Immigration Policy in the United States

Immigration and Immigration policy

We are now in the beginning of the 21st century and like the beginning of the 20th century the United States finds itself in the throes of a period of mass immigration. More then one million immigrants enter the Unites States, both legally and illegally every single year. Many argue that this new wave of mass immigration may help sustain the success that our nation is having in regard to the way of living that many American have come accustomed to and yet other believe that although out nation was created by immigrants it is time to "shut down" our borders. The truth of the matter is that there will always be issues in regard to immigration and the policies that the government sets forth in order control who comes into this country. Also now more then ever immigration policy has a greater affect on the American people because of the fact that we find our selves living in a time of danger or as some might argue, a perceived danger in regard to terrorism. Also with the proposal of President Bush's new guest-worker program raises more issues in regard to immigration. The fallowing paper will attempt to overview current immigration policy and also state what immigration policy should be over the next 25 years.

Current policy on immigration is something that should not only be considered through notion that the only people that come to the United States now days are illegal immigrants. The reality is that when the topic of immigration comes up the first thing to usually jump into peoples mind is that immigration is synonymous with illegal immigration. However the United States immigration policy is one that responds to the many different yet essential questions about the nature of American society. For example who and what kind of person should be allowed to become members of United States society? Should we continue to allow foreigners the option of entering our nation and if so, how many? What will be the role that the newly arrived immigrants play in a society that values education and hard work? However the most important question one must ask is how can current policy and new policy control manage the flow of immigrants?

There is not doubt that the United States is a nation of immigrants; however for many immigrants who come to this country today there experiences are often not what they expected. More times then not many people find themselves frustrated and unable to sustain themselves. It is my opinion that American and the government should be willing to greet these new arrivals with open arms rather then the giant bureaucracy that has become immigrant policy today. For those who seek to come to this country by legal means it is only fair that the nation should be responsive and welcoming. However although it is necessary for the system to welcome legal immigrants to the US it is also very important for the government to battle illegal immigration as well.

The reforming of America's immigration policy is something that can no longer be avoided and must be dealt with as soon as possible. Years of neglect by governmental agencies and policies makers have now made this issue one of the biggest in American politics. First of it must be understood that immigration does no only effect curtain areas of the country and curtain aspect of public life but rather all of American life. Both legal and illegal immigration affect major issues such as jobs availability for all citizens, wages, education in public schools system and in general, health care issues, and the homeland security.

There needs to be reform not only the issue of illegal immigration but also on legal immigration and refugee and asylum policies; the three main reforms that I will cover in this paper. Current immigrant policy allows for around 1 million immigrants allowed into this country every year. Although this may seem like a low number compared to the current population of nearly 300 million people who currently live in the unites states the affect on the nation is quit drastic considering the fact that many more people arrive here illegally. It should be the policy of the Unites States to lower legal entry of immigrants from 1 million to around 500,000 people per year. Bye doing so the government would in effect allow for be able to control the situation by not overworking government agency that are already spread thin. Also this would allow for my selective entry of person who in effect would help in the development of the nation rather then hold it back.

While the size of the immigrant population expands and contracts in response to economic condition, the recruitment of immigrants who meets specific economic needs has always be an important issue. Immigration status before the Immigration act of 1965 was based on nationality, and countries received quotas based on proportion of current Americans who originally came from those countries. However after the act was passed this form of immigration policy was changed and an emphasis was put on categories such as family ties, occupation skill and humanitarian concerns. Today, the United States admits most immigrants based on family ties, fallowed by occupational skill and then humanitarian concerns. The remaining immigrant's entrance to the country is based on Visa lottery. Visa lottery effectively works the way it sound, entrance in the country is based on a lottery. In my opinion I believe that this last form of entrance to the US is not fair in that it does not set a standard for entering but rather bases everything solely on luck. What kind of country would we be if all people who entered came by lottery?

Other reforms that should also be made deal with the way in which the country should deal with illegal immigrants. Although America is a nation of immigrants it is also a nation of laws. Over the past decades illegal immigrants have often been viewed as unwelcome guest who put extra burden on health care, social services, public school, and also take jobs from hard working Americans. However the most effective way to combat this problem is not necessarily dealing with illegal immigrants themselves but rather also dealing with those who choose to employ them even though they know of there illegal status. In dealing with this problem one effective deterrent would be to charge the cost of public services used by illegal immigrants to those employers who willing employ illegal immigrants.

However there is always more option that can be taken rather then simply denying immigrants the opportunity to come into this country. One of those options is of course the new proposal by President George W. Bush that would grants immigrants the status of "guest worker." This proposal by the president and his administration