Immigration and citizenship issues today have been an issue of concern in the United States since the early 1700s. However, today’s issues are a result of its history of immigration, from the colonial era to today. The primary issue facing the United States today is how to treat the millions of illegal immigrants currently living in the country. Now more than 12 million undocumented workers live in the United States, and this continues to rise (Colbern & Ramakrishnan, 2020). With approximately 400,000 people crossing the country’s borders each year illegally and legally, there is cause for concern among American citizens (Fazel-Zarandi, Feinstein & Kaplan, 2018). This influx of people put additional strains on the social services and education system, which are already over-stressed and unable to meet current demands (Fazel-Zarandi et al., 2018). It is a sensitive issue since it strikes national security and economic stability in the nation and touches on human rights.
Throughout time the number of immigrants has increased exponentially. For example, in 1790, the first U.S. census records revealed that only 5,308 foreign-born individuals lived in the United States (Bothe, 2021). By 1850, the number of immigrants had grown to 1.9 million (Bothe, 2021). Today, the number has reached well into the millions. It has led to negative and positive impacts in the country because of the large number of immigrants. The positive impact of immigration has been seen in the types of people coming to this country. Since the early years, many emigrants were willing to work hard to provide for their families. Immigration allowed millions of people from around the world to join their fellow men and women in pursuit of a better life (Shah, 2020). The negative effect was that many immigrants were viewed as different; they were viewed as foreigners looking for a better life, and some were used as laborers when machines did all the work in farming and mining industries but could not do so (Shah, 2020). Many came with hopes of escaping hunger and poverty in their home nations. Some were escaping war and persecution. Also, the cultural differences made many within the country fearful of immigrants, believing they were depreciating the nation’s culture, traditions, and morals.
Many immigrants were denied Citizenship in the beginning years of our country. The Naturalization Act of 1790 only applied to free white persons who had resided in the United States for two or more years (Scherr, 2022). It excluded African Americans and Native Americans who did not apply (Scherr, 2022). Later, after that act passed, Congress passed several other acts, including; The Naturalization Act of 1802, The Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Revised Statute of 1875, each expanding Citizenship based on skin color and ethnicity (Yamamoto, 2019). The first significant number of immigrants was due to the government offering land for free back in 1862 (Yamamoto, 2019). This offer was extended mainly to those willing to work on railroads throughout the country (Colbern & Ramakrishnan, 2020). The immigrants that stepped off this land had a grand opportunity to live a better life than they would have had stayed home in their native countries. In 1982 the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was established as a part of the U.S. Department of Justice to handle immigration services in the United States (Baugh, 2020). The USCIS would subsume what was known as the former Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS), including adjudicating applications, supervising immigration benefits, enforcing immigration law, and providing some form of consultation on issues related to visas and asylum (Baugh, 2020). In 2003 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established to enforce the laws relating to border control, customs, trade, and immigration law enforcement.
In addition, the issue of immigration and Citizenship in the U.S. has led to the emergence of myths about immigrants, such as immigrants taking over jobs meant for American citizens, immigrants taking American jobs, and the native-born not being able to find good jobs (Chomsky, 2018). The impact of myths such as this is that it leads to laws detrimental to immigrants while not providing any actual benefit to American citizens. As a result, new laws are created, often passed by both the president and Congress, making it almost impossible for a person to become an American citizen due to many immigrants (Chomsky, 2018). The United States government has made several efforts to reform immigration and citizenship laws. One example of this was in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan approved a comprehensive revision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which was last amended in 1965. The bill focused primarily on increasing the emphasis on family reunification, granting temporary residency to spouses of U.S. citizens and permanent residence to alien spouses of U.S. citizens and family-sponsored immigrants. It also offered amnesty for unauthorized residents.
Another myth is that undocumented immigrants migrate to the U.S. to get welfare such as cash welfare, medical support, and food stamps. However, when one looks at the number of immigrants in poverty, it is evident that most immigrants are not coming to the U.S. for welfare (Chomsky, 2018). They are coming to the U.S. to have a job and send home money, as many immigrants work more than one job under a different alias. They do this because they want their children to get an education and live better lives than before (Chomsky, 2018). It is costly for them to send money back home. In reality, many immigrants are trying to get a job with a respectable employer and pay taxes. However, to do this, they must first be approved by their prospective employer, who may set them up with a lawyer, also known as an immigration consultant, who works as an intermediary between the potential employee and their potential employer to help them move into the country legally.
There are dominant stories that dehumanize immigrants, such as being lazy, lawbreakers, and a drain on the economy. However, research has shown that the opposite is true in that immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy by paying taxes and buying local goods and services (Markowitz & Slovic, 2020). They also help the economy because they are more likely than most Americans to start a business; these businesses often create jobs for American citizens and provide good services or sell excellent goods (Markowitz & Slovic, 2020). As a result, there is a misconception in the American mind that immigrants take jobs from U.S. citizens and that this is why it is difficult for them to get a job. In addition, many Americans believe that immigrants are taking over jobs from American citizens, but research shows that this does not happen in reality; data shows that among the same group of Americans working and paying taxes, about 90% are employed by businesses owned by other Americans.
The immigration system has always been tied to the idea that it is the vanguard of progress, increasing the human population and bringing ideas and cultures from foreign nations. As a result of this myth, immigration has been permanent but temporary at all times since its beginning (Chomsky, 2018). The United States has always been one of the largest sources of immigration to other countries. In 1880, only half a million immigrants arrived in America, with approximately 1% being from Mexico, about half being Irish and Germans, about 6% being from Europe, and the rest coming from other countries such as Italy and Russia (Yamamoto, 2019). Over time, immigration was measured by the acres of land each new immigrant claimed. Because of the privileges and power, immigrants have been mistreated in the U.S. Since the government always thought of immigrants as temporary and not permanent, they were never allocated enough land and resources to thrive in the new country (Yamamoto, 2019). In the 1880s, African Americans were also mistreated, especially after they had been freed from slavery. After being freed from slavery, African Americans faced challenges such as voting rights not being given to them until 1965, when the Voting Rights Act was passed (Scherr, 2022). The Immigration and Nationality act of 1952 created a quota system for immigrants who have high education or are considered skilled labor, but this reform did little to change their situation (Scherr, 2022). African Americans faced racial discrimination in almost every aspect of their lives, including voting rights and employment opportunities.
I have learned from my interviewees that Immigration and Citizenship in the U.S. are very complex, which is understandable since the U.S. has a lot of different laws and policies for many different situations. The law is constantly changing since many different types of immigrants and rules are involved in their immigration process. As a result, there are sometimes many rules, policies, and laws in different areas of U.S. immigration law. It is because the U.S. has a lot of different states. Each state within the U.S. has laws and even policies within the immigration law area. It makes it much more complex to have all these different types of laws and rules within all these different areas instead of just having one set policy for all immigrants trying to become citizens.
The U.S. government should accept all immigrants in the country and their children that had been born already within the country. This way, there will be no problems for them to become citizens and hopefully gain more respect, not just some of them. For instance, I learned from Michaela about how her parents raised her. She has grown up being told that it is because she was born in America, but she has always known how hard it was for them since they were immigrants. At first, I thought this would put her off due to what they went through. Instead, it made her grow even more thankful that they were lucky enough to get Citizenship and have a better life in this country. In concluding my interviews, I have learned that immigrants can face a complex system when trying to gain Citizenship in this country. Therefore, there needs to be a more effective way in which we can help them gain Citizenship.
Americans make it very hard for people who want to become legal citizens in this country. They should face easier ways of becoming citizens here while simultaneously being able to stay here legally with their children born here. My main focus is on how the law pertains to immigrants, specifically those that are undocumented. I have learned that it is not easy to become documented or for an undocumented immigrant to gain Citizenship. Not only do they need the means to pay the fee associated with applying to immigrate legally or applying for Citizenship, but they also need support. Sometimes, people will help them fill out paperwork or write letters of recommendation. However, there are no guarantees that this will be enough to persuade officials that they have been pushed into anything against their will and become legal citizens.
In conclusion, my understanding of immigration and Citizenship in the U.S. today is that it can be traced back to the eighteenth century. Although I realize it is not a simple issue, I have learned that there are many different problems associated with it. It is because even though most immigrants are treated equally today, they are still treated on unequal terms based on their origin. It can be considered unfair, so it should be easier for all who want to become citizens. In addition, once immigrants become citizens, racism should then stop. It is why my solution to the issue is that although it has been hard for those who have come to this country undocumented, I feel that they should be given the opportunity of becoming citizens. Their children who were born here should also be granted Citizenship. All the different states have different immigration and citizenship laws. I think it is unfair to immigrants, especially if they have no chance of applying for Citizenship or even being allowed to stay here legally because they do not have enough money or help filling out paperwork. It is also very confusing for them because they are told different things depending on where they are in their situation as an immigrant. Overall, people of all races and origins should be given the same opportunity to become legal citizens. It is not fair that the U.S. has different laws for immigrants because it states that this country is founded on fairness and equality.
References
Baugh, R. (2020). Refugees and Asylees: 2021.
Bothe, B. (2021). German: The Invisible Language Minority: The Historical, Political, and Linguistic Dimensions of the German Language Landscape in Multilingual La La Land. In Multilingual La La Land (pp. 107-128). Routledge.
Chomsky, A. (2018). ” They take our jobs!”: and 20 other myths about immigration. Beacon Press.
Colbern, A., & Ramakrishnan, S. K. (2020). Citizenship reimagined: A new framework for state rights in the United States. Cambridge University Press.
Fazel-Zarandi, M. M., Feinstein, J. S., & Kaplan, E. H. (2018). The number of undocumented immigrants in the United States: Estimates based on demographic modeling with data from 1990 to 2016. PloS one, 13(9), e0201193.
Markowitz, D. M., & Slovic, P. (2020). Social, psychological, and demographic characteristics of dehumanization toward immigrants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(17), 9260-9269.
Scherr, A. (2022). Jefferson on Black Education and Citizenship: A Closer Look. ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews, 35(1), 28-34.
Shah, S. (2020). The next great migration: The beauty and terror of life on the move. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
Yamamoto, S. (2019). Beyond Suffrage: Intermarriage, Land, and Meanings of Citizenship and Marital Naturalization/Expatriation in the United States (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nevada, Las Vegas).