Fear and mistrust: Many countries no longer know how to cope with the current inflow of refugees, which is why some reinforce their borders with walls and fences. Fear of terrorist attacks and the large number of refugees led to one third of all countries strengthening their borders. “In 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell, there were 15 comparable border installations worldwide” (Mitchell, 2016). Today, barely 28 years later, fences and walls have not diminished. “According to the Census of the University of Montreal, almost 70 barriers and walls separate states and cities” (Jones, 2016). As the German-British sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf said: "A world without a border is a desert; a world with closed borders is a prison; freedom thrives in a
Jones adds that over the 20th century, some territories produced substantial wealth inequalities which increased the desire of people for getting somewhere else to pursue better economic opportunities. Border walls are being constructed to limit people move from place to place by the fear that populations movements will change the life inside the state and to divide economic wealthy states from poor
Humans rarely change their ways; they stay in their own worlds and always interact with the same types of people. Unfortunately, this habit often creates unseen barriers that divide and alienate human beings from one another. In Luis Alberto Urrea’s book The Devil’s Highway, Urrea provides a personal perspective to immigration by telling the story of 26 illegal immigrants, known as the Wellton 26, who are abandoned as they cross the Mexico-U.S. border. Through their story, Urrea proves there are invisible borders among people that create prejudice, such as language, ethnicity, and economic status. By reading The Devil’s Highway, it is clear that these barriers must be broken down to ensure harmony within society.
Immigration policies are then central to bordering and ordering society because they are the written rules of legal migration. However, these policies, like laws in general, are interpreted differently depending on who you are. Immigration policies affect people differently based on their socioeconomic status, race, nationality, education, and purpose in crossing borders (Nick Vaughan-Williams, 2009). Policies are implemented to keep certain people out by enforcing imaginary borders of different strengths, but it is also used to order society by keeping a close eye on people through careful documentation such as passports and visas. I will be focusing mainly on migrant workers and how policies changed in response to them, and also explaining how extensive paperwork to enter a country is a method in which immigration policy orders society within the borders, examples mainly concerning the United States.
The picture of Lady Liberty with open arms outstretched to the poor and down-trodden throughout the world is an inspiring symbol for conservative and liberal citizens of the United States of America. They are united in the desire to continue living out the Founders’ vision in the modern age. However, they are divided in their interpretation of exactly who is included within that embrace. The terminology of ‘open immigration’ sounds appealing to many residents of the USA. After all, why shouldn’t everyone be able to enter our wonderful homeland?
Immigration conundrum will never be felt as acutely by second generation immigrants because things change and people forget about the right way it is awfully to think roots can and should be so easily discarded. I prefer Jhumpa Lahiri's narrative voice over Smith’s no inflection of moral no pronouncing of judgement on flawed choices but a restrained attempt at humanizing all characters. I feel this is something that happened to most people because some people have like family things they do and as people get older and others don’t do what has always been done or the new person that takes over forget it or does do it right. Also with religion people have a different outlook than someone else and each people will take it different and to me
Have you an american citizen thought about all the hard work undocumented immigrants have to do just to become an american citizen? Undocumented immigrants are humans just like us they have the right to chase after their dreams so why not let them. About 11million undocumented immigrants are here in the U.S most of them are here to find a good job and give there kids/family the opportunities they deserve to become someone in life. What all Undocumented immigrants want is for their families not to be torn apart, keep the american tradition and help the economy get better. One important reason that Immigrants should get a path to citizenship is that they help keep the American tradition.
Deporting back these immigrants will cost a lot of money. Donald Trump wants to build a long wall between the United States and Mexico. According to Reuters, a website on the internet, the estimated cost of the wall they are helping the US economy will be up to 21 million dollars. According to the U.S Government debt, the US is already in depth trillions of dollars in depth. It would be pointless too waste that amount of money into this deportation plan.
Immigrants do not only help the economy by increasing the employment rate, they also increase taxpayers that benefits the US economy positively. There are a lot of misconceptions about undocumented immigrants and paying taxes. Many believe that since they are unauthorized immigrants they do not pay taxes. But in reality, many undocumented immigrants do pay taxes just like everyone else. They may not have a legal document that allows them to be in this country, but they find ways to pay for their taxes such as a Fake Social Security Numbers (SSN) or Individual Tax Identification numbers (ITIN)
What if you were kicked out of somewhere you called home? One significant reason that undocumented immigrants should acquire a “path to citizenship” is that America is a country of immigrants, founded by immigrants. According to Senator Charles E. Schumer in Upfront Magazine, 2016 “I can see the statue of Liberty, which welcomed my ancestors so many years ago. That statue is a symbol of hope to the world.
For centuries, people from other countries of all ages and ethnicities have left their countries to begin a new life here in the United States. After the first new settlers arrived in America centuries ago they started a chain reaction, people have been coming to the United States for countless of reasons. During the 1820s the number of immigrants per year were over ten thousand, and from that time on it kept increasing throughout the years. As the country and the population have grown, immigrants have slowly moved down to the West Coast. “One in six Texas residents is an immigrant, while fifteen percent of residents are native-born U.S. citizens with at least one immigrant parent.”
Throughout the 20th and 21st century, there has been a debate in the United States about whether there should be a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. At this time, there is a border wall between the states of; Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona and Northern Mexico. The main purpose behind having a border fence is to stop illegal immigrants, criminals, and terrorist from coming into the United States. Currently, in the United States, there are approximately an influx 11 million unauthorized immigrants.
Huntington also complains that the more immigrants that enter the United States and move to neighborhoods where there are people who speak the same language, the more they are not willing to assimilate themselves into the Anglo-Protestant culture and values. But one thing is for certain that the increasing population of Mexican immigrants and other Hispanic groups will be more difficult when trying to learn English as a second language as well as for their descendants. One reason for this is because they stay in their own race communities. Huntington argues that most Latino immigrants find it more of a challenged to assimilate themselves into the United States culture than it was for past immigrants. But, Huntington also points out that it
For example, incapable of coping with crowds of Syrian refugees, Hungarians have been trying to fence off the flow of Syrians. They had to close Keleti train station in Budapest not to let them further into the continent. A number of Syrian immigrants were halted on their way to Austria and taken to the camp in Bicske, not far from the Hungarian capital. The problem is that no country in the European Union has a valid immigration policy to deal with the current situation.
Illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the U.S.A. and become citizens because they are heavy workers, want a better life and most importantly they contribute to the U.S. economy. Immigrants simply want to obtain an opportunity to live and work in this great country. With all this in mind it is clear that they deserve a path to citizenship. Countless people say illegal immigrants are damaging the U.S. economy; however, they are contributing immensely by paying their taxes.
When it comes to the question about “what is the solution”, opinions start flowing, but to the best of my knowledge, I see that the solution will never be one-sided, in other words, I see no perfect solution from the common options. Blocking the refugees would fail – but to open doors without limit is the most reckless decision. The only solution is treating the root causes in migrants’ countries. “When solving problems, dig at the roots instead of just hacking at the leaves.” ―