The Level of Legal Immigration Essay Example for Free

The Level of Legal Immigration Essay In recent years, a political battle had been in the center of a very heated and controversial debate is the battle of immigration. Terrorism, the drug war, and the national deficit have all fueled interest in a long dormant debate. According to the United States Census, â€Å"immigration will propel the U. S. population total to 438 million by 2050†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Haub). The Hispanic population alone will exceed to an estimated 100 million, which subsequently is in relevance with the over 60 percent of immigrants coming from Mexico. Proposals have recently been put through by the  President and House of Representatives to deal with various aspects of illegal immigration, varying from amnesty for existing illegals, guest worker programs, deportation, fines for unpaid taxes, stricter border enforcement, and so on. However, very little attention has been given to legal immigration. Yet since this nation has become more and more ethnically diverse than it has ever been in decades, immigration is in general good for the country, therefore, it should be an acceptation for America to have this so-called â€Å"melting pot† grow more by increasing the level f people that are allowed to enter the country and work towards citizenship. Legal immigration should increase to benefit the improvement of the overall image of America intentionally, as it is seen as an openly welcoming country; immigrants who return home or maintain contact with family back home have a true image of America, not the one propagandized in much of the intentional media. It’s no secret that the United has a very unfavorable image around the world. Most American citizens are proud of their country and are happy to be here. So why do people have such an unfavorable image aboard? What percentage of the people in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that have been sampled in these favorability opinion polls do others think have actually been to the United States for any significant amount of time? Think about it, for those that haven’t lived here, their opinion of America is based almost entirely on the media. Thus, the socialists, communists, and propagandists that dominate the international news media may be the most responsible for America’s image. This problem can be alleviated by allowing more people to enter the country. Real people can see what it eans to have freedom of speech, freedom to worship, freedom to publish and assemble. They can see our diversity and our shunning of those who lack tolerance. They can sample our sports and entertainment. They can meet for themselves the â€Å"evil Americans†. As more people return home or communicate with loved ones, people around the world will increasingly learn what a great country we have. Decreasing or eliminating legal immigration will inevitably create more incentive to come to the country illegally, which leads to less assimilation and fever taxpaying, law-abiding itizens. Many individuals have only one true hope for a better for themselves or their children – emigrate to America. The enormous number of immigrants in this country show that they will try to get here whether or not there are laws to stop them. Illegal immigrants must hide their identities. Thus, they aren’t going to be attending American schools, filing tax returns, or doing other things that typical Americans do. Plus, if they’re already breaking the law by being here, what’s to prevent them from breaking other laws we have? Legal immigrants, especially those ho plan to stay permanently, must pay taxes and are more likely to attend school to learn history, English, and a marketable skill. Since they don’t have to hide, they are more likely to assimilate with other Americans and adopt the culture. Lastly, they can eventually earn the right to vote and participate in our political process, meaning they can develop a decision-making stake in the future of our country. Furthermore, the increase of legal immigration in the U. S. gives struggling people all over the world and opportunity for a better life. This country was built on immigrants who ought opportunity as well as political and religious freedom. At some point in this debate the American people need to set aside the question of whether it’s good for this country and look at the point of view of the immigrant. Imagine you were in a place where you could be stoned to death for practicing your religion. Imagine you got paid the same regardless of how hard you worked. Imagine you were unable to study for a new career or start up your own business. Imagine you were forced to rely on government rationing of food to scratch out a living. Imagine the only access to medical care was physicians with only a few months of training who lacked vaccines and basic medical equipment. Would you want to live the rest of your life like this? Would you want your kids to live their whole lives like this? In speculation, most people, if given a choice would take the risk in coming to America to achieve something better. This country was built and has grown on the backs of such people. In the end, the government is highly responsible for keeping immigration reform more of path to greater and more lucrative opportunities for those entering this country with proper documentation. More importantly, they should make sure they give background checks to each immigrant to make sure he/she does not have ties to any terrorist organization (most especially al-Qaeda) in order for this great country to be a safe-haven environment. With the increase of jobs in America, many of those should be more accessible to newly naturalized citizens. It’ll be a shame if Americans still make strong accusations against immigrants for stealing their jobs.