Immigration in the United States - Research Paper Example

One is the undocumented or illegal immigrant who enters the United States without authorization and paperwork; such unauthorized immigrants are often called ‘wetbacks’. The other is a migrant who enters the country with a valid temporary visa and the stays beyond the terms on the visa, such people are known as ‘visa overstayers’. A person may also become an illegal resident by entering the country with false documents or entering the country as a legal resident, committing a crime and then failing to depart after becoming subject to deportation (LeMay 2).

Approximately forty percent of illegal immigrants living in the United States initially enter the country as non-immigrants’ and then overstay their visas or gain means to work illegally. Non-immigrants usually include students and tourists; they are substantial antecedents of subsequent immigration. Most foreign-born college students complete their education in the United States and take up employment, sooner or later they seek permanent residence to live and work in the country. Illegal international immigration worldwide has been cultivated by increasing ease and comparative low price of travel and advances in information.

Illegal immigrants do not enjoy the same legal protection and rights as legal immigrants do, employment and living options available to them are few. They face many biases and exploitation in housing, education, the labor market and social conditions. There has been a significant increase in population as a result of illegal immigration in the United States. From time to time, presence of illegal immigrants in the United States becomes a matter of public concern despite the government’s effort to restrict entry of illegal immigrants through Border Patrol.

Legal immigrants enter the United States with an immigrant visa and apply for permanent residency by filling out lengthy paperwork and paying fees to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services that was formerly known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service (Chapman 274). Immigrants then wait for a significant amount of time ranging from a few months to a few years, during this time an applicant is granted work and other temporary rights. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services reviews the case of an applicant and the person may be accepted for permanent residency.

After obtaining permanent residency, legal immigrants have the option of living their entire lives in the United States without applying for citizenship.It is a condition that an immigrant must wait for five years before applying for United States citizenship after permanent residency has been granted. Legal immigrants eventually become naturalized citizens although naturalization is not a must. Immigration is opposed by some Americans for reasons such as ethnocentrism, racism, concerns over overpopulation and fear of religious diversity.

Some do not support the diversity visa lottery since the immigration criteria is not based on skills but rather luck and most winners are from the Middle east, Africa and Asia. Americans fear that as new legal and illegal immigrants enter the country, the white majority in the country will diminish. Natives view this as a threat to the American way of life. Legal immigrants may also lack to completely assimilate into the culture of the United States and their English may not be fluent, this may lead to racial dominance over the governing culture.

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