Immigration Policy Reforms and American Enlightenment - Essay Example

? Immigration policy reforms and American Enlightenment Introduction Summarise Policy Reform Debate briefly In the American political world, the issue of immigration is an intensely complex matter. The current policies and reforms are not free from controversies and problems. The immigrants who are legal face many difficulties and delays. There is also the problem of large number of illegal immigrants, most of who enter through the southwestern borders of America. Immigration policies are matter of security of the American nation and also are related with the matter of competitiveness in the international arena. (Bush, et al, ix) Statement of your position Immigration is a deep “human issue” as it is concerned with the lives of large number of families and individuals. Immigration deals with the question of American citizenship and helps in shaping up the image of the American nation in the eyes of the world. (Bush, et al, ix) Policy reforms should act as support base for immigrants who come to America to see better opportunities that were lacking in their home countries. My approach to the paper In this paper immigration policy reforms are critically analyzed after seeing through the lens of the American Enlightenment. The point that I have stressed in this paper is that only through legalization of the status of the immigrants can they prove to be beneficial to the country policy reforms should look out for solution by combining the perspective of both federalists and anti-federalists. Immigration in US during the era of Enlightenment The problem of immigration was also a matter of concern for the Enlightenment leaders like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. The land of America was increasing becoming a “dumping ground for the European undesirables”. They were concerned with growing number of German immigrants in the eighteenth century. The Germans came from a completely different social background than those of the Americans, and the increasing number of German population within the borders of America were proving to be incompatible with the republican democracy (Zolberg). Comparative and Analysis Social contract (representative governance) In the global arena, America is recognised as the “nation of immigrants”. This makes it easier for people from all over the world to enter the borders of America. It is a challenge for the policymakers to distinguish “illusory immigration problems from real problems.” There has been a tendency to neglect the issue of immigration. This “policy of benign neglect” is no longer viable in current times. During the last decade, there have been a number of efforts to reform the immigration policies. There has been improvement in the security of the borders. The statuses of people who seek employment are being verified by the employers. The focus of every immigration policy should be on both border security and migrant workers. Ignoring any one of them cannot make any policy successful (“The Real Problem with Immigration...and the Real Solution”). During the civil war in the nineteenth century, immigration was specifically encouraged in America. From 1882 onwards, the immigration policies started to focus on restricting the flow of immigrants. This was done to protect the nation from undesirable people from foreign countries. People with contagious diseases like tuberculosis were not allowed to enter the nation to protect the health policies. People with immoral characters and polygamists were also restricted (Williamson 184). Classical Liberalism (natural rights) Classical liberalism defines specific activities for the government. The role of the government should be to protect the rights of individuals with relation to property, religion, freedom of speech and press. There should also be the system of “free markets” to ensure a smooth economic life (Hudelson 37). The continuous flow of immigrants into America can threaten the practice of classical liberalism. The major concern is that the various cultural and economic backgrounds of the immigrants can act as barrier for liberal culture. However, keeping in view the economic benefits of immigrants, it is not prudent to design policies to prohibit immigration. Faction (Pluralism) America is known as the “most religiously diverse society on earth”. The Immigration Act of 1965 allowed people belonging to various religions to enter the border of America. A large number of “Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and followers of other Asian religions” took the opportunity to enter into America. The new ideas and values that are carried by the immigrants of various religious and social backgrounds help to bring reforms in the American Christianity. Religious pluralism is achieved when people from diverse religions strive towards “mutual understanding and positive cooperation”. There are many places where people can gather like educational institutions, shopping malls and in religious places like mosques and temples. In these places different people can come together and serve the society under peaceful coordination. Peace can be achieved with religious pluralism under the leadership of the young generation. The large number of immigrants can contribute towards the betterment of the American society if they can learn to “maintain a common life” in spite of their diversities (Patel and Hartman 25-30). Ambition (Elitism) Immigration in America began to have deep effects on economy from the nineteenth century. The population began to concentrate more in cities with the development in the manufacturing sector. These urban centers began to provide immense opportunities for employment and this attracted large number of immigrants especially from southern Europe. The immigrants began to settle more in cities because the advent of machinery in agricultural sector reduced the demand for labour in agriculture. The main focus of the immigrants was on the unskilled labour in the cities (Williamson 182). The American economy creates job markets for immigrants without removing native workers. This is because the immigrants cannot be substitutes of native workers. The existence of both types of workers can increase productivity (Maloberti 560). Fedaralist position There should be proper strategy and planning before implementing any immigration policy. It is not necessary to completely prohibit the entry of immigrants in America. It is however essential to exercise restriction over the kind of people who immigrate. It is important for the American federal government to allow only those people to enter their country who can show the promise of becoming “capable and efficient American citizens”. Even so, there should be restriction over the number of immigrants of this type to avoid overpopulation. Immigration should also be restricted to maintain the essence of the social life of the Americans and to protect the social and political institutions. Only those individuals should be allowed to enter the nation who can provide service to the future of the nation (Williamson 186). Anti-fedaralist position Anti-fedaralists argue that immigrants can have positive impact on economy of the country. They say that restrictions on immigration must vary with the labour market. More immigrants must be allowed to enter inside USA, when there is expansion in the market and firms and other investors are more eager to invest. During depression the restrictions on immigration can be made stringent to curb the inflow of immigrants as they will overcrowd the already depressed labour market (Peri 12) Constitutional Perspective Every year a large number of illegal immigrants enter the land of America. There are more than 10 million people residing in America who cannot provide proper documents. This situation reflects the vulnerability of the American borders. The major reason of so many people coming to America is the prospect of better jobs. This is advantageous for the national economy. However, the presence of millions of undocumented people hampers the national security policies as they disturb the law and order of the country. They can also act as cover for criminal activities. Therefore, the real problem of illegal immigration is not threat to the economy, but a threat to the national security and this is the focal point of the constitution (Kane and Johnson). Bill of rights perspective The Bill of rights has been exclusive formed and designed to protect the rights and privileges of the legal immigrants who are not citizens of America. The US Commission on Immigration Reform widely supports the perspective that government should compulsorily discourage and disapprove “any broad, categorical denial of public benefits to legal immigrants”. It is not fair to refuse any public benefit to the legal immigrants and then expect them to obey and maintain the laws of the country in addition to making payment of taxes. There is another reason behind opposing the elimination of rights. The Bill of rights has positive effect on the economic well-being of the legal immigrants and their children. (Hirschman, et al 369) Solutions: the principle of compromise and consensus Federal perspective The attempt of the federal government is to recognise the legal and illegal immigrants. It is necessary to give legal status to the legal immigrants to protect their rights inside the borders of America. Very often it is seen that immigrants in America initially enter the country with one immigration status and very soon change their status to adapt themselves to a new country. It is important to recognise and distinguish these two types of flows which are very different to each other. The immigrants can play a positive role in shaping up the economy of the country, and so it is advantageous in the long run to allow immigrants to enter the country. States perspective In US, there are many non-citizens who are doing jobs without any work permit. Most of them have entered the country with the help of non-immigrant visas. Subsequently, they continued to stay in the country even after time limits of their visa elapsed. These people are illegal immigrants although they held valid documents when applying for visa (Briggs) By adapting policy reforms, the states with their independent programs can check the flow of such illegal immigrants and give scope for entry of many other legal immigrants. Cooperative Federalism Perspective Only with combining the perspectives and ideas of both federalists and anti-federalists, the policy reforms can have positive impact on the immigrants. Both the parties give priority to the economic growth of the country through the benefits received by the skills and knowledge of the immigrants by giving them opportunities to do jobs according to their fields of expertise. The children of the immigrants should be given scopes to enhance their education so they can prepare themselves for doing service to the future of America. My proposal and perspective My proposal is that immigration policies should be reformed in a way so that both legal and illegal immigrants get benefits from them. The effort should be on legalizing the citizenship of illegal immigrants. Their children who are born in this country should be given legal status because this is the only country where they can stay. Job opportunities should be given to the immigrants to ensure their financial stability. Only then they will be discouraged to enter into criminal activities. This will also ensure that their skills are used in productive way to ensure overall economic gain. References Briggs, Vernon M (Jr), “Illegal Immigration and Immigration Reform: Protecting the Employment Rights of the American Labor Force- Native-Born and Foreign-Born- Who Are Eligible To Be Employed”, CIS, April, 2010, February 29, 2012 from: http://www.cis.org/employment-rights Bush, Jeb, Thomas F. McLarty III, and Edward Alden. U.S. Immigration Policy, USA: Council on Foreign Relations, 2009. Print. Hirschman, Charles, Philip, Kasinitz and Josh DeWind. The Handbook of International Migration: the American Experience, USA: Russell Sage Foundation, 1999 Hudelson, Richard. Modern Political Philosophy, USA: M.E. Sharpe, 1999. Print. Kane, Tim, and Kirk Johnson. “The Real Problem with Immigration...and the Real Solution”, Heritage, March 1, 2006. Web. February 29, 2012 http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2006/03/the-real-problem-with-immigration-and-the-real-solution Maloberti, Nicolas. “Government by Choice Classical Liberalism and the Moral Status of Immigration Barriers”, Independent Review, 15.4, 2011, p.560. Web. February, 2012 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1c1367aa-86c6-41d7-b304-eef6c8cc3cd3%40sessionmgr13&vid=5&hid=17 Patel, Eboo, and Becca Hartman. “Religious Pluralism: Civil society’s hope in a diverse country”. National Civic Review, 98.1, 2009, pp.25-30. Web. February 29, 2012 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=78af5b65-c588-4312-ac5d-370e06dab499%40sessionmgr10&vid=11&hid=127 Peri, Giovanni, “The impact of immigrants in recession and economic espansion”, migrationpolicy, June, 2010, February 29, 2012 from: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/Peri-June2010.pdf Williamson, Thomas Ross. Problems in American Democracy, USA: Forgotten Books, 2008. Print. Zolberg, Aristide. “Rethinking the Last 200 Years of US Immigration Policy”. Migrationinformation, June, 2006. Web. February 29, 2012 http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=401 Read More