The Various Problems and Issues that the US Immigration Faces - Term Paper Example

d The Immigration Problem in the US- A Comprehensive Review of Possible Solutions Introduction An immigration nation, the United States has successfully positioned itself as a land of opportunities hence, approached by people all over the world. Once settled, even if these people are able to get American nationalities, they are bound to have ancestors that are non-Americans. To create problems for them to become a part of the country’s recognized population and easily unite with their loved ones is a risk to the country as it will result in significant resource drain and they are bound to move to countries that embrace them with open arm and more lenient policies for immigration. The trend of immigration dates back to the times of early settlements in North America at the time of its founding. The immigrants have had several varieties of reasons to come to the US over the years. Some escape their homeland to experience freedom this land promises, others travelled and settled here to avoid wars and some to escape poverty. For example, a number of Irish immigrants came to the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s to escape the prevalent shortage of food and famine in Ireland that ensued as a result of soil detrition. Over the years, it was the efforts of these immigrants that enabled the US to become the super power it is today. Many call it the nation made by immigrants. Adamant on making their mark in this country that promises them freedom and fair rights to welfare as common and equal citizens, the immigrants give their best of efforts here. The initial immigrants call in on their families to join them, ultimately settling down and becoming a permanent and official part of US as an American citizen. The aim of this paper is to highlight the various problems and issues that the US immigration faces today with an overview of the possible solutions that can help rectify the problem at hand. Post 9-11, the immigration policies have been criticized for being biased and reformed to facilitate a selected few (Gilna). It is important that immigration policies are made easier and more just, so that the US is able to attract the best of human resources from all over the world. A hostile immigration environment is bound to drive out hardworking labor as they become reluctant to invest their time and money in a cumbersome procedure that authenticates their citizenship of the United States. This paper will also make use of existing studies to highlight probable solutions to counter these problems in order to initiate a favorable immigration reform. At present nearly 10 to 11 million illegal immigrants reside in the United States who have minimal to no means of becoming permanent US citizens (KEY PRINICIPLES OF COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM). 4 million US citizens’ children belonging to mixed families have at least one parent who is an illegal immigrant. This not only endangers their chances of leading a risk free life in the United States because of their parents but also puts them in the danger of being deported back to their home country. Discriminatory and temporary visa caps create back logs that can prolong the process of legal immigration by up to 20 years. A country that has always been a host to a variety of diverse cultural backgrounds thanks to its experience of migration surges, it is a serious threat to its existing members who have lived and served the country for a good portion of their lives. The US immigration policy has been critiqued for a number of reasons in the recent years one of them being the slow process and weak infrastructure to accommodate and register the current and ongoing immigration applicants for legalization. This disrupts the legal system in a number of areas too, majorly in unjust and exploitative employment practices and use of illegal means to get families across borders. The endangered immigrants are subjected to undue disadvantage due to the structural lapses and they suffer from the fear of being deported back to their home country at any time. The developing world has always been the center of attraction for prospective job seekers. The US has seen a consistent surge in the best human resources from all over the world which has contributed to its current status in the global arena. The population of the United States is said to be growing and is likely to grow for several years to come. By strengthening the immigration system, the expected number of immigrants and the existing immigrants in the process of being legalized, will become a recognized part of the society. This can have several implications on the governmental planning and allocation of resources by ensuring that all such immigrant are facilitated in the same manner as the other US citizens. Fair employment and legalized influx of families can curb the current problems that the immigration system faces as well. The major problems faced by the current immigration system if the US is listed below. Current Problems with the US Immigration System The immigration system in the US faces a number of problems which contribute towards subsequent causes of many structural mishaps. With rigid immigration policies many immigrants use illegal means to unite with their families, many are stopped at borders and others are denied national welfare facilities due to an invalid citizenship agreement. The employment playfield becomes competitive and unfair as the US workers are not preferred over immigrants who provide cheaper labor and extra efforts. In order to reach a feasible solution it is important that the root causes of immigration issues are identified and clarified. With globalization, businesses sought to hire unskilled labor from the third world countries at a cheaper rate and focused its attention on developing skilled labor in its home country for example technology, research, medicinal breakthroughs etc. overtime, the developing world also became an emerging market becoming an opportunity for firms to move their entre business operations there. Since the developed countries dependent he third world countries for cheap labor, it became difficult for them to meet the changing labor needs. The immigrants arriving from the developing world in search of greener career pastures thus need to be welcomed in the US due to their demand for the business sector of the country. At present, the US department of immigration issues limited and insufficient amount of visas to these much-needed labor influx. Secondly, the lengthy time that is taken for the families of these immigrants to reunite with their loved ones can account for up to 20 years. In order to make them feel welcomed, it is important that they and their families are facilitated in being together. At a point in time the opportunity cost of working in US surpasses the cost of lost personal life, at which the immigrants feel reluctant to either head back to their home country or use illegal means to have their families live with them. This has contributed toward the increasing amount of illegal immigrants that are living in US at present. Illegal immigrants contribute towards the lack of resource optimization and decreasing standards of living as these people are unable to avail social security numbers, welfare facilities, employment etc., increasing the levels of poverty in the country. Employers who engage in hiring and exploiting of these immigrants create an unjust environment for business and harm all workers in the country. This is because many employers make use of the vulnerability of these immigrants who are desperate for work and do not compensate them adequately for their work. This creates an air of dishonest business scenario and ultimately the genuinely law abiding employers suffer as well since the other companies are engaging in employing immigrants at a cheaper rate and making them do extra undue work without compensation. Lastly, the problem of the government’s weak infrastructure that delays the immigration procedure for a long time is one of the factors to be rectified. This has a negative effect on the already vulnerable immigrant pool that settles for minimal compensation, are denied public services and delayed in being declared American citizens. Remedial Measures to Rectify the Immigration Situation A nation that boasts of being a mix of immigrants since its very inception needs to look into several root causes to fix the current immigration issues. Some proposed solutions by the American council of immigration are listed below. Making it mandatory for the unauthorized immigrants to register with the government as a part of a the country’s legal system can help ascertain the exact amount of people that are aviating immigration conformation and also give them legal status as an immigrant, ultimately making them eligible for employment, welfare services etc. this can also help in giving the undocumented immigrants a legal worker status, enabling them to cement their future through planning for their future and become tax-paying and responsible professionals in the united states. The key to this legalization is making a simple system that requires minimal documentation for the issuance of a legal status to these immigrants. It is also important to make the system less aggressive as far as penalties and deportation is concerned so that the maximum amounts of people come forward and ask for help in their legalization process. More rigid employment verification systems need to be in place in order to fill in the existing loopholes that the current trends of unauthorized workers pose. A broader employment verification can be made flexible enough to accommodate the newly reformed registration of immigrants who are may even be in the process of applying for one. In this way employers will be liable to adequately compensate their employees and the business practices become transparent and fair. For the immigration system to be effective it is important that enforcement is made a priority so that the laws that are designed to benefit and protect the significant amount of immigrants in the country are actually imposed. Enforcement mechanisms that ensure a well-functioning system are bound to help the government in fulfilling their desired purposes of immigration reforms. E-verify is an online system that allows employers to ascertain the legal work status of the new hires, however the system was a voluntary option for employers to ensure that the people they are hiring are in a legal position to work. By making such a system mandatory, the chances of exploitation and employment of unauthorized immigrants can be minimized greatly. Border enforcement policies can help curb the evils of immigration like smuggling, human trafficking etc., thus, it is important to make the borders secure. Family based immigration has been a trend in US immigration since the very beginning. Immigrants who migrate to the US to avail opportunities and employment look forward to having their family with them in the US. Thus, it is important to incentivize the process of family-based immigration and introduce reforms that help law abiding families of the immigrants to be united with their loved ones within a reasonable time period. The demand and supply aspect of immigrants is also a key aspect that needs to be looked onto for the betterment of the existing immigration system. A well-planned structure that accommodates law-high skilled labor by issuing them temporary and permanent visas will be required as a result. The changing economic dynamics worldwide call for equal and structured planning of the resources by estimating the future needs of the businesses in the country. It is important that the immigration policy accommodates all kinds of labor on variable visa permits so that there is a well-balanced pool of human resources available for the economy. The permanent visas should be allocated only if a substantial potential is seen in the applicant as the influx of immigrants is not a sustainable solution to fill in the labor gaps. Training Native Americans in a variety of fields can help reduce the need for immigrants to fill in labor requirements of the economy. The immigrants are in a better position to contribute efficiently to the economy if they are made an integral member of the society. This is bound to give them a sense of belonging and they are more likely to ascertain their potential and impact, developing stronger communities that collectively work for the country that accommodated them with open arms. At present the system of integrating the legal immigrants into the citizenship program is fairly weak, attributing to the considerable delays that occur when the immigrants apply for permanent citizenship. By implementing an effective system that allows a smooth transition from the immigrant status to a citizen one, the government is in a better position to manage and facilitate the pool of authorized legal immigrants. This is more of an administrative problem as the government has to focus on making effective use of resources to prioritize naturalization and streamline processes that had previously been in pending. Conclusion Where immigration reforms are devised and suggested at large in various public and governmental avenues, the fact remains that immigration is a fairly sensitive and complicated issue that cannot be as easy to implement as on papers. Several factors come into play like politics, constraints, and global relations etc. that need to be considered when the implementation of a comprehensive immigration structural reform is in question. However, the key lies in studying the immigration best practices from world over, correct and accurate analysis of needs and resource capacity. By integrating the connecting pieces that constitutes the issue of immigration, one solution can be derived that can benefit everyone. The government’s inclination towards immigration reforms can be seen as a positive step towards devising feasible solutions to curb then current problem of illegal immigration, better accommodation of prospective immigrants and speeding up of the process of immigration and citizenship in the US. President Barack Obama also stresses in his July 4th 2014 address recently on the focus of the government to implement reforms in the immigration system and giving the valuable immigrants a legal status in the country (Chiles). Illegal immigration has been an unavoidable and inherent attribute of the structural construct of the United States for a long time now and it has become imperative for the government to prioritize the need for reforms to curb the level of illegality, exploitation and other problems that emerge as a result of illegal immigration. Works Cited: Chiles, Nick. Obama Urges Americans To Welcome Immigrants, But Protests Continue In Southern California - Atlanta Blackstar. Atlanta Blackstar. N. p., 2014. Web. 5 Jul. 2014. Gilna, Derek. U.S. Immigration Policy: Dysfunctional, Profitable And Resistant To Reform | Prison Legal News. Prisonlegalnews.org. N. p., 2013. Web. 5 Jul. 2014. KEY PRINICIPLES OF COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM. 1st ed. Immigration Policy Center- Washington DC: American Council of Immigration, 2010. Web. 5 Jul. 2014. Read More