Granillo 1
Lupe Granillo
Collin Hull, Instructor
English 2010
23 March 2016
Position Proposal
The Melting Pot
For years American citizens judge illegal immigrants the wrong way. Illegal
immigrants are only trying to live a better life here in the U.S, and of course they don’t want
to be here illegally. That’s why the majority will file and hope to receive legal
documentation. It can hard to be in a country where you know little or nothing about, and for
most the language can be difficult to dominate and they still do anyway. We have all
migrated from different countries throughout the years, and even if an American ancestors
has been here since America was discovered, they are still immigrants legal or not because
the Native Americans were the first ones here in America (Arizaga). Illegal immigrants
should be allowed to stay here in the U.S because most of them came to this country to have
a better future, just like everyone else seeking “The American Dream.”
For many years, America has been known for its many cultures that have migrated
here from other countries. They once called it ‘The great Melting Pot’ (Paul Allen). The
Melting Pot was based on the promise that all immigrants who came to America can be
transformed into Americans by entering the Melting Pot. That way they wouldn’t be AfricanAmericans, Mexican-Americans, or Asian-Americans; they would simply come out of the
melting pot ‘An American’ regardless of the heritage, age, race, or skin color. This also
meant that by entering the melting pot, one became an American but had to learn the
Granillo 2
language as well as the American culture. That changed throughout the years here in
America, now many have migrated from their countries (either for good or bad) and are not
learning the language or the American culture. As Germano stated in his article “The other
side of Immigration”
It’s impossible to say exactly how many undocumented immigrants are living
in the United States, there could possibly be about 11.2 million undocumented
immigrants, and they all migrate to this great country for a variety of reason
(Germano).
The sad truth though is that not many ‘American citizens’ approve of this. Why? They have
many reasons.
People from over 100 countries migrate to the United States every day, with the
majority being from Mexico (Germano).
They make up 30% of the
population
that’s
approximately
9
million people, but they’re not the only
ones that migration to the United States,
the second largest population migrates
from Asia and they make up 26% of the
population, that’s about 8 million
people. There is also the 22% that come
from the Caribbean Countries and 18%
are from Canada and Europe, the last
Granillo 3
3% come from Africa and other countries such as the Pacific Islands, Australia, and New
Zeeland. The United States has a population of 311,618,320 Americans (CENCUS).
For a number of reasons American Citizens do not want illegal immigrants to be in
their American country. Why not? It is wrong to discriminate against them when at most
times they only migrate to this country for a better lifestyle; others may only come to bring
drugs and weapons or to commit crimes but they will only get deported back to their country
if they are thrown in jail. But it is also very important that we all try to understand the needs
of the ones who come to this country for a good cause rather than to just be criminals. As it
was stated on the paragraph above, yes the majority migrate from Mexico. It’s very hard to
live over there now days. There is no control over the mayhem in Mexico, and innocent
people are being killed every day. The main drug dealers used to kill and sell drugs for
money because the need is so high, now they still do it for money but also for pleasure and
greed; they are sick people. (Ceballos). Those are some of the main reasons many Mexicans
decide to leave their country.
The
Hawkins
article
mentions
written
that
by
John
what
some
Americans think about illegal immigrants
is not true. Things like some legal citizens
think that illegal immigrants only come to
this country to traffic drugs, take away
citizens jobs, use their health benefits, or
that they do not pay taxes (Hawkins). Many debate that because of those reasons illegal
immigrants should not be given the opportunity to receive legalization here in the U.S. Some
Granillo 4
Americans believe that by legalizing immigrants it would only encourage more of them to
migrate to the country or increases the chances for drug dealers, terrorists, and other
criminals to expand their enterprises here in the U.S. Hawkins also stated that many
Americans are willing to work a hard labor job as well so they can support their families, and
that if every illegal disappeared tomorrow there wouldn’t be a job that couldn’t be filled by
an American citizen. How true can this be? Could less-skilled American citizens earn less
money or have few job opportunities because they must compete with the immigrant’s job
market?
It is important to understand that it’s a hard process to become a legal citizen or to get
a permit to come to this country, even if it’s only temporary. Focusing on the ones who
migrate here for a good cause, they will work like any other person here in the US and will
avoid getting in trouble for the same reasons, so they do not get deported back to their
country. At times it can take up to 20 years for their legal status to finally be complete
(Messerli). Most do not want to wait and decide to do it illegally; they need to support their
families, feed them, or have a roof over their heads.
One reason to why immigrants should be
allowed to stay and work because not all of them
are delinquents, most of them just come here for a
better lifestyle. If work permits were allowed for
illegal immigrants it would benefit the country
economically.
Even
though
Hawkins
that
American citizens are willing to do hard labor, you don’t see very much Caucasians out in
the fields under the hot sun picking strawberries, tomatoes or lettuce. If it wasn’t for those
Granillo 5
illegal immigrants the fruit and vegetables you buy at the grocery store would be $8 a piece!
(Garrido) If you go into big companies the majority of people you might see working at a
desk are probably Americans or Chinese, very few Hispanics. And when you turn to see who
is taking care of the building when it comes to maintenance like in the kitchen, Hispanics.
Yard works, Hispanics. Taking out the garbage or vacuuming the building, Hispanics. At
construction sites the majority are Hispanics as well, very few Caucasians (Hawkins).
If immigrants were allowed into the country and were permitted to work, America’s
economy would probably increase since they are not getting paid as much for hard labor
work (Messerli).
Some of the most intelligent and ambitious individuals, who are unsatisfied
with their own countries, bring their skills to America. Few countries offer the
limitless opportunities that the United States offers. You can start your own
business, learn a high-tech career, publish a best-selling novel, or be elected
to office. People in other countries crave the same things we do: recognition,
wealth, fame, and the feeling of making a difference. America offers endless
ways for a "nobody" to become great. Many countries of the world limit
educational opportunities, stifle entrepreneurship, and prevent individuals
from reaping the rewards of their hard work (Messerli).
PROPOSAL
By allowing illegal immigrants to be here in the U.S, it may also increase the
diversity of the culture in this country. America is the only country in the world that has such
diverse races, languages, religions, and cultures, that’s why it was known for the ‘Melting
Pot.’ The diversity can bring new prospective and ideas from these individuals as well as
Granillo 6
strengths, skills, and host of other good advantages. Since immigrants also often take the
low-paying jobs (example: fast foods, hotel cleaning or maintenance) it wouldn’t drastically
affect Americans because taking a low paying job does not suit their needs. An immigrant
back in their country consider $7 an hour holy because back home they would never make
what they make here in a day (Germano).
With the numerous numbers of immigrants in this country, it is only demonstrating
that whether a law is passed or not one way or the other they will come to this country,
legally or illegally. But if they could be given the opportunity to come to this country with a
workers permit, they can demonstrate to the
U.S they are here in seek of better
opportunity. They would come here legally
and have to adapt to the American culture,
pay taxes and learn the languages to
communicate (Arizaga). They could also
earn the right to vote and participate in our political process and help make decisions for our
countries future. Unlike the United States, most countries don't have an immigration
problem. Many have the opposite problem; they are losing too many people that form the
foundation of the economic and family structure (Hawkins). For example,
When thousands of people come to the U.S. from Mexico, a family at home
often loses one of its main breadwinners. Industries in Mexico also have a
smaller pool to build an adequate workforce. Plus, the immigrants that come
to America comprise more than just those that fill minimum-wage jobs. Top
intellectuals often come for top white-collar job opportunities, religious
Granillo 7
freedom, or the endless other perks of living in the U.S. That means, for
example, that the home country has a tougher time filling high-skilled
positions like in medicine and technology. We often have trouble filling these
positions in America. (Messerli).
This can be accomplished by working together American Citizens and illegal
immigrants. Americans just need the understanding to why good illegal immigrants come to
the country; they only want to help support their families. If illegal immigrants come to this
country only to commit crimes, than they should be punished. Discrimination is wrong and
Hispanics want to help, illegal immigrants pay taxes as well, they go to school and have to
work to pay the bills. Sometimes when you’re driving out of the movies or at a drive thru
restaurant it won’t be Hispanics’ that you see being a bum asking for money or holding up a
carton that they are jobless. Hispanics actually look for a job instead of crying about not
having a job. They are immigrants of this country just like everyone else who is already
‘legally’ here.
Granillo 8
Works Cited
Arizaga, Elizabeth. "Why do immigrants come to America." Gnight (2006): 1.
Ceballos, Lety. Drug Dealers in Mexico Lupe Granillo. 10 June 2010.
CENCUS. American Fact Finder. 2010. 20 June 2011.
Garrido, Jon. "81 Percent of Americans Favor Legalizing Undocumented Immigrants." Hispanic News
14 January 2011: 1.
Germano, Roy. The other side of Immigration. 18 March 2011. 19 June 2011
The other side of Immigration . 18 March 2011. 28 June 2011
Hawkins, John. townhall.com. 23 Febuary 2010. 29 June 2011
Messerli, Joe. Should America Maintain/Increase the Level of Legal Immigration? 18 May 2011. 1 July
Paul Allen, Paul Almonte. Humanities 1100 That Is The Question Fifth Edition. n.d.
Pictures Cited
Pg 2: CENCUS. American Fact Finder. 2010. 20 June 2011
Pg 3: Garrido, Jon. "81 Percent of Americans Favor Legalizing Undocumented Immigrants."
Hispanic News 14 January 2011: 1.
Pg 4: Stanton, Ryan. Bay City sidewalk repairs put Hispanic laborers to work. 10 June 2009. 23
June 2011.
Pg 6: Brown, Tim. Yahoo. 10 April 2006. 25 June 2011.