The Presidential Election Is Drawing Closer And Immigration Reform

Each year, thousands of Central American immigrants embark on a dangerous journey from Mexico to the United States. Many of these migrants include young children searching for their mothers who abandoned them. In Enrique’s Journey, former Los Angeles Times reporter, Sonia Nazario, recounts the compelling story of Enrique, a young Honduran boy desperate to reunite with his mother. Thanks to her thorough reporting, Nazario gives readers a vivid and detailed account of the hardships faced by these migrant children.

One of the most defining traits for the United States of America is that the nation is one made up of immigrants, it is a basic building block that can not be overlooked, nor should it. That being said, it is important to countless citizens to be open when it comes to immigration, while keeping the country hospitable to its citizens for generations to come. However, this attitude to immigration is a fairly recent phenomenon in American history, especially in regards to immigrants coming in from non-Western European countries. With the introduction of the Immigration Act of 1965 and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) came about the changes to immigration policy that would forever change the face of the nation and create the diversity that has become a point of pride. The sentiment is not felt nationwide, however, as the immigration patterns brought about with these two acts has brought hostility as well, especially from those who feel that immigration is a threat to the country as a whole, specifically illegal immigration. Immigration, and its illegal counterpart, is an issue that defines this period in American history, and while it did not necessary start off targeting Mexican and Latino immigrants, it has very much been immortalized within the communities and become the face of immigrants to the nation as a whole.

Have you ever struggled so much, that you just want to give up? Well, a lot of Immigrants had this problem, and constantly they had to say, “ Don’t be afraid to start over.” and the Immigrants did. Esperanza Ortega from Pam Munzos Ryan’s Esperanza Rising, has to say this too. Esperanza had to leave her rich, Mexican, home (because of a fire), and and had to move to California as an Immigrant. While Esperanza began life with no worries, as she got older, she had to deal with strikers, and her deadly Mama’s sickness.

It was a wonderful eye-opening experience to interview Carmen Anton, a Spanish immigrant for this project. I learned so many things about how she arrived in American as a small child with only her sister by her side and her strive to become American. The emotional struggles of Carmen and her sister, Elena, were real and I didn’t realize it was that emotionally draining to come to a new country. Her experience showed me how hard it is to fit into a new society knowing absolutely nothing about the world she was dropped into. The fact that she flew here with her younger sister and then live for three months without her parents to guide her in this unfamiliar setting, shows me how strong and brave Carmen was at the young age of eight. When she first came, she assumed it would be like

Mexican immigrants in California faced discrimination through horrible living conditions, hard labor, and low wages. American people made them feel unwanted and took away their rights. In the book Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, Esperanza, a 13-year-old girl that had it all, lived in Mexico, but one morning she had to go to an immigration camp in California because her father got killed by bandits. Since her Papa’s death, Esperanza had to face many other challenges as an immigrant such as chores, strikers, and Mama gets sick.

Today, tThe visible number of unauthorized immigrants today in the US points to the fact that US immigration laws are outdated and inadequate to meet the 21st century needs of the nation in the 21st century. In American politics, Iimmigration reform has largely remained as a “valence” issue in American politics. Often, Tthe issue of immigration reform has often been overshadowed by other events from foreign wars, and national security threats to and the Great Recession that trickled down the in the US economy. Moreover, the hostile environment of partisan politics further impeded impedes comprehensive reform in the “broken” US immigration system. In the primetime address, President Obama expressed the dire need of Comprehensive

Out of all the controversial topics facing our nation now, immigration reform remains one of the most controversial. Many sides argue that immigration helps boost a nation up, but others have argued that it doesn’t help our nation or its people out. Diversity was and always will be America's strong suit when compared to the rest of the world. One issue that has always been controversial however is immigration reform. Many countries have adopted different techniques to combat this issue, but many share the same concern: the cost and the risks of having illegal immigrants. Today we are here to state that illegal immigration doesn’t help us yet in many cases, it hinders natural-born citizens of this country by forcing them to pay for and defend

As depicted in the story, “Enrique’s Journey” by Sonia Nazario, immigrants from Central America and Mexico migrate due to one of the following reasons; poverty, abuse, or seeking their parents. As mentioned in the book, “...largest number of the unaccompanied children it catches. Of those, the counselors say, 75 percent are looking for their mothers.”(17-18); ultimately, this comes to show that these children which enter the U.S. illegally follow their impulse to seek acceptance from their mother which they feel had abandoned them. Similarly, it reveals that they were unable to get rid of their trauma of getting “left behind” revealing their lack of a parental figure. In all,what differentiates Mexican and Central American immigrants is

Vigorous debates about immigration policy have been part of U.S. history since the first settlers began arriving from Europe (Novas, 1994; Kessler, 2001; Reichman, 2006). Those who favor more stringent restrictions on entry to the country, and greater penalties for violating those restrictions, argue that it is necessary for the safety and economic security of our nation and to preserve jobs for U.S. born workers (Camarota, 2011). Those who favor more leniency, and even amnesty for those in the U.S. without legal documentation, argue that the U.S. should maintain its standing as a nation of immigrants where everyone is welcome and where differences add value to the economy and our quality of life (National Council of La Raza, 2008). In today 's heated debates, immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America are most often at the center of the controversy (Camarota, 2011; National Council of La Raza, 2008) as sixty-two percent (62%) of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. are originally from Mexico, and another twelve percent (12%) from other Spanish-speaking countries of South and Central America (Hoeffer, Rytina, & Baker, 2010).

In a 2008 debate, now-President Barack Obama proclaimed, “We are a nation of laws and we are a nation of immigrants, and we can reconcile those two things,” (CNN, 2008). The hype surrounding Obama’s first term election included “hope” for immigration reform—an important platform of his campaign. In 2012, Obama’s re-election was partially attributed to an increase in support from the Latino demographic. The Latino vote helped Obama win key states and compromised 10% of the electorate—the highest ever recorded (Lopez & Taylor, 2012). With less than a year for Obama left in office, immigration legislation is struggling. Despite bi-partisan efforts, the future for comprehensive immigration policy is bleak. The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S.744) made great strides towards comprehensive reform in 2013. The arduous passage of S.744 was a victory for immigration reform but its subsequent failure in the House of Representatives is symbolic of an over-arching problem facing immigration reform policy in the United States.

Immigration continues to be is a highly controversial topic in the United States of America. At times it seems that the only common ground that can be found is that the United States immigration system is completely and totally broken. After doing only a small amount of research those who may view immigration issues as only the problem of individual immigrants with find that the problem has sweeping influence and vast consequences. Today’s immigration debates continue to center on issues that stem from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. This legislation ended up being very problematic, and becoming an action that many look back on with regret. After diving into the law itself, the problems surrounding the law, the debate afterwards, and the proposed solutions we will gain clearer insight into the intricacies of the United States immigration debate.

“The contribution of immigrants can be seen in every aspect of our national life. We see it in religion, in business, in the arts, in education, even in athletics and in entertainment, there is no part of our nation that has not been touched by our immigrant background” (President John F. Kennedy 1959). Like President John F. Kennedy many other Presidents, before and after him Republican and Democrat, have shared these ideals of freedom and opportunity for all. “Si Se Puede (Yes we can,) Keep Our Families Together, and “Human rights Are Immigrant Rights“ are just some of the phrases chanted by people who are in favor of an immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship. According to the American Progress Organization, we have a total of about 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Our broken immigration system has definitely not gone unnoticed, however, how to fix our immigration system is the biggest issue and it has been put aside for many years because it is a conflict that causes a tremendous amount of controversy and is a highly disputed issue for the government and the people. This issue is more than just a matter of legality it has become a problem of morals. This paper will be analyzing the nature of this conflict, those in favor of immigration reform, and those against immigration reform t in order to offer a reasonable solution to this national problem.

In today’s society Immigration is steadily on the rise, in the United States it is believed that there are about 11 million undocumented immigrants (Vargas, 2011). The United States has been welcoming immigration for thousands of years, but it has always feared the consequences of it. The start of a mass wave of immigration similar to immigration today began in the 1800s and the early 1900s. The majority of these immigrants arrived from Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe; they came to America in search of economic opportunity (Staff, 2009). Immigration is what built the America we have today, it industrialized it and allowed it to grow.

Throughout the history of United States of America, immigration has grown to important parts of our life. Many politicians tried to improve and control immigration, by giving foreigners all over the world chance to explore “The American Dream”. Therefore, during the presidential race, immigration always became a hot topic as politicians debated about how to handle the large number of illegal immigrants in the United States. But these debates are nothing new. Historically, Americans have frequently scorned new arrivals, despite the fact that their ancestors were also immigrants. Past presidents, Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Barack Obama has also made negative and positive comments on the immigration. During Bill Clinton’s term in office, President

Immigration is a hot topic in the United States since Donald Trump expressed his views in the 2016 presidential campaign. Immigration has a bountiful amount of complex issues. When Immigrants travel across the border they only bring their family and their desire to create a new and finer future; unfortunately, most illegal immigrants do not have the money to support themselves. However, the government should not ship out the immigrants who are working, making money to support their family and/or to become an American citizen. Many Americans claim that immigration is the causing the downfall of their “Superpower Nation.” On the contrary, America was founded by her citizen’s ancestors who traveled from their undesirable living conditions for