The United State Immigration

In today's dialogue, there are many people who moved from all walks of life and express their opinions on the political elite as a result of the movement. The cultural debates on the right side of the political spectrum were opposed to the mainstream left with race advocacy and civil rights groups. The immigration issue also centers on the so-called undocumented immigrants that have snuck over the Mexico/United States border. The number of residents who arrived in the United States without proper documentation outnumbers those who arrived with Visas directly from Mexico. Despite the fact that immigration can stress the economy in some states, there are some who prosper in economic and cultural boosts because of the immigrant labor. This essay will elaborate more on the effects of Immigration to the United States.

The positive impacts of the Immigration Policy

In recent years, the U.S immigration policy has not been efficient in providing effective and robust measure for reducing illegal immigration as well as authorizing the high level of illegal immigration (Novotny 884). As a result, there has been a high number of illegal immigration in the United States since the year 1960. Ever since, the public polls indicated that most of the United States citizens favored the illegal immigration and that’s why the immigration act was established. In 1990, the Immigration act had a tremendous impact. The immigration policy also makes America to increase its wages and GDP because most immigrants drive the economy by creating jobs, entrepreneurship and innovation (Novotny 886). If the policy had restrictions then the highly skilled immigrants may lead to lose of innovative companies as well as competition abroad

The negative impact of the Immigration policy

Upon the signing of the Act into law in 1990, President Bush elaborated the benefits of the legislation for the nation. Through his speech, he stated that “The act notices that the fundamental historical and importance of immigrants to the United States because it is good for businesses, families, good for fighting crime and good for America in general” (Rieder 257). In the process of signing the immigration quota law in 1924, the president who was then leading the country Mr. Coolidge also states that “America must remain America.” However, today, America is not kept as promised because many immigrants have come in and changed the way the country operates. For instance, the signboards on highways no longer read in English only but also in other languages. Therefore, the immigrants have totally displaced the United States, and have become burdens to the social welfare system by completely threatening the culture of America.

The impact of immigration to the American lives

In the U.S communities, there is a rising sense of economic and social uncertainties. Most industrial sectors, in this case, depending on the immigrant industries to progressively interconnect with the economy that is characterized by the increase in trade and capital, the drug trade in the borders and increased crimes (Rieder 261). However, immigration is also beneficial to the local economy because the aliens’ perform better jobs that always stimulate growth within the neighborhoods of the U.S. The economy even remained competitive globally because it draws a more significant number in industries. Immigration, however, has its downfall because some immigrants want to do more for less. They drive the wages of the neutralized citizens lower than what is needed in the local cost of living. This is because most of them come from low living standards that what they are paid in America is an improvement.

The elements of immigration that could be improved

The elements that would improve the immigration process through the application of a principled and sensible-based immigration that would protect the American borders, be simple and merit based, enhance national security and offer a solution that would neutralize the illegal immigration issue. The only way the adverse effects could be reduced in America is by stopping immigration. The FAIR is a group in this case that favors the restrictions of illegal immigration. It is a fact that the challenges faced by America today such as increased crime and drugs come from the immigrant whom most of them entered the U.S illegally (Roberts 277). The U.S should also enforce laws that apprehend any illegal crossing of the border either through age, family or fingerprinted. All should be deported back where they came from. The existing fences should also be incorporated with surveillance cameras at the entry points and at the terrains that most of them have access (Roberts 279). The border patrols should also be increased at every portion of the border to avoid having harsh environments. Finally the United States government should increase the cooperation between the border patrols, police and the National Guards.

The Refugee Immigrants

The illegal immigrants entering the United States has been one of the most controversial political issues. The problem of illegal immigrants in the United States is one that should be of high concern because it is unfair to both Americans and the people who are legal immigrants. This problem of immigration has gotten out of control in the United States as more and more illegal immigrants enter the country each year. A study conducted showed that the U.S. could not continue to take in all these immigrants coming into the country illegally (Hayes 145). The United States is in a predicament of whether they should learn how to accept illegal immigrants and let their wish come true or if they should send them back to their country to put a stop to this illegal immigration once and for all.

In the 1980s eight million immigrants were received by the United States approximately 800,000 immigrants each year. This number includes both those who were legally admitted and the illegal entrants who got amnesty and legal residence later on. From the 1990s the volume has increased to about 900,000 immigrants entering the country each year (Hayes 148). Countries from which these immigrants enter the United States from have dramatically shifted. During the 1950s many of the immigrants came from European countries and then during the 1990s most of the immigrants who came to the United States were from Asian and Latin American nations. By 2007 an estimated 12 million illegal foreigners were living and working in the United States (Wong 146). Many immigrants cite poverty and employment as the reasons why they flee their countries. Most of these immigrants usually have a poor education background and come to the U.S. to work in low paying jobs which most of the native-born Americans cannot accept it.

In the year 1996, 911,000 immigrants were granted legal status by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (Wong 149). This number included 595,000 family reunifications, 198,000 for humanitarian reasons, and 118,000 who had specific job skills. Compared to the previous year, 1996 showed a 30% increase in the approval of immigrants. After combining this number with the illegal immigrants who are receiving amnesty, the figure grew to almost one million people. Today many of the legal immigrants entering the United States come from countries that had received backing from the government of the United States. Each year close to 150,000 individuals apply for political asylum of which there is a congestion of 450,000 applications for political asylum (Wong 153).

Most of the immigrants both documented and undocumented have found themselves as tools of political cry which is determined by the will of the general population and their swaying sentiments every time there is an election. Many of the supporters of favourable immigration laws do it for corporate interests such as profit from cheap labour, religious activists, ethnic lobbyists who want to strengthen their political base and humanitarians focus on ethical and human rights issues (Hing 329). The opponents of the immigration laws are naturalized citizens who view the non-European immigrants as being threats to their perception of the traditional American ideals. Other opponents include environmentalists who are concerned about the possibility of the United States being over-populated resulting in a strain on the local resources and labour advocates who fear jobs being lost by naturalized United States citizens (Hing 332).

Refugees Inside and Outside the United States

Less than one percent of refugees who are formally recognized worldwide get resettled every year with close to 125,600 people living in resettlement countries in the year 2016 (Mitchell 165). The United States has for the longest time led in regards to refugee resettlement in the world and has remained to be the top resettlement country. In the year 2016, the United States resettled refugees totalling to 84,994. Apart from the United States accepting refugees for resettlement from other nations it also grants humanitarian protection for those who are seeking asylum when they present themselves at the ports of entry of the United States or even if they are within the country. In the year 2015, 26,124 people were granted asylum by the United States.

By the end of 2015, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that the global displacement hand reached a record high of 65.3 million (Arbour & Rudyard 129). It was estimated that 21.3 million of these people were refugees; internally displaced people were 40.8 million, while asylum seekers were 3.2 million. The civil war taking place in Syria has resulted in 4.9 million Syrians seeking refuge in countries that neighbour the most noted being Lebanon and Turkey. It has also caused internal displacement of 6.6 million people (Arbour & Rudyard 133).

In the past, the United States used to accept 85,000 refugees each year but after the global humanitarian crisis worsened the Obama administration in 2016 increased the number of refugees to 110,000 (Mitchell 169). After President Trump took charge in January 2017, he gave a directive reduce the refugee admission ceiling for 2017 from 110,000 to 50,000. He also ordered for 120 days suspension of the refugee resettlement of the refugee program. The yearly admission of refugees has steadily declined after the peak of 1993 where 142,000 refugees were admitted for resettlement. During the first seven months of 2017, there was an admission of 42, 414 refugees which is short of the 50,000 executive order by a few thousand even though it had been blocked earlier by a federal court (Mitchell 173).

Research has shown that more than half of the refugees in the world come from Afghanistan, Somalia, and Syria (Favell 219). The UN reported that 86% of the refugees who are under their mandate were being given refuge in countries that were low and middle-income earners. Kenya has the largest refugee camp in the world called the Dadaab which would cost a humanitarian disaster if it was to be closed down (Favell 224). Just like all the other nations such as the United States that take in refugees the Kenyan government is also struggling to support millions of people who have been displaced and are desperate. Kenya or Africa are not the only ones facing this issue as more than 200,000 refugees have put their lives at risk so as to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Somalia is responsible for a quarter of the refugees and East African countries like the Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (Favell 227). The challenge of refugees is not about to go away anytime soon that is why it is essential for nations to collectively take action in order to address the root cause that motivates migration and make sure that refugees are not marginalized. The United Nations have warned people against climate xenophobia which has begun to take place in Europe. Most of the refugees flee from homes that are dangerous. According to the International Organization for Migration, close to1, 011,700 migrants had gained access to Europe by sea later on (Favell 229).

Reasons why Immigrants chose America

The reason why immigrants choose to go to America is that the answer lies in the History of the country. America itself is a country that is deeply related to immigration. For many years the United States has always opened its doors to anyone seeking religious & political freedom (Roberts 283). Adventure, fortune seekers, the wanderers, and others. Therefore from the very beginning, immigration has always been building in America. The country always has and will still be a kaleidoscope of the cultural and ethnic groups. There has always been the irony that all citizens of America complain about immigration. Literary did they know, except the Native America, all other citizens are from immigrant descents The U.S gained its territory through the violent and dishonest removal of the indigenous population. However, there are some American’s who still have the mentality that despite the fact that the land is theirs, the country was not harmful but free for others to enter.

The reasons why most immigrants opt to go to America is to escape poverty. This was one of the primary reasons. For instance, in Irish immigrated to the U.S because of the Great Potato Famine that took place in the early 1850’s. Throughout the years, the Irish people have also been experiencing other failing seasons which were caused by unfavorable weather conditions. Immigration even took place because people wanted to have religious freedom. Many of America’s ancestors, in this case, are immigrants that run the churches and government with the aim of getting liberty. Immigrants also went to the United States to avoid prosecution, and some did not plan to stay. In particular, the Italian immigrants who went to America in the 20th century only went there purposely to work, save money and build their farms or businesses (Roberts 287). They also worked in mines, built railroads, and built the skyscrapers.

Concerns about the refugees in America and why they should not be let in

Most Americans felt that the state should provide for humanitarian assistance to all the refugees that came in America, They also thought that the U.S and its allies had the responsibilities for managing the internal crisis. However, the public opinion started to change in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris on November 13 thirteenth in 2012. Everyone believed that the congestion of refugees in the country was the cause of the attacks. Also, more concerns for national and personal security became paramount again when there were terrorist attacks at San Bernardino in the year 2015. According to research done by the Quinnipiac University, statistics showed that of the refugees continue living in the U.S the country has the chances of being bombed again (Mitchell 189). About 58% of the American citizens believed that America had become a home for jihadists because most of them live among the Syrians. A considerable number of Americans, in this case, oppose the idea of being welcomes to America because of the terrorist's attacks.

Conclusion

The United States immigration as elaborated in the essay defines the nature of America starting from its state of immigration to the current operation it uses today. America is a state that was developed by many movements for different cultures. Most of these movement had the intentions of development but until the terrorist attack, the country has changed its perception The primary believe was that the terrorists lived among the refugees who came in in need of the humanitarian services. However not all refugees went to America to set bombs but the majority of them wanted to have a better life Despite the fact there were contradictions as to why immigration takes place in America, there are still no valid reasons why this movement happens To conclude, immigration has always been the backbone of America’s evolution. The essay has supported the thesis by elaborating the reasons and impact of immigration in the United States.

Works Cited

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Roberts, Bryan W., et al. Managing illegal immigration to the United States: how effective is enforcement? Council on Foreign Relations, 2013. pp 275-293

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