Immigration: Blessing or Burden?

Immigration: Blessing or Burden?

Illegal immigration is one of the most heated issues that has surfaced over the past few years in the United States. A constant flow of Mexican citizens have been able to cross the border illegally and uncontested even with substantial security strung out across the borderlines. “Since the current wave of illegal Mexican immigration began, in the mid-1970s, the number of agents along the southern U.S. border has risen from 2,000 to 11,000.”(Douthat 1) “In 2004 the U.S. had a population of about 293 million people, out of that 293 million, 3.5 (10 million 255 thousand) percent of them were undocumented immigrants.”(Guskin 18) Illegal immigration has occurred since the U.S. became a nation, but because of the recent rise in illegal immigrants in America, the topic has become a pressing political issue. The public might know about the issue at hand, but most are unaware of the specific appeal of the United States, when immigration became illegal, and most importantly the impact they are having on the economy.

Many Americans are baffled with the question, “Why do people migrate to America out of all places?” The simple fact is America is known as the land of freedom and opportunity. America has the most versatile job market in the world, and when compared to surrounding countries, it is the most beneficial, financially. So-and-so Guskin explores this magnetism that draws immigrants to Amercia:

The most substantial reason illegal immigrants come to America is because of the rising gap between Mexican and U.S. wages. Up to the 1970s, Mexican workers were paid about one-fourth to one-third of what their U.S. counterparts got. Wages dropped drastically in the 1980s, and by the late 1990s workers in Mexico were making about one-eighth what they would be making for the same job in the United States; in some occupations the Mexican workers are now paid one-fifteenth what they would get north of the border. (Guskin 25)

A common misconception people have of illegal immigrants is that they will work for lower wages, thus eventually lowering the minimum wage. According to something Miller, “ . . . studies of the 1980s found that, even under heavy immigration, wage rates were not reduced.” (Miller 76) Because of America’s freedoms that have been advertised since its creation, such as the freedom of speech and religion, people have wanted to migrate to America. Ironically, these promises have made America what it is today.

Migrating to America has not always been an issue of great significance. Restrictions on becoming a citizen were little, even non-existent in the beginning days of America because of the strong desire to form a successful country. “From the beginning of colonial settlement in 1607 until 1917 there were few governmental controls placed on immigration to the United States. This was because of the Open Door Policy, which allowed anyone to come into the U.S. Unlimited immigration was a necessity for the development for the development of the nation.” (Miller 3) The first attempt to control immigration occurred in the early 1800’s when “the Pennsylvania legislature, fearful that the colony might degenerate into a foreign state, passed legislation . . . that placed a heavy tax on all foreigners entering the state.” (Miller 4) This law was not favored by most Christian denominations because immigrants were their main targets for conversion.

Over the next few centuries many minor laws were set in place to control the rapid wave of immigrants flowing into the U.S. It wasn’t until the late 1900’s that the U.S. noticed immense amount of illegal immigrants coming from Mexico. “By the mid-1970s, Congress recognized that the 1965 act did not establish an effective immigration policy because it encouraged illegal immigration.”(Miller 10) The U.S. did not account for the increase in illegal citizens due to succeeding generations. When illegal immigrants settle in America and have children they are also considered illegal. It became impossible to keep track of who was legal and who was not illegal. That is why in 1986 a couple new Acts were set in place, such as the “. . . the immigration reform and the Control Act of 1986. The purpose of the 1986 Act was to reduce the number of illegal aliens by limiting their flow into the country and by legalizing the status of illegal aliens who had come to the United States before 1980. This act legalized about 3 million illegal aliens.” (Miller 10) These Acts looked great on paper for U.S., they no longer had to worry about former illegal aliens. They would now start with a clean slate, and hopefully keep a steady hold on people coming in and out of America. Not only did this help America believe it would begin to clean its slate of illegal immigrants, it would also help with the drug trafficking that was taking place along the Texas/Mexico border at the time. Before the Act was enforced people would simply drive from Mexico to U.S. with cars full of drugs. Unfortunately, what seemed to be a bullet proof Act, turned out to have many loop holes, which Congress addressed immediately. Consequently, in 1990 another Act was put in place. The new Act, contained many changes and was called “ . . .The Immigration Act of 1990. The changes to this new act included the restructure of the immigrant selection system; a revision and addition of existing categories such as reorganization of the grounds for exclusion and deportation; and the creation of new procedures for reunification, allowing for an unlimited number of visas for immediate relatives of the U.S. citizens. It also placed a restriction on the number of visas to unskilled workers and increased the number of visas allowed for workers who had special skills and professionals.”(Miller 11) A Visa is a document that is given to an immigrant that allows them to stay in the country for a certain amount of time, depending on what they are there for. Many of them have requirements that must be met, and if they are not, the person who is using the Visa will be deported. Even with the most recent acts put in place, issues are constantly coming into view.

Even with the numerous laws that have been set in place, immigrants have still found a way to cross the border some way or another. “For years, many types of immigration reforms have been tried and failed.”(Johnson 168) Illegal aliens from Mexico have resorted to paying truck drivers to load them in the back of semi-trucks with 100’s of other illegal aliens at a time. This way of crossing the border is

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