Immigration

 
 * A BRIEF HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION INTO AMERICA**

Since the United States of America began as a settler society, immigration has always been vital and a large portion of policy. However, immigration to the United States began with relatively small groups of settlers and forced immigration via the slave trade. Immigration booms did not begin until the 1820s: over 15 million immigrants came between 1820 and 1880. As more immigrants came and settled closer to the third- and fourth-generation Americans and city slums became more crowded, natvist groups began to form. Another problem posed by the waves of new immigrants was assimilation. For instance, Catholic Irish immigrants did not mesh well with predominately Protestant America and Chinese immigrants faced language barriers. Therefore, in 1882, the first immigration legislation passed through Congress: The Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned any and all immigration from China for decades to come.

The twentieth century brought a change in immigrants: more immigration from southern and eastern Europe and less from northern and western Europe. With this change came more immigration problems with language barriers and assimilation. Therefore, in 1921, Congress passed the National Origins Act which established immigration quotas, limiting the yearly influx of immigrants from all nonwestern countries. Immigrants still moved freely in the Western Hemisphere: from South America, Mexico, and Canada to the U.S. Further, World War II and the Holocaust saw the first refugees in the United States: later Cuban refugees came for asylum after the Cuban Revolution.

This all changed in 1965 with the passing of the Hart-Celler Act. This Act did away with the racial quotas of old and estabalished, instead, a preference system based on job skills, family relationships, with particular preference given to occupations deemed "critical" by the Department of Labor and to those with relatives already residing within the United States. This act was supposed to increase immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe, but it also exponentially increased immigration from China, India, Korea, the Middle East, Indochina, and Africa. Another immigration act, in 1990, further increased immigration to the U.S. and created a lottery to randomly assign a select number of visas. By 2000, immigration had reached the levels it had in 1900.

Of course, legal immigration is not the only way for people to get to the United States. The U.S. has in previous years had lax borders with its neighbors to the North and to the South: Canada and Mexico. In recent decades, the borders with both have become more and more strict and overseen. However, due to the birth-clause of the 14th Amendment which states that anyone born in the United States is a U.S. citizen, immigrants who have thier children in the U.S. then have an excuse to eventually immigrate here. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, as passed by Congress and signed by President Reagan, created penalties for hiring illegal aliens, but also granted amensty to some 3 million illegal immigrants.

Illegal immigration has presented a great controversy in America over the past few decades. An illegal alien can be someone who overstayed their visa or who had a temporary work permit, but stayed instead of returning to his or her home country. Visa limits are set at close to 750,000 per year by Congress. However, the number of illegal immigrants pery year was close to one million, even though this dropped in 2009 to 500,000 due to the economy and increased security.

Further, the threat of terrorism has changed immigration in the United States. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which first created the term "unlawfully present" immigrants. Further, under this act even minor offenses, such as shoplifting, can be cause for deportation of an immigrant, green-card or illegal. Also, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act was passed in this year, which limited the habeaus corpus rights of immigrants and restricted judicial review of cases. After 9/11, the newly created cabinet Department of Homeland Security took over immigration supervision and regulation from the INS, or Immigration and Naturalization Service.





**INTEREST AND OTHER NONGOVERNMENTAL GROUPS **

Federation for American Immigration Reform: FAIR has two major goals: (1) "to end illegal immigration," and (2) "to set legal Federation Federation for American Immigration Reform: FAIR has two major goals: (1) "to end illegal immigration," and (2) "to set legal immigration at the lowest feasible levels consistent with the demographic, economic, social, and environmental realities."

Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights: The KCIRR an advocacy organization to help improve the lives of immigrants in Kentucky. However, groups like these are not unique to Kentucky; most states have some kind of state-wide immigration rights group, especially those that are home to a large number of migrant workers or illegal immigrants. The KCIRR is just used here as an example.

We Are America Alliance: Formed after the large immigrant and anti-immigrant protests that occurred across the country in Spring 2006, the WAAA is comprised of several community, ethnic, and immigrant rights organizations. Their goals are to increase the capacity, skills, and civic engagement of immigrant communities, so that their voices will be heard. The WAAA is not the only group to form as a result of these protests and

Center for Immigration Studies: independent think tank for immigration solutions and social, economic, and fiscal consequences of legal and illegal immigration

MinuteMen Project: a self-described citizen's watch on the Mexico-U.S. border started in 2005 to moniter illegal immigration. They were also a large presence in the immigration protests and marches of 2006.

NOTE: The following lists merely provide example groups, cases, laws, characteristics, etc. and are by no means complete.

**GOVERNMENT POLICY-MAKING ACTIONS **


 * LEGISLATIVE: **

Please refer to "A Brief History" above or "Current Policy" below.

**JUDICIAL:**

The judicial system used to play a big part in the early historyimmigration rights and interpretation of quotas, since early quotas and rights were racially segregated and it was up to the courts to decide who was "white." For instance, the 1923 Supreme Court case //U.S. v. Bhagat Singet Thind// was about whether a high-caste Hindu was considered "white"and thus eligible for naturalization (the court granted him a certificate of citizenship). However, this is, of course, no longer the case. There are still a few issues that are worked out in the court system, though. After amnesty was granted to millions in the 1986 Immigration Act, many filed lawsuits if they had missed the amnesty deadline. Then, the 1996 Immigration Act limited judicial review of cases against the then-INS, now integrated into the Department of Homeland Security. Further, the Court unanimously upheld, under Chief Justic Rehnquist, the restriction of habeus corpus by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 in the case //Felker v. Turpin.//

Also, the immigrant court system is not an effective branch of the Judicial system at all. They are often overrun with cases, especially as the numbers have increased in the past few years. The system recieves over 280,000 proceedings a year, which is close to 1,200 per judge. Further, many illegal immigrants are denied rights in any cases, such as right to counsel, and while these denials are upheld by the court system, the American Bar Association is looking to fix these wrongs.


 * EXECUTIVE:**

The U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security is the portion of the Executive branch that handles most immigration-related problems and regulation. It used to be the Immigrationa nd Naturalization Service, and other services and administrations, in the Department of Justice. Before 2003, over 31 agencies in 9 Cabinet departments handled immigration and border security problems. After the reorganizing of President George W. Bush in 2003, though, almost all immigration-related issues are handled by the Department of Homeland Security, making a much more efficient beauracracy.


 * INTER-RELATED ACTIVITY:**

As mentioned in the previous histories, the three branches of government, legislative, judicial, and executive (including the bureaucracy), must work together to make policy. The bipartisan Simpson-Mazzoli Act, otherwise known as the The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, was passed by both Houses of Congress before being signed into law by President Reagan. Since then, various departments, such as the FBI and Department of Justice and, more recently, the Department of Homeland Security have enforced the act. The Judicial system has upheld the Act, and the 1996 Act, by dismissing lawsuits by immigrants who missed the 1982 amnesty deadline.



**IMPACT ON THE AMERICAN PUBLIC:**

Immigration has always has a large impact on the American consciousness. Although Americans like to describe their country as a "melting pot," they can be very resistant to change, culturally or otherwise. Immigrants and their cultures have always been resisted: be it the Irish of th 1860s, Chinese of the 1880s, etc. However, after the Civil Rights movement and the more open immigration policies of the 1960s, Americans began to gradually become more open to immigrants of other races, cultures, etc. English as a Second Language classes began to be taught at public schools to help immigrant children learn better and not be disadvantaged. However, the Simpson-Mazzolli Act set things back a bit by targeting illegal immigrants. After this Act was passed, with its penalties to employers who hire illegals, there was more racism toward Hispanics because most illegals are Hispanics (although most Hispanic Americans are not illegal immigrants). Further, after the anti-terrorism measures following 9/11, many Middle Eastern immigrants felt that they were discriminated by natural-born Americans.

However, immigration has had a greater impact than just racism in America. Due in part to the Bill of Rights and liberty aspects of the Constitution, but also to the large, continuous influx of immigrants, America is one of the more diverse, and more tolerant, countries in the world. Many people are attracted to the U.S. because of its more open policies, and many American greats in history have been immigrants: Andrew Carnegie, Albert Einstein, I.M. Pei, Joseph Pulitzer, Irving Berlin, John Muir, Madeleine Albright, Joseph Conrad, Harry Houdini.

Immigration’s impact is also evident in the multilingual storefronts in many American cities and translation of American shows. For instance, the popular children’s show, //Dora the Explorer//, combines the two most-spoken languages in the U.S., English and Spanish.



**CURRENT POLICY STATUS **

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Immigration policy in twenty-first century America has been affected by many events. First is the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks which involved 20 foreign-born terrorists. These people had entered on the country on tourist and student visas, even though four had violated the terms of their visas and had become illegal aliens. Thus, this attack exposed the failures of the federal government in enforcing illegal immigration regulations and visa processing.

After these attacks, many have worked to reform the American immigration system. The Department of Homeland Security was organized and many bills introduced in Congress, such as the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act, which was aimed to control illegal immigration both at the border and in the interior of the country. This act passed in the House of Representatives in 2005. The Senate had created their own bill, though, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, which passed that house in May 2006.

Whereas the House Act was aimed at enforcement, the Senate Act was amnesty legislation: it gave a path to eventual citizenship to several illegal immigration and increased legal immigration limits. However, no compromise bill between the House and Senate emerged. But, prompted by these two acts, immigration, anti- and pro-, broke out across the nation in the spring of 3006. At some of the events in large cities like Chicago, over 60,000 people showed up to support their cause.

In 2007, the Senate tried again, with the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, which was similar to the 2006 act, but with more enforcement. However, this bill was killed when it failed to pass a cloture vote. When Obama was elected, though, the executive stance on immigration changed:

“President Obama believes that our broken immigration system can only be fixed by putting politics aside and offering a complete solution that secures our border, enforces our laws, and reaffirms our heritage as a nation of immigrants. He believes our immigration policy should be driven by our best judgment of what is in the economic interest of the United States and what is in the best interest of the American worker. President Obama recognizes that an orderly, controlled border and an immigration system designed to meet our economic needs are important pillars of a healthy and robust economy.” ([] )

So, basically, the president wants to strengthen border control, improbe our immigration system, remove incentives to enter the country illegally, and work with Mexico economically to help decrease the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. from Mexico.

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">**UPCOMING LEGISLATION:**

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">There is no major immigration legislation going through the works in Congress with more urgent political issues and problems taking precedence. Although there have been rumors that the Democratic Party may begin another Amnesty bill, similar to those killed in 2006 and 2007.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">**POLICY ANALYSIS:**

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">During his two year reign as United States President, Barack Obama has not had a very memorable record in regards to immigration. Most of his stances have not differed greatly to the policies put into place by George Bush. The jey to the White House's immigration policy is to do what is in the best benefit to the American economy as a whole. With unemployment number as high as they are at this time during the recession, the governments wants to limit as many foreigners as theyu can from coming into this couontry and taking more American jobs from United States citizens. With this same policy, more immigrants would be welcome in a booming economy when there is a need for cheap unskilled labour, the type of work mostly done by new immigrants to the United States. This cheap labour helps keeps products cheap for the American consumer, which is a very important factor in the consumer driven economy in which we live. President Obama has also made more of effort to meet with leaders of countries that the United States is having immigration issues with, most notably Mexico.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">**FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:**

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;"> //From Robert Elmore:// The biggest problem I see with immigration in this country is the amount of money spent on illegal immigrants through our government programs. Tax payer dollars should most definately not to be spent on schools, clinics, and food stamps for people who are in the country illegally. If the government mandated more of a proof of citizenship or legal immigration status to gain such benefits two problems would be solved. The first is that it would save the government a great deal of money that could be used on other things and if social benefits were harder for illegal immigrants to receive, the amount of immigrants coming to the US entirely would reduce becuase of the lessoning of reward.

//From Quinn Brogan:// Illegal immigration is definately a problem: their use of social programs is a unrightful drain on taxpayer dollars. Howevever, deportation is not a solution. If you deport one man, and his brother still resides here, he will attempt to reenter. Even if he has no family, he may have found the U.S. to be a better place and try again to enter the country illegally. The best solution is increased border security and immigrant amnesty. If immigrants, illegal and legal, have easier ways to become U.S. citizens, then they will be paying taxes, paying for those social programs. Further, while illegal aliens use some programs and do not pay income taxes: they cannot access Social Security, which can still be taken out of their paycheck, they cannot access Medicaid or Medicare, and they still pay all sales and excise taxes. For many, they are paying about as much as they are "sucking" from the U.S. government: especially those who do not have school-age childern. Our immigration system, the courts and the agencies, is complicated and too small for its current workload, so many who try to extend their visa, to stay in the country legally, end up not being able to quickly, and stay anyway (thus, becoming illegal aliens). Thus, the best reform is most likely the bill that was killed in cloture in 2007: hopefully, as the economy stabilizes, our government can again turn its head toward immigration reform.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">**REFERENCES** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[] [] [] [] [] [] [] https://classof08honors.wikispaces.com/preston [] [] [] [] [] [] []