"Help Haitians, but don't throw open U.S. borders"

In the recent weeks I have been watching a lot of the news coverage that has been aired about Haiti and I have seen the great destruction they are faced with. However I agree with this article that allowing a vast amount of the Haitians to immigrate to the United States is not the right decision. One of the things this article talks about is how it would not be fair to the other people who are already on the immigration waiting list. This is a true disaster,yet that does not mean that they should all up and move from Haiti. One of the important things to think about is what will happen to Haiti in the future. If many of the Haitians choose to up and move then how will they ever be able to rebuild. I feel that America is doing to the right thing by sending aide, but the doors to America should not just fling open. They should try to make things better for their own Country before they decide to leave it. This is one of the ways the United States has handled immigration correctly. I like the idea that people who already have family living here can come, but that does not mean that everyone should come. It would raise a lot of questions such as, "Should those entrants include people from parts of Haiti untouched by the earthquake? Or only those from earthquake-ravaged areas? Or only those who've lost their homes? Or limbs?" Many people feel that in order to immigrate to America the person has to be qualified. In this kind of disaster how does the government decide who is qualified.

The article also mentions that there are other extremely poor Countries that have long waiting lists, but they are not being admitted. They have to suffer through many problems as well, like in Bangladesh there are monsoons, but that does not give them an immediate entrance. There are some instances in which people should stay where they are and this is one of them. If the Haitians love the Country of their ancestors then they should be willing to fight through this difficult time and help create a better tomorrow.Immigration is not always the best answer and people need to realize this.

citation
"Help Haitians, but don't throw open U.S. borders.(NEWS)(Editorial)." USA Today. (Jan 29, 2010): 07A. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 8 Feb. 2010 .

"Immigration Legislation Should Not Punish All Illegal Immigrants"

Many people are in agreement that there needs to be immigrant reforms. This article is attempting to show that not all immigration is bad, it can even help the United States. This author believes that the want for a immigration will continue and that if it is going to, then only "qualified" people will be allowed to immigrate. the question is who defines whether someone is qualified or not. If this method of qualification is going to be established, then I believe it is necessary for the qualifications to be written down. All people should have an equal chance at immigration. Stopping immigration would also cause problems for security, "Ground truth comes from all sources, and often from immigrant communities. If communication shuts down because immigrants are afraid to approach local law enforcement for fear of being deported, then we lose important information and we jeopardize the security of our nation." In a previous article that I read it said that terrorist are able to live in immigrant neighborhoods and go undetected. However if they are noticed someone could tell the cops, but they will not be willing to if they are afraid. The immigrants do not hurt the economy, they actually help it. I feel that a lot of the things that immigrants do to help America goes overlooked. As a result of that people tend to only see the negative aspects. It also says that the immigrants do not take the American jobs. I feel that is one of things that America needs to understand. People are in fear of losing their jobs and they need to realize that they do not need to fear the immigrants. I think that if that fear could be put aside then there will be less racism against the immigrants.Many job fields are dependent on immigrant labor, which means they play a large role in supporting the economy. With such a poor economic climate, I think the government should be doing everything in their power to help boost it.

With immigrant reform there will be the correct number visas given based on the United States economy. It will also assist in other aspects such as, "future immigration will be within the law, instead of underground, so that immigrants are less likely to be exploited, less likely to harm American wages and jobs, and are more likely to pay taxes." There is now a bill trying to get passed by the Senate that addresses a lot of the things many Americans are worried about. Such as being able to get jobs and ensuring good working conditions for temporary workers. I feel that it is very important to make sure that the citizens are the ones who get the first chance at employment. They are the legal citizens and they need a job just as badly as the immigrants do. The main point the article is making is that the immigrants are needed. If they are truly needed then I feel that there should be a way to help them become citizens, but only if it is done legally. The high volume of illegal immigrants does not help their situation of the citizens. The government needs to find a balance that makes everyone happy.


citation
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. "Immigration Legislation Should Not Punish All Illegal Immigrants." Contemporary Issues Companion: Illegal Immigration. Ed. Paul Hina. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 8 Feb. 2010 .

"Immigration Laws Do Not Treat Immigrants Fairly"

I had always realized that there were many Americans who did not treat immigrants with respect, but hearing these stories show that it is also the government treating them this way. The article opens with a few stories about immigrants who are possibly going to be deported, all on injustice and in-humanitarian grounds. There are children who have escaped because they were facing great opposition in their birth countries, but when they arrived they were arrested and may be sent back. There is other stories about women who either were adopted and tried to get citizenship or they were beaten by their husband but the police arrested them. I feel that America should be helping these people, they have done nothing that grounds them for deportation. The United States is known around the world for their humanitarian efforts, however when these immigrants need help the only thing that they do is threaten to deport them. Where is the justice in that, where is the immigrants equality. There are three acts that are at the root of the issue,the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA) and the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. The INS also has great power in deporting immigrants and their decisions cannot be appealed. They now have an overflow of detainees, and they numbers are going to continue to increase. The detainees are even kept away from their families, the INS seems to taking away all of their rights.

There was a woman who was deported when she was trying to see her children, and she still sees that America is a great country. It just goes to show that many immigrants are escaping such extreme oppression that they are just use to being treated so poorly. That is not right, if a person's papers are legal than they should be allowed to enter the United States. What really surprises me is,"Another provision of IIRAIRA is aggravated felony, which reclassifies past crimes of noncitizens to more serious and deportable offenses, even if they have already served their time for the infractions, have been rehabilitated, or never spent a day in jail." In America you can not be tried for the same crime twice, so why are they immigrants. The article sums this issue up in the best way, "The U.S., a nation of immigrants, cannot be free if it takes freedom from those who believe in the promise of justice for all." I agree what the government is doing is going against what America is all about and things need to change.

citation
Paul, William G. "Immigration Laws Do Not Treat Immigrants Fairly." Current Controversies: Immigration. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 7 Feb. 2010 .

"Immigration Must Be Restricted to Protect America Against Terrorists"

As I was reading this article I realized that many of the ideas that I have been thinking about are things that others things about as well. There are many loopholes for people who are trying to get into America. This is shown by the mass illegal immigration in America and this article tries to demonstrate that it can also relate to the terrorist attacks.I had never thought of this connection until I read this article and it proves that the connection is there. The author discusses how there are many neighborhoods like the one a few of the 9/11 terrorist lived in where there are so many immigrants that it is so easy for people to go unnoticed. The article says, "Patterson's mayor notes: "We have 72 identifiable nationalities here, 170,000 people in eight square miles. With a lot of different folks moving in and out of the city, unless you raise a ruckus, you could live here for a while without anyone noticing."'Due to all the chaos in the neighborhood, it is extremely hard to notice everyone who is living there. It really scares me that these people can live in America for so long and do such a horrible thing and the whole time no one knew that they were even there. At the beginning of the article it says that there needs to be tighter regulations, but to do that the government would need to spend more money. Money is not something they want to be spending more of, so I feel they need to do better with what they all ready have. Maybe they could start with better training courses for the people who are suppose to be looking out for these things. As I have been watching the news in recent weeks have seen more arrests of people planning terrorist attacks while living in America and this trend does not seem to be stopping. For a long time I was under the assumption things were in control. It has become very clear that in order for the United States to control the terrorist attacks, they have to start having tighter regulations of immigration.

The article says that the danger comes from within America, "Precisely because of mass immigration and open-borders policies, perhaps thousands of unnoticeable young men have been able to enter the United States (and Europe) to prepare jihad against their enemies. Short of expelling entire populations in a massive act of ethnic cleansing, there is virtually nothing the United States and the West can do about the new enemy within." There may not be much to do to prevent the terrorist from coming into America, however there are actions that need to be taken that can help to protect the citizens once they are here. In the end it will be very hard for immigration reforms to be enforced because many leaders and upper class see the immigration as a way for cheap labor. I think that people who see it that way need to be thinking about the protection of all Americans, not just making money.

I understand that the United States cannot just start "ethnic cleansing" people in America. Yet they need to do something. We cannot allow another 9/11 to occur and they only way to do that is to tighten the immigration regulations.


citation
Francis, Samuel. "Immigration Must Be Restricted to Protect America Against Terrorists." Opposing Viewpoints: National Security. Ed. Helen Cothran. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 7 Feb. 2010 .

"Opposition to Illegal Immigration Is Based on Racism"

This article is trying to prove that the many things people say about why immigrants should not be welcomed, just means that they are being racist. There are various arguments discussing how immigrants hurt the environment, take American jobs, and threaten American culture. There are even organizations out there that try to "immigrant bash." I feel that if America is willing to accept immigrants into the Country and they should also be accepted into the society as well. People say though that allowing them into society is just causing more problems. The author of the article believes the haters are able to cloak their motives by saying that they are looking out for the best interest of the United States workers. One of the organizations trying to bring about reform is the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). One of the things that FAIR has attempted to do is create Proposition 200 in Arizona which works to stop immigrants from obtaining their drivers license. I think this is just cruel and it is not going to stop people from trying to immigrate to America. People who are trying to immigrate from their country are mostly in search of a better life. The better life consists of more equality, better living conditions and a better job. For the most part people are able to get those things in America and not having their drivers license will not stop them. Many of the poorer immigrants could probably not even afford a car anyways.

In response to the argument that the immigrants do the jobs that American citizens prefer not to do, the article says that not letting them have the jobs can force the working conditions to be bettered. "'Well if immigrants were not so readily available and easily exploitable, those employers would have to make the jobs more attractive by cleaning up the workplace and offering better pay.'" That may be true, but what are the chances that a business owner is going to put out the extra money if they are able to find such cheap labor. There are already so many companies outsourcing to other countries that if they were forced to this then they would most likely move as well.

One thing that article talks about which I actually am in agreement is with overpopulation. If America become over populated then the conditions are going to deteriorate for everyone and things could go into chaos. That is why I believe there should be strict regulation on immigration. People have to go through the proper process so things stay in order. If they chose not to follow the process that is when the United States is going to be overpopulated and have many problems.

citation
Schepers, Emile. "Opposition to Illegal Immigration Is Based on Racism." Opposing Viewpoints: Illegal Immigration. Ed. Margaret Haerens. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 5 Feb. 2010 .