Immigration: a Civil Rights Issue for the Americas - Assignment Example

The Journey Immigration is the act through which people move into a country other than their native country for the purpose if settling there on a permanent basis. People immigrate for different reasons which include economic reasons, where they move to a country with better economic prospects or for political reasons where they move to a more peaceful and politically stable country. People can also move so as to avoid natural disasters like floods and earthquakes in their country of origin. Immigration accounts for a large part of the population growth of a county. The changing economic times and the political changes account for most of the immigration and has led to a change in the patterns of migration. Most of the immigrants make the dangerous journey into the country expecting economic prosperity which they do not achieve even after being separated from their families and facing many dangers to get into the country. There are various economic reasons for the change in the immigration trends since the 1980s. The immigration began to increase rapidly from 1965 following the amendments on the Immigration and nationality act. The legislation also served to increase the potential number of immigrants as it expanded the family based categories of immigrants to include those who did not belong to the nuclear family. The Immigration Act of 1990 also expanded the number of legal immigrants. In the 1980s, there were more immigrations than during any other decade. While some immigrants follow the legal channel in their attempt to settle into the country, there are others who manage to come into the country through illegal means. The number of illegal immigrants has also been on the increase since the 1980s. This is because as the legal migration becomes easier and more liberalized, the illegal immigration expands as well. The increase in illegal immigration led to the passing of laws to deal with illegal immigration. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was passed in 1986 to deal with increased illegal immigration. The act made it illegal for employers to hire aliens if they knew that they were not authorized to work in the United States. It also provided for fines for those who hire illegal aliens. In the act, the illegal aliens in the United States were granted amnesty and legal status was made available to them on condition that they had been residing in the United States illegally and continually from 1982. Many of the immigrants who became legal under this provision went ahead to be joined by their families. This is under the legalization of dependents as provided for in the immigration act of 1990. The immigration act of 1990 is the legislation that currently governs immigration in the United States. The act has had the effect of increasing the number of legal immigrants moving into the country to reach over a million people (Jonas & Thomas 69). The change in the immigration trends has been brought about by many reasons including the economic motivation. People seek to move to a country if they feel that they are more likely to get a job in their new country that they would if they had remained at home. The difference in the economic development of different countries means that people will move from economies that are offering low wages to those that offer high wages. They will also move from an economy operating at limited employment and investment opportunities to those that have more employment opportunities and in which there are more opportunities and better infrastructure to invest in. The decision to move from one country to another is therefore made from the need to maximize the income and economic comfort. In the last two decades, professional immigrants who are people who have moved into the country to offer their professional services have been credited with making big contributions to the country’s economy. The number of skilled immigrants offering professional services has also been on the increase. These are immigrants who have professional qualifications and are highly educated. There are also some immigrants who offer skills that are considered scarce. Immigrant entrepreneurs have also been able to achieve a measure of success, and small businesses have come up. The immigrants show a high tendency to own and operate family owned businesses. An example of this can be seen where the percentage of Cuban owned businesses in Miami are said to have increased from 8% to 24%. The competition for low skill labor has been on the increase. This means that there have been more opportunities for immigrants to come and take up the low skilled labor jobs in the country. The immigrant people form networks within their communities which enable them to find the employment opportunities. Most of the illegal immigrants fall under this category, and fill the essential positions that other workers shun. They come into the country to seek employment although they lack specialized training or education. Most of such immigrants come into the country without the proper documentation or permits. Once they get a way into the country, the immigrants also find a way to bring in their families and relatives into the country. This increases the inflow of the immigrants into the country. The increase in the number of immigrants has however led to a situation where finding employment is increasingly hard, especially for those without formal or specialized education and skills. Enrique’s mother is one of the immigrants who have managed to cross the border into the United States. She is willing to part ways with her family for the opportunity to make money. She is seeking employment opportunities and hopes she can get enough money to either enable her to go back home or to send for her children. This is the dilemma faced by many of the immigrants where they cross the border to get better opportunities but experience constant setbacks. These setbacks prevent her from sending for her children, or from being able to get enough money to go back to her country of origin (Honduras). The increase in immigration has had numerous effects, and the change in the immigration trends has led to a change in the attitudes held towards immigration. The native citizens are already faced with changes in their economic life and capabilities and there is a decrease in the available employment opportunities. The immigrants are therefore being viewed as a threat to the economic capabilities as they are said to take up jobs that would otherwise have been done by the natives. The competition for the available jobs has therefore led to more people asserting that both legal and illegal immigration needs to be checked. The immigrants are also viewed as a threat to the security. This causes them to be looked upon with suspicion. The immigrants are also of a culture that is different from that of the natives in the society. These differences cause the immigrants to be looked upon as inferior and therefore are denied or deprived of their rights. This has been the cause of political activism which has led to tensions between the native communities and the immigrant communities. The immigrants are constantly attacked by gangs who are opposed to immigration. This bad treatment by the native communities causes the immigrant communities to form close knit communities. The ‘…Migrants will often designate one person to look out for trouble while the others rest. They give one another advice (123). The shift in the immigration trends have also brought about a situation in which the immigrants are seen to be causing a strain in the provision of the essential services. While immigrants pay taxes, they also enjoy various services that are offered both by the state and by the federal government. The attitude held b most is however that they are a drain on the public expenditures. It is therefore felt that the fiscal responsibility will be a major one for the areas where the immigrants live. The attempts to make it into the country for the immigrants are usually taxing and sometimes end up failing. Enrique is one of those who try several times to make the journey into the US before he is can have a taste of success. He tries hopping into trains with the hope that the trains will take him to the border with the United Stated. Seven of his attempts are unsuccessful, but the lack of success only teach him ways that will enable him to get further nearer the border on the next attempt. The separation from the parents is usually a hard burden to bear for the children, and this makes most of them attempt to cross into the United States seeking to be reunited with their parents. He learns several ways and tricks such as bribing the law enforcement agents. The shifts in the trends in immigration have made it riskier for those attempting to get into the country. The changes in the attitudes held towards the immigrants also make it more difficult for the immigrants to travel into the United States. One reason as to why the changing trends have made the journey by immigrants difficult is that it has made them more prone to attacks by those who are against immigration. The Mexicans in particular seem to be more aggressive to the Central American immigrants. As Enrique experiences, the attempt to cross into the United States has become more difficult and extra precautions must be made. The journeys are made by train which constantly gets accidents and derailed. It is said ‘…Enrique’s train runs only a few times a week, but it averages three derailments a month-seventeen accidents in a particularly bad month’ (Nazario 71) The immigrant’s journey is also made more difficult by the fact that the authorities are more aware and more vigilant. This means that it is more likely for them to be spotted and returned to where they are coming from. In some cases, those trying to get into the country are killed by the law enforcement agents in the process. The increased surveillance by the border patrol and law enforcement agencies means that the chances of being caught and departed are increased. The police and other law enforcement agents have also become more brutal in their enforcement of the immigration laws increasing the risk and danger for the illegal immigrants. In the book, one immigrant laments that “We are human. We should treat people in a humane way. It’s okay to send people back. But they shouldn’t shoot them, beat them this way” (119) The idea that there is a better life however keeps the immigrants on coming into the country. The idea that life in the United States would be better is what gives immigrants the determination to make it in the United States despite the separation from their families, especially their children. Nazario says ‘…for most immigrants who come to the united states, the biggest downside is the toll parent-child separation exact on families’ (244) The same idea is what gives the children of the immigrants the determination to join their parents in the United States despite the odds success in the journey and in finding their parents. They make many unsuccessful attempts to get into the country, yet every time that they are unsuccessful they convince themselves that they have learnt something new, or something to avoid while making the journey. Most of the immigrants come to discover that the life of economic prosperity that they had expected to live is elusive. They find that it is not as easy to find jobs as they had expected, and even when they do find the jobs, there are several obstacles to the achievement of economic prosperity. One such obstacle is the cost of living which is higher in the United States than it is in their countries of origin. The immigrants therefore end up disappointed and frustrated and are stuck in the country without being able to go back to their families. The immigration therefore has the negative effect of causing breakups within the family. in conclusion, it is important that the policies on immigration be implemented with caution. This is because immigrants are often not criminals but people determined to access good life and opportunities at all costs, mostly unaware of the very stringent cost of life and shrinking opportunities on the ground. The problem of immigration can be tacked more efficiently when the law is focused on the point of entry, controlling the influx rather than being punitive on those already living in America. It should be considered that illegal immigrants offer cheap labor, which is a prerequisite for economic development. This should be tapped productively if various measures are in place to prevent unnecessary influx. The law enforcement agents should avoid using unnecessary force and brutality in applying the immigration laws. It is also important for the immigrants to be well informed on the reality on the ground which includes the available opportunities to avoid disappointment. Works cited Nazario, Sonia. Enrique's Journey. New York: Random House Publishing, 2006. Print Jonas, Susanne. Thomas Suzanne. Immigration: a civil rights issue for the Americas. Wilmington, DE. Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. Print. Read More