Immigration Essay, Research Paper

During the first 2 million years of the United States history, the human population was a minor element in the world ecosystem, with at most 10 million members. One Hundred thousand years ago, with the dawning of the Stone Age, the number of human beings began to increase more rapidly. The relative balance before these times gave way when the human population developed methods of agriculture and animal breeding. This enabled them to stay in one location upon the earth instead of searching for food.

Population growth during the 20th century was notably rapid. In 1994, the total world population was estimated at about 5.6 billion people. It increased nearly 4 billion people during the 20th century. The most significant world trend shows that death rates are currently decreasing due to recent technology, allowing people to live longer and better. However, the birth rates are increasing in poor countries, and decreasing in wealthy nations, causing the population to increase. Eighty-eight percent of the world s population takes place in Third world countries. More than a billion people today are paid less than one hundred and fifty dollars a year, which is less than the average American earns in a week (Microsoft Encarta). This causes the majority of poorly paid people to come to the United States of America in search of a better life. This leads to a question that is being discussed by the presidential candidates, and also many congressmen who are running for election in their states. Should America open its borders to attract more workers to our prosperous economy?

More than 1 million people are entering the U.S. legally every year. From 1983 through 1992, 8.7 million people of these immigrants arrived on American soil, the highest of any decade since 1910. A record 1.8 million was granted permanent residence in 1991. Due to our present law in the United States, that stresses family unification, these arrivals can bring over their spouses, sons, and daughters; adding up to 3.5 million waiting in line to come to America. Latin America s population is now 390 million (Censuses 1990). This number is projected to be over eight hundred million by the year 2005. Mexico s population has tripled since World War II. One third of the population of Mexico is under 10 years of age. The effects of this, are, within ten years Mexico s unemployment rate will increase over 30 percent. Reports show that in 1990, an estimated 4 million illegal aliens entered the United States, more that 50 percent of which were from Mexico. Our border control program allegedly arrests 300 illegal immigrants per day. For every one that we catch two immigrants escape into our country unnoticed.

In the 2000 election immigration is one of many issues of each candidate. However, it is not one to ignore because it will affect our nation a great deal in the up and coming future. Presidential candidate George W. Bush is proposing these ideas to our nation: a 500 million-dollar cut to INS application time to 6 months. Welcome Latinos; immigration is not a problem to be solved. Make INS more immigrants friendly . High tech: More H-1B worker visas; less export controls. Farm policy: Open markets abroad; more H-2A worker visas. Latinos enrich us; family values go past Rio Grande. More border guards to compassionately turn away Mexicans. Guest workers, maybe; citizenship waiting period, yes. (www.issues2000.com) George Bush favors immigration however, he opposes immigrants escaping into our country illegally. We will bring to the INS a new standard of service and a culture of respect, Bush said. The new spending, to be doled out over five years, is the latest part of an INS overhaul plan that Bush s campaign believes will resonate with Latino voters. We ve got an INS that is too bureaucratic, too stuck in the past. (www.es2000GeorgeBush.com) On the other side of the spectrum Al Gore believes immigrants shall be granted; Citizenship for 1.2million cleared backlog, but sacrificed quality. More immigrants to alleviate labor shortage. Immigrants from communist Cuba are different; Immigration leads to diversity and cultural tolerance. (www.issues2000) Both presidential candidates believe and acknowledge that there is a problem, and recognize limits need to be set to regulate and discourage illegal immigration into the U.S.

Congressman of Ohio including Mike DeWine, John McCallister, and Ted Celeste each have differing opinions on the issue of immigration. Mike DeWine has voted Yes on all issues concerning immigrants in the United States. He favors limits to make immigrants work while they earn their VISA for citizenship. He believes that immigration adds a variety to our society. In his opinion, it will help the economy prosper by filling up jobs other will refuse to do. It is a win-win situation for both sides. (www.issues2000MikeDewine.com) Ted Celeste another congressman for Ohio is in favor of all bills to help regulate and prevent illegal immigration. John McCalister a Libertarian opposes all forms of immigration into the U.S.

Studies show that a majority of illegal immigrants apply for and receive benefits from the government that American citizens need. According to Donald L. Huddle, an economist at Rice University in Texas, legal and illegal immigrants cost the nation a net 42.5 billion dollars in 1992. The Huddle study also found that in 1992, illegal immigrants displaced more than 2 million Americans from their jobs. This resulted in an additional 11.9 billion dollars in public assistance to provide money for the people who lose their jobs to illegal immigrants. In California, immigrants cost more than 18 billion dollars a year. California currently has an estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants now attending grades’ K-12. This will costs the California taxpayers an estimated 1.5 billion dollars. Ten percent of the students currently enrolled in our elementary schools today are illegal aliens! California has 49.8 percent of the countries illegal aliens; therefore, California pays multiple costs for its permeable borders to many looking to improve their way of life, causing our economy to be depleted of useful and qualified individuals.

When adding the numbers of legal and illegal immigrants, 50 percent of all U.S. population growth comes from immigration. While Americans try to have smaller families, immigration threatens our nation. If immigration rates remain this high, more than seventy million people will be added to the United States population in just fifty years, with no end in sight. We are taking in more people than all of the rest of the world combined. As have all the other countries of the world, America needs to control its borders in a way that will actually prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the border illegally. As every house needs a door, so every country needs a border. And yet, our borders are full of holes. We have clearly lost control over our future. My children and your children will pay the price of uncontrolled immigration.

In 1990 Congress again modified existing immigration legislation. The Immigration Act of 1990 established an annual ceiling of 700,000 immigrants for each of the following three years and a maximum of 675,000 per year thereafter. Refugees, who were entering the United States annually, were not covered by the act. Reprieve was extended to the undocumented family members of those who had taken advantage of the amnesty provision of the 1986-immigration act and had taken the necessary and proper steps to become U.S. citizens. While family members of U.S. citizens remained the largest category of immigrants, the act established a separate annual quota of 140,000 for immigrants with job skills needed in the United States. Responding to pressure from various groups, the 1990 act granted annual quotas of 40,000 to 55,000 dollars to countries that had sent few immigrants in recent years. For three years, Ireland was given 17,000 of those dollars. Individuals who invested over 1 million in business enterprises of the United States, created jobs for U.S. citizens, who also received preferential treatment from the United States government. Special consideration was granted to political refugees escaping from countries with dictatorship governments.

In 1996 Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. The act made it easier to deport aliens attempting to enter the United States without proper documents. It expanded the number of crimes for which immigrants can be deported. The act severely restricted the right of immigrants to appeal decisions made by the government to the federal courts. The 1996 act also established an income test for those attempting to bring family members from abroad to the United States. Under the provisions of the act, a person sponsoring a family member is required to earn at least 125 percent of the poverty threshold, the annual income required to maintain an adequate standard of living according to the U.S. Census Bureau. (www.aila.com) Illegal immigrants who remain in the United States for more than six months are barred from re-entering the country for three years. Illegal immigrants who remain in the United States for a year or more are banned for ten years from re-entering the United States borders. In 1996 Congress also implemented a welfare-reform bill that restricted legal immigrants from receiving subsidies for food, known as food stamps. The act also denied social security benefits to legal immigrants who had not worked in the United States for at least 10 years. In 1997 Congress rescinded some of these measures, voting to restore disability compensation benefits and to exempt thousands of Central American refugees from deportation.

Supporters of immigration use many arguments to support their side. Let’s look at a few of these arguments: Illegal immigrants take jobs few Americans want. The fact is that the average illegal immigrant arrested in Denver, Colorado, made more than seven dollars an hour. Many were making over 100 dollars per day. Denver identified 43 illegal aliens making 100 dollars per day as roofers, while 438 people were registered in their employment services who would have loved those jobs. The average illegal immigrant arrested in Chicago makes $5.65 an hour. More than thirty million American workers make less than that. A common belief is that aliens fulfill many of the least desirable jobs. However, most experts agree that in today’s economy, there is no shortage of Americans competing for many of these same jobs. Actually, many Americans already work in these low-paying jobs. For example: the poor black man who works as a steelworker, his boss asked him to train a new employee, an illegal immigrant. As soon as he finished training, he was fired. His position, of course, went to the illegal immigrant, who was willing to work for less pay, and under deplorable working conditions. This is one example of how illegal workers depress wages, and slows, stall or prevent unions from forming or improvements to working conditions.

The reason for my position on this issue is that each day I hear stories of all the trouble immigrants have caused our nation. Especially illegal immigrants because they are trespassing onto our country, without the thought of doing it the correct way. All immigrants do is take jobs away from other qualified American citizens, just to save the employer money by hiring an illegal immigrant. They have no respect for such a wonderful and lovely nation. America is the greatest country on earth; we should allow only the elite and ones who deserve to join our nation. We should not allow just anyone who applies for a VISA, this is the United States people must earn and work to earn their citizenship and right to be an American.

Bibliography

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Immigration. January 1990; Online. Road Runner, October 16 2000. Available @ http://www.issues2000.com.

Immigration within our borders. September 28 1996; Online. Road Runner. Available @ http://www.aila.org

US Visa Consultants Ltd. February 1992; Online. Road Runner, October 16 2000. Available @ http://www.autek.com/usuisa/

Handlin, Oscar. Immigration. Microsoft Encarta 1997. Copyright 1997.

Jouar, Jim. Immigration. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia 1996 Copyright 1996.

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