Immigration in our Nation
We all were immigrants once
The gist of it....
Stigma and Fears surrounding Immigrants
Immigrants have contributed to $100 million in social security and paid $11 billion dollars in taxes alone.
Some think that immigrants will abuse the welfare system and steal jobs.
Others argue that immigrants create new jobs that bolster the national economy and that they don't even have the ability to even use public assistance due to their immigration status.
Americans try to even taking this angle to diseases. They say that immigrants bring all sorts of diseases that are going to kill Americans. "Lou Dobbs said that 'unscreened illegal immigrants' were partly to blame for an alleged 7,000 cases of leprosy in the United states from 2002-2005" ( Immigrants targeted).
This was proven wrong by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, when they declared that these 7,000 cases were accumulative of 30 and not 3 years .
An illegal immigrant girl's education and the DREAM act
She was a child that was separated from her dad, who lived in United States for 8 years. Then, one day she moved to America with her entire family.
Usually excelling in her classes, she was faced with confusion when she started failing English. From then on, she tried tremendously to learn English and excel in her classes. When she graduated from high school, she ended up being accepted into an Ivy League school. She was ecstatic but at the same time also disappointed because she could not attend. When Obama passed the DREAM act, she was so relived. She gets to pursue higher education, without the stress of legal documents.
The DREAM act
Some seem to disagree and here are the reasons.
"According to Denver Daily News, anti-illegal immigration advocate Tom Tancredo says the bill should be renamed the NIGHTMARE act" ( McFayden).
There are other groups that also support this idea. These groups believe that the DREAM act " would reward immigrants and encourage continued illegal immigration" ( McFayden). People fear that the illegal immigrants would take spots away from American students and make it difficult for them to obtain tuition assistance.
The DREAM act allows for innocent children to be able to get the choice of being able to pursue a higher education.
Unlike what the anti-illegal immigration advocates think, the DREAM act would help the Department of homeland security to tighten up the borders. Instead of focusing on innocent children illegal immigrants who grew up in the country, the DREAM act allows the department to focus on immigrants that pose a threat to the nation.
After going to college, these illegal immigrants would become immigrants. They would be able to work and add around 3.6 trillion to the economy by taxes.
Although there are fears of unjust surrounding the DREAM act, it is an act that will bring justice to innocent children.
Relating back to Literature.
Racial Prejudice
Blaming Immigrations
Dream Act
Author: Jessica Li
Cites
-"Immigrants Targeted: Extremist Rhetoric Moves into the Mainstream." Immigrants Targeted: Extremist Rhetoric Moves into the Mainstream. 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
-"Immigration and Fear." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Apr. 2013. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
-Kristof, Nicholas. "Immigration Enriches You and Me." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Nov. 2014. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.
-McFayden, Jennifer. "Opposition to the DREAM Act." About. 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
-Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts. New York: Viking, 1953. Print.
-Miranda, Luis. "Get The Facts On The DREAM Act." The White House. The White House, 1 Dec. 2010. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
-"The Current Debate over U.S. Immigration Law." DISCovering Multicultural America:African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans. Detroit:
Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.