Immigration in the United States - Report Example

Immigration in the United s The issue of illegal immigration in the United s has been a pressing and controversial one considering that the current estimated 12 million illegal immigrants compete with Americans for jobs and other forms of services. The history of immigration in the United States as well as current data somehow point out a particular deficiency in the implementation of laws concerning immigration. These laws – both local and national – will not be effective unless the challenges to these laws are addressed first. The rush of immigrants to the United States began in the late 1700s when Congress passed a law that allowed naturalization of “free white persons” and almost a hundred years later, even when the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, there have already been thousands of immigrants who moved to the United States (History of U.S. Immigration Law and Policy). Immigration of foreigners to the United States reached its peak from 1880 to 1920, where not only Chinese but also German ad Irish people moved to the United States, mostly for work. Immigrants came mostly from Asia as well as from Southern and Eastern Europe. These immigrants, who were usually known as settlers, went for the promise of cheap land and sought to succeed in farming. From the 1820s to the 1880s, there were actually mass migrations to the United States with many of these immigrants choosing to engage in agriculture in the Northeast and Midwest, while the rest decided to work in factories in the cities on the East Coast, like New York, Baltimore, Boston, and Philadelphia (The Rush of Immigrants). There was certainly a deluge of immigrants during these years despite legislations on immigration. In 1882, despite the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act and despite the designation of Asia by U.S. Congress as “a barred zone” in 1917, which prohibited the entry of all Asian immigrants except Japanese and Filipinos, there still have been a great wave of migration to the United States even from the prohibited countries and much more from those not prohibited (History of U.S. Immigration Law and Policy). There was indeed either a problem with the legislation of these laws or more likely in their implementation. Moreover, sometimes the problem was not with the implementation but with the law itself. When the lawmakers under the government of Lyndon Johnson passed the Hart-Cellar Act in 1965, it allowed the entry of all immigrants from the developing world. It sought to stimulate immigration from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and from many other countries of the world like India, Korea, China and the Philippines. By the year 2000, the Hart-Cellar Act has paved the way for the population of immigrants in the United States to reach its 1900 volume (The Rush of Immigrants). The inefficiency of the government in implementing these laws on immigration as well as the lack of a systematic means of regulating foreigner entry surely contributed to the current state of things. Presently, according to information from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, there is an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States in 2010, which means that the number could be much higher at present, while government and academic sources say it is around 11 million (How Many Illegal Immigrants?). A report from the Department of Homeland Security estimates this number to be around 10.8 million, with 62%, or the majority of whom, coming from Mexico (Hoefer et al.). Moreover, there is an estimated 3 million illegal immigrants arriving each year, and that most of these illegal immigrants have residences in Florida, Texas and California. Currently, second to Mexicans in number are those from El Salvador, closely followed by Guatemala, Honduras, and the Philippines (How Many Illegal Immigrants?). As previously mentioned, the entry of illegal immigrants into the United States is the fault of the government and their inefficient implementation of laws. However, the American public is also partly to blame for the difficulty in implementing immigration laws. For one, illegal immigrants are hired by American employers who can pay them lower wages that what they would pay American workers, and even without welfare benefits. Moreover, with around 8 million illegal immigrants working for small American companies, it would be hard to eliminate them all or to regulate their entry to the country (Illegal Aliens Taking U.S. Jobs). The other challenge is that some American economists are saying that illegal immigrants are an “economic boon” to the country because many of these foreign workers are skilled. Nevertheless, there are still a number of concerned citizens who believe that the immigration system of the United States badly needs to implement their laws more strictly and that the whole system badly needs reform (Lee). So far, in the national level, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. lawmakers have enforced and implemented various measures to counter the perennially increasing number of immigrants in the country. They carried this out by arresting, detaining and deporting these immigrants. Moreover, there are also numerous government offices tasked to monitor the implementation of these laws. Two of these government agencies include the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Simanski & Sapp). This simply means that, after many years of allowing foreigners free and easy entry into the country, the government can now feel the negative consequences of such leniency, and that they are now instituting laws in order to compensate for the mistakes of the forefathers in the past. The problems of immigration also have effects in the local setting. In Connecticut, in particular, 27 illegal immigrants have been arrested by the Connecticut Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during the first week of April 2013. Since there is no detention centers in Connecticut, those arrested are now being held in Greenfield, Massachusetts. This is actually part of what an immigration attorney of New Haven referred to as a “massive sweep” that somehow reflects “a sharp and disturbing contrast with the tone in the nation” (O’Leary). This means that local laws in Connecticut may even be tougher than federal laws. In Middletown, Connecticut itself, two illegal immigrants named Patrico William Matute and Carlos Celi were arrested on January 7, 2013 by Middletown police for allegedly providing a teenage girl of 19 with alcohol and assaulting her in the process. However, both men pleaded not guilty to the crimes which included “first-degree sexual assault, first-degree unlawful restraint, and providing liquor to a minor” (Gogolya). As they await further trial, bails are posted for Matute at $150,000 and for Celi at $25,000 (Gogolya). Middletown has a population of around 47,000 people based on a 2005 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau. The first foreign settlement in Middletown was that of the Puritans in 1650. The Puritans established draconian laws during their stay in Middletown. These laws favored the imposition of death penalty even on cursing and blasphemy. It was, however, during the Industrial Revolution that the population of Middletown swelled from the numerous immigrants coming from Europe particularly from Italy, Germany, Ireland, and Poland. This has influenced Middletown with its various ethnic restaurants and neighborhoods as well as the its general cultural diversity (Middletown Deportation Lawyers). The immigration problems in the United States stemmed from the lack of efficiency in the implementation of their laws regarding immigration since the late 1700s. Moreover, this inefficiency was further aggravated by the Hart-Celler Act of 1965, which allowed the entry of all foreigners from any part of the world. The problem was that the entry of the immigrants was not regulated. The United States now is facing the problem of having more than 12 million illegal immigrants, many of whom are currently hired by American employers. Thus, the implementation of regulations is difficult. However, much stricter laws are being implemented nowadays as the government even enlists many other agencies to foresee the immigration problem in the country. Things are also improving in the local setting. In Middletown, Connecticut, for example, two illegal immigrants were arrested by the police and 27 had the same fate in New Haven, Connecticut. Top of Form Bottom of Form Works Cited “History of U.S. Immigration Law and Policy.” 2012. Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. 19 Apr 2013. Hoefer, Michael, Nancy Rytina & Bryan C. Baker. “Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2010.” 2010. Department of Homeland Security. 19 Apr 2013. “How Many Illegal Immigrants?.” 2011. Federation for American Immigration Reform. 19 Apr 2013. “Illegal Aliens Taking U.S. Jobs.” 2011. Federation for American Immigration Reform. 19 Apr 2013. Lee, Brianna. “The U.S. Immigration Debate.” 2013. Council on Foreign Relations. 19 Apr 2013. “Middletown Deportation Lawyers. 2013. LegalMatch.com. 18 Apr 2013. O’Leary, Mary O. “27 undocumented immigrants in Connecticut arrested in ‘massive sweep.’” 2013. Middletown Press. 20 Apr 2013. Simanski, John & Sapp, Lesley M. “Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2011.” 2011. Department of Homeland Security. 19 Apr 2013. Read More