Illegal Immigration Reform

The definition of freedom and equality for immigrants in the United States is considered a long term struggle. The Federal Government’s size, and role in the average American life has both retarded and advanced freedom and equality for immigrants because of the constantly changing perceptions of immigrants. The Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, the Enemy Alien Registration in 1918, the Immigration Act in 1924, and the Executive Order signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 are all examples of the continuing struggle for the definition of freedom for immigrants in the United States.

For many decades the history of the United States and immigration has always been a very talked about topic of debate. Many Americans did not like the collision that immigrants would have upon the native-born American people, while others welcomed the flow of people as adding to America’s multiculturalism of difference. According to Immigration: Good or Bad for America (2016), a large amount of immigrants try to enter the U.S. borders without proper documentation, in this manner being labeled as illegal immigrants. In addition, the United States unusual position as a nation of immigrants is being questioned by

Immigration of Latinos has long caused cultural conflict, especially when it comes to the illegal immigration of Latinos. Unfortunately, the issue has long been debated and there seems to be no clear cut answer on how to resolve the problem. Many Americans often overlook the struggles that Latinos endure and place stereotypes upon this group of people that are untrue. Furthermore, most Americans are misinformed or uninformed about the other side of this hot issue. The purpose of this essay is to give the reader a better understanding of Latino immigration from a cultural perspective and what these immigrants, both legal and illegal experience when relocating to a new country as well as a brief discussion on the issue of immigration reform.

Immigration Reform is a serious and current issue in politics, in government, and in the lives of millions of people. Immigration reform is a term used by the American government and in politics. It refers to the changes to the current immigration policies in the United States. “Reform” is defined as a “change into an improved form or condition, by amending faults or abuses.” So, in a nutshell, Immigration Reform means the improvement of the law regarding how we, the United States, handle immigration. The only reason a country may revise its immigration policy/policies, is if it is having troubles such as illegal immigration. In the United States today, our government is having such troubles – illegal immigration. The statistic on illegal

The return and removal of illegal immigrants from the United States is one of the most widely discussed topics. Since 2007the United States Customs and Border Protection (ICE) has returned or removed over 1.2 million illegal immigrants from the United States. ICE has expanded its Criminal Alien Program to included incarcerated criminal illegal aliens.  In 2007, ICE identified 164,296 convicted criminals who were incarcerated in Federal, state and local penitentiaries (These are people who came into the United States illegally and committed a crime.)

Ever since the creation of the human race, human beings have been prone to moving place to place for new opportunities and beginnings. People who move from one country to another are called immigrants. As nations started to form, their were rules and laws set on who could and could not live in a specific country. Most of these laws included immigrants to go through a lengthy process to get approved to go into the country they desired. However, even after the lengthy process is completed, the country still has the right to deny their entrance. In fear of being rejected, many immigrants decided to illegally cross the borders of other countries causing many problems with the country's society, specially the United States of America. Historians saw a great example of this in the 1920s. The 1920s in America unfolded the greatest wave of immigration in American history; more than 25 million foreigners, also known as immigrants, arrived on American shores (Shmoop). Before the 1920s, immigration in the United States had never been systematically restricted by federal law, however that changed with the 1921 Emergency Quota Act and the 1924 Immigration Act. For the first time in American history, these acts imposed a limit on the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States which eventually caused many to enter illegally. Today America is faced with some similar issues with immigration as they did in the 1920s, for example, the number of illegal immigrants in

Immigration Reform At this time, the United States has allowed more immigrants to enter the country than at any time in its history. Over a million legal and illegal immigrants take up residence in the United States each year. Immigration at its current magnitude is not fulfilling the interests or demands of this country.

Back in 2007 there were several concerns over immigration as a whole and exploding proportions of illegal immigrants crossing the border in the Arizona area. Arizona attempted to resolve the influx of people across the border by imposing heavy fines on employers hiring illegal immigrants. At that time in Arizona there was a democratic governor Janet Napolitano that continually vetoed the Arizona’s legislature attempt to reduce illegal immigration. In 2009 the state replaced the Democratic governor with a Republican governor Jan Brewer who was supportive of reforms for immigration in Arizona. In 2010 the immigration problem was so sever that Arizona passed legislation allowing the state to enforce federal law for identification of legal immigration into the United States. This sparked a nation wide discussion on illegal immigration and immigration reform.

​Immigration is defined as the act of leaving your country of origin and going to another different one to stay there permanently (Dictionary.com). Reasons, why people escape or leave their original countries, are varied; ranging from war, poverty, natural occurrences such as earthquakes while others just take the step for fun purposes. A reform is a change from the way things were done originally and make them better. Therefore, immigration reform is a term that is frequently used in political talks that refer to the alteration of the immigration policy of the nation. The debate is currently prevalent in the United States of America. It is a topic that has been discussed and reforms put across since around 1986 but it’s never addressed fully due to the conflicting stands taken by the leaders, the democrats, and the Republicans always have different views. Recently, the President Obama tenure has reawakened the issue. Some people support the reforms while others do not. It is a time the United States of America undertook immigration reforms as a solution to its porous borders.

In the United States, immigration has been high topic of debate. As of 2015, 13.5 percent of the United States population of 321.4 billion were immigrants (Jie). Immigration has been shaping the way America works for many years now. It has brought changes to the economy, workforce, culture, language and politics just to name a few changes. America is often referred to as the melting pot of cultures. Where the “American dream” can be reached as long as you are willing to work hard. However, citizens also demand strict boarders to prevent illegal workers but we still want the free movement of goods. A lot of legislative bills have been past in recent years that have brought change to immigration and the way it is done. The top five bills that have affected the country are as follows; The Immigration Reform and Control Act, IRCA, of 1986 penalized employees for hiring unauthorized workers. However, did nothing towards changing the immigration system or provide resources to implement the employer sanctions provisions. The Immigration Act of 1990 overhauled the immigration system by raising the number of permanent vistas form 290,000 to 675,000 and allotted 555,000 visas annually of underserved counties. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibly Act, IIRAIRA, of 1996 dealt with government spending and a three or ten year bar on returning to the United States for people who were caught without proper documentations from applying for asylum status within one year

In the United States of America there are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the U.S. Many industries depend heavily on immigrant labor , legal and illegal, to achieve productivity. The construction industry, nationally , employ at a fast rate about 1,000,000 illegal immigrants; almost one in five illegal immigrants work major industries. (Passel,2006). Immigrant reform will undoubtedly reduce the supply of illegal immigrant by encouraging enforcement of current laws by creating new legislation with harsher penalties for illegal immigration. The enforcement of the new laws will allow for industries to allow employers to recruit and hire foreign born workers only with signs of identification. However for the industries

One of the most defining traits for the United States of America is that the nation is one made up of immigrants, it is a basic building block that can not be overlooked, nor should it. That being said, it is important to countless citizens to be open when it comes to immigration, while keeping the country hospitable to its citizens for generations to come. However, this attitude to immigration is a fairly recent phenomenon in American history, especially in regards to immigrants coming in from non-Western European countries. With the introduction of the Immigration Act of 1965 and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) came about the changes to immigration policy that would forever change the face of the nation and create the diversity that has become a point of pride. The sentiment is not felt nationwide, however, as the immigration patterns brought about with these two acts has brought hostility as well, especially from those who feel that immigration is a threat to the country as a whole, specifically illegal immigration. Immigration, and its illegal counterpart, is an issue that defines this period in American history, and while it did not necessary start off targeting Mexican and Latino immigrants, it has very much been immortalized within the communities and become the face of immigrants to the nation as a whole.

There are not many people who know that there is war going on within America. A war, that is capable of impacting the future of America. Millions of “Dreamers” are fighting to be recognized as American citizens. In recent months and years, the debate on immigration reform has been heated and often uninformed. Every president mentions in his speech to take action on immigration reform. But unfortunately he ends up taking action against immigrants by deporting them. Is the country founded by immigrants has closed doors for the immigrants? People are fighting for the immigration reform. In order for the bright future of America we need to fix the present problems. A land of opportunity has taken many hits but the immigration reform made us think about our legal system. It is essential to understand that “immigration reform” is not a cup of tea. The question many are asking is that how can we accept millions of people into our labor force? We are already struggling from unemployment rate, which is peaking high. In this paper I will be primarily focusing on the role of immigrants on our economy, businesses and society, and how it impacts our society.

“Will I be next?” Is just one of the question every immigrant that gets to the United States will ask when they see a family member or friend get sent back home. Just like many, Jose Antonio Vargas, who wrote “Not Legal Not Leaving,” is an immigrant that got here illegally secretly and working here secretly fake identity, until he came out publicly. He believes that there isn’t much choice but live by a fake identity. One of the many issues that Vargas encounters is the comments and questions from people around him who believe he should be sent back. Likewise, many citizens are being taken away by ICE before they can be legalized or are by being found out. Next, the current legalization form makes it difficult to become a citizen. Also, unlike popular believe not all illegal immigrants are Latin Americans, people of different ethnicity come from all over the world looking for a better way of life. Since the legalization forms do not work, every illegal immigrant should be able to stay without the worry of being deported.

Immigration has always been a contentious issue in the United States. Benjamin Franklin thought that an influx in German migration into the United States would flush out the predominately British culture at that time. Furthermore, a continual wave of foreign cultures began pouring into the American metropolitan areas at the turn of the 20th century. The migration of these people began a mass assimilation of cultural ideology and customs into the United States. With recent technological advancements, such as television and the internet, news and information can be widely shared concerning immigration. With the continual increase of news programs, Americans today are often bombarded with all sorts of pressing issues in today's society-