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Marisol Soto
Professor Matt Moberly
December 11, 2014
WRI 10
Our Broken Immigration System
Abstract:
In my problem solution proposal I will prove the necessity for adopting bill S.1 in
order to repair our broken immigration system. I will support this claim as I expose the
confusing immigration system that stands today, assess how it leads to unnecessary
deportation rates, and explain how providing citizenship to illegal immigrants would also
benefit the U.S. My purpose is to provide a specific bill that embodies a manageable
immigration system in order to transform the one today into one that works for the wellbeing of all.
Background/Problem:
Our founding fathers – George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin
Franklin, James Madison, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson – had a set vision for what
America would be, what it would look like. For them, America was to be a country where
all people were equal and had the same undeniable rights. According to bishop José
Gomez, the founding fathers thrived for an “America that seeks justice for all; that
defends the innocent and lifts up the weak,” which essentially promotes freedom for
every human being regardless of their citizenship status; it applies to every human being
residing in America(Gomez). With the support of the founding fathers, many immigrants
began arriving to America from all different countries for different reasons, and today
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have created a large population in the United States of about 40 million. In regards to the
illegal immigrant population, they have become essential for our comfort and our
economy, as Gomez would say. They produce our food, cultivate and harvest our crops,
serve us at restaurants, construct our buildings, and pay millions in taxes. Garcia claims
that giving illegal immigrants citizenship “would significantly expand economic growth”,
“would create jobs and increase tax revenue”, “would bolster wages”, and “would yield
huge gains in gross domestic product”. Illegal immigrants residing and the U.S are
currently benefiting the country in regards to economy and if given legal recognition
could further improve the economy.
As of 2014, the immigration system is very complex with many loopholes. The
overall mission of today’s immigration system is to welcome those immigrants who
arrive legally and to deport those who cross over illegally. Illegal immigrants will be
deported when they cannot prove they are permanent U.S citizens or residents, receive a
court date to stand trial before an immigration judge. Illegal immigrants who receive this
court date from Department of Homeland Security can be relieved from removal if an
immigration judge actually cancels the removal order if and only if she or he is a lawful
permanent resident. Other reasons for relief from removal would be if the individual can
change their legal status to one that the immigration judge approves of and if the
individual can prove he or she is a refugee from their native country.
Today’s immigration system mainly targets adults, almost always innocent
individuals with no criminal record, parents or older brothers and sisters, it hardly ever
targets criminals. In regards to children, the immigration system is somewhat confusing.
In the fiscal year 2013, 44th president Barrack Obama enacted the DREAM Act, which
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created a pathway for citizenship for illegal immigrants. To qualify under the DREAM
Act the student had to be “…younger than sixteen when he or she first came to this
country; must have been in the United States for at least five years; must have earned a
high school diploma”(DREAM). It was an act that protected illegal children in the U.S;
however, the recent 60,000 unaccompanied children that arrived illegally are quickly
being thrown back to Latin America with no remorse for the children. The immigration
system itself is contradicting and is quite difficult to comprehend.
What could possibly be the problem if illegal immigrants are improving life
standards and the economy in the U.S? The answer is quite simple: Immigration reforms
and deportations. From the moment of inauguration for his first term to appeal to the
majority of the U.S, Obama has promised immigration reforms that will grant citizenship
to illegal immigrants who have done no wrong, so they could come out of hiding. Miller
clarifies that in 2011, Obama’s administration “announced a policy of making deportation
of criminals who are in the U.S illegally a top priority”, essentially minimizing target on
families and students. According to Walnuld, the House quickly shut down Obama’s
extended immigration reform that focused on deportations of criminals and offered a
pathway to citizenship. House Speaker John Boehner made it loud and clear that they
would never pass such bill and instead would “address immigration reform step by
step…”(Walnuld). Obama’s administration made no effort to declare war and fight for
the illegal immigrant population.
Although Obama has been showing improvement, 98% of deportations for the
fiscal year 2013 being criminals, innocent illegal immigrants continue to be deported.
The U.S immigration system is separating families, stripping children from their parents.
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In order to compensate for the loss of their parents, children are deprived from their
childhood and instead are forced into the workforce to put food on the table for their
families. Since most children have citizenship status, Androff asserts that “when
undocumented parents are arrested and detained for deportation, their children are left
behind”(Androff). Deportation in the form of workplace raids, “leave hundreds of
children without one or both parents”, they inflict “…stress and trauma for the children”
because they do not know the whereabouts of their parents and often become parents
themselves for younger siblings. In his speech, Gomez shares a touching letter from a
little girl to Pope Francis in which she asks for an emotional birthday wish: She wishes to
be reunited with her father who was arrested and deported.
As Garcia explains, deportations itself are a huge cost to the economy. Deporting
all illegal immigrants “…would cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars”, $285
billion in the course of 5 years to be exact. It costs 20,000$ to only deport one individual,
multiply that by only 50 and that amounts to 1,000 for only 50 out of the millions of
illegal immigrants. Deportations are a burden for the pockets of taxpayers. America is
said to be a welcoming country, to accept refuges but instead they are deported back to
what they are running from, they flee from fear of their own land. Some argue that they
have broken the law by entering the U.S illegally, which is true; however, they cannot
keep fighting a daily battle for ten continuous years, they have to run where they can be
free and offer their children a safe better life.
Solution:
With the continuous immigration reforms that consist of an unorganized structure
and unrealistic criteria, the illegal immigration population will continue to rise as well as
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deportation rates across the United States. What is to be done is for Congress, specifically
the House, to adopt bill S.1 – To reform America’s broken immigration system. It has
been introduced in the Senate, will most likely be passed by the Senate but will most
likely encounter some difficulties with the House. Congress.gov provides a summary of
the bill: The bill gives reasonable criteria to illegal immigrants to earn citizenship, grants
citizenship to students that either attend college or join the military, and aims to “protect
the sustainability of the American agricultural industry”. It also creates American jobs,
allows illegal immigrants with degrees to work within the U.S, strengthens security at the
borders, “strengthen our Nation's historic humanitarian tradition of welcoming asylum
seekers and refugees”, prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants, creates a
rational immigration system that incorporates illegal immigrants, and to ensure all
families can stay together (Congress.gov). The bill essentially would welcome the illegal
immigration population not only to aid them, but to increase the overall economy of the
United States.
Adopting such a bill would incorporate 11.7 million individuals into the U.S,
They would contribute in agriculture, taxes, and most importantly to the future
generations. Granting them citizenship would result in our gross domestic product rising
to 1.1 trillion, an additional 159,000 jobs annually, and an additional 144 billion in taxes
(Garcia). With a specific, organized immigration reform illegal immigrants in the United
States today could earn citizenship, come out of hiding, and contribute to the United
States as much as American citizens. It would not necessarily shorten the time period of
coming to the U.S legally but would help those that have been here for years paying
taxes. Much confusion on what to do with illegal immigrants or how to interpret
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immigration reforms, which today are very complex to understand, would turnover and
the immigration system would flow much easier. If the House adopts this immigration
reform, the immigration system would be fixed due to the fact that the government would
receive millions, even trillions, with taxes of illegal immigrants instead of wasting around
20,000 for the deportation of a single individual (Garcia). Due to the fact that there are a
substantial amount of illegal immigrants, the immigration system faces much paranoia
and sees the only solution to deport as much as they can. That mindset would end
because there would not be as many illegal immigrants if they are granted citizenship.
Families would not have to be separated, children could grow up with both parents, with
their siblings, and they would have an opportunity of a better life.
Counterargument:
Many claim that without the massive population of undocumented immigrants the
economy would still boom and American citizens would fill the low-skilled jobs that they
currently fill. Specialist in the labor market Barry R. Chiswick, in his article “The Worker
Next Door”, dismisses the idea that undocumented immigrants are willing to take lowskilled and low-paying jobs instead of American citizens. Based on a 2000 census
looking specifically at those employed without a high school diploma, of ages twentyfive to sixty-four, “..64 percent were born in the United States and 36 percent were
foreign born (Chiswick). However, the fact that illegal immigrants do not hold the
majority of low-skilled jobs is not why they are necessary to the United States. It is an
advantage to have them as U.S citizens in order to boost the economy and our future.
It is often argued that illegal immigrants, specifically minority populations such
as Mexicans, receive no remorse because they have all already committed a crime: They
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all entered the U.S illegally or illegally stayed in the U.S after their Visas expired. They
are already criminals. That is completely accurate, they did violate the law when they
entered the U.S illegally. However; the sole reason why they are categorized as violators
of the law and are punished is merely on the basis of race. According to John Tierney’s
article “Ángels in America”, for years other races such as Europeans have been allowed
to receive citizenship while Mexicans are immediately deported. Based on the stereotype
that Mexicans are low-skilled, less educated, and of lower income, they are thought to not
be able to integrate into society and are thus denied citizenship (Tierney). The
immigration system must be fair: Law-breaking shall be ignored in the case of minority
illegal immigration if not all races are to be treated equal.
Others argue that illegal immigrants are not essential to the economy and that
instead they just rob American citizens from jobs. Illegal immigrants pay their taxes and
account for millions in tax revenue and gross domestic product. The United States could
probably live without illegal immigrants but would not be as successful as they are with
such a massive population of illegal immigrants. They do not steal jobs because the U.S
consists of a political system that offers equal opportunity, all have the same opportunity
to obtain jobs but those who work harder will be the ones to receive it. In another sense,
anyone can be a fieldworker but realistically how for every 10 agricultural fields how
many white individuals are working? None. How could they steal jobs if they usually end
up with the lowest skilled jobs in the U.S? They do not.
Conclusion:
Immigration reforms today are too vague and interpretative; they do not seek to
actually give specific guidelines on how to deal with millions of illegal immigrants.
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When immigration reforms are introduced that actually seek to invest these millions into
society and the economy they are often never adopted, shut down by the House. These
weak immigration reforms lead to massive deportations. Families are separated, children
left behind, and refugees are sent back to their native countries that they fled from out of
fear. Border security can be increased in order to halt the addition of even more illegal
immigrants in the United States but the focus needs to remain on how to deal with the
millions already here. Both the House and the Senate need to compromise and pass bill
S.1 which grants citizenship to those who have paid taxes and have kept their criminal
record clean.
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Works Cited
Cengel, Katya. "Unamerican?." World Affairs 177.3 (2014): 87-92. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
Chiswick, Barry .R. “The Worker Next Door”. Contemporary & Classsic Arguments.
Kathleen Wisneski. Bedford/St.Martin’s 2014. 189-191. Print.
"DREAM Act." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 Dec. 2014.
GOMEZ, JOSÉ H. "Immigration And The Next America." Vital Speeches Of The Day
80.4 (2014): 120-122. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Oct. 2014.
Garcia, Ann. "The Facts Support Immigration Reform with a Path to Citizenship."
Immigration. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press,
2014. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "The Facts on Immigration Today." 2013.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 31 Oct. 2014.
Tierney, John.M. “Ángels in America”. Contemporary & Classic Arguments. Kathleen
Wisneski. Bedford/St.Martin’s 2014. 192-193. Print.
Wanlund, Bill. "Immigration." CQ Researcher 11 June 2014. Web. 31 Oct. 2014.
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