case study immigration

This paper explores the United States, Immigration Policy from an historical, fair and factual perspective. The Immigration Act of 1990 States limited “unskilled workers to 10,000 a year. Skilled labor requirements and immediate family reunification were major goals. The Act continued to promote the nuclear family model, foreign-born in the US was 7%”. This paper will also explore the demographics and diversity, of immigrants, throughout the U.S. This paper includes an article form the website of the Washington, D.C., Immigration Policy Center, and American Immigration Council. This paper will examines significant research data from the Pew Research web site on Hispanic trends and immigration, around the United States. This paper will also cover numbers, facts and trends which shape the immigration policy. This paper will also include five different books written by authors concerning the immigration policy and public issues which most concern Americans. This paper will cover topics of history of social problems and the policies that address immigration, special interest groups advocacy groups, political party and supporters, social justice and ethical issues, policy outcomes of illegal immigrants and how other countries compare to the United States when dealing with immigration.

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.

Immigration is the bedrock on which the United States was founded, yet in most political conversations today it is regarded as a negative topic and for that reason discussing this topic is important. In the US the struggle to be an immigrant is harder than ever. Immigrants are expected to work hard for jobs that they are over qualified for because of a stereotype cast on the

Immigration is currently a hot topic within in the United States government. Currently the United States Congress is fighting to decide the fate of the Dreamers, and the Immigration bill DACA. Like many controversial issues within the government, the Democrats and Republicans are in a disagreement on what to do. Each article, examines a different take on the current immigration reform. Bier’s main argument is that individuals who are contributing to immigration reform are ignorant, that Immigrants are not hurting the American Labor market. The next article, I examined, was written by Eric Cantor; Cantor states that although the parties each have a high stake on the decision Congress makes on DACA, there must be a decision otherwise, the law will remain status quo. Next, we look at Gessen’s article, the main argument is that immigrants should not be looked at valuable or illegal, they should not have to be talented in order to be welcome within the United States. Lastly, Vargas, an undocumented Immigrant, discusses the difficulties of being illegal within the United States, yet still shines light on the positive influences he had throughout his childhood and time in America.

Since the early 1990’s, the immigrant population in America has doubled to over 40 million. The population could be higher factoring in illegal immigrants with the number estimated to be over 11 million. Majority of these immigrants both legal and illegal are mainly from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Uncontrolled immigration has been blamed on loss of jobs, higher crime rates and housing problems in the US. While these immigrants play a unique role in the economy, the executive and the legislature have found it necessary to control the inflow of these immigrants for various reasons. A number of laws and immigration policies have been enacted to create order in this issue. How these laws are perceived by immigrants and the general American population has varied and has been a major topic for debate.

Immigration issues have been in the news; and have been debated by politicians. Political parties over the years have been vocal in voicing their concerns about American immigration (Russit, 2013).

Notwithstanding, immigrants are taking people’s jobs. People who are skilled or trained in a certain occupation have decreased, while the unskilled or untrained have increased over time because of illegal immigrants (Houle 75). Most businesses hire outsiders because they work for less money. Americans who have lower wages have to compete with settlers who work for low earnings for jobs (History). While Americans complain about how they should get paid better. Most Americans think that if they go on strike, their boss to get the point and give them a raise, but in the end, their boss can go and hire someone else or even an outsider and pay a lot less.

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.

„Every year, nearly a million people immigrate to the United States. Over 41 million legal and undocumented immigrants live in the country today. That’s 13% of the population. How the US deals with the flow of immigrants directly affects the countries security and economy.” This opening statement made in the video “Immigration Policy and the Presidential election” produced by Hagit Ariav and Jeremy Sherlick in October 2015 for the Council of Foreign Relations expresses why immigration is an ever present issue in American politics. However, statements and policies introduced by this year’s candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, have brought the controversial topic of immigration to a historic high, sparking wide spread opinions and discussions throughout the country.

“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.

Immigration has become a very controversial topic in America, more specifically, in the workforce. Recently, attention

Immigration has always been a contentious issue in the United States. Benjamin Franklin thought that an influx in German migration into the United States would flush out the predominately British culture at that time. Furthermore, a continual wave of foreign cultures began pouring into the American metropolitan areas at the turn of the 20th century. The migration of these people began a mass assimilation of cultural ideology and customs into the United States. With recent technological advancements, such as television and the internet, news and information can be widely shared concerning immigration. With the continual increase of news programs, Americans today are often bombarded with all sorts of pressing issues in today's society-

Immigration is a controversial topic that has impacted our society for decades perplexed by policies media coverage, perceptions based on one’s own lack of knowledge, personal experiences and a host of other factors that influence how our society views immigrants and immigration policies. The United States is a diverse population of people and filled with experiences that come from various walks of life that contribute to enhancing our social culture, economic development, and cultural acceptance.