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Immigration Reform Of The United States

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Introduction:
In 2011, it was calculated that over 40 million immigrants lived within the United States (figure 1-1). Among those forty million individuals, a reported 11.1 million are illegal (figure 1-2)1. It is clear that we need to create a plan of attack to address this large number of people living in this country illegally. There are essentially three avenues that we could travel down in order to complete this task. Either the United States could provide an easier path for citizenship for these people, or we could allow them to stay in the country without becoming citizens through work visas or permits. The third option is to increase the level of enforcement and implement laws that would assist in the deportation of these …show more content…

The first law passed regarding immigration was the Naturalization Act of 1790 that was subsequent to the United States Constitution, which created the notion of naturalization in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 42. Between 1870 and 1900, about 70% of the reported 12 million immigrants entered through the port at Ellis Island in the New York Harbor3. These immigrants were primarily from Europe and Asia3. However, beginning in the late 20th century and continuing on into the 21st century, the majority of immigrants have been Hispanic, entering through our southern border of Texas. Mexicans comprise the majority of immigrants who come to the United States. In 2010 it was reported that out of the 11.1 million illegal immigrants in the country, over five million of those individuals were from Mexico4. Additionally, only thirty-five to forty percent of Mexican immigrants decide to take the legal path to citizenship4. There is a path of citizenship provided for these individuals. Whether they can afford to apply or understand the application process or not, we have provided a track for them.
Although deportations have hit the highest rate ever in 20135, we need to continue to enforce in order to coerce

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