Acosta 1 Zenon Acosta Professor Darrel Elmore ENC 1102 1 December 2015 Immigration Reform: A Desideratum for the United States The topic of illegal immigration has been the center of controversy in recent memory. It has been an ongoing topic in politics in the United States. As of now, 11 million undocumented or illegal immigrants are the subordinates of American society. Every day, they re hoping that they will not be considered a statistic in the deportation department by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They live with a great deal of uncertainty about their future and there s also the contemplation of being possibly separated from their families at any given time. Their status causes them to be excluded from many types of political and even social participation. There are individuals who are condemning illegal immigrants by blaming them for a majority of the problems in the United States and telling them to return to their home country. There are arguments that support claims that illegal immigrants should face harsher penalties; however, there are numerous arguments that support claims that illegal immigrants should have the right to stay. I argue that the United States should develop a comprehensive immigration reform because it can create opportunities for education and employment, keep families together, and establish more security to protect the United States. It is necessary for the substantial amount of illegal immigrants to have their rights granted and to have their contributions legalized. In an interview with my longtime friend, Roberto Fernandez, he shared his personal experiences about immigration. Roberto was born in Peru and he arrived in the U.S. at the age of
Acosta 2 8. As of now, he is the first member of his family to have graduated high school and attend college. When he was asked about the experiences he faced when he first came to the United States, he responded, Since I first came to this country with my parents back in 2005, we faced plenty of adversity. Jobs were very hard to find and we barely had a place to live. My parents cleaned houses and I had to stay after-school every day. In the end, we showed how much we cared for each other. As the interview continued, he went on by saying that people had been telling him to return to his country because they didn t want him here. Also, as time passed, his situation has improved since his parents are working in better jobs and he is attending college. It goes to show that even if you are from somewhere else in the world, success can still be possible even if the situation isn t favorable. With an immigration reform in place, the amount of employment will increase and many illegal immigrants would have the chance of earning a promising education. Having the reform can enable children of immigrants to earn an education that can eventually provide them options of exploring careers. According to CNN Money, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) jobs are growing at 1.7 times the rate of non-stem jobs. However, the U.S. is not producing many prospective candidates to fill the positions. According to the U.S. Department of Education, only 16% of high school seniors are interested in the STEM field. Close to half of the 11 million undocumented immigrants are still living in the U.S. because they simply overstayed work or student visas. The possibilities of those immigrants having an interest in STEM careers are greater. The Kauffman Foundation conducted research and estimated that between 500,000 to 1.6 million jobs can be established in the STEM field. Another effect of immigration reform would be the passage of the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act is a legislative proposal that would allow undocumented immigrants to receive legal U.S. residency via higher education. It would
Acosta 3 also give them the opportunity to apply for permanent residency. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, 1.03 million illegal immigrants would eventually enroll in community colleges or state universities as a result of the DREAM Act. Foreign-born students make up a large representation of the current student population. By implementing an immigration reform and passing the Dream Act, it can dramatically reduce the high school dropout rates and it can enable more students to attend college. Another benefit of establishing a comprehensive immigration reform is that it can keep families together and prevent separation. In addition, it can also prevent potential psychological issues. According to Americaswire.org, more than 5,000 children of immigrants are in foster care because their parents were living in the United States illegally and were detained or deported by the federal authorities. As a result, children can spend many years in foster care and there s also the possibility of those kids being put up for adoption after their parents lose custody rights. According to the Applied Research Center (ARC), jailed parents are not allowed to reunite with their children. Furthermore, detained parents are often uninformed of their legal rights such as requesting their children to return with them to their home countries. Children of illegal immigrants can suffer psychologically if they were to be separated from their parents. In a study conducted by the Urban Institute, they found that within the first six months following the separation from a parent, two-thirds of children demonstrated inauspicious behavior such as changes in sleeping patterns and increased anxiety. When children suffer from these psychological complications, it definitely hinders their development. It can also become increasingly difficult and detrimental for the children to maintain themselves academically. This can be prevented by establishing an immigration reform. It gives parents the opportunity to stay here and ensure their children with more stability by having their family around them.
Acosta 4 The last benefit of immigration reform is the establishment of additional security to protect the United States. Once immigrants are settled in the United States, they should have the right to earn citizenship. At the same time, an increase in border protection can prevent mass immigration in the United States so the situation wouldn t go out of hand. The immigrants here in the United States should be able to receive residency or a form of identification to confirm that they live in the United States. According to the U.S. Border Patrol, 486,651 apprehensions were reported, which is significantly lower than the numbers in the 1970s. Despite the decrease in apprehensions, a comprehensive immigration reform could be the motive for the numbers to be on the rise in the near future. Before handing out important documents to illegal immigrants, a background check must be in place in order to ensure safety to the nation. If an immigrant does not have a satisfactory record, he or she may not be able to receive the documents. Having background checks in place can prevent crime from occurring and also possibly lessen the influx of immigrants coming to the United States. One of the main arguments against illegal immigration is that the undocumented immigrants have a negative effect on the U.S. economy since they do not pay taxes and they also receive benefits they did not deserve. However, the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) conducted a study and found that collectively, illegal immigrants pay an estimate of $10.6 billion in taxes in 2010. Also, the top 1% paid less than 6% of their total income in taxes, which means that illegal immigrants pay more in taxes than the top 1%. Another economic argument mentioned was that undocumented immigrants are stealing American jobs. In a 2013 report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, undocumented immigrants offer different sets of skills compared to their native-born counterparts. This means that undocumented immigrants are
Acosta 5 not competing for the same jobs as the native-born workers. In addition, undocumented immigrants also create jobs that wouldn t exist without their presence. Another argument against illegal immigration is that undocumented workers are taking more jobs and leaving Americans with fewer jobs available to them which results in a demand for higher salaries. The counterargument for this is that undocumented workers do take jobs that Americans do not want. Even if Americans are in desperation of finding jobs, many of them wouldn t feel obliged to work in low-paying or labor-demanding jobs. On the other hand, illegal immigrants would be satisfied as long as they have a job. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that 2.5 million farm workers are illegal immigrants. Therefore, it should be necessary to establish an immigration reform in order to hire more people to work in labor-demanding jobs. The number of undocumented workers are concentrated in enormous numbers in states such as Florida, Texas, New Mexico, California, and Illinois. Without the undocumented workers, the economic life wouldn t be as effective and it could ve possibly come to a standstill. The last argument against illegal immigration is that undocumented immigrants bring in crime and terrorism to the United States. A 2016 presidential candidate named Donald Trump made a few controversial comments regarding illegal immigrants, particularly Mexican immigrants. When Trump announced his running for presidency, he did say that they re bringing drugs, they re bringing crime, and they re rapists. In essence, Trump believed that illegal immigrants are the cause of the rise in crime rates. According to a report from the Immigration Policy Center, the illegal immigrant population in the United States has tripled between 1990 and 2013, but the violent crime rate declined by 48% which included falling rates of murder, assault, and robbery. Also, the Arizona Department of Corrections reported that 90 percent of those in custody are citizens, while 10 percent are criminal aliens. There s proof that
Acosta 6 illegal immigrants are not primarily accountable for the majority of crime activity occurring in the U.S. The numbers also proved that their native-counterparts tend to commit more crime. As for terrorism, many argue that illegal immigration can increase chances of possible terrorist attacks in the near future. The U.S. is taking numerous measures to prevent any sort of terrorist attack from occurring. The attacks on September 11, 2001 were caused by 19 foreign-born terrorists. Four of the terrorists violated the terms of their tourist visas and became illegal aliens. A counterargument for this is that illegal immigrants do not have a direct connection to terrorism. According to Openborders, all terrorist attacks in the U.S. were carried out by foreigners who were legal immigrants, tourists, or people on non-immigrant visas, including those who overstayed their visas. The majority of illegal immigrants do not possess tourist visas and came through the border. Even with the number of apprehensions at the border are significantly lower than previous decades, the arrests prevented an overwhelming number of undocumented immigrants from coming to the United States that would ve increased crime rate and risk of terrorism in the future. All things considered, immigration reform can greatly benefit the nation as a whole. It can benefit the United States personally, economically, and domestically. Immigration reform can help illegal immigrants work in labor-demanding jobs, keep families together safe and sound, and provide protection for the United States from dangerous activity that could originate from the border and beyond. Although there are numerous arguments for penalizing illegal immigrants, there is also evidence for why they should be legalized. Many of the illegal immigrants live in countries that suffer from egregious conditions such as poverty. In the end, they can also contribute to society greatly and shouldn t be treated unfairly because of their legal status. In the end, we are all one race which is the human race.
Acosta 7 Works Cited Camarota, Steven. "Estimating the Impact of the DREAM Act." Center for Immigration Studies. 2 Nov. 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. "Falling Through the Cracks." Falling Through the Cracks. 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2015. Khan, Mahwish. "5 Reasons to Support the DREAM Act - America's Voice." America's Voice. 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. Planas, Roque. "5 Theories About The Economic Effects Of Illegal Immigration You Shouldn't Trust." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Feb. 2015. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. Riley, Jason. "The Mythical Connection Between Immigrants and Crime." Wall Street Journal. 14 July 2015. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. Valbrun, Marjorie. "Foster Care, Uncertain Futures Loom For Thousands of Immigrant Children." Foster Care, Uncertain Futures Loom For Thousands of Immigrant Children. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.