The Pros And Cons Of Migration To The United States

“Statistics do not tell the story of immigration. People do. Since its inception, this nation has been continually infused with the energy of newcomers. Yet their assimilation has seldom been smooth. The challenges we face today are not new. Only the stories are” (“My Immigration”). Illegal immigration is a big problem in the United States. Immigration is when people migrate to other countries other than their own. Stories are trying to be told, but no one seems to listen or even care. No one understands the sacrifices different families make. According to Ivonne, she was only a few months old when her and her family moved over to the United States from Mexico. Her mother believed it bring more opportunity to live a more comfortable, rewarding,
One main reason is education. Parents want to have a better work ethic to provide for their children so they could have a better education. Immigration has been a major problem for over 100 years. People are coming from all over the world to the U.S. According to the data released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), “The number of unauthorized immigrants went up from 10.8 million in 2009 to 11.4 million in 2012” (qtd. in Anderson). Immigration is very complex because there is no easy way to fix it. People always find a way, and will always believe America is the best place to live for a better life style. Most of the illegal immigrants come from Mexico. A study was shown that “As of 2012, approximately 52.5 percent of illegal immigrants are from Mexico. Another 26.5 percent come from other Latin American countries, and around 21 percent come from Asia, Europe, and Africa” (“Solutions”). Since Mexico is closer to the U.S., it is easier to cross over. The citizens however, have a different point of view on immigration. Most of them believe immigrants are all criminals because they already broke the law by coming into the U.S illegally. Alan Gomez, an immigration reporter for USA Today, had mentioned a study that between 1990 to 2013 violent crime rates decreased by 48%. As one can see, there is no say that immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than any other
The guest worker program is where immigrants work temporary until a new set of employees can takeover. The process does have some required documentation such as, passport, photo, approved receipt number, and the Nonimmigrant Visa Application (“Temporary”). Even though it is temporary, they seem to stay past their visa expiration date without the government knowing. Due to this, the amount of illegal immigrants coming to the U.S. is increasing at a rate too rapid that this country can no longer accommodate. One reason as to why immigrants come over is find better job opportunities for financial stability and better work conditions. Some of the principles, such as guest worker status should not be a path to citizenship, guest workers should be required to find a sponsoring employer, and all migrants should respect American law and traditions (Kane and Johnson). The first principle that was mentioned, should change to for it being a path to citizenship. It should be an option for the guest worker to become a citizen or not. Even though there are Americans who are against, they don’t know that “legalization would allow these [illegal immigrants] to contribute in our economy through increased workforce, additional taxes, and additional investments”