Immigration Policies in the United States         

            The United States is known for having the highest immigrant population. In the United States, there are about 40 million immigrants (Radford). Immigration policies in the United States have been changing over the past few decades. Immigrants come to the United States for better opportunities. The immigration policies in the United States are getting harder. 

           In her article Philips states that “Some native-born Americans assume that immigrants do not want to be a part of American culture, therefore, defining them as out-group members, without necessarily understanding what might prevent immigrants from assimilating or integrating” (Philips 9). This evidence means that Americans think that when people from different countries and backgrounds come to America they don’t want to be involved in the American culture. They tend to still follow their culture. When people come from a different country to America it usually takes time for them to get used to the American culture. In addition, she also added “Perceptions and attitudes about the effect immigrants have on one’s way of life have a direct impact on how people perceive immigration in general. The more likely people are to view immigrants as a threat to their well-being the more they support restricting immigration” (10). This evidence shows that American also sees immigrants as a threat to the country. The United States is a free country but sometimes immigrants feel as free as they should feel because Americans keep offending immigrants. The tone of the article is motivated because throughout her research study Philips describes why the United States needs immigrants. She also states that there are some immigrants who are likely to commit a crime, but the majority are here for a better lifestyle. The purpose of the study was to show why immigration is good and also what Americans think of immigrants. 

           Also, Christopher Mackie who is an editor also author for National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine books stated “Americans, especially natives and long-settled immigrants, have always been suspicious of the qualities of newcomers: their character, their skills, their loyalty, and their potential to assimilate to American values and institutions. At many times during U.S. history, laws and policies were enacted to restrict the entry and freedoms of different groups of newcomers.” (Christopher 34).  This shows that Americans have a negative connotation with the word “Immigrant”. Americans suspect the character and skills of immigrants they think immigrants are not qualified enough to do anything. People from different countries still come for more safety. There are continuous wars going on in the continents of North America, Asia, and Africa. People keep coming to America to seek refuge. Christopher also stated that since 1820 about 74 million immigrants have arrived in the United States. Some people returned to their countries of origins while others are still in America (35).  In this book, the author sounds annoyed by the immigrants he believes that immigrants take away the jobs of Americans. Americans don’t get the opportunity to do what they want because of immigrants. The immigration rate is very high as a result there is more demand for jobs. The purpose of the author to show that immigrants affect Americans economically. 

           When immigrants come to America they don’t sit around at home or go on a tour around the country. Almost all of them work. The report shows immigrants make up about 17% of the U.S. labor force. Lawrence Auster who was an American essayist who wrote on immigration and multiculturalism. Auster said, “On the contrary, high levels of immigration to the United States will be necessary into the next century, if for no other reason than to provide enough working men and women to support our aging population” (Auster). This shows in the next century immigrants will be necessary to work. Some immigrants are highly educated and very skilled as a result they tend to find a job in good places. However, immigrants who don’t have a high level of education are more likely to work in factories or fast food places. Auster sounds concerned for the immigrants because he believes that immigrants do not get fair jobs. The job for immigrants depends on their education. The purpose of the article is to spread the issue immigrants face as new people in the country. 

           Mc Gill stated “there are about 7 thousand to 9 thousand illegal immigrants in the U.S. and, in recent years, the number of individuals becoming legal immigrants is around 1,000,000 annually. It is interesting to look at the legal-illegal situation for a moment because both share one thing–the breakdown of where people come from and where they are going” (Mc Gill). The majority of people who come to America don’t usually go back to their country. Immigrants who are permanent residents try to get US Citizenship after 5 years of living in the United States. People who are illegal by the law intended to be legal by having a work permit or student permit. Mc Gill also stated “In 1995, the controversial Operation Safeguard was launched. This plan redirected illegal border crossings away from urban zones to comparatively open areas that the border patrol could control more effectively” (Mc Gill). This shows some immigrants come to America by crossing borders, the boarders include Mexico and Canada. Now there are officers in the borders of the United States they make sure no one can enter the United States illegally. Even after having so much tight security policies people still come illegally. Legal immigrants have the same freedom as a United States citizen but somehow, they are discriminated against mostly because of illegal immigrants. The tone of the article is concerned. The author is concerned about the future of immigrants. The purpose of the article is to show that the topic of immigration has been a conversation between the major political groups of the United States. The democratic and Republicans have debates about immigration. The policies will change drastically very soon.  

           There were many policies made against United States immigrants. In 2015 in his campaign President Donald Trump stated illegal immigrants as criminals. A study shows 820,000 illegal immigrants had criminal records in order to keep America safer President Trump came up with the policy of deporting immigrants who weren’t legal. President Trump also wanted to make the wall on the border of Mexico and the United States. However, the Judicial Branch didn’t agree with the president because it costs a lot of money, as a result, the government was shut down for 35 days. People who work for the federal government didn’t get paid as a result many people faced economic crises. In the United States, there is a lot of people who are living under the Social Security money and Supplemental Nutrition Association Program also known as SNAP. People had no way to support themselves for a month. The rising presence of immigration issues in the United States “Immigration is a major, pressing issue discussed in American politics today, especially regarding the Mexico-United States border. This topic directly affects Butler students with the upcoming election fast-approaching and both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have made statements on their immigration policies” (“The Rising”). This shows immigration is a major topic in the United States politics during the election in 2016 the two major political party Democratic and Republicans main topic for their campaign was immigration policy. In addition, “The immigrants Regan talked about held stable jobs, started their own families and contributed to American society. Despite this, the immigrants faced detainment and separation from their children because they lacked legal documentation to reside in the United States” (“The Rising…”). This shows American separates immigrants from them because they don’t have legal documentation to live in the United States. There are a lot of companies that only hire United States citizens for certain jobs even if the immigrant is more qualified than the American Citizen. The tone of the newspaper was sad because the author talks about her experience as an immigrant and what problems she faced as an immigrant.  She often felt segregated from American people she became emotional while talking about her experience. The purpose of the article is to send out a message to those people who see immigrants as a threat. As human being Americans should see the point of view of the immigrants instead of judging them. 

           In conclusion, the United States came up with many immigration policies. Some policies were a major success however some failed. The United States should continue with its immigration policies as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. The policies are harmful to some while for others it’s helpful. People who are not living in the United States legally will face problems however for immigrants who were being discriminated against because of illegal immigrants will be free from all the discrimination. 

Works Cited 

Auster, Lawrence. “Avoiding the Issue. (What the United States Faces If Immigration Policies Are Not Changed) (Demystifying Multiculturalism) (Cover Story)(Cover Story).” National Review, vol. 46, no. 3, 1994, pp. 48–54.

Christopher Mackie, et al. “Immigration to the United States: Current Trends in Historical Perspective.” The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration, National Academies Press, 2017, pp. 33–84.

Phillips, Lorraine. Individual Levels of Bias and Immigration Policies in the United States: A Test and Extension of the Dual Processing Model of Bias, 2017, pp. The Graduate Center, All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects. 

McGill, Craig. “New rules, same old problem.” USA Today, Sept. 2007, p. 24+. Gale Academic OneFile, link-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/apps/doc/A168738003/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=22bcc806. Accessed 16 Sept. 2019.

Radford, Jynah. “Key Findings about U.S/ Immigration.” Pew Research Center, 17 June 2019.  www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/ 

“The rising presence of immigration issues in the United States.” UWIRE Text, 25 Oct. 2016, p. 1. Gale Academic OneFile, link-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/apps/doc/A467751560/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&xid=3463f32e. Accessed 16 Sept. 2019.