Naturalization Complicated for Many Immigrants by Marlena Hartz - Essay Example

Naturalization Complicated for Many Immigrants by Marlena Hartz The first article utilized as a source for this essay to study the topic of immigration in the United States was Naturalization Complicated for Many Immigrants by Marlena Hartz. The article showcases the story of Mexican woman called Maria Valenzuela who arrived in the United State from Mexico 18 years ago to make a better life for herself and her love ones. The story of this woman is narrated in order to make the audience understand the struggles immigrants endure in order to integrate themselves in US society and become legal citizens of the land of opportunity. The states are still truly a place foreigner’s consider a place to achieve economic prosperity. Mexicans such as Marlena want to leave their homeland because in the United States they can earn in a day the salary that the typical worker earns in a week. To obtain a visa to enter the United States is not easy since there are so many people applying for them. According to the author of the article the US immigration offices have had a backlog of applications of over 12 years. Once a person obtains a visa the visa is given for up to 10 years, but the person is not a resident and has to renew the contract on a yearly basis after a rigorous auditing process. The person has to be a stellar citizen and comply with requisites as having a job, being in good standing with the law, and be able to write and read English. The article made a lot of relevant arguments on the subject which I agree with. Immigrants are hard workers that reach the mainland to improve their lives. The hard obstacles legal residents have to surpass are one of the reasons foreigners at times utilize other mediums such as illegal entrance into the USA. I agree with the article and the author’s points of view because the United States is a nation founded on the collective efforts hundreds of races, ethnic groups, and cultures created a rich blend of persons that founded the democratic nation of the United States of America. The second article analyzed on the topic of immigration in the US is called “A day without immigrants” by Lee Siu Hin. The article talks about the event that occurred on May, 1 2006 when over 10 million immigrants across the world went out into the US Street protesting for the civil of rights of immigrants across the nation. The article opposes the American policy on the immigrant issue which is taking right away from people living and working in the nation. One of the most damaging recent legislation House resolution 4431. There are strong points of views expressed in the article which includes full amnesty for all illegal immigrants in the United States and changes in border control policy by the government, a country in war since the 9/11 which increased security measures in all potential areas of entry of people which includes airports, sea docks and all the borders main borders of Canada and Mexico. The article displays a courageous event of civil rights movement in the 21st century, an occurrence that should be supported by all Americans due to its pacific nature and claim for human rights. I disagree with a lot of the strategic options and alternatives expressed in the article. Amnesty or automatic residency of all illegal immigrants sends the wrong message to the world that despite the American spirit of democratic movement and integration of many cultures into to a single nation the country can not accept that people that enter the country without the right to do so should become citizens without earning the right to be called an American. The war has placed extra emphasis on identifying all humans that enter the national borders because if there is no control the threat of terrorism increases. There are legal means to enter the country and people who fight in the world system of preparing themselves through higher education have higher chances of entering and inclusively being recruited into the world’s most sophisticated knowledge economy. The third article analyzed on the immigrant issue is called The Immigration Debate by the NPR association. The article in the website of the association has several comments, information and views on new legislation in the form of a debate for immigrants in the United States. There is a critical analysis of the project in the US Senate and the House of Representative as well as the White House and president’s Bush views on the subject. For George Bush the intense patrol in the border is a non-negotiable issue since he views the borders as national security issue that goes beyond the immigrant topic. Drugs, arms, terrorist activist are filtering through the borders and if the immigrants get caught up the patrol issues it is part of the governments duties to arrest them and send them back to their home country. There are various examples of initiatives by border control officers to reduce criminal activity in the borders through raids such as the Northern Kentucky operation which detained criminal organization made up of immigrants in the border of that state. The new strategies utilized by the government and proposals for greater used of technology in the border control efforts. The discussion also mentions that Mr. Bush would consider a massive legalization of illegal immigrants that have been in the country working for a while, but the House opposes such initiatives. The article was very informative and provided different perspectives on the immigration issue including the views of the governmental entities and key players that are the decision makers as far as setting immigrant policy in the United States. I liked the way the information was segmented into different titles to illustrate a different subtopic in the debate format. The article was unbiased and showed a great analysis of the conflict between the House of Representatives and the Senate governmental bodies. There were regional news provided with specific problems and the strategies utilized by the states that have the biggest immigrant border control responsibilities such as the state of California. I liked the individual perspective the article provided concerning the events related to immigration in different states. The literate had a segment that displayed the similar situation some Americans are living which resembles the dilemma of foreigners living a region with a lack of opportunities. The example illustrated in the article portrayed a young man age 19 living in a rural region in Southern Kentucky who is extremely uncertain if he can afford to live in his hometown much longer and raise his family in the place he group because work opportunities are not available in the area. A lot of people in the area are immigrating to other parts of the state or out of the state in search for better work opportunities that can lead to a higher standard of living. The United States immigration policy should be changed to more flexible model, but there are fundamental practices that should stay the same. A change in the US immigration policy which would satisfy a lot the people opposed to the current policies is a new lower standard for acceptance for an immigrant to become citizen with full rights. A person that has been working in the United States for five consecutive years should be granted citizenship. Any person that enters the country and is lives in the USA for ten years should automatically become a citizen. There certain aspects of the immigration policies that should not be changed. The current emphasis of protecting the borders from all threats including the entrance of immigrants is justifiable and should be reinforced for years to come in the future. Works Cited Hartz, M. 30 April 2006. “Naturalization complicated for many immigrants.” Clovis News Journal. Hin, L.S. 1 May 2006. “A Day Without Immigrants.” National Immigrants Solidarity Network. NPR. June 9, 2006. “The Immigration Debate.”. Read More