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Immigration In America

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Apart from the Native Americans that dot the population; The United States is a country founded and built on the backs of immigrants. Whether our forebears were brought here (slaves), forced to flee their motherland, or came just to create a better life, immigration in this nation's blood. I am an immigrant; I moved to this country when I was ten. Back then I noticed that there was tension between the people who were born in the U.S., with immigrant parents, and those who just immigrated. I think the conflict was instilled by the parents–having a lot to do with competing for jobs. That is just how it was then, always was, and will probably continue to be. Martin and Midgley (2013) noted, there has always been underlying tension in this nation regarding immigration since the days of our founders–fearing economic, political, and cultural changes (p.3). The fear of immigrants became more noteworthy in the 1960s through the 1990s when the immigration demographics shifted from predominantly European to Latin and Asian. Takaki (as cited in Halford, 1999) wrote, America’s propensity to distinguish between race and culture helped to fuel that fervor (p. 8-13). New influx of immigrants were being judged and generalized for their appearance rather than what they could offer to the community …show more content…

Ronald Reagan’s 1986 Immigration Reform Act was an an example of political party using its influence to change immigration law in an attempt to garner votes. Reagan (as cited in ontheissues.org, 2015) stated, “ The Republican Party's overriding priority in the years ahead must be to expand and diversify its shrinking demographic base, embracing immigrants generally and Hispanics in particular”. Today both parties have their goals, ideas, and priorities for immigration. Clinton’s plans according to hillaryclinton.com (2016), include some actions such

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