Essay on Immigration

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Randy j 11/28/00

I wrote this paper to show what immigration is doing to america

America has, is, and will always be a nation of immigrants: the great melting pot. In the years that have passed since Emma Lazarus' poem was inscribed on the Statue of Liberty "the golden door" Americans have seen times when the door was open wide and times when it was close shut to most immigrants (Sure 4). Many people look at the present immigration problems as a purely modern dilemma. The truth is America has always struggled with the issue of immigration, both legal and illegal. Changing times, however, makes it imperative that our government reexamines and adjusts today's immigration laws to today's standards. Those standards, however, are not easily defined. Too often the issue of immigration is used as a political tool or is lost in heated moral debates (Sure 6). In any discussion about immigration there will be those who claim it is good for our nation and those who claim it is ruining the nation.

Americans are now faced with a new dilemma; the nation must decide not whether it is willing to accept new immigrants, but whether it can afford new immigrants (Briggs 240). More often than not, the bottom line in any debate of this sort is money; will more or less immigration mean more or less money for those already in America? All new immigrants, both legal and illegal must be considered in this equation. Congress can attempt to ease the burden of legal immigration by passing restrictive laws and only allowing inside those who they believe will become self-sufficient. Congress must also find a way to slow the flow of illegal immigration by enforcing the laws already in place Mont 16).

America most certainly has immigration problems, but eliminating immigration will not fix them all together. In fact, America will never eliminate immigration, because no matter how tightly the door is closed some illegal immigrants will get through (Marley 879). Since America continues to be seen as a nation of prosperity, opportunity, and freedom there will be those who wish to come to America. Immigrants have always come to America looking for a better life and Americans are always forgetting that their forefathers were once looking for that same life.

Throughout most of America's history immigration was seen as a natural process that benefited the nation (Divine 2). There were no clearly defined policies on immigration until the 1890's. During this time the country started questioning the economic benefits of more immigrants. In May 1921, the first bill in American history dealing with immigration was passed. This bill restricted European immigration and created the quota system (Divine 5). The downward turn in the economy could justify this turn toward restriction. Who could argue for more immigrants when the nation's own citizens could not find work. The slowing economy and the "spirit of intense nationalism" in the United States at this time made immigration a hot topic (Divine 23). After the depression hit, everyone agreed that there was a "need to limit immigration," of course the extent of those limits was not easily agreed upon (Divine 77).

World War II brought a new set of immigrants, and eventually the passing of the Displaced Persons Act of 1947. This allowed people, displaced by war to enter the country above quota limits (Divine 128). Since then our legislators have been faced with numerous proposals concerning immigration, too many in fact to mention. Those proposals show a definite shift in America's attitude toward immigration. Since the 1920's immigration has not been seen as a natural process, but a process that could overwhelm a nation if left unchecked (Divine 2).

In recent years the immigration policy has found itself in a state of flux going back and forth between pro and anti immigration. The Immigration Act of 1990 is one of the more current policies to regulate immigration. This policy set a flexible annual limit on immigration at a rate of 700,000 immigrants per year until 1994 when the number dropped to 675,000. This number of course does not include refugees and those seeking asylum ("Immigration . . . "). If these numbers seem, staggering one must take into account the estimated "300,000 to 400,000 illegal immigrants" added to the nations population each year (Suro 8).

In the mid-90's there was a shift in America's immigration policy to "close the doors and end the current era of immigration" (Suro 8). In President Clinton's 1995 State of the Union Message he said: "It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it." ("Immigration . . . "). This attitude led to the Immigration Enforcement Improvements Act of 1995, which was meant to secure our borders, make deportation of illegal easier, and discourage the employment of illegal aliens ("Immigration . . . "). In essence this was a proposal to enforce the laws already in place. This was a strong attempt by the government to limit illegal immigration while facilitating legal immigration. Now, due to the lack of credible data, it is unclear if this legislation worked. What is clear is the continuing struggle to find a balance in the immigration system. In the past, immigration was somewhat balanced; a good economy meant more immigrants and a slower economy saw a decrease in immigration (Amselle 60). However, there are those who now feel the United States has absorbed all the people it can (Amselle 60).

On the other hand, there are those like Joel Kotkin of the Progressive Policy Institute who feel that the large numbers of immigrants are "working age adults," that America needs to "offset the growing number of pensioners" (Amselle 60). Even if the immigrant population can offset the number of pensioners, the number of resources in the country will still be divided among a much larger population. One must also take into account the number of illegal immigrants added to the population. They will also be replacing those retiring pensioners at a lower wage with no taxes or social security payments. America has a large population of baby boomers and will need working-age persons to fill the void left by their retirements, but there must be a limit to the number of immigrants we become dependant upon...

Amselle, Jorge. "Immigrants: Helping or Harming the U.S.?." The World & I 10 (1995): 60.

Bean, Frank D., Barry Edmonston, and Jefferey S. Passel. Undocumented Migration to the United States:IRCA and the Experience of the 1980's.Washington: The Urban Institute Press, 1990.

Briggs, Vernon M., Jr. Mass Immigration and the National Interest. 2nd ed. Armonk: Sharpe, 1996.

Divine, Robert A. American Immigration Policy, 1924-1952. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1957.

"Immigration Enforcement Improvements Act of 1995":FAct Sheet". ‘Lectric Law Library. 9 Nov. 1999 *http://lectlaw.com/files/imm05.htm*

Kirschten, Dick. "Supply and Demand." Government Executive 31 (May 1999): 16.

Marley, Bruce Robert. "Exiling the new felons:The consequences of the retroactive application of aggravated felony convictions to lawful permanent residents." San Diego Law Review 35 (1998 Summer): 855-895.

Mont, Daniel. "Welfare and Immigrants." Migration World 6 (1996): 8-20.

Suro, Robert. Watching America's Door: The Immigration Backlash and the New Policy Debate. New York: The Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1996: 4-40

"United States; The Next Masses." Economist 1 May 1999: 26-28.

U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Strategic Plan: Toward INS 2000: Accepting the Challenge.