US Immigration Policy Before and After September 11 Essay

    On September 11, 2001, Islamic extremists stole four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against the United States. Two of the airplanes were flown into the twin towers in New York City, the third airplane hit the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth airplane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Known as 9/11, the attacks resulted in extensive death and destruction, triggering the United States to create major changes in their security and terrorism protocols. While everyone agrees that what happened on 9/11 was terrible, many believe that the changes in America’s security protocols are not for the best. How 9/11 affected America’s security protocols was for the worse, it caused: privacy invasion for foreign and American civilians in airports, immigration laws increased out of fear, and discrimination and racism towards Arab civilians.

Immigrating is to come to a country of which one is not a native, usually for permanent residence. It goes along with drive and determination to seek pleasure out of life, chase dreams, and purse happiness even in the most desperate of times. Migrating affects the communities that the migrants leave as well as the communities that receive them. There are many views as to why people migrate to different countries, the impact of immigration in countries, and how countries should go about regulating immigration. When discussing the ethics of immigration, it is important to view this topic from both sides and not just one side. In doing so, a person gets a sense of the bigger picture that the U.S. is currently dealing with due to immigration. With that being said, the United States should strive for an immigration policy that can benefit everyone involved as a whole.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, immigration control and national homeland security have been issues of concern for both the national government and private citizens. In the wake of the attacks, a lot of articles were written about what the appropriate response should be to prevent another attack. In 2004, Mark Krikorian wrote an article for the Providence Journal entitled “Safety through Immigration Control” in which he contends that the only means to keep America safe from a follow-up attack is to strengthen and enforce immigration law to prevent terrorists from being able to enter the country. Edwidge Danticat, writing for The Nation in 2005, provides a juxtaposition to Krikorian’s stance in her essay “Not Your Homeland”, in which she describes her witnessing of the inhumane conditions many immigrants are forced to endure in the name of increased security to protect the country. She questions whether the added protections are worth the human cost we are paying by treating immigrants and refugees as guilty until proven innocent. At the crossroads of these two perspectives lies the question: what is the proper balance between national security and the humane treatment of immigrants?

U.S. immigration policy has always been an important topic debated by Presidential candidates for decades. Immigration reform has been ignored by Congress, leaving decisions up to the President and Supreme Court. In the meantime, the hopes of about eleven million illegal immigrants in the U.S., as well as future rules for legal immigration, rest on the shoulders of those decision makers. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both agree that changes to U.S. immigration policy are needed; however, Donald Trump is taking a radical approach suggesting mass deportation and completely revamping U.S. immigration policy, whereas, Hillary Clinton is overlooking some issues and wants to continue to support the policy set forth by the Obama Administration. Regardless of who becomes President, they will have a hard time getting these issues passed through Congress.

Correspondence should be addressed to Calli N. Morrison and Constance R. Tullis, School of Social Work, Ross Hall, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72204.

1) Is current immigration policy seriously treated as a national security issue? How was it treated prior to 9/11?

The events of September 11, 2001 initiated another shift in the United States' immigration policy by dramatically increasing immigration enforcement. Immigrant removals, including deportations and so-called voluntary departures, had doubled since the attacks and fewer immigrants, especially from the Middle East are allowed in the Western countries. United States and other big countries in the European Union were the first ones to revise their policy in line with the new context of national security. Since September 11 attacks, the emphasis of American immigration policies became border security and removing criminal immigrants to keep national safety and prevent future terrorist attacks. At the same time, the United States kept its commitment

On September 11, 2001, terrorists initiated multiple attacks on America that took the lives of nearly three thousand innocent people. It was a day of destruction and horror that will be branded in the minds of many for a long time. The tragedies on 9/11 could have been avoided if airport security in the United States had been stricter. A strong foundation for Homeland Security is essential in protecting America from further attacks. In the essay

Have you ever wondered how it feels moving to a new place where everything the language, the culture and the people are different? Do you know what it is like to leave everything you like and love behind including your family, your friends, school and much more? For many times, people from all over the world comes to the United States looking for a better future-- new opportunists and by doing so achieve the American dream, for themselves and also for their family. Illegal immigration is a major problem that affects the United States. For almost twenty-five years, Maria Gonzalez lived in the United States without a legal status. Her husband and two children are all U.S citizens. Even though she is the wife and the mother of U.S citizens, it is hard

We are now in the 21st century and like the beginning of the 20th century the United States finds itself in the throes of a period of mass immigration. More then one million immigrants enter the Unites States, both legally and illegally every single year. Many argue that this new wave of mass immigration may help sustain the success that our nation is having in regard to the way of living that many American have come accustomed to and yet others believe that although our nation was created by immigrants it is time to "shut down" our borders. The truth of the matter is that there will always be issues in regard to immigration and the policies that the government sets forth in order control who comes into this country. Also now

Essentially, the United States was built by immigrants, who sought to make a new life in a new land. In this case therefore, before the 1880s, almost anyone could move in to the United States. Immigration would only start to be controlled once the population began to grow. While the first Europeans from Britain arrived in America to avoid persecution, own lands, and work on agriculture etc, more would gradually follow for the same reason followed by the Dutch, Swedish and Germans. This was encouraged given that it was viewed as a means of getting the settlements to grow and become established. However, from the 1640s, African involuntary immigration began, where slaves from mostly West

This week’s materials cover the immigration policies, and meso-social analysis of how the immigrants in certain communities adapt.

The next major issue addressed by a large number of Americans is healthcare. It goes without saying that a significant topic at the time of the Congressional turnover is the Affordable Care Act. This is another example of democratically legislative piece being pushed and opposed by a Republican voting body. Prior to the elections in November 2014, the President of the United States and the Senate acted according to Democratic Party ideology, while the sole source of power for Republicans, the House of Representatives, opposed their efforts in vain. Because Republicans only controlled one house of Congress, this meant that Democratic efforts were able to succeed and healthcare was opened up to many new citizens (citizens who had previously been

Illegal immigration was an issue in the past and is a pressing problem in the present. The U.S. Government has been trying to find a resolution to this issue for years. The United States approved the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, which allowed the American Government to punish American companies that consciously employed illegal immigrants (Nadadur 1037-1052). The United States’ Government Immigration Reform and Control Act has been unsuccessful in controlling illegal immigration. It is estimated that illegal immigration into the U.S. has a yearly interval of three hundred fifty thousand people (Rousmaniere 24-25). It is apparent that the 1986 act was not able to keep a handle on illegal immigration. Illegal immigration

This week’s material has been over immigration in the U.S. Personally, this is a topic that I find interesting and fun to learn about especially since it is such a heavy topic in the media today. The history and development of immigration and the policies are important to understand. It’s never been easy to travel across the world to start a new life. Back when this content was founded there was quite a bit less paper work when it came to settling down. Now, after years reforms it takes a lot of documentation to enter the U.S. One of the biggest factors on such tight restrictions was the attack on 9/11.