Immigration

Brooke Kennedy
American History
Cater Glass
10 April 2013

Bibliography:
" Immigration reform in the U.S.: Why it's being debated, what it means and more | PennLive.com." Central PA Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - PennLive.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/04/immigration_reform_in_the_us_w.html

Summary:
Gorge Bush's plan for immigration failed. Then Obama never did anything his first term and is now making immigration a priority in his second term. The problem is that there is more than 11 million immigrants illegally in the U.S. and we don't know what to do with them. There are plans to tighten the border security, but that can only do so much. Immigrant represent 13% of our population with 40.4 million of them. Of the legal immigrant there are 11.7 million are from Mexico, 25% from South and East Asia, 9% from the Caribbean, 8% from Central America, 7% from South America, 4% the Middle East and the rest are from other places. The illegal immigrates are about 58% from Mexico and about 6% from El Salvador and the rest is unknown. California by far has the largest population of immigrants. Then there is New York, New Jersey, Florida, Nevada, Hawaii and Texas. Coming into the U.S. without permission is considered a misdemeanor criminal offense. If you re-enter after formally being removed from the country can be considered a felony. People that are applying for a reprieve must have been in the country before they turned 16 years old and be currently younger than 31 years old while also being a being a high school graduate or have served in the military. They also cannot have a serious criminal record or pose any threat to public safety or the national security.

The House is making a legislation that will offer three different paths for illegal immigrants to their legal status. Agricultural workers will qualify for this path to legal status because they contribute importantly to the economy. Their kids will also qualify because they were forced to move to the country and should not be punished for it.

Analysis:
In my opinion I don't see a huge problem with immigration. There definitely are situations where I wish there were not as many immigrants and that in some ways the laws should be more strict about them being here. Not that the laws should be more strict about becoming a citizen here but once they are a citizen that the laws should become more strict for them. But they are little things that do not apply to everyone. Such as knowing English and speaking it clearly that people can understand you. I have heard that that is an issue for many people with immigrants. If they live in our country they should know our language and be able to talk well enough for people to understand. Like I said, they are little issues that are not a huge deal but can be an annoyance for many people that live in America already.