The United States of America considers illegal immigration as one of the national issues that need immediate concern. In his article, ‘‘Kidding Ourselves about Immigration’’, Michael Kinsley argues that the immigration process is not as easy as it was some 50 years ago (Kinsley 12). This is because the American government is very strict on offering immigration permits to foreigners.
The author believes that the Americans should clarify the meaning of their opposition towards illegal immigration. Most American politicians argue that they support immigration but oppose illegal immigration. The point of concern is whether the law is right or not. According to Michael, in contrast to the political perspective, Americans are not actually bothered by the legitimacy of the immigration but the immigration itself (Kinsley 12).
If the concern is about illegal immigration and not legal migration, then legal immigration should be increased or even doubled. The republicans perceived the issue of immigration as cultural, while the Democratic-led opposition believed that the issue was predominantly economical.
Immigrants renew the national identity of the Americans but do not destroy it. Critics of the registration process in the United States are of the opinion that if a large number of immigrants are invited into the country and assume permanent citizenship, the process will steer a fading of social cohesion.
They argue that this may lead to the immigrants being more intertwined into the United States fabric. If United States can offer opportunities for the rising mobility of immigrants, it can strengthen what the nation requires for its identity. They worry that the newcomers may destroy their identity as Americans (Kinsley 12).
In his article, ‘The next Americans’, Tomas argues that some eugenicists felt that Southern Europe Immigrants who were dark-skinned would infect the gene pool of the Americans. The concern was also politically motivated, as there was worry that the population power of the immigrants would grant the Pope the guts to seek leadership in the country, as most of the immigrants were Catholics.
They were worried that immigrant anarchists would destroy the American democracy. This did not occur as the pope does not have any authority over the American political affairs and the American gene pool is still good.
This clearly indicates that the immigrants of the European origin as well as their descendants effectively incorporated into a monolith of an American society. There is substantial evidence that the immigrants are playing an important role in significantly redefining the American identify. There is evidence that the immigrants especially the children born of immigrant parents in the US are adopting the American way of life and thus changing the American identity.
For example, there is a rapid growth increase in the population of non-English speakers in the United States. In particular, the number of Latinos and Hispanics is on the rise. Even in some American states with a large number of foreigners (such as Los Angeles with a foreign population of more than 36%) English remains a strong language. All the immigrants’ children born in the United States speak in English (Jimenez 251). The immigrants as well as their children have become very different from the ones in their ethnic motherland.
The immigrants of today keep in touch with their relatives in their home countries and support them financially. The availability of the recent technology, which is affordable such as emails and telecommunication, helps them to communicate constantly and since they have dual citizenship, they can contribute to their countries’ political affairs from abroad.
Back to their home countries, the recognition of Americanism in the immigrants is evident because families and friends easily recognize their American accents, new American ways of life and the detachment from their culture. In American identity, the immigrants have caused some changes. For example, holiday traditions, entertainment, food and language.
However, these changes are not an important social factor among the Americans. United states believe that their identity is a land of opportunity. This easily ensures that children born of immigrant parents are able to revive their American dream. It is important to provide them with better public schools and inexpensive college education. In the United States 14th Amendment, all persons are citizens of the United States provided they have legally obtained American citizenship.
In the article ‘Anchor Babies’, Reynolds Holding argues that the controversy occurs where children are born to illegal immigrants but in the United States. These are referred to as ‘Anchor Babies’ (Reynolds 232). Any child with as legal American citizenship, regardless of ethnicity or background, should have a gross salary of not less than 125 percent higher than the poverty threshold in order to file for his or her parents’ visa.
Thus, the illegal immigrants must illegally remain in the United States since they have children in United States .Those who oppose birthright citizenship claim that there is no need for amendment. This is because it may keep illegal workers in a country making them take the jobs that could otherwise benefit the legal citizens. An estimation of 7 million illegal foreign workers have taken most of the jobs thus causing unemployment and low paying jobs to millions of children born in America
The best way to fight illegal immigration is by making it difficult for illegal immigrants to work in the United States. This can be achieved by fixing the E-Verify system that allows the employer to verify that job seekers are in the States legally. About 30 million Americans are not well educated, most of whom are immigrants. In addition, these immigrants are jobless.
These people are actually disadvantaged by anything that does not quicken the process of illegal workers returning to their homeland, as they cannot get jobs (Jimenez 251). However, the United States should not stop immigration; rather it should regulate it by allowing only the legal immigrants.
Works Cited
Jimenez, Tomaz. “The Next Americans.” Time. 29 May. 2007: 251-254. Print
Kinsley, Michael. “Kidding Ourselves about Immigration.” Time. 6 Dec. 2007: 12-13. Print
Reynolds, Holding. “Anchor Babies.’ Time. 1Feb. 2011: 232-234. Print.