Immigration+Essay


 * Option 1: Open Ourselves to the World **

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the forces of globalization are rapidly creating a new world. International trade is steadily expanding, while national borders are losing their significance. People, ideas, and goods traverse the globe at an ever-accelerating pace. In the world of the future, the United States will stand out as a shining example. While rigid nationalism continues to hold back many countries, Americans can take pride in a heritage that promotes openness, tolerance, and diversity. Compared to our chief economic rivals in Japan and Western Europe, the United States is poised to compete in the international marketplace. American movies, music, fashion, and brand names are attractive to people throughout the world because they symbolize a culture that embraces and celebrates many cultures. Immigration puts our country in touch with the tastes and preferences of consumers worldwide, and gives U.S. companies an edge in opening export markets.

From its earliest days, the United States has been a land of opportunity for people outside our borders. Each wave of immigrants has contributed to the United States’ greatness and enriched our society. Today, immigrants are still coming. This latest generation of immigrants contains the best and brightest from a rich variety of cultures and regions. Even those lacking a formal education are driven by a strong sense of initiative and an unshakable work ethic. They have come because they believe the United States is the land of opportunity. They recognize that the United States rewards hard work and ability like no other country in the world. In the end, the talents, ambitions, and dreams they bring will benefit all Americans. Keeping our doors open lets the world know that the United States remains a country that looks forward to tomorrow.

• Remove bureaucratic obstacles in the immigration process that keep family members apart. • Allow people worldwide with a legitimate fear of persecution the full protection of U.S. refugee and asylum laws. • Adjust immigration laws to permit greater immigration from countries such as China and Mexico that have been the victims of unfair restrictions in the past. • Provide immigrants with more opportunities, job training, and English-language instruction to speed their adjustment to American life. • Ensure that everyone in the United States, including illegal immigrants, has access to education, basic health care, and other essential services.
 * What policies should we pursue?**

• America is still a young, vigorous country with room to grow. • America’s strength lies in its diversity, particularly in the fresh ideas and cultures provided by new immigrants. • Immigration does not unduly threaten our national security.
 * Option 1 is based on the following beliefs**

“Us Immigration Policy: What Should We Do?” //History and Current Issues for the classroom.// Watson Institute for International Studies, Oct 2007. “Web. 29 June 2012. []

// Excerpt taken with permission from the Choices Program //


 * Option 2: Make Emigration Unnecessary **

As the new century unfolds, the world is on the move. The population explosion in poor countries, the spread of war and terror, and the age-old curses of hunger and disease are driving increasing numbers to our shores. Emigration from the developing world is at an all time high, and the United States is the destination for the largest percentage of these emigrants. Opening our doors to large-scale immigration resolves no one’s problems. Admitting huge numbers of newcomers into the United States every year not only overburdens our schools and health care system, it drains poor countries of many of their most educated, highly skilled workers. This “brain drain” only adds to the challenge in poor countries of meeting the needs of their own populations.

We are a strong country, but we cannot continue to absorb new immigrants into this country at this breakneck pace and without compromising our own economy and social structure. Nonetheless, both for practical and for humanitarian reasons we cannot fence ourselves off from poverty and suffering outside of our borders. As the strongest economic power on earth and the most sought destination of the world’s poor, the burden of international leadership on this issue rests with the United States. We should join with the international community to provide the development assistance necessary to stabilize the migration of the world’s poor. We should also explore ways to create incentives for the best and brightest in the developing world to stay where they are and contribute their skills to improve conditions in their own countries. By improving life among the world’s poor and disadvantaged, we can get a grip on the forces that drive desperate immigrants to our country’s shores. Ultimately, we will all be better off.

• Expand foreign aid and trade benefits to help governments in the developing world to strengthen their economies and reduce the flow of immigration to the United States. • Join other developed countries to coordinate the resettlement of existing refugees and prevent future refugee crises. • Apply consistent, humane standards in granting political asylum to refugees, rather than mold refugee policy to suit political purposes. • Reduce the number of immigration visas awarded annually to 600,000, including refugees.
 * What policies should we pursue?**

In today’s interconnected world, we must accept that the problems affecting other countries are America’s problems as well. • By developing well-crafted programs of foreign aid and trade benefits, the United States can help people in poor countries improve their lives. • While we have an obligation to reduce suffering wherever possible, we have a primary responsibility to the well-being of those here at home.
 * Option 2 is based on the following beliefs**

“Us Immigration Policy: What Should We Do?” //History and Current Issues for the classroom.// Watson Institute for International Studies, Oct 2007. “Web. 29 June 2012. []

// Excerpt taken with permission from the Choices Program //


 * Option 3: Admit the Talent We Need **

Economic competition among nations in the twenty-first century is set to reach new levels of intensity. In today’s world, the United States must be prepared to compete in an increasingly demanding global marketplace and adapt to the relentless pace of technological change. In the last few years, our country’s economy has been going through a wrenching readjustment. Businesses are cutting jobs. Government programs are being trimmed. Workers are being forced to do more with less. While our economy has emerged from the trials of downsizing leaner and stronger, the economic recession that has hit in the first years of the new century is taking a toll. We must make sure that our country’s immigration policy is in line with our economic priorities. After calling on working Americans to tighten their belts, we owe them nothing less.

Every country has the right to promote its national interests. The United States should be no different. We cannot afford to admit into our country every year hundreds of thousands of newcomers who will be a burden on our society. Immigration policy should be designed first to serve our country’s economic needs, not to solve the world’s problems. A two-pronged approach makes the most sense. To spur American high-tech industries forward, our doors should be open to scientists and engineers from abroad. To help American factories, farms, and service industries hold down costs, we should allow a limited number of foreigners to work temporarily in low-wage jobs. By forging ahead with a realistic, far-sighted strategy, we can make immigration policy work for the United States.

• Award two hundred thousand immigration visas annually for skilled workers and their families, making the advancement of science and technology the top priority in guiding immigration policy. • Reduce total annual immigration to five hundred thousand, including refugees, making adjustments to reflect economic conditions. (During an economic downturn, the number of immigration visas should be decreased, while during an economic expansion the number should be increased.) • Allow a limited number of foreigners to work temporarily in the United States in agriculture and other industries facing labor shortages. • Offer scholarships to foreign graduate students in science, engineering, and other high-tech fields, provided they will work in the United States for at least five years. • Deny education, health care, and other social services to illegal aliens, except in cases of emergency.
 * What policies should we pursue?**

• Maintaining our economy’s competitive edge is essential to the well-being of Americans. • Promoting America’s economic strength should be the guiding principle underlying our country’s immigration policy. • Skilled, well-educated immigrants are most capable of contributing to the betterment of the United States.
 * Option 3 is based on the following beliefs**

“Us Immigration Policy: What Should We Do?” //History and Current Issues for the classroom.// Watson Institute for International Studies, Oct 2007. “Web. 29 June 2012. []

// Excerpt taken with permission from the Choices Program //


 * Option 4: Restrict Immigration **

The world is changing at a breakneck pace. The population explosion, war, terror, hunger, and disease plague an ever-growing portion of humanity. The United States is a strong country, but it cannot solve the world’s problems. As the planet’s population soars from six billion today to an estimated ten billion by the year 2050, we must recognize that Americans can do little to end the misery that haunts much of the world. On the contrary, the forces of economic change have left millions of Americans struggling to keep up. Many of us are working longer hours than ever just to make ends meet. Schools are overcrowded and underfunded, while health care costs have skyrocketed. Simply maintaining our way of life amounts to a major challenge.

The arguments supporting massive immigration in the United States have long since passed into history. At a time when our country is trimming back social services for our own citizens, we can hardly afford to keep the door open every year to roughly one million newcomers from poor nations. The world’s disadvantaged people cannot be blamed for wanting to enter the United States. Many of them lead lives of desperation and hopelessness. But the United States has already given enough. For decades, we have accepted more immigrants than all the other countries of the world combined. Now it is time to say stop. We have the right to preserve the uniquely American culture that has been created over the past two centuries. We have a duty to stop the senseless influx of unskilled immigrants that holds down wages for struggling American workers. We should drastically reduce the number of immigrants we accept and commit the resources necessary to take control of our borders. The threat of runaway change must be brought under control.

• Reduce the number of immigration visas awarded annually to the level set in 1965—two hundred ninety thousand—including refugees. • Strengthen border control by tripling the number of Border Patrol agents, constructing impassable barriers at major crossing points along the U.S.-Mexican border, and swiftly deporting foreigners who overstay their visas. • Introduce a national identity card that all workers would be required to present when applying for employment and social services. • Pressure the governments of the Caribbean to take steps to prevent mass movements of refugees to the United States. • Insist that those seeking political asylum apply at U.S. embassies in foreign countries. • End the policy of granting automatic citizenship to the children of foreigners born in the United States.
 * What policies should we pursue?**

• The United States is one of the few islands of stability and prosperity in a world marked largely by poverty and desperation. • Continued high levels of immigration would overwhelm America’s unique culture. • High levels of immigration deprive America’s poor of opportunities for economic advancement.
 * Option 4 is based on the following beliefs**

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