Immigration Rights

Immigration Rights

Elian Gonzalez, a Cuban citizen, came across on a make-shift smuggling boat along with his mother and twelve other people. The boat came across some rough weather and it was capsized. Elian’s mother as well as ten other people died on their journey to America. The only survivors were Elian and his two friends, one boy and one girl (n.p.). This story is just one example of the risk that immigrants are willing to take to live in freedom. There have been many deaths as well as disappointments for many immigrants, but there is no sign of them giving up on this American dream any time soon.

Reasons for Immigration

There are many people in the United States that criticize this country and take it for granted that they live in the most wonderful nation on earth. They have been awarded the God-given gift of being born into American society and they rape, murder, and steal from their fellow citizens. On the other hand, there are good people in this world that didn’t happen to be as lucky as some and just want a taste of what it is like to live in a free society and will risk their lives to do so. America affords opportunities that most other countries do not. We, as Americans, are free. We can say what we want without fear of persecution by our government. Many people in this world are not as lucky as those born in America. Many countries do not allow you to say what you feel. Many countries are run by a handful of individuals. Citizens of those countries are not able to make something of themselves through hard work and determination as Americans can.

This paper will focus mostly on immigration from Mexico into the United States. As the publication of the article “Two Path’s to Safety” has shown, there is an estimated total of between 4 million and 20 million illegal immigrants in The United States today (7). Most of these people are trying to enter into the United States not to become citizens but to make money to send back home to Mexico. There has been a public outcry to deport these illegal immigrants and to allow American citizens these farming and manual labor jobs. The only problem with this is that most Americans do not want laboring, low-pay positions in society. This is why it is vital to the success of the American economy that immigrants are allowed to come to America and fill the positions that will not be filled otherwise. During this time of war it is especially vital to the interests of the United States that these immigrants stay and help the American economy as well as provide for their families back home.

When discussing the topic of foreign people entering the United States it is important to look at what Americans have been blessed with simply by chance. It is important to realize that Americans have done nothing earn an American Citizenship but crawl out of their mother’s womb. If one puts himself in the shoes of a Mexican citizen, for example, it is easy to see why he would want to become a United States citizen. Just as our ancestors did before us, they want to travel to a free country away from persecution for their beliefs, as well as to have the ability to provide for their families.

According to the article “Two Paths to Safety,”

American opinion on illegal immigration is complex, but has one constant: it has always been directly linked to America’s economic situation. Wartime labor shortages have always decreased demand for labor, leading to more border crossings. The need for farm labor during World War I was so severe that the INS commission temporarily waved the literacy requirement, and during World War II it led to the creation of the “Bracero” program. Conversely, economic downtimes in the U.S. have led to public demands for crackdowns because American’s needed the jobs. During the first four years of the Great Depression 345,000 Mexicans were deported, and during the 1954 recession a massive border roundup called “Operation Wetback” led to the deportation of more than a million. (7)

The article “On The Corner: Day Labor in the United States” says that many immigrants in the U.S. that are looking for a new life find themselves in the category of a “Day laborer”. Just about every immigrant day laborer will fall below the federal poverty line if he or she works a full year. Day laborers also adhere to awful working conditions including almost half of the workers experiencing wage theft in the two months prior to the survey. Also, forty-four percent of the laborers were denied food and water breaks during the workday. One in five day laborers will be physically injured at the work site, and half of them will not receive medical attention for their injuries. These laborers are also like your average American in that fifty-two percent of them go to church on Sundays. Also, twenty-two percent participate in sports clubs. Additionally, twenty-six percent of day laborers participate in community worker centers. (Executive Summary)

In general, immigrants are doing their best to give their families the life they deserve in a free nation. They are doing what they feel is necessary to achieve this goal even if it means sneaking into this country. Most of them are moral and honest people that want to be embraced in the American dream and in the American way of life.

Reasons Americans Do Not Want Immigration

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Sensenbrenner, said in The New York Times that

he could envision legislation that included a guest-worker program. But he insisted that strong enforcement measures would have to be in place first, including an employment-verification system and tough sanctions on employers who hired illegal immigrants. Amnesty is wrong because it rewards someone for illegal behavior, and I reject the spin that senators have been putting on their proposal, it is amnesty. (New York Times)

Americans sometimes feel like it is advocating illegal activity to allow illegal aliens to become citizens. Citizens of the United States do not necessarily feel safe in this day and age knowing that our border patrols are not doing a very good job. Americans feel as though Mexican immigrants are taking their jobs. CNN.com has revealed that seven million illegal immigrants now live in the United States, seventy percent of which are from Mexico (1). It is easy to see why Americans do not feel safe when there are seven million illegal immigrants from foreign countries in the United States without any screening process or information on them being