Immigration : Expo & Analysis

The United States of America, being a country founded by immigrants, is known all over the world as the land of great opportunities. People from all walks of life travelled across the globe, taking a chance to find a better life for them and their family. Over the years, the population of immigrants has grown immensely, resulting in the currently controversial issue of illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants are the people who have overstayed the time granted on their US, visa or those who have broken the federal law by crossing the border illegally. Matt O’Brien stated in his article “The government thinks that 10.8 million illegal immigrants lived in the country in January 2009, down from a peak of nearly 12 million in 2007.”(Para, 2)

Throughout the history of the United States immigration has become apart of our country’s fabric which, began centuries ago. Only to become a hot topic in the US in recent years with its primary focus being illegal immigrants. Illegal immigration is when people enter a country without government permission. As of 2008 the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that there are 11 million illegal immigrants in the US which is down from 2007‘s 12.5 million people. Although the Center for Immigration Studies estimates are very different from other estimates that range from 7 to 20 million. While the Pew Hispanic Center estimated in March of 2009 there are 11.1 million illegal immigrants and that number is from March 2007’s peak of 12

Today, immigration is a heated topic and everyone views it in a different way. Immigration is the movement of people to a different country where they were not originally from. This should not be mixed up with emigration, which has a different meaning. While immigration is when someone joins a new group, emigration occurs when someone leaves that group. With that being said, there are many reasons why people immigrate to a different place. Some of these reasons may include better opportunities, to connect with families, or the freedom of religion. Whatever the reason is, immigration is an important reason and it affects everyone involved. Between 1950 and 2010, 92 million people moved from their original country to someplace else. They came

Immigration is one of the most important issues that the United States faces and thus has misperceptions such as how immigration affects the workforce and economy, the size and composition of the immigrants, and the budgetary impact of unauthorized immigration. As of 2012, more than 40 million immigrants lived in the United States, the population accounting for about 13 percent of the total population of U.S. The same year showed that unauthorized immigrants were 11.7 million, accounting for 3.7 percent of all the people of the U.S and roughly 5.2 percent of the labor force. Most of the illegal immigrants are Latino who is primarily from Central America and Mexico. 46 percent of all the immigrants in the

Attention Getter: According to The Department of Homeland Security, there are 11.4 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in 2011. (The Department of Homeland Security, 2012)

In the beginning of immigration it all started with slave trade, which was a global force in the Atlantic and later Asia. At first Africans were taken from their homelands and shipped to America to do labor work. People already in America, were eager to purchase a slave to do their dirty work at no cost. Just as things went negatively for the African American slaves, later the Native Americans, who were already here in the United States, were forced to move or killed. A large amount of Natives died from disease, war, or migrating to the West leaving a small amount of them in the United State’s territory.

In the United States, citizens are very familiar and concerned about the topic of the Immigration Reform. Based on the research report from Senior Research Associate Pew Hispanic Center, Jeffrey S. Passel predicted around 11 million or more undocumented immigrants in the US in March 2005, which existed more than 6.5 million undocumented Mexicans, up to 57% of the total undocumented population and the Latin American countries are occupied by another 24%. (Passel, 2005) Furthermore, there are 9% in Asia, 6% of Canada and Europe, and the 4% rest for the others. (Passel, 2005) However, up to September 2006, there was nearly 13 million of the illegal immigrants but almost one-sixth of total, around 2.0 million undocumented

America, the nation of immigrants, has roughly 11 million illegal immigrants today. Mexicans make up 5.6 million. There are around a million legal immigrants coming to the United States each year. In November 2007, there were “1.5 million fewer native-born Americans working . . . while 2 million more immigrants (legal and

“California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Illinois alone account for sixty percent of the illegal immigrant in the United States” (Krogstad & Passel). In 2012 a little over five percent of the labor force was illegal immigrants in the United States. This made for over eight million illegal immigrants that held jobs or was looking for work in the U.S. According to Pew

Nevertheless, it is not only imperative to outline that between 2009 and 2014 the number of illegal immigrants decreased in Kansas, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, South Carolina, California as well as Nevada, but also vital to note that these reductions are alleged to the reduced number of unauthorized Mexican immigrants. As opposed to the small number (41 percent) of immigrants who had lived in America for more than ten years in the US by 2005, the figure had risen significantly to a wobbling 66 percent by 2014. Nevertheless, those who have lived in the country illegally for less than five years are declining in number steadily, having been estimated at barely 14 percent in 2014 (Krogstad and Passel 17). While the illegal immigrants could be considered as both credible and dependable because of the benefits they bring to the US, on the contrary, it is critical to comprehend the unintended consequences that translate into tangible problems like increased competition for the limited unskilled job opportunities, increased pressure on the economy by using free social services including healthcare, social security, and education as well as the growing crime rate perpetuated by unauthorized citizens in the

Immigration has and still a dilemma for the United States. Immigration has shaped the United States as a nation since the first newcomers arrived over 400 years ago. Immigrants contribute deeply to many of the economic, social, and political processes that are foundational to the United States as a nation. Millions of immigrants are deported every year. The ethnicity of immigrants living in the United States come from all around. Mexico has the largest population of immigrants coming to America. “The number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States is estimated to 11.2 million, the majority of whom are from Mexico” (Boehm, 32). Some immigrants entered the United States illegally (by crossing the U.S. Border) and some through a visit visa.

“House Speaker John Boehner and other major Republican figures have stated that it is unlikely for any significant developments in immigration policy to take place this year.”(Razzano 1) According to Jairo Ramos “the American system is very broken when it comes to legislation and immigration laws.” Even though so many people disagree with legalizing immigrants they don’t know the true meaning of being one and many people don’t even know the difference of an immigrant and a migrant. A migrant is a person who moves from one region to another, often within a particular country while an immigrant is someone who permanently moves to another country. (Carver 1). Permanent settlements bringing in an income doesn’t only help the immigrants but it also helps the economy since they spend that money back into it. There has been some rumors that immigrants make money in the United States and then send it back to their own country but even if that’s true which it is in some cases it doesn’t bring the economy down like deporting immigrants would according to Jairo Ramos.

The majority of the unauthorized immigrants come from Mexico with 59% of the unauthorized population (6.7 million). Followed by El Salvador with 690,000 next 560,000 from Guatemala then 360,000 from Honduras and the Philippines with 310,000. California remains the leading state for residence of 2.8 unauthorized immigrants. Followed by Texas with 1.8 million, Florida with 730,000 then 580,000 in New York and 540,000 in Illinois. The Migration Policy Institute on “Profile of the Unauthorized Population: United States” as of 2014 estimate 11,009,000 of the unauthorized population. Under the age of 16 there is a total of 8% of the unauthorized population, ages 16 to 24 makeup 15% of the population, 25 to 34 (28%), 35 to 44 (25%), 45 to 54 (14%), and 55 and over (10%). There is a total of 5,060,000 females while 54% of the population is male. For the parental status of about 10,263,000 make up the population of ages 15 and older. Of this group, 33% reside with at least one U.S. citizen child under 18, 6% reside with noncitizen children under 18 and 62% reside with no children. When it comes to martial status 10,263,000 are of the age 15 and older. About 40% have never been married, 8% are married to a citizen, 6% are married to a

Although many states have illegal immigrants, the majority of them reside in California and Texas. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services “California has 2,209,000 and Texas at 1,041,000 as of the last census in 2000. The next leading state is New York with 489,000. The state with the lowest amount is Hawaii, with only 2,000. The immigration population is between nine and 11 million people” (Statemaster.com).

If they reached the land before they were caught by the authorities, they were granted political refugee status (9). This, as well as other circumstances helped cause the number of foreign-born migrants to increase eighty-one percent in the 1990s-2000s (3). More than half of the Hispanic population resides in the following states: California, Texas, and Florida, with California having the highest number of immigrants (2). One main component of California’s high number of Hispanic immigrants is due to the entrance of migrants illegally. The National Research Council claimed that in the 1990s, “more than 200,000 immigrants came into the United States illegally” (7). With eighty percent of Latin Americans becoming naturalized US citizens and nineteen percent not becoming US citizens before the 1970s, the numbers were reversed after the 1970s and the latter became predominant (12). Legal immigration as well as illegal immigration of Hispanics were both non-prevalent in early American history; nevertheless, with the progression of years and opportunities, many Latin Americans came to America seeking jobs and a better life for their family.