The Prevailing Topic Of Illegal Immigration

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

The debate over illegal immigration has been a constant and ongoing struggle in the United States. Millions of illegal immigrants are living among us in the country, we have more entering daily. Recently, President Barack Obama touched on the topic with his immigration executive order. Unfortunately, with the republican takeover of the white house, many of his actions are not being supported. This is viable evidence that there are people who want to help fix the immigration system in a way that will benefit illegal immigrants and give them a fighting chance to prosper here in the United States. With that being said, there are also powers who do not want to see that happen because they believe that it is not in the best interest of the United States to open their borders to illegals. This puts to question what the next steps for the United States will decide and how that will affect Americans across the country. My goal of this essay is to enlighten the moral concerns in the debates pertaining to immigration.

The debate of who should be allowed to enter the United States has been an issue for many years, with the large number of people entering and living here illegally this has become a significant talking point amongst the candidates in this presidential election. But are their views something that should be shared and supported by Christians today? There are definitely two opposing views from Christians on this topic. I will present both views regarding illegal immigrants in the United States and then I will present my own opinion on this topic.

Immigration is an issue that many people see as small and insignificant. Many believe that it doesn’t concern or affect them in any shape or form. Truth is, it doesn’t matter if you're African American, Caucasian, Asian, Mexican, or another race, immigration is an issue that affects everyone. Immigration affects the economy, the workforce, families, and the individual’s themselves whose main goal and dream is the “American Dream” that they come to the US looking for.

But one prevalent issue that has continued to be the source of much controversy is immigration. Founded on immigration this issue is not new to this country. Although it’s an issue that has been around for many years the mixed sentiments directed at it have only continued to become more prevalent. This may be due to the various perspectives from which it is viewed. The way in which an issue is looked at is influenced by various factors which become evident when the issue of immigration is discussed.

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.

“More than any other nation on Earth, America has constantly drawn strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants. In each generation, they have proved to be the most restless, the most adventurous, the most innovative, the most industrious of people. Bearing different memories honoring different heritages, they have strengthened our economy, enriched our culture, renewed our promise of freedom and opportunity for all” (Clinton 146). Those are some wise words from a former president who explains the importance of immigrants and has the mentality of a person who has reason. For many, or everybody, walking through a hot, dry desert with no water or even through a cold, windy and rainy desert would not be an activity that they would like to engage. Even though this dangerous and severe weather goes on, several people still immigrate illegally because they want what is going to be best for them. Some make it all the way and unfortunately some we do not hear about ever again.

No issue in any immigration policy kindles more dispute than the issue of illegal immigration. Unfortunately, some people confuse legal and illegal immigration. Legal immigrants are here legally. They have the proper, legal documents that allow them to live and work in the U.S. without complications. Illegal immigrants are defined as anyone who was born in a country other than the U.S. to parents who are not official U.S. citizens; they enter the U.S. without legal documents to prove their legal citizenship. Yet before the twentieth century, many individuals and families immigrated to the U.S. without restriction, and illegal immigration was not a problem at that time. Restrictive immigration quotas were presented, but even with limitations, citizens of the Western Hemisphere countries continued to immigrate outside of the quotas. Not until the 70th Congress did the Senate Committee pass an amendment to remove Mexico from the list of countries where families and individuals could immigrate without a quota. However, World War II began to require more and more troops, and the U.S. government looked toward Mexico because of the lack of manpower rather than issues regarding illegal immigration. The U.S. and Mexico endorsed an agreement that permitted Mexicans to work in America as a method to attend to the concerns of food processing in the U.S. during the war (Anderson, 91-93). In more recent years, President Obama, in an executive action, announced changes to DACA (Deferred

Although the issue of immigration policy has been at the center of political debates, largely discussed in the media and newspapers, no one has yet found a solution to this ill-defined problem, that would comply with the America’s core values. While I think the immigration policy does need a reform, the solution to this problem certainly is not a deportation of all undocumented residents.

Since the start of our country, America has been known as a land of immigrants, a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities working towards the American motto of the land of the free, home of the brave. Since colonial times, immigrants have been an integral part of society, majorly contributing to U.S culture and economy, yet many Americans have always had very conflicting ideas on immigration. Many people look past the benefits immigrants bring to our economy and society and instead scapegoat them for many of the United States’ problems surrounding unemployment and budget. The positive effects of immigrants, both legal and undocumented, in our country far outweighs the negative effects because of their important impact on society and the economic help that American relies on.

Republicans and Democrats have been fighting over the issue of immigration since the 1900s. Immigration has been an issue declared by both Democrats and Republicans alike over debates, elections and even the presidency. Each political party has different viewpoints of immigration and how it effects society and the U.S. as a whole. Immigration is the great division between two opinions. These two sides are: one being people that are accepting with immigrants coming in and out of the U.S., while the others say there shouldn’t be any immigrants coming to the U.S. Both parties have different stances on these issues, however, neither are as reliable as the facts.

There are many hotly debated and contentious issues today. Issues that people often find themselves arguing about with their friends, or something that people have a very strong presupposed belief of. But none more hotly debated or more querulous perhaps, than our immigration system. Very few issues have the magnitude and aptitude to tear an entire nation apart, and this is one of them. As with every struggle, there are two point of views. There are those that welcome the cultural differences and the economical possibilities that immigrants bring with them, along with their traditions and their work ethic. On the opposite side, there are those that view them as a potential threat to our barely recovering economy and to their American way of

Why does the issue of immigration divide American opinions when the United States is a country built by immigrants? The online encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org defines immigration to the United States as "the permanent movement of foreigners to the United States." This online encyclopedia also states that immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout American history." In order to establish an objective and well thought out the viewpoint on this very sensitive subject, I thought it would be best to discuss as many different viewpoints as possible. However, my research indicates that seems like everyone in the United States and abroad has his or her own stance. So I will

Immigration is one hot topic in today’s conversation and society. Many think that immigrants coming to America are taking many jobs away from who need them. Some also think that there are jobs being taken away are not ones that Americans would not perform due to the horrible working conditions, low pay, and lack of important medical coverage. The immigration issue has come to a point where the United States must make a decision to spend a lot of money to curtail the amount of immigrants coming here.

Every year, around one million people are immigrating into the United States both legally and illegally. As of now nearly 40 million immigrants live in the United States; 11.5 million of which came to the country illegally (CNN). That is nearly thirteen percent of the total United States population. The role the United States government plays in the handling of immigration from foreign countries both legal and illegal, plays a vital role in the security of the people of the United States and