Immigration reform is a complicated, but necessary policy. Most people agree current immigration policies need to be updated to meet the current demands of the country; and legal immigration should be encouraged and illegal immigration should be discouraged. These ideas are agreed upon when it comes to immigration reform; but most groups diverge sharply regarding the following three ideas: what to do about people already here illegally; how to restrict immigration (legal and illegal) and how to eliminate inequities between different classes of immigrants. How to get opposing groups to come together and realize that immigrants are an essential part of the fabric of our society is an important determination.
America is a nation historically built on the work of immigrants whether they came willingly or not. Even at this time in our history, immigrants provide a valuable class of workers essential to the American economy. Traditionally immigrants hailed from various areas of Europe and they have been the most successful, but not without problems. Beside interactions with Native American Indians, there has been a systematic problem of discrimination among and between members of these earlier immigrant groups. The sentiment to “become American” by shedding all vestiges of the “old country” seems to be shared by Roberto Suro, author of Strangers Among Us (Martin, “Strangers Among Us”). In his review, Martin outlines Suro’s belief that in order to stem the tide of illegal immigration, groups-specifically Hispanics-should close their doors to illegal immigration and embrace the status quo here in America. Legal immigration has been addressed at least since the 1800s; many groups were separated and only so many were allowed in the country at one time. Since then, changes have been made to accommodate the country’s political and economic situations. At this time, the changes need to be updated again.
There are many people living in the United States illegally. There is a question of what to do with them. They have no rights essentially and although they provide economic help to the country, they cannot participate in society with their current status – an idea pointed out in the article “Why Immigration Reform?” (Starr). Although there has been a recent push to send them back to their home country, this feeling is based on a perception without regard to the valuable economic service they provide. A pathway to legal citizenship for those who are in this position would be a better idea. There are some alternatives, but no one solution will provide the answer for each person in this situation. The article “Neither Walls Nor Open Borders” (De La Garza) echoes the sentiments of many politicians who suggest that expanding guest worker programs and other practical solutions may be the answer to the problem.
How do we restrict immigration? Any solution will need to involve restriction of some sort. Conservatives will have only so many from different groups allowed to enter the country. Legal immigrants are allowed on an individual basis; but illegal immigration is where the real problem is. Recent restrictions have included everything from rooting them out of the workplace to restricting them from renting apartments. Even the status of those born to illegal immigrant parents has been put into question. Luckily, most of these measures have been declared unconstitutional since they conflict with the theory of a free democracy. However the question still persists, what should their status be? There are realistic questions such as a person’s status before they enter the country; for example, are they a criminal either here or in their own country? Are they a terrorist? There are measures already in place that could be better enforced such as the use of biometrics that could aid in the restriction of immigration without resorting to measures mentioned in the article “Why Should We Restrict Immigration?” (Caplan).
Inequities between classes of immigrants may never be truly resolved, but there are some measures that can minimize this. For example, there should be a more objective standard put in place for a person who enters the country with a VISA and joins to military to ensure his or her citizenship versus someone who enters illegally and has a child born in the country. Also what accounts for the inequity between certain ethnic groups such as Haitians mentioned in “Why Should We Restrict Immigration?” (Caplan) and other groups such as Cubans, Chinese, and other non-European immigrant groups? The unfortunate perception of illegal immigration and all of the ensuing issues rests at the feet of Mexicans who come illegally, but there seems to be little attention paid to those who are of other origins who have also entered the country illegally. Ines Novacic, a contributor to an Irish American media cite called Irish Central, (qtd. in Rubio, 52) says that many undocumented Irish workers are not required to provide VISAs in order to work in the United States. Laws and technology such as biometrics as well as education could help prevent this problem at least.
In conclusion, there are many issues that provide a gulf between those involved with immigration reform. No one can seem to agree how to make the situation better; however, there should be some fairness applied. Applying existing laws equally, finding objective standards to applying those laws, and recognizing that immigrants are valuable to this country are needed if we expect to have effective immigration reform.
Works Cited
Martin, Phillip. “Strangers Among Us: How Latino Immigration is Transforming America.” The International Migration Review Fall 1999: 774-777. Proquest. Web 14 May 2012
Book review of Roberto Suro’s Strangers Among Us: How Latino Immigration is Transforming America. Martin highlights Suro’s view that issues with immigration, specifically Hispanic immigration, cannot be resolved without help from the Hispanic community. There is encouragement for Hispanics to embrace the status quo in the United States.
Starr, Paul. “Why Immigration Reform?” The American Prospect July/Aug 2007: 3. Proquest. Web. 14 May 2012.
Starr writes that reform needs to happen not only to update the system to adapt to the current needs of the country, but also to eliminate the illegal immigration underclass that it has created
De la Garza, Rodolfo. “Neither Walls Nor Open Borders: A New Approach to Immigration Reform.” New Labor Forum Winter 2011: 65-71. Academic Search Complete. 23 May 2012.
De la Garza’s article looks beyond the usual perceptions regarding illegal aliens and offers practical solutions of what to do amount undocumented workers already living in the United States.
Caplan, Bryan. “Why Should We Restrict Immigration?” Cato Journal Winter 2012: 5-24. Proquest. Web. 14 May 2012.
Caplan’s article suggests what are called “more humane” ways to restrict immigration. He insists that the current regulations are based on nothing more than quotas; his solutions involve alternatives to the use of quotas to restrict immigration while retaining immigrants as a viable labor force.
Rubio, Angelica. “Undocumented, Not Illegal: Beyond the Rhetoric of Immigration Coverage.” NACLA Report on the Americas November/December 2011: 50-52. Academic Search Complete. 23 May 2012.
This article examines the use of the word “illegal” referring to those who live in the United States but are not citizens and also points out the inequities between different classes of immigrants.
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