A native of Mexico, Gonzalez came to the United States using a visa, to visit family members and in 1994, police convicted Gonzalez of the abduction and rape of a Waukegan, Illinois woman. During his conviction his attorney, Vanessa Potkin, addressed that at twenty years old, Gonzalez spoke very little English, had no criminal record, and yet the police wanted to pin the crime on him. Twenty years later, DNA from the crime cleared him of both charges, and Gonzalez is now threatened with deportation. Situations such as this occur often in the United States with immigrants subjected to being accused of crimes because of their inability to speak proper English and lay victim to stereotypical views. Americans have the misconception that all immigrants pose a threat to the United States and that immigrants entering the United States have the intent to perform terrorist attacks. This way of thinking continually perpetuates the stereotype that immigrants are dangerous. Although terrorists may be immigrants, not all immigrants could be terrorists, terrorists and immigrants posses many differences. Domestic terrorists or terrorists, who enter the country, have the intent of using violent acts to achieve a political goal. To further prove this argument, Sharon Bass, an Immigration Service Officer at the US Department of Homeland Security, addresses that “the average immigrant migrates to the United States to better their lives or their family’s lives, seek employment or reunite with
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 has become an extremely debatable topic in the United States over the past 15 years. The United States has earned the term "the melting pot of the world" due to the country 's history as an immigrant nation. The United States was founded by immigrants seeking a better life from the foreign countries they once called home. Over the past two-hundred years Ellis Island and Angel Island have been open doorways for countless immigrants entering the country. Often the glories of America 's long and rich history of immigration cover up the struggles and problems that immigrants faced and the burden it places on everyday citizens in society. Today citizens must face numerous challenges and obstacles brought on by both legal and
A. Before you begin reading First Crossing, answer the following questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES. Each question should be at least 2-3 sentences.
Many immigrant children are coming from different countries to the US and entering schools here that do not provide them with the support they need in order to be successful. Schools in America that accept these immigrant children in their school should provide more support to them. Newcomers should have a counselor that could help them with problems in school such as Bullying and discrimination. Also school districts should invest money in special programs that could focus on these children to help them succeed academically in school.
When going into the immigration unit, I have to admit that I had very little knowledge on the topic. Therefore, I had to do a little bit more research to formulate an opinion and take a stance on the whole issue. My initial thoughts were to deport all of the immigrants in the country with no exceptions. After all, there are eleven million people in the United States who are forbidden by law to be in the country. Looking back into the history of immigration, I discovered that in 1986, Ronald Reagan implemented an amnesty policy that granted 3 million people citizenship. Unfortunately, this did not solve the overall problem in the long run because the current immigrant population is circulating around eleven million people. Due to the past failure with amnesty, I did not think it would be wise to try that again. In addition, I did not think that it is fair for legal citizens to have to pay for unauthorized peoples’ welfare. United States citizens spend eleven to twenty-two billion dollars a year on the welfare of people who, in my eyes, have not earned their way into the country. Next, I took a look at the process to obtain a green card. To my surprise, it is not very difficult to acquire a green card. I was worried that people are able to come into the country for malicious reasons and cause harm. I felt like the immigrants needed to show some effort in order prove that they want to be United States citizens for the right reasons. The only solution I could think of was to
Then, immigrants must fill out the official naturalization application called the N400 form. Within this form, there are several questions asking about the immigrant’s life, family, employment, and criminal background. After completion, immigrants must send in the N400 form with a passport and application fee. Next, the immigrant has to have his or her fingerprints taken and participate in an interview.
The United States of America, being a country established by immigrants, is known all over the world as the land of great opportunities. People from all walks of life travelled across the globe, taking a chance to find a better life for them and their family. Over the years, the population of immigrants has grown immensely, resulting in the currently controversial issue of illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants are the people who have overstayed the time granted on their US, visa or those who have broken the federal law by crossing the border illegally. Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants, legal and illegal, from around the world, come to the United States. These immigrants come because they want a chance at a better life; others are refugees, escaping persecution and civil wars in their home country. While America has long seen and celebrated itself as a nation of immigrants, what was useful in previous generations has potential problems that must be addressed through stricter immigration policies.
Most people think to themselves “why immigrate?” Although there are multiple answers to this question, many people face different challenges in life, and this just might have been what pushed the French and European to settle in the New World. Since the colonial era, America has seen a wave of immigrants migrate in search of freedom and equality. Is this the same immigration today? Nearly 11.6 million immigrants from Mexico reside in the U.S. Today Immigration has a significant impact on many aspects of life in the United States, from the workforce and the classroom to communities across the country. Not all immigrants come to America legally whether as naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents, refugees and asylums, international
From the moment of its inception, the United States has always been a nation of immigrants. Throughout American history, the numerous immigration waves have undeniably defined the infrastructure of America. By bringing a different set of views and innovative ideas, immigrants injected the economy and advanced technology through innovative work. However, the United States has not kept up its immigration policies with the changing times for the past three decades. Many people are blaming illegal immigration for the loss of “American” jobs and why many Americans cannot find work today. Many businesses are hardly ever penalized due to the fact that this Nation lacks a practical method to verify the newly hired workers work eligibility. The
For many centuries now immigration has been important to the key developments of North American countries. From the English settlers from the original 13 colonies, to the French who settled into what is now modern day Canada, even the Irish and German settlers during the Industrial revolution, all the way to Mexicans trying to find work in the booming U.S. economy after the second world war, immigrants have always flocked to America in search of a better life. The Immigration issues doesn’t just stop there either, even in today’s time many refugees from the middle east are fleeing Islamic terrorist groups only to find their rights and safety in America threatened as well. With the recent election of Donald Trump and the promises he has
Immigration has played a huge role in settling America. Once known as “the melting pot” America has a wider diverse population. The history of immigration is what built America and created that diversity. Over the last 150 years, immigration laws have been enacted and changed to meet the demands of the influx of immigrants. Both Republicans and Democrats see immigration as a political battlefield. Each party blames the other for the lack of cooperation and lack of progress in passing legislation. Obama has used immigration as one of his main platforms in his campaign to become president. Obama’s immigration policies have shocked America recently in the news. Lastly, I will discuss my views on immigration and what I think our politicians should do to improve on policy and reform.
In my opinion immigration is a problem within the United States, and it desperately needs to be reformed by our government. So much tax money is used to help those who decide to immigrate while some of our native people are denied the same advantages that are given immigrants. Immigration from Mexico into the United States has been a phenomenon that has been ongoing for quite some time now. There is always an increasing number of immigrants who come into the United States to make a living for themselves (Creek and Yoder 680). People from Mexico are attracted to the United States because of the promise of a better life and opportunity. This opportunity is one of the principles that America is founded on, but I think we should not provide this opportunity when we have so many Americans already in need. There are various ways through which the Mexicans immigrate into the United States. Additionally, there are also various ways through which the Mexican immigration into America has impacted on America. Currently, there are more immigrants going into America from Mexico more than any other country. The main reasons why the immigrants go into America, is so that they can exploit better opportunities that exist in the region and chase the “American dream” (Creek and Yoder 680). Most of the immigrants who go into America regardless of their financial status usually go into America so
Statistics show that about 69,975 people were refugees and had entered the United States in the year of 2014. Most of them were shown from the following countries: Iraq, Burma, Somalia, and Bhutan (Mossaad 1). Over the years, the United States and other countries have tried many ways to block out the immigrants from coming into the countries but none of the laws or restrictions have stop the immigrants from coming in completely. At this time, President Obama said, “the amount of people crossing the border illegally is at its lowest since the 1970’s”. That must mean America is doing something right. The current US Immigration policies should not be reformed because the United States government is putting
Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants, both legal and illegal, come from all around the world to immigrate into the United States. For many people in the United States of America, upon hearing the word “immigrant” our minds go to Mexico and to all of the illegals who sneak and steal their way into our country. There is so much more to immigration than the people who are crossing our borders illegally. We are all immigrants, immigration runs in all of our families, we all have roots in some other place, on some other land. Unless a person is completely and fully Native American, how can we criticize present day immigrants? For many years past and for many years to come, America has welcomed new people from other lands into our homeland in hopes of finding their “American Dream” or in hopes of starting a better new life, how is it fair to those we don’t allow?
For good reason, it is often said the United States is a nation of immigrants. Almost every person in the United States is descended from someone who arrived from another country. This article tells immigration to the United States from colonial times to the present. The focus is on individuals who paid their own way, rather than slaves and indentured servants.