Research Paper on 43 Million Immigrants in US: Impact, Fears and Regulation

Introduction

Presently, the United States hosts the largest population from immigration in the world. There are approximately 14% or about 43 million immigrants out of the roughly 323 million people in the United States, the majority being Mexicans and Latinos (Felter and Renwick 1). As a result, the issue of immigration has been touchy, with different policymakers and administration devising ways of controlling the rate of assimilation. The growing fears have resulted in various regulatory bodies implementing comprehensive immigration reforms and strict border security in recent years to enter into the US (Camarota 1). President Trump has for a long prioritized the issue of immigration before his election and has continued to press the issue since being elected into office. Under his presidency, immigration policies have undergone rapid changes, different from previous administrations from introducing application vetting requirements, strict enforcement measures to building a physical wall on the American-Mexico border.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

This paper discusses the plight of immigrants in the United States, specifically the Latin/Mexicans over the last couple of years since Donald Trump has been in office. The paper discusses the direct and indirect effects of policy changes in the Trump administration from his inauguration in 2017 to present.

Unauthorized Immigration

Most of the Latino/Mexican Immigrants are unauthorized persons (Felter and Renwick 4; FitzGerald et al. 9). There are two types of unauthorized immigrants with different sets of rights: improper entry persons and proper entry with violation of visa terms. Improper entry persons evade border inspection and screening, using false documents to gain entry, among others. On the other hand, legal entry but violating visa terms is a violation of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), however, is not a criminal offense. Breach of visa terms is subject to cancellation visa, deportation, and restrictions in future applications (FitzGerald et al. 9).

Personal Experience

I chose this topic because the majority of my family, if not all of them, migrated to the United States in search of a better life when they were young. Although both of my parents are now US citizens, there are still many undocumented people who are struggling in their everyday life due to their legal status. This topic is also important to me because I think more people need to be more informed and need an eye-opener about why people migrate to the United States in the first place. Most of those who come here, come to work so they can provide for their families back home, not to be trouble makers or commit crimes like our president has labeled them.The Trump Administration and the Struggle of the Immigrants

Attempts to End DACA

Under the Trump administration, there has been increased hostility towards Mexican immigrants, Central Americans, and Muslim Immigrants (FitzGerald et al. 14). Multiple times during his campaigns, Trump referred to Mexico as an enemy to the United States, even when discussing trade (FitzGerald et al. 15). Trump singled out Latinos and Mexicans for importing crimes and bringing drugs, claiming that Mexico does not send its best people into the United States, but rather people with problems (FitzGerald et al. 15). After his election into office, President Trump has made little to change his stance on immigration, particularly of Latinos and Mexicans. In a White House meeting on May 2018, President Trump said the unauthorized immigrants are not people, referring to them as MS-13 infesting the US (FitzGerald et al. 15). Such utterance has been reflected in various policies he has implemented during his presidency, including attempts to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Under President Trump, the DACA threatens the jobs for the native Americans and should be stopped. This is a violation of equal protection under the law, as the constitution guarantees.

Crossing Deaths

Trump has deployed thousands of border patrol agents who have for multiple times accused of using force and abusing the immigrants which have resulted in numerous deaths. These agents are accused of shooting unauthorized immigrants with no apparent reasons. As of September 2018, a coalition of NGOs documented 81 deaths, although most deaths are undocumented, reported, nor investigated (FitzGerald et al. 19). Usually, these agents are not prosecuted. For instance, Lonnie Swartz, an agent who shot unarmed 16-year-old Mexican immigrant Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez ten times his case was dropped (FitzGerald et al. 19).

Family Separations

It only took seven weeks of President Trump to start planning to separate children from their unauthorized parents at the border, a move to deter more movement (FitzGerald et al. 24). The "zero-tolerance policy," which called for criminal persecution of improper entry, was ordered in all US Attorney's offices along the Southwest border on April 6, 2018 (FitzGerald et al. 24). Separation of children from their parents and jail sentences are some of the proposed forms of punishment.

Feelings Towards Immigration in the United States

The Gallup poll conducted this year shows that about 76% of Americans consider immigration as a positive thing (Felter and Renwick 6). 81% of Americans support issuing citizenship to undocumented immigrants provided they meet stipulated conditions (Felter and Renwick 6). The report also established that although the majority (76%) of the Republicans supported immigration reforms in 2016, the numbers (62) have fallen in 2019 (Felter and Renwick 6). Elsewhere, Economists have also supported the argument that immigrants contribute to the national economy positively. They have established that the native American wages are not affected as claimed by the Trump administration regarding the DACA program, but instead impact positively the economy of the country as a whole (Penn Wharton 2). Their research has shown that majority of the immigrants work in specific industries in the US, such as preparing food, construction, cleaning jobs, and farming (Camarota 4). From these jobs, they contribute to the tax revenue and Gross Domestic Product as a whole. Therefore, the impact of the immigrants cannot be ignored regardless of whether they affect jobs for the natives or not.

Conclusion

This paper has established that in the Trump administration, immigrants, particularly Latinos/Mexicans have faced increased direct violations of their civil rights including racial profiling, family separations to deter immigration, physical and emotional abuse by immigration police and officials. Indirect effects include stringent border enforcement policies which result in large- scale probable loss of life as well as interior enforcement measures which create an atmosphere of fear, vulnerability and reduced access to equal public health and law protections in Mexican and other Latino communities. This paper is an eye-opener for various policymakers and regulatory bodies in the Trump administration to consider the welfare of the immigrants regardless of their legality in the United States as they have a set of basic rights as humans apart from contributing to the national economy.

Works Cited

Camarota, S. A. "The Fiscal and Economic Impact of Immigration on the United States. Testimony Prepared for the Joint Economic Committee." (2013).

Felter, Claire, and Renwick, Danielle. "The US immigration debate." 2019, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-immigration-debate-0. Accessed on July 31, 2019.

FitzGerald, S. David, Lopez, Gustavo, and McClean, Y. Angela. "Mexican Immigrants Face Threats to Civil Rights and Increased Social Hostility." Center for Comparative Immigration Studies. 2019, ccis.ucsd.edu/_files/conference_papers_present/CNDH-final-3.4.19.pdf. Accessed on July 31, 2019.

Model, Penn Wharton Budget. "The Effects of Immigration on the United States' Economy." Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 2016, budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2016/1/27/the-effects-of-immigration-on-the-united-states-economy. Accessed on July 31, 2019.