Immigrants Have Built America

Mawi Asgedom, an author, public speaker, and a refugee from Ethiopian origin, in his TEDXGRANTPARK talk, How Immigrants Make America Great (2016), addresses the topic of immigration in the United States of America and argues that immigrants make America “more safer and prosperous” and bring “stronger values” because they are simply living in the nation. He backs up this claim by doing the following: first, he refers to examples on how immigrants make sacrifices to make this country safe; next, he gives staggering statistics on the percentage of immigrants living in America today; last, he provides many cases of companies founded by immigrants that creates thousands of jobs for Americans. Mawi Asgedom, an immigrant himself, wishes to convey to readers the importance of how the “bedrock values” of immigrants, which are generosity and entrepreneurship, make them a “10” and how immigrants make America’s economy better overall. The author’s audience likely consists of those interested in immigration policies as is evident through his references to the immigration statistics and the response of the increased job market here in the United States due to the immigrants; he addresses readers with a tone that is very formal and serious but adds some humor to capture his audience, the viewers of TEDXGRANTPARK and other interested in the approach to immigration in the United States.

The United States of America is a nation of many immigrant people. People come from all over the world, leaving their homeland and sometimes leaving their loved ones to escape deep poverty and violence. When immigrants come to America, in their dreamland they face many problems such as language, education, employment, legal problems, housing, food, and health issues. Immigrants do all kinds of low-paying jobs. They clean houses for a living. Some immigrants come with very small businesses. Many immigrants contribute their skills, knowledge, and education to improve the U.S. economy.

The United States is a country that was built on immigration. The first settlers, Native Americans, represent less than 2% of the total population; the remaining 98% of the population are immigrants or decedents of immigrants. Today, the US still has the highest immigration rate in the world with 757,434 naturalizations in the 2012 fiscal year only (US Naturalizations 2012, Department of Homeland security). People try to immigrate to the United States for many reasons. Some people immigrate because they have been granted a refugee status or asylum and other people immigrate to fulfill their dreams. Immigration has an effect on the American society and economy. The US cannot survive without immigrants.

America is traditionally a country of immigrants. Very few people today have relatives who were Native Americans, many of them because of religious persecution, and others because of they were just looking to start a new life on the exciting untouched frontier. For instance, in Florida, the first arrivals were European, beginning with the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon who explored the land in 1513, following French and Spanish settlement during the 16th century. From the past, America was seen as a country of opportunities. People from all over the world have moved here looking for better opportunities. There are a lot of reasons why immigrants should live in this country, but I would like to mention three of them.

Traditionally immigrants are faced numerous challenges on a daily basis. America is known as the place where there is a chances to succeed, a place where you can be free. Numerous Immigrants came to America with the goal that they could have a more noteworthy plausibility at prevailing in life. Settlers went out on a limb a when coming to America, for some it worked out well however for others they had a troublesome time here. Regardless of the battles that the outsiders experienced, for example, emerging from others, being isolated from their families, and breaking their way of life, the settlers are as yet thankful to be in America since they were in preferable conditions over they were in their country.

During the late 1800s, inhabitants from all parts of the world made the decision to leave their jobs and homes to immigrate to the United States. They fled rising taxes, famine, crop failure, land and job shortages, to come to the United States. Perceived to be one of the greater countries for economic opportunity, many sought freedom from religious and political persecution. Around twelve million immigrants arrived in the United States between 1870 and 1900. Before the Civil War, the majority of immigrants were from Germany, Ireland, and England. There would be a drastic change in the next three decades. After the Civil War, immigrants

Former President Grover Cleveland once said, “Remember, remember always that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” While this is true, the immigrants, who built this country, came legally. Immigrants create a diverse country and build up a great nation like America. On the other hand, illegal immigrants tear down a country economically. Illegal immigration to the United States creates a variety of problems that will only grow worse if not addressed by the federal government.

The United States has people coming in and out of the country every day. Most of these people are welcomed at airports and borders, and most do not intend to stay in the United States. Some of these immigrants are tourists, business visitors, students, and foreign workers. Other arrivals are refugees because they are escaping to better their future or from their countries violence and some are unauthorized or illegal foreigners. Several immigrants enter legally as tourists and then stay in the United States, but most enter the country unlawfully by eluding border patrol agents or using false documents to circumvent border inspectors. In the past, the United States was formed from many immigrants whom the Founding Fathers were descendants from and made a powerful country. Immigration is positive for the United States because there are political, economic, and multicultural benefits; therefore, immigration policy should be reformed to allow and encourage immigration.

Immigrants have shaped American culture and identity by bringing their own home culture from other parts of the world. Furthermore, another kind of immigrants brought a different kind of beliefs in America. The way immigrants shaped Americans identity in America is by changing the way how people think of others because of their culture, race, and beliefs. The way it shaped America with cultures is because the variety of cultures that are a mix in America.

Although some argue otherwise, immigrants have a positive impact on our society. It is ironic how "within the country founded by Immigrants- Immigrant somehow become a bad word" (K'Naan). Although statistics prove that immigrants do bring overcrowding, drug trafficking, and diseases, they also impact positively on our economy and bring cultural knowledge. Being an immigrant in America is no easy task, they work long hours and most of the time have multiple jobs. Because the American dollar has greater value, immigrants will take any job that pays better than their home country. This often means they do the unwanted jobs of Americans. Immigrants fight hard to work their way to America with the American dream in mind, but once here that dream becomes very distant due to unexpected challenges they faced. In Valeria Luiselli book "Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions", she addresses her experience as an interpreter for immigration court of the state of New York, discussing the stories she has heard with the immigration process. Throughout the book, she explains her view of the lack of sympathy and protection the United States has for the young immigrants. Her purpose to show the difficulties the immigrants go through - their sacrifice, resilience, and strength as they fight to survive and obtain a better life in America can also be seen in K'naan video - "The Hamilton Mixtape: Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)", through his use of symbolism everywhere in the music.

Since the start of our country, America has been known as a land of immigrants, a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities working towards the American motto of the land of the free, home of the brave. Since colonial times, immigrants have been an integral part of society, majorly contributing to U.S culture and economy, yet many Americans have always had very conflicting ideas on immigration. Many people look past the benefits immigrants bring to our economy and society and instead scapegoat them for many of the United States’ problems surrounding unemployment and budget. The positive effects of immigrants, both legal and undocumented, in our country far outweighs the negative effects because of their important impact on society and the economic help that American relies on.

Immigration has been a burning issue lately, particularly after Donald Trump’s immigration ban in the United States of America. It has been a topic that families discuss every morning with breakfast. Despite many concerns related to immigration, it has several positive benefits that mostly outweighs the negativity. People bizarrely argue when it comes to immigration, but these arguments are primarily based on facts and ideas that are outdated or inconsistent and blindfold the positive aspect related to immigration. Many immigrants in the United States are good workers who don't depend upon any public welfare and mostly help in the overall development of the economy. As a country made by immigrants, we must not forget the fact that immigrants have helped to build cities and create a path of development form Google to iPhones (Gray & Furman, 2012). These facts are secluded, and some related arguments with different content have been repeated for years and continue. Immigrants have a lot to give the United States rather than to take, especially when it comes to economic terms.

Immigrants come to America chasing hopes and dreams of someday having a life of wealth. The United States has this imagine that everything will be better and all your problems will be solved. However, in the last century we’ve had a raise of Illegal Immigrants in the country.

Today there seems to be constant talk of immigration, negative outbursts and countless supportive protests. Why are we denying the right to have a better tomorrow? Immigrants are not a burden on our country, it does not feel plausible to claim that they are ruining America. On the contrary abusive racist ideas are the ones ruining the nation of the free, what makes us any different anyway? Immigrants of all worldwide nations offer productivity; new ideas not considered before and talents we may not have. Furthermore, with the influx of new ideas all the time we have been able to build up our economy, immigrants have started businesses and throughout history have helped us shape the nation. There are claims that immigrants only come to take

For over 300 years, various ethnic, cultural, and social groups have come to this country to seek economic opportunity, reunite with family members, and find a place where they can be free from political and religious persecution. I suspect a majority of American-born citizens believe that immigration is a bad thing in this country that is harmful. Those particular Americans believe that this country is being infested by foreigners who cannot even speak our own language. However, if one were to look at the truth behind these fallacies, he/she would see that immigration is beneficial to our country and should not be abandoned. Instead, it should be increased.