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Post date: May 26, 2017 11:48:25 AM
United States' immigration policy should be expanded.
United States' immigration policy should be expanded.
By: Nora Martin, Staff Writer
Posted May 26th, 2017
America has always been known as the melting pot. This is due to the fact that there are so many cultures present in American society. The questions about immigration presented by the current administration have threatened this nickname and the very principles America is known for. Everyone currently in the United States has either descended from immigrants or is an immigrant themselves unless they are a part of the Native American population. If immigration is denied to specific cultures, this will further damage foreign relations and will bring a negative connotation to America’s name and flag.
To begin, immigration allows new ideas to come to our country. This allows America to be the leader in innovation. For example, Joseph Pulitzer was an immigrant from Hungary. He brought with him a new type of writing and journalism. Because of his achievement in journalism and the influence it has left on America, he has the prestigious Pulitzer prize named after him. This shows the continual and beneficial influence that immigrants have on the progress of the US. Also, this fact demonstrates the importance of immigrants as they help strengthen the United States and its culture as new ideas make our society stronger. Additionally, immigrants help the United States’s economy thrive. This is due to the fact that the American population is aging as the part of the population that is a part of the baby boomers are more rapidly entering retirement. Also, the most commonly held jobs held by immigrants across the United States are housekeepers, agricultural work, janitors, construction workers, and cashiers. These jobs are often low in pay and jobs that many people would prefer not to do. An argument that is commonly used by the opposition is that immigrants are stealing jobs Americans should have. They often fail to realize that many of these jobs that immigrants take are ones that are very low in pay and barely sustain people. Many of these jobs can also be dangerous which causes less people to be inclined to take them. Both of these facts help to illustrate the need for immigrants within America’s society as they not only take the small jobs but also are a huge contributing factor to the economy as the population continues to age. People often forget the component of immigration also being a humanitarian effort. Many people immigrate to the United States in order to escape some terrible event that is occurring within their own country. They don’t just wake up and decide to move their whole life to an unfamiliar place. They are trying to escape something which could be but is not limited to political turmoil, drought, or famine. For example, many people criticize the high immigration of people from Mexico whether it is legally or illegally. In Mexico, there is a war on drugs which has led to many massacres of people and an extensive amount of police brutality. Another example is of the refugees in Syria. Currently in Syria, there is a civil war that all began with anti-government protests. This has evolved into the use of chemical weapons against the citizens as well as the use of bombs on its cities. Because this is happening within their cities, both Mexicans and Syrians need to be allowed access to the sympathy of the American people while still maintaining safe vetting processes. There are also many misconceptions when thinking of foreign countries. The current administration has fostered a mentality that has given foreigners and immigrants an image of being the villain. The President has even tried to create a travel ban several times over which would exclude the admission of people from Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Iran, and Syria.This is ridiculous as according to CNN, “0 refugees from the countries included in the President’s travel ban have killed anyone in terrorist attacks on American soil.” Most of the countries on this travel ban list are countries with Islam as their dominant religion. Many are buying into this islamophobia, but this is unfair as in reality “9 people have been killed a year, on average, by Muslim extremists in the US since 9/11. 12,843 people are killed a year, on average, by guns in the US. 37,000 people die every year, on average, in traffic accidents in the US.” In comparison,many fewer people have died due to the inclusion of these people and immigrants into the country. This proves that many people are giving immigrants especially those of the Islamic faith a bad reputation when in reality they are just people trying to escape the terrors that are occurring in their native country. Because of all these factors, it is a necessity that immigrants are allowed into the United States when they pass the vetting process as immigrants support America’s progress and are allowed the safety that all humans should be guaranteed.
All in all, immigrants should be allowed access to the benefits of coming to America as they need America just as much as America needs them. The inclusion of many people of many cultures allows for the worldliness and knowledge of other cultures to increase. Allowing immigrants come into the country also fights the xenophobic nature that this administration seems to be enforcing. This allows America to be a more empathetic place as well as it allows for the hate in the world to be combatted. The relatives of everyone except the Native Americans in America were allowed to immigrate here so the present day immigrant should be able to too. This will allow America to keep its nickname of the Melting Pot and America will continue to be a role model for the world to follow.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of Slinger High School or the Slinger School District.
United States' immigration policy should be restricted.
United States' immigration policy should be restricted.
Henry Clark, Staff Writer
Posted May 26th, 2017
Why is it that the Democrat Party feels the need to call the Republican Party racist and xenophobic bigots just because Republicans support extreme vetting and increased regulation of immigrants entering our country? I can hear them responding to that question right now. “We are a nation of immigrants and we are terrible people for turning these poor refugees away.” It is an undeniable truth that we are a country of immigrants, however we are not a country of illegal aliens. The thought that conservatives are racists and xenophobes because we want to deport criminal illegal aliens is simply preposterous. Conservatives are not against immigration, we are against illegal aliens entering our country unlawfully. In fact, historically, it has been the democrats who have been against immigration and have been racist and xenophobic to those coming into our nation. Let’s take a little crash course through immigration and immigrant history in the 20th century.
It is 1917 and the U.S. has just entered WW1. Woodrow Wilson (a Democrat) is president. In response to the German treachery in Europe, the banning of all German immigrants to the United States has been enacted. In addition, all illiterates, persons of psychopathic inferiority, men and women entering for immoral purposes, alcoholics, stowaways, vagrants, and the ill are sent back to their country of origin. Let’s jump forward to 1941. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, another Democrat, is president. After the events of Pearl Harbor all German, Italian, and Japanese immigration to America was suspended. In addition to halting immigration, President Roosevelt also had naturalized people of these ethnic origins thrown into internment camps. These people could not come into our country or move about it freely simply because of where they were from. Even if they were legal citizens, they were interned because of their ethnicity. Isn’t that racism and xenophobia? The democrats were okay back then with banning those from troubled parts of the world and nobody complained. Now, when Republicans want a temporary travel ban of people from countries known to produce terrorists, we’re called racists and xenophobes. This is just another example of the Democrat’s hypocrisy.
Republicans are for immigration and naturalization of immigrants. What we do not support however, is the naturalizing of immigrants and refugees who come to our shores with no paperwork. Also, for the time being, from certain muslim countries known to house radical islamic terror groups. Republicans are repulsed by the terrorizing of innocent U.S. citizens by a faction of the muslim world know as radicalized islamists in the name of Allah. We need to put the safety of America's citizens first. Yes, our nation has been, and will always be a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities. But in the late 19th and early 20th century, with immigration at it’s hayday, America had a process for immigration. Certain standards regarding health, occupation, family, and purpose in how they would help the country had to be answered. How did we get so far off that path to allow the unfettered entry of people into our homeland?
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of Slinger High School or the Slinger School District.
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