Immigration Reform in the USA and Moral Knowledge Essay

The immigration patterns of the United States have fluctuated over the years, some years having little while others see a rising amount of immigrants, both legal and illegal, looking for opportunities to improve their lives. The amount of illegal immigration is a problem since many take advantage of the social services provided by the government without contributing towards the country since they are not citizens and many people see these illegal immigrants as a threat to their employment. Illegal immigrants do affect the U.S negatively in a number of ways, but if those illegal immigrants were to have a safe passageway towards gaining citizenship, the immigrants would contribute greatly towards the

For many decades the history of the United States and immigration has always been a very talked about topic of debate. Many Americans did not like the collision that immigrants would have upon the native-born American people, while others welcomed the flow of people as adding to America’s multiculturalism of difference. According to Immigration: Good or Bad for America (2016), a large amount of immigrants try to enter the U.S. borders without proper documentation, in this manner being labeled as illegal immigrants. In addition, the United States unusual position as a nation of immigrants is being questioned by

Globally, the United States has been known as "a nation of immigrants" almost from its inception. Beginning in the 1600s with English Puritans and continuing today, America is a melting pot of culture and ethnicity. In fact, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, immigration was the major source of U.S. population growth. Looking over our 200+ years we find that to clearly be true, with approximately 1 million immigrants coming to America during the 17th and 18th century. Almost 3 million arrived during the 1860s, and another 3 million in the 1870s. In the next four decades, the number of immigrants rose to over 25 million people, most from various European nations, most arriving in New York or one of the Eastern seaports (Damon, 1981). Despite the politicization, as of 2006, the United States actually was the number one country globally to accept legal immigrants into the country, with a current immigrant population of almost 40 million (Terrazas and Batalova, 2009). In fact, the peak of immigration was 1907, when over 1.2 million Europeans entered the country beginning a push towards legislation limiting immigration in the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1924 and the 1921 Congressional Quota Act. These immigrants came for two sociological reasons: the push factor (wars, famine, persecution and overpopulation) and the pull factors (jobs and the promise of freedom). Most came by ship, and a passage often cost the equivalent of an entire life's savings causing many

There are many issues in the United States. Some of them are more distraught than others. One issue that has recently had a lot of controversy would be immigration laws. Should we put a stop to immigrants coming over United States boarders? Should the immigrants already in the U.S.A. be allowed to stay? These are some questions being asked by today’s society. Immigrants are not all bad; some are very useful to the United States. In society today, it is easy for some people to find issues with immigrants in America, but people also need to remember America was formed by immigrants.

Immigration Reform is obviously a big issue in America today. I mean everywhere you go; you either see something about or read about it. There is no exact number as to how many illegal immigrants cross the border, but it is estimated to be around 11 to 12 million. This has become a major political and social issue because of the continued flow of illegal immigrants. There is nothing really around that will stop this problem. Nothing has really been done, I mean there are borders and all, but who watches the borders to stop the immigration and even so there is no one there to protect the people who are there trying to prevent it. Anything can happen to the people who are watching the borders such as being shot at and things of the nature,

strongly presents the case that although there are no direct teachings on immigration in the New Testament, Christians can learn how to treat immigrants. Jesus’s attitudes and actions help to show Christians how to treat outsiders, like immigrants. Just as Jesus transcended cultural differences and accepted Samaritans, Christians should accept immigrants. Today it is clear that Christians should embrace the ideals of the New Testament, rather than Romans 13, because it allows them to follow biblical teachings. Therefore, I believe it is important for Christians to help immigrants by embracing the New Testament ideals seen through Jesus’s own actions and

Immigrants have always been a part of the United States and played a major role in building the foundation for the life in America, therefore, legal immigrants, should always be welcome granted that they come with good intentions. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is a saying that has been associated with the country of The United States of America since its founding. That saying has infused immigrants with the idea that upon reaching this holy land, their lives will drastically change for the better. With that dream in mind, hundreds of thousands of immigrants, flock to this country to become part of its evolving culture.

America is deemed the land of the free and the home of the brave. The very fabric of this great nation was built upon immigrants from the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock to the millions of immigrants landing at Ellis Island. America is known as a melting pot of many different cultures and ethnic groups with roughly 11.7 million illegal immigrants living here. There has been a long standing love/hate relationship with the issue of immigration. It has long been debated as to whether or not we should continue to allow immigrant into our country so freely.

The American public seems to be aware of the issue in general, but is short of the details. There has certainly been a healthy amount of media coverage of immigration reform, but as the coverage itself is unclear as to how best to frame the problems, it mostly informs about the existence of the issue rather than informing about the issue itself. As such, there is conflicting public opinion about the issue. This mirrors the views of politicians. This could be the result of the fact that immigration reform is often framed as a singular issue when it is not. Immigration reform is an omnibus issue – a series of issues that are all loosely related to one another. There is little real connection between the H-1B visa issue and the undocumented immigrant issue. If the public and the politicians are slightly confused about immigration reform, the framing of multiple issues as a single one is part of the problem.

“We are nation of immigrants. Some came here willingly, some unwillingly. Nonetheless, we are immigrants, or the descendants of immigrants, one, and all. Even the natives came from somewhere else, originally. All of the people who come to this country come for freedom, or for some product of that extraordinary, illusory condition. That is what we offer here—freedom and opportunity in a land of relative plenty.” (Middletown Journal 2005)

For those who seek to come to this country by legal means it is only fair that the nation should be responsive and welcoming. However although it is necessary for the system to welcome legal immigrants to the US it is also very important for the government to battle illegal immigration as well.

Global solidarity is an important aspect of social life because it teaches us that people are an interdependent race and that we all fit together into a larger and more unified community. We are all one people, despite our many racial, economic, national, ideological, and religious differences. The Catholic Social Teaching of global solidarity tells us that we are all brothers and sisters and that we must take it upon ourselves to care for one another. We as humans are inherently social beings, so it is biologically important for us to live together in communion. We find the most success and are the most happy when we come together and exist as one, proving how important it is for immigrants to live amongst us as one nation. It is crucial that our country welcome immigrants into the U.S. with open and

“I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind to whatever nation they might belong” this quote is by George Washington, but A Country is for all is another quote by Jorge Ramos. Everyone of any culture should be aloud in every country they want. There shouldn't be a law that doesn't let people out of a country to find a great new start for them. In this essay we will be talking about immigrants in the late days, border crossing, and families being separated.

Most Americans place their pride in being apart of a country where a man can start at the bottom and work his way to the top. We also stress the fact that we are “all created equal” with “certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” (Jefferson 45) During the early 1900s white Americans picked and chose who they saw fit to live in America and become an American. “Those that separate the desirable from the undesirable citizen or neighbor are individual rather than race.”

The issue of immigration is complex for any nation; a fact that one must first accept that before proposing any solution to the issue. There are several factors, which need to be considered, including a nation’s ability to care for migrants, sovereign’s right to protect, and the option of helping migrants to stay home. The Catholic Bishops of the United States and Mexico in a document entitled, Strangers no Longer on the Journey of Hope writes: “Catholic teaching has a long and rich tradition in defending the right to migrate. Based on the life and teachings of Jesus, the Church's teaching has provided the basis for the development of basic principles regarding the right to migrate for those attempting to exercise their God-given human rights. Catholic teaching also states that the root causes of migration–poverty, injustice, religious intolerance, armed conflicts–must be addressed so that migrants can remain in their homeland and support their families.” The best option is always for the migrant to instead remain a home. However, with the many struggles that are evident in the many countries from where persons are forced to flee, there is a need for mercy and compassion that is echoed by Jesus. It is an expectation that nations will want to protect their citizens. After all, the main function of a government is to protect those who are in their boundaries. Still, the radical love of Jesus calls the Christian to look beyond earthly