Immigration Should America Close The Golden Door Essay Example For Students

Immigration: Should America Close The Golden Door? Essay Should America Close the Golden Door?America has, is, and will always be a nation of immigrants: the great melting pot. In theyears that have passed since Emma Lazarus poem was inscribed on the Statue of Liberty ?thegolden door? has seen times when it was open wide and times when it was closed shut to almostall immigrants. Many people tend to look at the present immigration problems as a purely moderndilemma. The truth is America has always struggled with the issue of immigration, both legal andillegal. Changing times however make it imperative that our government re-examine and adjusttodays immigration laws to todays standards. Those standards however are not easily defined. All too often the issue of immigration is used as a political tool or is lost in heated moral debates. In any discussion about immigration you will have those who claim it is good for our nation andthose who claim it is ruining the nation. More often than not the bottom line in any debate of thissort is money; will more or less immigration mean more or less money for those already inAmerica. The moral debates come down to a question of who we are as a nation and how wewant the rest of the world to perceive Americans. If this great country was forged and built byimmigrants passing through ?the golden door? , then how can this same country turn away newimmigrants. The inscription on the Statue of Liberty invites all to enter, yet not all are allowed toenter. Immigration has become a selective process with many gray areas. Now Americans arefaced with a new dilemma; the nation must decide not whether it is willing to accept newimmigrants, but whether it can afford new immigrants. All new immigrant, both legal and illegal must be considered in this equation. Congresscan attempt to ease the burden of legal immigration by passing restrictive laws and only allowingin those who they believe will become self-sufficient. Congress must also find a way to slow theflow of illegal immigration by enforcing the laws already in place. What this paper will attempt todo is bring the immigration issue into perspective. America most certainly has immigration problems but they will not be fixed by eliminating immigration all together. In fact, America willnever totally eliminate immigration, because no matter how tightly the door is closed some illegalimmigrants will get through. As long as America continues to be seen as a nation of prosperity,opportunity, and freedom there will be those who wish to come to America. Immigrants havealways come to America looking for a better life and Americans are always forgetting that theirforefathers were once looking for that same life. As a nation there must be a decision on whetherimmigration is an issue of conscience or economics. History of Immigration LawsThough most Americans see immigration as a modern problem it has been heavily debatedsince the 19th century. Throughout most of Americas history immigration was seen as a naturalprocess that benefited the nation (Divine 2). Until the 1890s there were no clearly definedpolicies on immigration. During this time the country started questioning the economic benefits ofmore immigrants, so things have note changed in that respect. In May 1921, the first bill inAmerican history restricted European immigration and created the quota system (Divine 5). Thisturn toward restriction could be justified by the downward turn in the economy. Who could arguefor more immigrants when the nations own citizens couldnt find work. The slowing economyand the ?spirit of intense nationalism? in the United States at this time made immigration a hottopic (Divine 23). After the depression hit everyone was in agreement that there was a ?need to limitimmigration,? of course the extent of those limits were not easily agreed upon (Divine 77). WorldWar II brought with it a new set of immigrants, and eventually the passing of the DisplacedPersons Act of 1947. This allowed immigrants, displaced by the war to enter the country abovequota limits (Divine 128). Since then our legislators have been faced with numerous proposalsconcerning immigration, too many in fact to mention. Those mentioned above are significant inthe fact that they show a definite shift in Americas attitude toward immigration. Since the 1920simmigration has not been seen as a natural process, but a process that could overwhelm a nation ifleft unchecked. Current Immigration Laws and IssuesAs of this time there are no less than fifty proposed bills in Congress that can affectimmigration, which proves that this is an ongoing battle with little chance of ending. In recentyears the immigration policy has found itself in a state of flux; going back and forth between proand anti immigration. The Immigration Act of 1990 is one of the more current policies to regulateimmigration. This policy sets a flexible annual limit on immigration at a rate of 700,000immigrants per year until 1994 when the number will drop to 675,000. This number of coursedoes not include refugees and those seeking asylum (?Immigration?). If these numbers seemstaggering one must take into account the estimated ?300,000 to 400,000 illegal immigrants?added to the nations population each year (Suro 8). In the mid-90s there was a shift in Americasimmigration policy to ?close the doors and end the current era of immigration? (Suro 8). In fact inPresident Clintons 1995 State o f the Union Message he said: ?It is wrong and ultimatelyself-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws wehave seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it.? (?Immigration?) This attitude led to the Immigration Enforcement Improvements Act of 1995, which wasmeant to secure our borders, make deportation of illegal easier, and discourage the employmentof illegal aliens (?Immigration?). In essence this was a proposal to enforce the laws already inplace. This was a strong attempt by the government to limit illegal immigration while facilitating legal immigration. As of now, due to the lack of credible data, it is unclear if this legislationworked. What is clear is the continuing struggle to find a balance in the immigration system. Manycitizens are concerned with such issues as overpopulation, lack of jobs, and the cost to tax payersif this mass wave of legal and illegal immigrants continues (Castro 198). ConcernsAmerica has establis hed such an inherent open heart/open door policy that it seems themelting pot may be about to boil over. Some estimates put the United States population overcapacity by as much as one-hundred million (Amselle 60). Americas lax attitude towardoverpopulation may have turned to one of ?danger? that must be avoided (Amselle 60). In thepast immigration was somewhat balanced; a good economy meant more immigrants and a slowereconomy saw a decrease in immigration (Amselle 60). There are those who feel the United Stateshas absorbed all the people it can (Amselle 60). Then you have those like Joel Kotkin of theProgressive Policy Institute who feel that the large numbers of immigrants are ?working ageadults,? that America needs to ?offset the growing number of pensioners? (Amselle 60). Even ifthe immigrant population can offset the number of pensioners, the number of resources in thecountry will still be divide amongst a much larger population. One must also take into account thenumber of ille gal immigrants added to the population. They will also be replacing those retiringpensioners at a lower wage with no taxes or social security payments. America has a largepopulation of baby boomers and will need working-age persons to fill the void left by theirretirements, but there must be a limit to the number of immigrants we become dependant uponand a dramatic decrease in illegal immigrants. During the 1980s when all other industrializednations were making restrictions on immigration Americas doors were open and now the nationbegins the daunting task of closing those doors (Briggs 5). There is some concern that closing thedoors could ?heighten the feeling that the nation is under siege? (Suro 15). Overpopulation is initself a world wide issue but is not undisputed as a cause for concern in America. A lack of jobs is a major concern for most. Will there be enough jobs for everyone? Canour economy support its own citizens, immigrants, and illegal aliens. America is experiencing a period of economic health, but history shows that this upward economy will not last indefinitely. How Interest Groups Effect Voting EssayThese contradictions are what lead to the frustration many people feel toward a system that is nolonger in control. Many citizens, especially the working poor, feel that illegal immigrantssometimes receive more benefits. The reality of illegal immigration is that it has been anincreasingly difficult problem to solve. For three decades now our government has been trying tofind ways to alleviate the number of illegal immigrants in the nation. One attempt was theAmnesty program in the mid-90s for those who had been in the country since 1992 (Suro 40). Suro states that this covered only about 60% of the illegal population and drew much debate fromCalifornia. Which is ironic seeing as how California is often at the forefront of the campaignagainst illegal immigration. Illegal immigration has become a familiar part of American societyand will not likely see much improvement in the next millenium. The Future of ImmigrationINS has published a booklet called Strategic Plan: INS 200, Accepting the Challenge,which outlines their mission and objectives for the coming year. Most of these objectives are thesame as they have always been: facilitate compliance with the law, create disincentives in theworkplace, increase the security of INS documentation, and work with other agencies (U.S. Immigration). This isnt the first time the INS has had good objectives, but it isnt likely thatthey will receive the necessary funding to implement these plans successfully. Our government hastried to curb the flow of illegal immigrants with such actions as the North American Free TradeAgreement , which is expected to reduce illegal migration from Mexico (U.S. Immigration 5). The problem is the timing of such policies; NAFTA is expected to work onlyafter a decade in which Mexico can produce the jobs needed. The INS also reports that by the year 2000, the population of prime labor age in Americawill drop by 8.5 million. That is a large loss of labor and can only be offset by the immigrantpopulation. The key is to make sure that this decrease is offset by a legal immigrant population. That is what the government attempted to do with the Illegal Immigration Reform and ImmigrantResponsibility Act of 1996 (Marley 880). The intent was to cut back on crime, terrorism, andwelfare fraud. They fell short of their intent because the inadvertently clumped all immigrantstogether, both legal and illegal (Marley 885). America will continue to allow immigrants to enter the country for numerous reasons;such as those who take up a common cause against a foreign foe, as a gesture of shame aftersome foreign debacle, for economic reasons, and for purely humanitarian purposes (UnitedStates). recently we saw our government agree to accept 20,000 Kosovar refugees, and financially helpwith 20,000 more in Albania. Now 20,000 is a tiny gesture in the big picture, but in a world ofcrises how many times can our government afford such gestures. Can America continue to playthe role of the last true hope for the ?huddled masses? of the world?ConclusionIllegal immigration must be curbed. If nothing else it is unfair to those who wait for yearsto come to America legally. Currently illegal immigrants can choose to leave on their ownmeaning they can come back legally if they choose. Our laws say that we can formally deportthese illegal immigrants and bar them from legal entry. Why does our government continue tocreate loopholes in the laws they pass. I dont feel that those enter the country illegally shouldhave a right to return; if they are willing to break immigration laws they are more likely to breakother laws. What does this policy say to those who lawfully await entry? That in A merica youreonly guilty if youre caught and then only if you dont agree to leave quietly. The lack ofpunishment for illegal migration is one of the reasons behind its increase. That however is just myopinion and the would not disappear even if strict punishments were the norm. It is clear that the debate and controversy over immigration will not go away anytime inthe near future. What is not clear however is how the nation will fare in the midst of such debate. In the past Americans were proud to be that one shining hope in the world. They were willing toaccept the tired and poor, but America has changed and immigration must change also. To thosein underdeveloped countries the Statue of Liberty and her invitation to a better life must be hardto resist. What they dont see is what lies beyond her golden torch; a country teeming with peoplein fierce competition for that elusive dream of a better life. As a student of history and someonewho is proud of my heritage I want to say let them come. Let all who need a better life come toAmerica and try to build it here. As a realist I know that our country can only support so manypeople. There are only so many jobs, so much land for housing, and so forth. Maybe someday inthe near future there will be a balance found between the economics and the humanitarianism. Abalance that will allow those searching for a better life to come to America and know that theyadd to our nations success. The days of ?give me your tired, your poor? may have to end but ourdoor should always be open to those longing to work toward a better tomorrow in a land offreedom. Works CitedAmselle, Jorge. ?Immigrants: Helping or Harming the U.S.?.? The World I 10 (1995): 60. Bean, Frank D., Barry Edmonston, and Jefferey S. Passel. Undocumented Migration to theUnited States:IRCA and the Experience of the 1980s.Washington: The Urban Institute Press,1990. Briggs, Vernon M., Jr. Mass Immigration and the National Interest. 2nd ed. Armonk:Sharpe, 1996. Castro, Max J. Free Markets, Open Societies, Closed Borders? Trends in InternationalMigration and Immigration Policy in the Americas. Coral Gables: North-South Center,1999. Divine, Robert A. American Immigration Policy, 1924-1952. New Haven: Yale UniversityPress, 1957. ? ?Immigration Enforcement Improvements Act of 1995?:FAct Sheet?. ?Lectric LawLibrary. 9 Nov. 1999 *http://lectlaw.com/files/imm05.htm*Kirschten, Dick. ?Supply and Demand.? Government Executive 31 (May 1999): 16. Marley, Bruce Robert. ?Exiling the new felons:The consequences of the retroactiveapplication of aggravated felony convictions to lawful permanent residents.? San DiegoLaw Review 35 (1998 Summer): 855-895. Mont, Daniel. ?Welfare and Immigrants.? Migration World 6 (1996): 8-20. Suro, Robert. Watching Americas Door: The Immigration Backlash and the New Policy Debate. New York: The Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1996. ?United States;The Next Masses.? Economist 1 May 1999: 26-28. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Strategic Plan: Toward INS 2000: Accepting theChallenge. Political Issues