegal immigration will never be solved no matter how harsh treatments Americans give to illegal immigrants. America needs to act now, its never a weakness in the laws, but rather making the smartest move to reach agreement on one of the most controversial issues of all the time.
A conversation about immigration will never end unless we discuss the largest group of people in the United States to whom this phenomenon is almost like a last name. That is to say, any time immigration is mentioned, almost everyone refers to this group of people as the subject matter of the discussion and wonders why they are here in huge numbers. That is the Mexicans in the United States and how they got to where they are. In his article, “Mexican Migration to California”, Yang states that:
Until the late-nineteenth century, the majority of Mexican peasants were locked in debt peonage and isolated in rural areas that lacked the railroads or other transportation systems that facilitate mass migration. But the presidency of Porfirio Diaz (1876-1910), changed the history of Mexican immobility. During his campaign for “Order and Progress,” Diaz dramatically expanded Mexico’s railroad system, promoted land privatization, and encouraged a switch from peonage to wage labor. As an estimated five million Mexican peasants lost access to communal and holdings, their search for work began a century of mass labor migration between Mexico and the United States[… ](442).
At the time of this massive movement of labor from Mexico to the United States, both governments actually signed a bill to support immigration without thinking about the aftermath and the mess it would bring upon the United States. My point is that the Mexican population in the United States is very large and it keeps growing because of how immigration policies in the beginning were not well constructed. So who let the “dog” out? l think the United States asked for this massive influx of people from Mexico into the United States and the Mexicans must be received with both hands and in good faith.
According to Johnson, the United States often characterizes itself as open to the “huddled masses,” as the inscription on the Statue of Liberty proudly proclaims(2). It is clear that America stands out in the western world for its generosity in the admission of immigrants for both its benefits and for helping out poor people from poor and deprived nations. Then come this group of mean-spirited, so called conservative Americans yelling “we are taking our country back, all immigrants should go back to their countries”. Consequently, U.S law has barred many innocent and hardworking people from its shores. Those who were already in the U.S were labeled illegal and plans to deport them to their home countries were sorted tirelessly over decades without finding any single solution to how this cruel idea could be accomplished. This cruelty and meanness has not only created tension between the United States and other nations, but has also led to most of the evil thoughts people all over the world have against the United States. l am not suggesting people have the right or it’s fine to wage war or commit acts of violence against the United States, but rather, what l mean is Americans have abused their power and resources against immigrants in many ways and this could be the reason why some of these people will ever think of committing acts of violence against the country they once loved and cherished so much.
It is true that many good things have happened to both America and Mexico in terms of immigration but the worst of everything that is separating and causing major conflict between the two nations is the indirect immigration war on the Mexican border. Legrain noticed this and asked why we are fighting to keep out immigrants in a war that causes untold deaths and suffering, foments criminality in our own countries, and doesn’t even fulfill its main goal(39). The biggest mistake in current history is the construction of the wall to separate the U.S and Mexico. Do Americans really want to live in a cage with walls around the whole nation? l think the amount of money spent in building this wall and setting up a death trap for fellow human beings has contributed to the current economic downturn of the United States. This wall served no meaningful purpose in solving immigration problems with Mexico but was only mounted as a big trap to catch and kill Mexicans and simply create opportunities for professional smugglers to cash in on the traffic as they collect the last money from these poor people in their promise to bring them to the United States. What didn’t President Bush get about the Berlin wall. Erecting a wall to separate two people makes them enemies. l don’t think this is what America wants, it’s time to take the wall down just as it was finally done in Germany on October 3, 1990 for reunification of the people. Brown and Shue made a good proclamation that:
it is said that nowhere in the world do two more disparate and unequal societies share a border than at the Rio Grande. Such juxtapositions, even if less extreme than this one, may inevitably produce disequilibrium: the more-developed economy, open to cheap labor, acts as a magnet to attract those lacking opportunities in the less-developed one. Only policies that redress the imbalance, rather than treating the symptoms, can bring genuine and lasting solutions(26).
This is not to say the United States ought to suddenly adopt severely restrictive immigration policy or build walls around the entire nation. There is a reason to share both economic and physical borders with other countries whether they are rich or poor nations. Many Americans have claimed Mexicans have taken their jobs but I strongly disagree with this idea. As l have already mentioned, there are actually some jobs that Mexicans do in this country which Americans will refuse to take, such as cleaning, picking fruits, farming, and all sorts of dirty jobs Mexicans do to keep our country clean and safe. Its not hard to spot one of them in restaurants, warehouses, schools, factories and all sorts of places doing what is needed to keep our country clean and help boost our economy. That is cleaning to make those floors and bathrooms shine like a piece of thin diamond has been laid perfectly across the face of the tiles. They are good people and its time we give them that respect and appreciate what they do to help us function as a nation. It will only do good to the United States if it allow these people to do the jobs that Americans are not willing to do so that every sector will function properly.
The current immigration debate is intertwined with deeply held values, national security issues, and issues of race and ethnicity in America. Most people concerned with immigration understand that the issues are complex. Finding a solution that is fair, sustainable, and equitable for all involved poses many challenges. One aspect of this issue is that many industries depend upon the contributions made by immigrants, a large number of whom are undocumented Mexicans. Thus, one significant challenge is to align immigration policy with actual labor practices. Another difficulty is the growing anti-immigrant climate in America. The one thing most people can agree upon is that current immigration policies are broken and the time to fix the situation is long overdue. Corzic gave his judgment about immigration that, illegal immigrants are streaming into California. Many of them come to work, but many also come for two purposes that are both destructive and expensive : to commit crimes or to receive government benefits(64). l agree with his proclamation because in every family, there is always a black sheep. That means, some of these Mexicans, no matter how innocent and needy they may look, just like any other human being, can be very dangerous and lazy and could become a threat or burden to the United States and there must be very good and sophisticated procedures to detect and eliminate such people from the United States. The Mexican immigration problem is very complex because these people have almost taken over some states and are in great majorities that threaten the country’s stability in the event of making any unfair reform. Politicians benefited from these large majority of Mexicans to be elected into positions which they wouldn’t assume without the support of the Spanish community, so there is actually a country that is on the verge of dividing if things are not well handled.
Barbour said if Americans think their society is going to hell or their prosperity is in serious danger, they may have a point. But if they want to find the culprits, they shouldn’t round up the immigrants; they should look in the mirror(61). The fact that this country is an immigrant land can not be denied. Just as everybody else who thinks the Mexicans are coming to benefit from their country, the United States, almost everybody here today has that “immigrant gene” in them. When the healthcare bill was passed by the Obama admnistration, thousands of immigrants flooded the streets of Washington sending a message of immigration reform with American flags flying high in the air. These are the future Americans who will also be calling someone an immigrant one day. This is how most of us got here and our story is not that different from the Mexicans, so we shouldn’t be harsh and treat them like animals. If there is a call for all immigrants to go back to their countries, some of the so called conservative Americans, might be at the forefront of that match going back to their countries. Unfortunately, some of the so called conservative Americans don’t even know where they are from, so they might be dumped some where in the middle of the ocean because no other country will be accepting them as immigrants. All I’m trying to say is that, we need to rethink immigration and put this country on its right path than listening to Rush Limbaugh and Lou Dobbs, who kept poisoning the mind of the American people to be mean towards immigrants.
It is very clear we need some kind of reform and it is my greatest hope that people in the current congress will device a smart and smooth reform which will finally stop the Mexican struggle and that of all immigrants in the United States. Not until then, the United States is not safe and the economy can fall back into the trenches any time because everybody here contributes to this country and has great impact on it, either positively or negatively.
I’m now going to introduce my strategic solutions which l think can end the current immigration problem in the United States. Before l begin, l will like to emphasize that these ideas will work only if America is ready to give something in return to get something back. Also, politics must be left out for this ideas to work effectively.
The first part of my plan is that, all legal immigrants who are not U.S citizens but have applied for such status to become citizens should be cleared in the process to attain their citizenship. This is to prevent legal immigrants who become illegal in the future because of failures in their immigration procedures so that they do not fall back into this trap again. I’m not suggesting this rule to be permanent but it should be executed at least once as part of the immigration reform I’m suggesting to take care of those who are already here and have applied to become citizens. This will bring fairness and avoid punishing legal immigrants in the future.
The second part of the plan is to give every illegal immigrant a conditional five years permanent residence status which will carry a yearly fee to be paid by the immigrant as long as they reside for even a second of a particular year in the United States. Failure to pay the fees or when a crime is committed within this period of time, the immigrant will be deported. This will make sure that every immigrant in the United States has a record and can be tracked. It also gives the illegal immigrants the opportunity to go back and visit their family in their home country and come to the United States without the fear of any penalties within the five years period. As part of this section, every immigrant must visit their home country not less than two times within this five years and should forward an immigration report from his home country to the United States, stating that he or she is a good citizen of his home country. This is to prevent the United States from being used as a safe haven for criminals from other countries. After completing the five years of probation, the immigrant should willingly leave the United States to their home country and reapply to come to the United States. Failure to leave after completing the five years will result in deportation and sanction from coming to the United States. The United States will decide either to give or deny permission of entry to the immigrants who has successfully completed the five years program based on his record. If permission is granted to an immigrant of this nature, he or she should be granted full citizenship in the United States if they want to be citizens because the United States now fully knows him or her.
The third part of the plan is an international law that will allow governments of all nations to imprison for not less than ten years with hard labor any of their citizens caught illegally in another country. This will be the borderline and it will be really hard for someone to ever dream of going to another country illegally. If other nations will not cooperate, then the U.S can set up its own law that anyone caught illegally in the United States shall be imprisoned for a maximum of ten years at the Guantanamo prison with hard labor.
The fourth part of my plan is for the United States to lay out plans and programs for people to easily come to the United States, whiles under surveillance, and do their business and either go home or follow procedures to become residents of the United States. The rules should be laid out clearly and everyone must be informed of the consequences of not following such rules. It is better to keep record of the people and monitor them than having illegal immigrants with no records who commit crimes without being caught. With this in place, the United States will not need a thousand feet wall around it to prevent Mexicans from coming to the United States.
Lastly, the American police should be given the power to question anybody of their residential status and arrest them if they are in the United States illegally. This will be the last thing to do after implementing all the reforms I’ve mentioned above and if someone is caught illegally again in the United States, then, that person has no excuse but must be deported the same day or imprisoned immediately. Things can get more complicated when these suggestions reach governmental levels but l think with these fundamental concepts of my plan in the back of the head of those greedy politicians, America can pass a very good immigration reform and bring absolute peace and understanding among the people.
l strongly believe my suggestions will solve the immigration problems and will make America once again that land for immigrants but consisting of policies that restrict massive, uncontrolled influx of people onto the land. If you think the best solution to the problem is to just arrest all immigrants and send them to their countries, then you should be preparing to be thrown out of the window of the United States soon. It is actually harder to do than to say, but nothing can be done if we don’t keep trying to fix the problem. As Harris said:
The ingenuity and diversity of arguments against immigration and immigrants are impressive. Like the proverbial hydra, no matter how many heads are cut off, the monster instantly grows new ones. It suggests that the arguments do not matter. It is the state of the mind producing the arguments which is important-blaming immigrants […] if immigrants did not exist, it would be necessary to invent them, to create scapegoats(75).
Immigration has become natural to the United States and the fact that it forms the basis of it’s foundation makes it inseparable. As at now, the best thing is to focus solely on creating a reform such as the one I’ve suggested and avoid political distractions which always block good things from happening to people. As we have witnessed recently, the United States has passed a health care bill for the first time in history, despite all the controversies. Whether this is going to be a good plan or not, we have to wait and see its outcome and not simply conclude that it’s bad for the American economy. Immigration reform must not wait anymore. No more political talks, America needs real action on immigration reform right now. I hope you’ll agree with my suggestions to solving the immigration problem in the United States and I persuade you to start advocating for the implementation of these ideas to bring peace and harmony to the U.S.
Works Cited
Barbour, William . Illegal Immigration: Current Controversies. San Diego: David L. Bender, 1994. Print.
Brown, Peter G, Shue, Henry eds. The Border That Joins: Mexican Migrants and U.S responsibility. New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield,1983. Print.
Cozic, Charles P. Illegal Immigration: Opposing View Points. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Print.
Harris, Nigel. Thinking The Unthinkable: The Immigration Myth Exposed. New York: I.B Taurus, 2002. Print.
Johnson, Kevin R. Opening The Floodgates: Why America Needs to Rethink Its Borders and Immigration Laws. New York: New York University Press, 2007. Print.
Legrain, Phillipe. Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007. Print.
Yang, Tony. Mexican Migration to California. Encyclopedia of Immigration and Migration in the American West. Ed. Gordon Morris Bakken and Alexandra Kindell. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference, 2006. 442-446. Gale Virtual Reference Library.
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