Guarding The Golden Door : American Immigration Policy And Immigrants

Immigration has always been a complex issue in the United States. Previous and current administrations have had great difficulties in setting policies and programs in place to address this problem. During the course of American history, laws were enacted to address such issues. There were numerous legislative milestones in regards to immigration in the United States. In order to understand the current issues regarding immigration, we have to look back at the policies that were in place along with the goals that they intended to serve. According to (Barusch, 2012), the United States had an open immigration policy; which means that anyone could relocate to this country. As a result of this policy, the government had to redefine

Immigration in the United States is a complex demographic activity that has been a major contribution to population growth and cultural change throughout much of the nation's history. The many aspects of immigration have controversy in economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants, settlement patterns, crime, and even voting behavior. Congress has passed many laws that have to do with immigrants especially in the 19th century such as the Naturalization Act of 1870, and the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, or even the Immigration Act of 1903 all to insure specific laws and boundaries set on immigrants. The life of immigrants has been drastically changed throughout the years of 1880-1925 through aspects such as immigrants taking non-immigrants

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." -- Emma Lazarus (from the poem "The New Colossus)

Over the years, the rates of immigration in the United States has fluctuated. As time progresses, the change in migration to America is undeniable. Between now and 1990, there have been various events, political conflicts, and new legislatures which have each had their own major impact on the flow of immigrants into the country. The Immigration Act of 1990 kick started a notable shift in this flow. Today, in the present, with struggles against programs like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement seeking people out, America is forced to see the unsettling turn which immigration has taken. The 1990 Immigration Act fueled skilled immigrants in their migration to America, causing an increase in visa distribution. Whereas, now, America’s

When immigration policy is discussed, typically, it is discussed within the confines of egalitarian notions and sentiments, and inside the boundaries and parameters set by generally Marxist-influenced social democracy. Characteristically, it is not discussed pertaining to the concept of a social order built on the rights of property owners, sharers, and contributors to and of the common stock- which at their discretion- may exclude bad apples, lazy contributors, rotten characters, trespassers, and terrorists. Once egalitarian sentiments and notions are rejected full-scale- (only giving credence to those that have empirical weight or logical consistency) more proper, more substantive interdisciplinary analyses may reveal that the current investigative techniques employed by current mainstream political theorists are- in the context of reality, incorrect, superficial and quite shallow.

Immigrating is to come to a country of which one is not a native, usually for permanent residence. It goes along with drive and determination to seek pleasure out of life, chase dreams, and purse happiness even in the most desperate of times. Migrating affects the communities that the migrants leave as well as the communities that receive them. There are many views as to why people migrate to different countries, the impact of immigration in countries, and how countries should go about regulating immigration. When discussing the ethics of immigration, it is important to view this topic from both sides and not just one side. In doing so, a person gets a sense of the bigger picture that the U.S. is currently dealing with due to immigration. With that being said, the United States should strive for an immigration policy that can benefit everyone involved as a whole.

In recent history, many Americans have had a growing concern for the immigration (both legal and illegal) growth in our country. While the United States of America was settled by European immigrants, the unprecedented growth the late 1800s saw, led to reform on the immigration policy, which once was nonexistent. Based on conditions floods of immigrants caused in the cities of the country, the immigration reform was needed. Not only were the lives of immigrants negatively impacted in the United States, but so were previously settled Americans.

The author provides a brief history of immigration policy in order to determine what the domestic function is.

In the late 1800 many people, fleeing religious and political intolerance, from all over the world made the life changing decision to pack up absolutely everything they had to immigrate to the United States of America, known as the “land of economic opportunity”. Between the years of 1870 and 1900, there were around 12 million immigrants that arrived in the United States. Most of these immigrants migrated from European countries including Germany, Ireland, and England (Library of Congress). Over 70 percent of these immigrants entered through the area of what became “the golden door” in New York City (Library of Congress). Since these immigrants were so desperate for jobs, it made it easy for many people to take advantage of them. In today’s time it seems to be clear that immigrants have a much better chance for survival and success than they did a century ago.

The United States is known as a free country, and has become a popular destination for many to immigrate to. Along with this immigration, came many problems and controversy since the 1790s and still continues to raise concerns today. The immigration problems in the late 1800s and 1900s are very similar to today. This is evident in the different complications and disputes that occurred in the late 1800s and 1900s all the way to 2015.

The main takeaway from Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini’s documentary “Immigration Battle,” is that the United States’ immigration policy is decidedly flawed. The policy facilitates the separation of families in which some members are U.S. citizens as well as the deportation of immigrants whose work benefits the nation’s economy. Taking into consideration the problems that immigrants have had to endure, the solution to the immigration crisis should not be to limit the number of immigrants allowed into the country, but rather to install an open border policy. This recommendation is based on a moral and economic justification. Helping immigrants escape poverty is the right thing to do and these individuals often inject valuable skills into the American economy. Arguably, one could also conclude that America’s prosperity lies in its diversity.

The reforming of America?s immigration policy is something that can no longer be avoided and must be dealt with as soon as possible. Years of neglect by governmental agencies and policies makers have now made this issue one of the biggest in American politics. First of it must be understood that immigration does no only effect curtain areas of the country and curtain aspect of public life but rather all of American life. Both legal and illegal immigration affect major issues such as jobs availability for all citizens, wages, education in public schools system and in general, health care issues, and the homeland security.

From the founding of this country to today, America has been built on a nation of immigrants. Today, with the increase of our nations illegal immigrant population, the effects are bringing the immigration policy of the United States into question. The problem with America's immigration system is that the people that are here illegally are not taking it seriously, yet they still want to have all of the rights that legal law abiding United States citizens have. Immigration has been a hot button issue in all three branches of the government, and more and more citizens are asking that something be done about our immigration policy. America's immigration system is broken and we need to do something to fix it before it is to far gone.

The United States of America declared its independence from Britain in 1776 and became its own nation. We were created by immigrants from all over the world and from this, the country obtained the nick name “the Melting Pot.” America gained this prestigious title by staying true to the American Dream, where people can start from nothing and climb the ladder to the top. This dream seems to be slipping further and further from the peoples grasp due to immigration policies currently being set in place.

Every year, millions of immigrants come into the United States. Generally, the United States policies are complex but the topic of immigration in the country is far more complicated to understand. Currently, the topic is extremely controversial yet the government has been trying to avoid addressing it for quite a while now. Nevertheless, it is very rare for a candidate to make immigration policy part of his platform but in the 2016 presidential election Donald Trump even made it part of his campaign which caused world-wide controversy. Trump claimed that he would “make America great again” and create a high security wall along the border between Mexico and the United States. Nevertheless, any decision taken by the government will affect everyone in the country, whether in a positive or negative manner, as “an estimated 11.4 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the United States in January 2012 compared to 11.5 million in January 2011.” The numbers keep increasing every day