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There are almost 12 million
immigrants in the United States. Every year, thousands more will
find legal and illegal ways to enter the United States. The US
has always been a country of immigrants.
At the moment, there is a pending
legislation in the Congress of the United States referring to
the immigrants. This immigration law, HR 4437, created in
December of 2005, criminalizes undocumented immigrants, those
who help them, and their employers. Another pending law is the
Migratory Reform of 2006, also known as the Hagel/Martinez
Reform, named after its creators. The Hagel/Martinez Reform
proposes to grant work authorization and legal permanent
residence to undocumented immigrants residing in the US for two
years or more. It also provides that those who are in the US for
under two years will have to return to their countries.
Furthermore, this Reform also establishes to protect the US -
Mexican border.
To this date,
there have been two significant pro-immigration marches held in
more than 75 cities of the country, looking forward that this HR
4437 law will not be applied because its too dangerous for the
immigrants and that the Reform Hagel/Martinez must be applied
because this will help them.
Many varying points of view are
held by politicians, journalists, interests groups, etc. on this
debate. Some of them possess similar opinions on the immigration
issue and its possible solutions.
A growing majority of Afro –
Americans are against immigration because they fear immigrants
will work low skill jobs for lower pay thus reducing opportunity
for Americans.
Roy Innis, President of The
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), believes that the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) must take a more humanitarian
approach for the 12 million immigrants in the US by not creating
laws that work against them. He feels that the DHS must create
safety measures to protect the borders and to prevent people
from crossing it every year.
An article by Stephen Johnson
entitled “The Best Immigrational Reform” was published in
“Business Week” on April 4th 2006. He argues that
another way to reduce the number of immigrants in this country
is to improve the economy in the bordering countries by creating
more jobs and encouraging foreign investments. Johnson concludes
the countries citizens would then not need to come to the United
States to seek better opportunities because there would be job
security in their own country.
We must emphasize the positive
aspects of immigration. Many immigrants come to the United
States looking for a better future for themselves and for their
families. They hope to find new opportunities for their children
to grow, develop, and receive better education that will secure
them good jobs.
We must seek and strive to achieve
balance in our solution on the immigration issue. We must
protect the immigrants that are now in the United States, as
well protect the borders from illegal entrance. We must avoid
the low salaries for the immigrants because this will stop their
abuse The Americans and immigrants will have the same job
opportunities.
And finally,
we must look for a better way prevent future abuse of immigrants
and their desperate economic situation. Employers must guarantee
to pay the minimum wage to all employees, thus eliminating
immigrant competitive advantage of working for low wages and
ensuring equal opportunities for all in the work force. |
