1

Immigration literature review

Jesus Orozco
University of Texas at El Paso

Immigration literature review

Ever since the United States has had a government we have had some sort
of immigration or foreign policy. This can date all the way back to 1790 when
The Naturalization Act of 1790 establishes a uniform rule of naturalization
and a two-year residency requirement for aliens who are "free white persons"
of "good moral character" (http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/, n.d.). In a nation
founded by immigrant one would think that we would be kind to any and all
immigrants. But the sad truth is that we arent. Instead of welcoming in
immigrants we build walls and borders making it hard to get in, and even if
they do manage to pass those obstacles they can still be denied residency
and sent back to their respected countries. To many this is simply not fair.
This topic of immigration raises many questions, some that are very easy to
answer such as :
1.Why do we need immigration reform?
2.immigrants dont contribute to economy they just take don't they?
3.arent alot of immigrants criminals?
4.How do we benefit from immigration?
These questions will be answered and will help to narrow the purpose of this
literature review.
Why do we need immigration reform?

Imagine if your brother or sister is detained by immigration. Imagine

that your father and mother spend hundreds of dollars on lawyers so they
can keep you here in the US. Imagine your brother or sister still gets
deported and all that money spent left your family in a huge debt. This
happens more than you would like to think. Every day thousands of families
are separated because of current immigration policies. The Harvard
Immigration Project predicts that if current policies remain unchanged,
43,000 U.S. citizen children will experience a decline in health status,
100,000 will develop signs of withdrawal, and over 125,000 will go hungry in
the next year. Children of undocumented immigrantsthe majority of whom
are U.S. citizenswill continue to suffer from trauma and fear of deportation
which can lead to costly health consequences in their adult lives. (Edelman,
2013) Thats a frightening thought. Our current immigration policies make it
very difficult to obtain either a visa or citizenship and even if you get green
lit to start the documentation process, the process itself takes a very long
time. It can costs roughly $12,500 dollars to deport a single immigrant. So
not only is the current immigration policy immoral by separating families it is
also takes a huge toll in our economy. Immigration reform is part of the
solution for creating a stronger, more successful, and unified nation. America
is a nation of immigrants, and welcoming immigrants reflects the key values
on which this country is based: hard work, perseverance, taking on
challenges, demonstrating individuality, and showing compassion. In
addition, immigration reform is a bipartisan issue where everyone can agree

that a working immigration system contributes to

a stronger countryeconomically, socially, and
culturally (American Immigration Council, 2013).

Immigrants dont contribute to economy they just

take dont they?
This is a really false statement. Not only do they not take anything
from U.S citizens they give the U.S way more than

(Dave)

what native born Americans give. Immigrants start

businesses, Immigrant-owned businesses create jobs
for American workers, Immigrants are also more likely
to create their own jobs, and Immigrants develop
cutting-edge technologies and companies, Immigrants are our engineers,
scientists, and innovators, Immigration boosts earnings for American
workers, Immigrants boost demand for local consumer goods, Immigration
reform legislation like the DREAM Act reduces the deficit, Comprehensive
immigration reform would create jobs, and Comprehensive immigration
reform would increase Americas GDP. (Furman & Gray, 2012) In reality
immigrants do a lot of good for this country. Not only do they not take away
they actually give to our country. They are a benefit to us. Immigrants are
what this nation was founded on. The Unites States was made to be a haven
for immigrants, but instead of offering a helping hand we just push them

away with our laws and schemas. President Obama had the perfect speech
at a naturalization ceremony saying The lesson of these 236 years is clear
immigration makes America stronger. Immigration makes us more
prosperous. And immigration positions America to lead in the 21st century.
And these young men and women are testaments to that. No other nation in
the world welcomes so many new arrivals. No other nation constantly
renews itself, refreshes itself with the hopes, and the drive, and the
optimism, and the dynamism of each new generation of immigrants. You are
all one of the reasons that America is exceptional. Youre one of the reasons
why, even after two centuries, America is always young, always looking to
the future, always confident that our greatest days are still to come. (Furman
& Gray, 2012)

Arent a lot of immigrants criminals?

Many believed Trump when he stated that Mexico was sending rapist,
criminals and drug addicts to the United Sates but the statistics say
otherwise. In recent studies they have shown that not only are immigrants
less likely to commit crimes they have a severely lower crime rate than
native born Americans. Nationally, since 1994, the violent crime rate has
declined 34% and the property crime rate has fallen 26%, even as the
number of undocumented immigrants has doubled. According to the
conservative Americas Majority Foundation, crime rates during the period

19992006 were lowest in states with the highest immigration growth rates.
During that period the total crime rate fell 14% in the 19 top immigration
states, compared to only 7% in the other 31. Truth is, foreign-born people in
America whether they are naturalized citizens, permanent residents, or
undocumented are incarcerated at a much lower rate than native-born
Americans, according to the National Institute of Corrections. (Maloney,
2013) Its now a fact that immigrants dont bring crime with them. It was a
bold statement by Trump that didnt hold up. This also holds truth in states
with high immigrant population such as California. Its an awful stereotype to
say that immigrants are more likely to be criminals just because of some
high-profile incidents of some random person committing murder who just
happens to be for example Mexican. These stereotypes are very misleading
when you have statistics that say otherwise. Its the same as saying that all
white people are racist because of the Zimmerman case.

How do we benefit from immigration?

There are many ways we benefit from immigration ranging from
economic growth to increasing the standard of living for native born
Americans. As said before immigration brings more jobs and opportunities to
both illegal immigrants and native born Americans. Immigrants dont take
the jobs that most Americans want, no they take the jobs nobody wants.
They take on picking cotton, working in the fields for less than minimum

wage with no benefits. Immigrants really do not have much negatives to

them. In the contrary statistically more immigrants mean better
opportunities for native born Americans. So basically immigrants never really
take anyones jobs they basically just often complement native workers or
accept jobs that natives dont want or cant do. Immigrants create new jobs
by increasing production, engaging in self-employment, and easing upward
job mobility for native workers. The mere presence of immigrants increases
demand in the economy and can spur new businesses to open, creating
more jobs for both immigrant and native populations (Constant, 2015).some
other way we benefit is the cultural influence immigrants bring to the United
States. Its always good to be culturally diverse and the U.S being a nation
founded by immigrants it is fitting for us to be the nation with the most
immigrants. Our country shows this by how we interact with each other.
Whenever you go to the mall you will see a Mexican restaurant selling
Mexican inspired food and a Chinese restaurant selling Chinese inspired food.
The point thats trying to be made is that we have all been introduced to
different cultures most being immigrants and it has brought great benefit to
us.

Conclusion
In conclusion immigration isnt as bad as the media makes it out to be.
Immigrants are not taking our jobs and they are most certainly not taking

your benefits. Immigration is a great complement for our country and there
should be made laws to make it easier to come to the U.S. in the end the
positives outweigh the negatives and from all the research done immigration
is a big positive to our country.

Bibliography
American Immigration Council. (2013, July 29). Retrieved from
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/:
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/tackling-toughestquestions-immigration-reform
Constant, A. (2015, September 27). http://www.huffingtonpost.com.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amelie-constant/5reasons-why-immigrants-_b_8036814.html
Edelman, M. W. (2013, November 08). Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marian-wright-edelman/we-needimmigration-reform-now_b_4243303.html
Furman, J., & Gray, D. (2012, July 12). Retrieved from
https://www.whitehouse.gov:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/07/12/ten-ways-immigrantshelp-build-and-strengthen-our-economy
http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/timeline.html
Maloney, K. (2013, June 20). Mic.com. Retrieved from
http://mic.com/articles/43599/8-of-the-most-vicious-myths-aboutillegal-immigrants#.xKyMFjFTh

10