Immigration: A Time for Reform & Reevaluation By Ricardo Cerna Devry University / January 2012 / English 112 Immigration reform is the old yet new revitalized hot topic being discussed in the media which will not seem to fade away from the spot light despite its drawbacks. The reality of that ongoing debate is that this country, and the State of California in particular, was founded by immigrants fleeing an oppressive government, yet this same country and state now oppress immigrants fleeing from similar situations trying to reestablish new lives within its borders. We cannot forget where we originated from and the foundation this great nation and state was built upon. In this age of progressive thinkers, it is time to …show more content…
5 years before the passage of the legislature and was under the age of 16 when they entered the U.S., they would be eligible for a 6-year conditional residency status after completing an associate degree or two years of military service. If at the end of the 6-year period the individual has demonstrated good moral character, he or she could then apply for U.S. citizenship”, (DREAM, n.d.,2012). Its’ a small but, significant step for reforming an immigration system which in all reality is broken. Just image the endless potential for this nation and California as an individual economy to grow with such bright, talented and progressive minds. A melting pot of educated minds from all across the board ethnic backgrounds working in conjunction to better our world due to a better understanding of empathy for those less fortunate and in need of guidance and role models, that is what this batch of immigrants do and can do for this nation and state. When one thinks of immigrants, lets’ face it what one envisions is the man or woman working in California restaurant kitchens, the maids in middle class neighborhoods, baby sitters, gardeners mowing lawns. L.A mayor Antonio Villaraigoza famously put it during a speech: “Today we say to America: We’ve come here to work: We clean toilets. We clean your hotels. We build your houses. We take care of your children. We want you to help us take care of our children as well” (Malkin,M.,
Abrego, Leisy. "Legitimacy, Social Identity, and the Mobilization of Law: The Effects of Assembly Bill 540 on Undocumented Students in California." Law & Social Inquiry 33.3 (2008): 709-734. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 Apr. 2010.
Immigrants are hard workers; however, the Americans are viewing the immigrants as lazy and as a burden to The United States when in actuality, research shows that, some immigrants come to The United States legally although they may not have papers to work legally when they first arrive. For many immigrants the process to get legal documentation to work is a long, tedious, and expensive process. Even though this issue is very common, many immigrants are positive and productive contributors in society. On the other hand, there are immigrants who are roaming around the streets, and looking for places to sleep on the roads. As an immigrant in any country, these things can happen to anyone, due to the fact that some immigrants do not know anyone as they migrate to a foreign land. Many immigrants are struggling and are facing many problems that come along their way as they try to become stable and achieve their goals in The United States. In an article written by Octavio Blanco titled “Immigrant workers are most likely to have these jobs,” he states, “That is especially the case in America’s beauty business, where immigrants made up 63% of those that provide services as manicurists and Pedicurists, makeup artists, shampooers and skin care specialists. Slightly more than half of these workers (51%) were
The writer, Maribel Garcia Ochoa, begins her piece with making the claim that because of Donald Trump being elected, California shaped this “defensive” attitude. Then Ochoa supported her claim with the evidence of the immigration policy issue. In addition, she believes that, “SB 54 would prevent the use of state and local resources to assist federal deportation efforts.” In fact, SB 54 has been recently amended in Senate on March 6, 2017. Another claim that Ochoa made was that California’s immigration policy was not completely for Asians it was also towards Mexicans. Ochoa used statistics, “Early into the ’30s, over 15 million Americans, about one quarter of all wage earners, were unemployed,” to show that once Mexicans entered California the unemployment rate of whites skyrocketed.
According to “Immigrants in California,” by Marisol Cuellar Mejia and Hans P. Johnson, California has the most immigration than any other state, where “more than 30% of the population of seven California counties” are foreign born. A large contributor to these statistics are Hispanic immigrants that migrate to the United States in hope of achieving the “American Dream.” Los Angeles has become the most popular destination for these immigrants as this city alone contains 4.9 million Hispanics, making it 9% of the nation’s Hispanic population (Brown and Hugo). Although Hispanic immigrants have settled in Los Angeles, they encounter many urban struggles as they try to adjust to this new life style.
Whether with a cold shoulder welcome or a open arm embrace, the United States has constantly received a range of global immigrants, over half whom originate from Latin America (migrationpolicy.org). Largely driven by the prospect of the “American Dream,” the Latino immigration movement began in the 1840s and has fluctuated with new policies, including the bracero program, an oppressive operation for temporary migrant workers, during World War II, and the Immigration Act of 1965, which created the first immigration limit for the Western Hemisphere (Gutiérrez, Ewing). Since 1960, the Latino population in America has grown from 3.24% of the U.S. population to 16%, and recent estimates proclaim an approximate 11 million undocumented Hispanics, revealing the growing need for for a political reassessment of immigration policy (Gutiérrez, whitehouse.gov). Today, immigration policy, particularly pertaining to Hispanics, has become a controversial subject in the United States, bearing opposing views and proposals, accompanied by diverse impacts that could reverberate throughout the Americas.
Since the beginning, America has been a nation of immigrants. During the colonial era, people were coming across the Atlantic Ocean, and other lands, to either start a new life or to escape religious prosecutions. American history has been shaped by the ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity brought by immigrants in the 19th and 20th century. Without a doubt, immigration has had a very large cultural impact and influence in America.
The debate of illegal immigration in the United States is one that is plagued with many details, and one that sparks a huge amount of controversy among politicians and citizens alike. While it is an issue that many argue about, few people are actually knowledgeable about the subject and have facts to back up their opinions. According the Center for Immigration Studies, the “unauthorized resident immigrant population is defined by all foreign-born non-citizens who are not legal residents” (CIS). This definition incudes people who emigrate from countries all over the world; it is not exclusive to those who come from Mexico and surrounding Central and Southern American
General info about the topic: California is home to many families who are seeking to live the American dream. Many of these families, however, include parents, children, or other relatives who are illegal immigrants and constantly live in fear of deportation. Deportation has increased greatly and immigration agencies have been deporting many of these illegal immigrants in their workplace. Assembly Bill No. 450 will place requirements on private and public employers when encountering immigration agencies whom are seeking to deport their employees. It also prohibits immigration agencies from deporting illegal immigrants in their workplace without a warrant.
The Los Angeles freelance writer Richards discussed the changing ideology and opinions that have shaped California’s immigration policies. Even though Los Angeles is a sanctuary city that hosts several hundred thousand of immigrants, the city was once a tough place for immigrants to settle and enter. For example, in 1986, the city had instituted measures that could deport immigrants more so the ones who had a higher risk of recidivism (Richards). However, as the immigrants’ population surged and their political relevance increased, a federal court eventually awarded them the right to be accorded public services that other city members were entitled to, retracting the 1994 discriminatory policy that denied immigrants such privileges (Richards).
California is a mecca for outsiders. The history of the United States, and specifically California, is influenced from people who were previously outsiders in their homeland who are now seeking a new reputation in the New World. Many dreamers come to California in hopes of finding a clique because many believe that California holds many opportunities no other state provides. While this may be true, this perception can be misleading. These people believe that they are guaranteed a significant role in a community, but realize that they are put in a position further away than they are to begin with. These outsiders will remain outsiders in California until they find their belonging in the world. Minorities, such as immigrants, descendants of immigrants,
Imagine putting yourself in the shoes of an illegal immigrant. You have to feed your family, get money to pay the rent, and prevent getting caught from immigration authorities. The consequences for getting caught could include deportation or serving time in jail. 11 million undocumented immigrants currently live in the United States and have a family to take care of. Families caught under pressure in their own country might not have a choice but to enter a country illegally. Others would say that immigration laws should not let illegal immigrants into the US regardless of the circumstances, but these Immigration laws are unorganized and broken because millions of undocumented
In the first place, illegal Immigrants have always been an issue in America. The plan would appear to be to make and put actively an Immigration Reform. One if the main issue is The United States have always been a country of immigrants. There have been refugees that came here forcefully, some reluctantly. In any case, however you look at it we are all immigrants, or the families of refugees.
Immigration has been a controversial subject over the years, especially when the time comes for Presidential elections, but while legislators play politics, the immigration problem has continued to be unresolved. The future will tell whether the immigration reform will resolve the problem of millions of immigrants who already reside in the United States, or the problem will continue to be ignored until another presidential term. Very little has been done in the past or is being done in the present to resolve any of the issues surrounding immigration.
Solving the immigration problem in 300 words is going to be extremely hard, considering it has been 140 years since the United States created its first immigration stance with the removal of the open-door policy, and we still have problems with the laws surrounding immigration. I am going to focus specifically on changing the major flaws in our system and am going to leave the details vague. My first target would be in changing the laws regarding the guest worker program. If we want to hire workers from other countries to come and work for US companies, I feel like the workers should be considered American citizens. The book highlights poor working conditions and lack of workers' representation if they are injured on the job. If citizens of
Today, the United States is home to the largest immigrant population in the world. Even though immigrants assimilate faster in the United States compared to different developed nations, immigration policy has become an highly controversial topic in the Unite States, while much of the debate is around culture and religion, the effects of immigration on economy is clear. Immigration policy has become a highly pressing issue in America. While much of the debate centers on cultural issues, the economic effects of immigration are clear. Economic analysis finds little to no proof to support that influx of foreign labor have reduced jobs or American wages. Economic theoretical predictions and a bulk of academic research confirms that wages are unaffected by immigration over the long term and the economic effects immigration are mostly positive for natives and for the economy over all.