Immigration Debate: The Immigration Issues in the US

 

Immigration
Immigration issues have become the center of attention in recent times in the US. With 12.6 % of the US population being immigrants, both legal and illegal, and undocumented workers going beyond the traditional states which usually receive them, the issue has generated a lot of heat in public arenas (CQ Researcher, 2008). America is a nation that was created by immigrants from Europe and from the mid-1800s to the present, immigrants from other parts of the world have reached American soil. They have contributed to the economic growth of the superpower from the construction of the railroads to agricultural production and other sectors of the economy in the present day. Over the years tougher legislation has been enacted to restrict immigration and the current debate urging for stricter restrictions, yet the immigrant population has continued to grow. This demonstrated that the increased debate is just another campaign tactic as the country prepares for presidential elections.


Americans have for a very long time advocated for immigration enforcement where employers of illegal immigrants would be prosecuted and stricter border security measures employed. This means that illegal immigrants and their employers will be treated as criminals. This however has been shown to be contrary to the poll opinions of the US public which showed that 60-70 percent supports a path that will lead to citizenship of the immigrants and 20-25 percent favoring wholesale deportation. This shows that increased debate on the matter is fueled by campaigns as opposed to the national crisis status it has been made to look like (Dowell, 2007).

The labor needs of the country will continue to rely on immigrants. Senator Kennedy was quoted in the National Public Radio in 2006 saying that, for the US to be energized economically, socially, culturally, and politically, it needs new and young workers with skills that the immigration brings (Weisman, 2008). This is because America cannot provide its economy with the amount it requires and therefore has to rely on immigrants for labor. There is legislation that requires that employers verify the legal status of their workers. Under the law business using illegal workers risks losing its license entirely or for ten days yet they continue to use undocumented workers. Growers groups have complained of labor shortages due to strict immigration and employer laws. This has led some growers in Northwest last fall to lose a lot of investment due to a lack of labor to harvest cherries and apples. Others in North Carolina did not plant cucumbers of fear they wouldn’t find workers (CQ Researcher, 2008).

The issue of immigration, currently being given a lot of attention, is a campaign issue as the American public has demonstrated in the ballot boxes. The public is occupied with more pressing issues such as health care, the war in Iraq, and the economy. This is demonstrated in the 2006 house elections. The candidates who made tough immigration policies their campaign focus was defeated such as J.D Hayworth of Arizona and Jim Ryun of Kansas. Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo supported tougher immigration measures which saw him fall in the polls and consequently drop out of the race. Candidates such as Len Munsil of Arizona; Ernest Istook of Oklahoma; and Jim Barnet of Kansas ran against democratic candidates with no tough stands on immigration and the fact that Democrats are sympathetic to immigrants. They won their seats with less than 41% of the votes. This clearly demonstrated the public’s opinion of the immigration issue (Dowell, 2007).