Immigration Restrictions Essay, Research Paper

Every day thousands of people want to come to the United States for a better life. The United States is known for giving people a chance for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However many find that the dream is much easier dreamt than a reality in the making. For people born outside of the United States the first step to making that dream come true is to immigrate. That is where, for many, the dream comes to an abrupt halt. This is where they can make or break their dream. Before anyone born outside of the United States is allowed to find a job, buy housing, and make a life in this country, they must establish citizenship. This sounds a lot easier than it is done. All immigrants must pass a citizenship test in order to become a citizen. This may sound simple, however it is not. This test is one of the many restrictions on immigration. However, these types of restrictions, though hard on immigrants, have a positive effect on the United States. The United States, ‘land of the free, home of the brave,’ is a place many people could only dream of living. The number of immigrants who have come to this country in order to build a better life has overpopulated the United States. And while immigrating to this country has very positive effects for the immigrants, the United States is suffering the negative effects. Since so many immigrants are coming into the United States to get jobs, and they will work for less money, Americans are suffering job loss because of the big demand for jobs from the newcomers (”Effects’,p.2). For the majority of Americans, this job loss is not one of the biggest concerns. The main concern is for over population in the United States. The United States present size is approximately 265 million people. This is believed, by many Americans, considered to be an optimum size for the United States (”survey” p.2). One way to stop the increase of this population problem is to identify and deport illegal immigrants. However the easier solution to this problem is to put more restrictions on the number of people let into the United States. Currently there are many pending bills that will dramatically restrict legal immigration for the years to come. For example, there are several bills that would slash legal immigration to the United States all the way down to 20,000 immigrants or less per year (”restricting” p.2). These bills, if passed, would have a very positive effect on the United States population. Another aspect and negative effect on this country overpopulation it its threat on America’s “resource base”. This resource base that I am referring to includes the everyday resources that Americans take for granted. These are things such as the crowding on our roads, in our schools, in our community, and other such resources that effect our everyday life. This loss of our resource base seems to make Americans feel that there is a loss in “the American way of life”(Survey” p.3).

There are many arguments against regulating the population growth and restricting immigration. These arguments, however, are not those expressed by the majority of Americans. One of these arguments states that this country needs population growth in order to continue having economic growth. The idea behind this is that the more people we have in this country to produce the more money that will be spent by the consumers on these products. Thus resulting in economic growth. Other arguments supporting population growth explain that we need this growth in order not to have a labor shortage. The problem with this argument is that instead of a labor shortage we are experiencing a job shortage. Americans nowadays have a hard time finding work. Finally, supporters also state that unless the population continues to grow, we will cease being a world power (”survey” p. 4). Comparing the United States to a country such as China, in which over population is a problem discredits this, which sounds like an important point. The United States is able to be such a strong world power because we are not suffering such a big problem and we are therefore able to control our people. The only way to keep this country strong and thriving is to restrict the number of people who immigrate to the United States. We have enough babies born, already U.S. citizens, to continue to stay as a world power, and keeps jobs full. It is a privilege to live in the United States, not a right. People outside of the United States who believe that it is their right to live in this wonderful country need to take a step back. Why can’t people improve the places that they live, instead of noticing how wonderful everything is everywhere else, especially the United States? The statement ‘the grass looks greener on the other side’ is true. It always will seem that way. Instead of the United States trying to be everyone’s savior by letting them have this wonderful chance to start a new life, we need to remember the rights of those who were born in, and already live in the United States.