American Immigration Issues

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Title: Issues Relating to American Immigration Introduction Recently, immigration has become the subject of a great deal of debate amongst American politicians, the press and the public. A series of recent events has focused public attention on the issues relating to immigration. According to the Congressional Quarterly Researcher, four specific events brought concern about illegal immigration to the fore. These were the World Trade Center bombing in which illegal aliens were involved, the shooting of two CIA employees by an illegal immigrant, the rejection of Clinton’s nominees for attorney general when it was revealed they hired undocumented aliens as nannies and the boatloads of Chinese seeking entry by simply,…show more content…
During these raids employees are forced to show their credentials and documentation, any unable to do so are slated for deportation. (“Immigration: In the Vanguard”, 1999, p. 31) More recently, the INS has adopted another approach. Rather than periodically physically raiding places of employment they regularly and consistently check employment records and compare them to federal databases. This approach provides on-going monitoring at less cost then the previous program of periodic raids. (“Immigration: In the Vanguard”, 1999, p. 32) In simplest terms illegal aliens are illegal and like any crime their presence must be controlled. Moreover, their presence and employment is manifestly unjust as they are taking resources and opportunities from legitimate citizens. Therefore, it is essential that the government continue to police illegal immigration and commits resources to that task. In the words of President Clinton, “We must say no to illegal immigration so we can continue to say yes to legal immigration.” (“Immigration Reform: The Issues”, p.…show more content…
One of the most interesting is their claim that restricting legal immigration will simply force people to immigrate illegally. In other words, they accept that illegal immigration is a problem and argue that restrictions on legal immigration will simply increase illegal immigration. This is a legitimate concern but a relatively weak argument for immigration. Legal immigration does not merely constrain illegal immigration it offers real benefits to American society. Not everyone who applies to immigrate to the United States is accepted. Immigrants are judged on their ability to support themselves and their dependants and their capacity to contribute to American society. Therefore, by definition, legal immigrants are those most likely to contribute to American society: Simply put, they are a potential asset. There are also strong moral arguments in favor of immigration. In the first place every America, with the exception of Native Americans is an immigrant. Many of us have forebearers who immigrated centuries ago but, ultimately, almost every American is an immigrant. Opponents of immigration would do well to recall this

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