Immigration has arisen as a controversial topic in the United States for the past few years. Every year, over ten million undocumented immigrants reside in the United States, and that number is growing by 700,000 nearly every year (heritage.org). People from other nations seek refuge in the United States because it has been glorified in their cultures and holds far better prospects than their homeland ever would. Most times, these people do not possess enough money to move to the US officially, so they illegally cross the border and attempt to begin a life. To them, America is the “land of opportunity”. The problem with so many people moving into the States is that such a high number of undocumented aliens sends a clear message of disorganization and instability to the world about US borders, because so many people are making it through undetected. Another safety issue arises when undocumented immigrants also have the ability to organize fronts and groups for terrorists and gangs without the US being aware of their activity. Many US citizens worry about the effect of undocumented immigrants on the job market and economy—an increase in people can only mean a decrease in the availability of jobs. The contrast between the needs of the undocumented immigrants and the safety issues of the American people make for a controversial dispute.
The current US policy on immigration allows for 680,000 people every year to receive visas to come to the United States (immigrationpolicy.org). Of those 680,000; 480,000 visas are typically granted for family purposes. Those 480,000 often include many young children who were separated from their parents and other cases of family separation. Even with the large number of legal visas granted every year, there are still about 4.5 million people waiting to come to the US (heritage.org). Very recently, President Obama set in motion a brand new act that stirred much controversy among Americans. This most recent plan, the DREAM Act, was intended to give a large number of younger children who were living in hiding in the United States legal status if they were militarily active or earned a high level of education.
Obama’s policy on immigration is to continue the current DREAM Act. He believes strongly that everyone should have equal opportunity, including the vast number of people in the US who were brought over the border illegally when they were too young to understand what was happening around them. In terms of border security, Obama wants to centralize the focus on higher-concentration drug trafficking areas and plans to shut down more remote border patrol stations. Obama also focuses more on the people that are currently here in the States and in jeopardy. He wants to grant legal status to those people that are living in fear but have triumphed and given back to the country by earning a high level of education or joining the military. This act serves not only as a way to take hundreds of thousands of young people out of fear of deportation, it also encourages illegal immigrants that reside in the US to work harder and become more educated. The DREAM Act is a beneficial plan for the US in the end.
Although Mitt Romney says he would not reverse the DREAM Act, there are still flaws in his plan. Romney only wants to focus on giving legal status to whichever illegal immigrants join the military—which would leave out all those who strived for education in the hopes of someday proving themselves worthy of becoming legal. He then contradicts himself by saying he would hope to allow more immigrants visas every year that are highly educated and more likely to create jobs and progress in the US. Although it is a logical way of thinking, Romney is more concerned with allowing a selective group of people to be granted legal status every year based on their skill set rather than if they have stranded family members or if they have been waiting for years to come into the US legally. There are hundreds of thousands of children and people living in fear in the US who had no control over being brought over the border illegally when they were younger. Romney also wants to focus more on securing the borders in all locations, which would not implement any change in the highly concentrated drug trafficking areas on the border.
Overall, the DREAM Act and other ideas of Obama serve mainly one purpose as well as being ultimately beneficial to the United States: to give all people the best chance they possibly can have.
BARACK OBAMA - IMMIGRATION
CROSSING THE BORDER
Immigration has arisen as a controversial topic in the United States for the past few years. Every year, over ten million undocumented immigrants reside in the United States, and that number is growing by 700,000 nearly every year (heritage.org). People from other nations seek refuge in the United States because it has been glorified in their cultures and holds far better prospects than their homeland ever would. Most times, these people do not possess enough money to move to the US officially, so they illegally cross the border and attempt to begin a life. To them, America is the “land of opportunity”. The problem with so many people moving into the States is that such a high number of undocumented aliens sends a clear message of disorganization and instability to the world about US borders, because so many people are making it through undetected. Another safety issue arises when undocumented immigrants also have the ability to organize fronts and groups for terrorists and gangs without the US being aware of their activity. Many US citizens worry about the effect of undocumented immigrants on the job market and economy—an increase in people can only mean a decrease in the availability of jobs. The contrast between the needs of the undocumented immigrants and the safety issues of the American people make for a controversial dispute.
Immigration--The Facts
The current US policy on immigration allows for 680,000 people every year to receive visas to come to the United States (immigrationpolicy.org). Of those 680,000; 480,000 visas are typically granted for family purposes. Those 480,000 often include many young children who were separated from their parents and other cases of family separation. Even with the large number of legal visas granted every year, there are still about 4.5 million people waiting to come to the US (heritage.org). Very recently, President Obama set in motion a brand new act that stirred much controversy among Americans. This most recent plan, the DREAM Act, was intended to give a large number of younger children who were living in hiding in the United States legal status if they were militarily active or earned a high level of education.
Obama’s policy on immigration is to continue the current DREAM Act. He believes strongly that everyone should have equal opportunity, including the vast number of people in the US who were brought over the border illegally when they were too young to understand what was happening around them. In terms of border security, Obama wants to centralize the focus on higher-concentration drug trafficking areas and plans to shut down more remote border patrol stations. Obama also focuses more on the people that are currently here in the States and in jeopardy. He wants to grant legal status to those people that are living in fear but have triumphed and given back to the country by earning a high level of education or joining the military. This act serves not only as a way to take hundreds of thousands of young people out of fear of deportation, it also encourages illegal immigrants that reside in the US to work harder and become more educated. The DREAM Act is a beneficial plan for the US in the end.
Although Mitt Romney says he would not reverse the DREAM Act, there are still flaws in his plan. Romney only wants to focus on giving legal status to whichever illegal immigrants join the military—which would leave out all those who strived for education in the hopes of someday proving themselves worthy of becoming legal. He then contradicts himself by saying he would hope to allow more immigrants visas every year that are highly educated and more likely to create jobs and progress in the US. Although it is a logical way of thinking, Romney is more concerned with allowing a selective group of people to be granted legal status every year based on their skill set rather than if they have stranded family members or if they have been waiting for years to come into the US legally. There are hundreds of thousands of children and people living in fear in the US who had no control over being brought over the border illegally when they were younger. Romney also wants to focus more on securing the borders in all locations, which would not implement any change in the highly concentrated drug trafficking areas on the border.
Overall, the DREAM Act and other ideas of Obama serve mainly one purpose as well as being ultimately beneficial to the United States: to give all people the best chance they possibly can have.
Works Cited
Berger, Judson. "Closure of Border Patrol Stations across Four States Triggers Alarm." Fox News. FOX News Network, 11 July 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/10/closure-border-patrol-stations-across-four-states-triggers-alarm/>.
Caldwell, Leigh Ann. "Romney Will Keep Obama's Immigration Policy." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 2 Oct. 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57524286/romney-will-keep-obamas-immigration-policy/>.
"Did Obama Enact The DREAM Act?" FactCheck.org. Fact Check, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.factcheck.org/2011/07/did-obama-enact-dream-act/>.
"Immigration." Mitt Romney for President. Mitt Romney, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.mittromney.com/issues/immigration>.
"Immigration Policy Center." Immigration Policy Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. <http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/>.
Kane, Tim, and Kirk A. Johnson. "The Real Problem with Immigration...and the Real Solution." The Real Problem with Immigration... and the Real Solution. Heritage.org, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2006/03/the-real-problem-with-immigration-and-the-real-solution>.
"Romney's Immigration Exaggeration." FactCheck.org. Fact Check, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.factcheck.org/2012/06/romneys-immigration-exaggeration/>.