Should a 'Pathway to Citizenship' be Made Available to Undocumented Immigrants Residing in the US?

More than 11 million undocumented illegal immigrants fill the US. Over the past hundreds years immigrants have been coming into the United States,this process has continued. And some may disagree and believe in that immigrants should not have a path to citizenship. It is immigrants should have a path to citizenship. Undocumented immigrants should get a path to citizenship

     Those opposed to ending the clause in the Birthright Citizenship Amendment will argue that… “The framers' intent was to create an objective basis for establishing citizenship—birth—not a subjective standard left to the whim of a majority. The United States has, for that reason, never struggled like other nations to integrate those born here” (Fitz, 2010). The thought process here is that those born natural citizens of the US from alien parents will always carry the stigma of having been the children of aliens. This could cause more undue injustice towards these people than the founding fathers wanted. After all, they were all alien to this soil.

If it were up to you, and you had the choice whether or not to give undocumented citizens a chance at citizenship, would you? Many people believe that they should not have a chance at citizenship because they came here illegally. Every person has their own opinion on this topic. This debate is one of many debates going on in between the candidates or even the politicians, but of course they all have their own views and reasons on it. Everyone should consider that they should because either we are hurting families or they can help improve our economy. In the next three paragraphs this argument will be influencing you to side with my claim, that undocumented citizens should get a pathway to citizenship.

The history of Birthright Citizenship gives the reason for its existence. Back to the year of 1857, in the Dred Scott decision passed by the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roger Taney declared that blacks were “regarded as beings of an inferior order and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations; and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect”, irritating all the free ones and slaveries who pursued the basic rights to live as equal as the Caucasians did (Howard 407). As known to all, it was a major fuse that ignited the Civil Wars, which

Illegal immigration has become more of an important issue in the United States since Donald Trump’s campaign for president in 2016. Immigration can be known as the act of people crossing national borders to live permanently in other countries. It becomes illegal when they cross those borders without the legal right to be in those countries. The U.S. has been an immigrant country since the pilgrims in the 1600s and has ever since, been diverse. Most of the immigrants are Latinos that come from Central America, but they also come from all over the world. The current path to legal citizenship is flawed and needs to be reformed to allow rights to be upheld, equal and fair treatment of all applicants, and to facilitate the process altogether.

Becoming a U.S. citizen is a long process with a lot of requirements. These requirements take copious amounts of time which do not help lower the current illegal immigration population in the United States. In fact, “as of the year 2016, the United States population was 323.1 million citizens, approximately- 12.5 million of those citizens living in the United States are illegal immigrants” (Raley). In order for an undocumented immigrant to qualify for U.S citizenship they must meet very specific criteria. A path to citizenship is a long process, which in some cases can take up to ten years or longer. Before becoming a citizen of the United States, the recipient must be a green card holder for at least five years. If the

Immigration has been a major problem for countless years that seems to never seize. Illegal immigrants do not hold the rights that U.S. residents possess and manage to live a hard life because of the mere opportunities that come their way. U.S. residents are allowed to vacate and visit the places immigrants come from, yet they have to risk their lives in hopes of a better life. Where is the equality? The unfair treatment arises from them simply being illegal, however everyone deserves equality regardless of their background and origin. The deep stigma and outlook on immigrants in today’s society can be quite controversial. The government should indeed allow immigrants to find a place to call home without the use of strict immigration

Counterpoint: That’s unfortunate, but not the United States problem. The act of breaking the law is not a coincidence, but a conscience choice with built in risk. There is a process to gain legal citizenship in place to help properly integrate immigrants into this country. The kids that are US citizens of illegal immigrants are burdened by the enormous responsibilities on having to help their

Immigrants aren’t given the rights that they should be. Throughout history, immigrants haven’t been given the opportunities they deserve. When certain races came to America, they were always unwanted. New immigration process would benefit many people.

Agreement: One thing that will never change throughout the history of the human species is that we will continue to move. Whether it’s to the next state, the next country or to the next planet, travelling is in our destiny. There are many reasons as to why people decide to get up and suddenly leave the homelike environment that they have come to know. Sometimes it’s war, sometimes it’s poverty, and sometimes it’s just a need for change. Immigrants come in all shapes and sizes and as a whole, they bring about many well-needed additions to our country. A very debatable question that has been stirring up a lot of controversy lately is whether or not the U.S. should adopt an open-borders policy. Looking at how immigration has affected not only the U.S., but the rest of the world over the course of time, it is easy to see how having an open borders policy will be the best option for the U.S.

Is there a magic fix? Does everyone have the right to come here to America and become a citizen? As a nation, we have opened up our borders to allow people to enjoy the freedoms that we have. However, almost everyone would agree that America’s immigration system is broken; what they don’t agree on is how to make it right and fair for everyone. Broadly speaking, conservatives agree with tighter border security. There is even some talk about deporting illegal immigrants. Some would agree that the repeat criminals should be sent back to their homelands. In contrast to the liberals plan where they would like to see a path to allow for legalization and to become Americans. Of course, for them to become an American, they would have to pay fines, learn English, and follow the legal process to become a legal citizen of the United States (Smith, P. 2010).

The United States should give citizenship to illegalize immigrants. One reason why the U.S should give immigrants citizenship is because the immigration law is tearing families apart. According to Senator Charles E. Schumer in the article he says “Without reform, our immigration laws threaten to tear apart families and force our government to extend precious resources to deport millions’ (Schumer 22). Imagine getting separated from your family just because

America is considered to be the “land of opportunity,” yet ironically, its doors are closed to the vast majority of people seeking to become citizens and pursue this opportunity. Legal immigration to the United States is a complicated process that is generally limited to those that have been petitioned by family members or employers, or have fled their home country as refugees. Most unauthorized immigrants do not meet these requirements, and even those that do may have to wait years or even decades. This leaves many with the choice to either immigrate illegally, or not immigrate at all. Those who choose the former receive criticism from Americans that do not understand why they refuse to just “get in line” and become legitimate citizens, but this line already has 4 million people, and for many there is no line at all. The naturalization process is specifically designed to protect the national security of the country, but there are some immigrants that could potentially be hard-working, law-abiding citizens who are denied this opportunity due to the complexity of the process. It would be beneficial to make a simpler pathway to citizenship for these immigrants specifically, and reduce the number of illegal immigrants, strengthen the economy, and keep families together.

Total inhalation of immigration would not be a healthy choice for the United States. However, setting out for stricter laws to become a citizen is in need. There are over 11.7 million illegal immigrants in the United States (poll 2011). Therefore, having restrictions on immigration overall can help the economy grow, security at airports, docs, borders, and on the streets would not only lessen the illegal immigrants around the country, but supply more jobs for Americans. Illegal immigrants not only live in the U.S, but are supplied jobs in which were made for American workers.