U.S. Immigration Policy
Change
By: David
Soto
Historically, our great country was founded by immigrants and we have prided ourselves in being a melting pot of culture.
Ever since the very first European settlers first set foot in North America, immigration has created the values that bond Americans as a Nation. Immigration has framed the vision of what is now the United States. It is a nation of freedom, liberty, and hope for many. This perception of the United States however, has unfortunately created a concern to its current citizens. Illegal immigration has become an alarm on safety, social services, and the economy. It is clear that apprehension over immigration has increased over the past few years. Immigration policy has become a hot issue that has taken the central role in United States politics today. There have been many debates concerning illegal immigration creating a lot of controversy throughout the nation.
We need to change our laws of immigration and find solutions that will benefit both a legal citizen and at the same time immigrants. We need to adjust our immigration laws to permit a greater number of immigrants to become citizens and pursue the American dream. We need to provide immigrants with job training, and English instruction to help them adjust to American life. Nevertheless, our borders need to remain protected and restricted to protect the citizens living in the United States.
The first thing that should be changed is our policies on the path to citizenship. Doing so will encourage immigrants to apply for citizenship, rather than to resort to living here illegally. As of April, 28 2013 the current process is too time consuming and can take years until you are even considered. If you meet certain requirements, you may become a U.S. citizen by applying for naturalization. To be eligible you must be at least 18 years of age, be a lawful permanent resident, have been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months and the list goes on and on. Those applicants must take the naturalization test on English, and civics which includes U.S. history and government (United States, 2013). Having them tested for naturalization is a good idea the problem is with the process that takes years before your even selected. Speeding up the process will be beneficial to promoting legal immigration to our country.
Once they become citizens we should offer them opportunities to make the adjustment easier and effective.
By offering job training it will benefit our economy by having more jobs and services available for new citizens in the United States.
Chairmen Edward P. Lazear of the council of economic advisors stated that “Our review of economic research finds immigrants not only help fuel the Nation's economic growth, but also have an overall positive effect on the income of native-born workers” (Lazear, 2007). Another way of making the adjustment easier is by offering them education on the English language. This will benefit us all making it easier for them to communicate and find jobs.
Nevertheless, we must continue protecting our borders from undocumented immigrants. This is important because having undocumented immigrants can jeopardize our safety. According to a statistic about 45 percent of illegal immigrants who are
incarcerated are there for drug trafficking (Kouri, 2006). Having our borders protected is crucial because we have no documentation
on what kinds of people are crossing our borders illegally. It could be someone who is looking to make an honest living in America to feed his family, or someone who is looking to harm us like a terrorist. We cannot take that risk.
Historically, our great country was founded by immigrants and we have prided ourselves in being a melting pot of
culture. We need to make these changes in our immigration policies to continue being a nation of liberty, hope,
and freedom for many. We have to look past our borders and find solutions for our future.
Sources
United States. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
USCIS - Citizenship. N.p., 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Apr.
2013.
United States. Council of Economic Advisors.
Immigration’s Economic Impact. By Edward P. Lazear. N.p., 20 June 2007. Web. 29
Apr. 2013.
Kouri, Jim. "Illegal Aliens Linked to Rise in Crime
Statistics." Illegal Aliens Linked to Rise in Crime Statistics. Renew America,
22 June 2006. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
Meininger, Sally. "5 Reasons Your Heart Doesn’t Need To
Bleed Over Illegal Immigration." Cartoon. NewsReal Blog RSS. N.p., 1 Aug. 2010.
Web. 06 May 2013.
Are There Really Jobs Americans Won't Do? | Center for
Immigration Studies. N.d. Photograph. Center for Immigration Studies. By Steven
A. Camarota. May 2013. Web. 06 May
2013.
Change
By: David
Soto
Historically, our great country was founded by immigrants and we have prided ourselves in being a melting pot of culture.
Ever since the very first European settlers first set foot in North America, immigration has created the values that bond Americans as a Nation. Immigration has framed the vision of what is now the United States. It is a nation of freedom, liberty, and hope for many. This perception of the United States however, has unfortunately created a concern to its current citizens. Illegal immigration has become an alarm on safety, social services, and the economy. It is clear that apprehension over immigration has increased over the past few years. Immigration policy has become a hot issue that has taken the central role in United States politics today. There have been many debates concerning illegal immigration creating a lot of controversy throughout the nation.
We need to change our laws of immigration and find solutions that will benefit both a legal citizen and at the same time immigrants. We need to adjust our immigration laws to permit a greater number of immigrants to become citizens and pursue the American dream. We need to provide immigrants with job training, and English instruction to help them adjust to American life. Nevertheless, our borders need to remain protected and restricted to protect the citizens living in the United States.
The first thing that should be changed is our policies on the path to citizenship. Doing so will encourage immigrants to apply for citizenship, rather than to resort to living here illegally. As of April, 28 2013 the current process is too time consuming and can take years until you are even considered. If you meet certain requirements, you may become a U.S. citizen by applying for naturalization. To be eligible you must be at least 18 years of age, be a lawful permanent resident, have been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months and the list goes on and on. Those applicants must take the naturalization test on English, and civics which includes U.S. history and government (United States, 2013). Having them tested for naturalization is a good idea the problem is with the process that takes years before your even selected. Speeding up the process will be beneficial to promoting legal immigration to our country.
Once they become citizens we should offer them opportunities to make the adjustment easier and effective.
By offering job training it will benefit our economy by having more jobs and services available for new citizens in the United States.
Chairmen Edward P. Lazear of the council of economic advisors stated that “Our review of economic research finds immigrants not only help fuel the Nation's economic growth, but also have an overall positive effect on the income of native-born workers” (Lazear, 2007). Another way of making the adjustment easier is by offering them education on the English language. This will benefit us all making it easier for them to communicate and find jobs.
Nevertheless, we must continue protecting our borders from undocumented immigrants. This is important because having undocumented immigrants can jeopardize our safety. According to a statistic about 45 percent of illegal immigrants who are
incarcerated are there for drug trafficking (Kouri, 2006). Having our borders protected is crucial because we have no documentation
on what kinds of people are crossing our borders illegally. It could be someone who is looking to make an honest living in America to feed his family, or someone who is looking to harm us like a terrorist. We cannot take that risk.
Historically, our great country was founded by immigrants and we have prided ourselves in being a melting pot of
culture. We need to make these changes in our immigration policies to continue being a nation of liberty, hope,
and freedom for many. We have to look past our borders and find solutions for our future.
Sources
United States. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
USCIS - Citizenship. N.p., 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Apr.
2013.
United States. Council of Economic Advisors.
Immigration’s Economic Impact. By Edward P. Lazear. N.p., 20 June 2007. Web. 29
Apr. 2013.
Kouri, Jim. "Illegal Aliens Linked to Rise in Crime
Statistics." Illegal Aliens Linked to Rise in Crime Statistics. Renew America,
22 June 2006. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
Meininger, Sally. "5 Reasons Your Heart Doesn’t Need To
Bleed Over Illegal Immigration." Cartoon. NewsReal Blog RSS. N.p., 1 Aug. 2010.
Web. 06 May 2013.
Are There Really Jobs Americans Won't Do? | Center for
Immigration Studies. N.d. Photograph. Center for Immigration Studies. By Steven
A. Camarota. May 2013. Web. 06 May
2013.