Category: Immigrants

Undocumented immigrants are a controversial issue within American citizens. An estimate of forty-five million immigrants lives in the United States. Most people, including the president, have spoken in public, indicating how undocumented immigrants cause trouble and negative benefits to the country. Other Americans believe that undocumented immigrants provide positive benefits and do not affect the country in a negative way. There are many perspectives and opinions in which Americans believe undocumented immigrants affect the country. Undocumented immigrants provide positive benefits to our country as they help the economy by paying taxes, take jobs that are paid less than minimum wage, and not commit a lot of crime.

First, undocumented immigrants provide economic benefits for the country in the form of taxes. Just like any other American, immigrants also pay their taxes: they aren’t given any special privileges. Although undocumented immigrants contribute to the government with a huge amount of taxes, undocumented immigrants would pay much more taxes if they had some sort of legal status. Immigrants provide the country with a large economy which increases the revenue. With the large economy, taxes help pay federal services that benefit many communities around the country. Although these undocumented immigrants provide a large number of tax money towards the country’s economy, a large quantity of Americans firmly believe that undocumented immigrants do not contribute to the economy. What do Americans mean? Americans mean that immigrants don’t pay as much taxes as they do. They also claim that their tax money is used for the welfare of the undocumented people which they don’t deserve. Part of the reason that a large quantity of Americans firmly believe that tax money is ”wasted” in immigrants is due to the various lies that the president of the United States has falsely proclaimed. One of the lies that the president has said is that taxpayers cost American taxpayers a huge amount of money in taxes. His myth is very persuasive especially towards Americans who despise undocumented immigrants. The truth is, undocumented immigrants, don’t cause Americans to pay more money. In fact, the undocumented immigrants usually pay more in taxes because taxes are charged more to the lower class rather than the upper class. There are many controversies against the claim that the poor are taxed more and that the rich are taxed less. According to David Leonhart in the New York Times, he says, ” President Trump’s 2017 tax cut, which was largely a handout to the rich, plays a role, too. It helped push the tax rate on the 400 wealthiest households below the rates for almost everyone else” (Leonhart, 2019, pg.1). To clarify, the president has helped the wealthy to save money in taxes but has left the undocumented and lower class people without the opportunity of decreasing rates. According to data from Phillip, he claims that “For middle-class and poor families, the picture is different. Federal income taxes have also declined modestly for these families, but they haven’t benefited much if at all from the decline in the corporate tax or estate tax. And they now pay more in payroll taxes (which finance Medicare and Social Security) than in the past” ( Phillip, 2019, pg.2). He concludes that undocumented and poor people indeed do not pay less than the wealthy because of the tax cut the president created.

Also, on the other hand, many other outspoken individuals have countered against the claim that the rich pay more taxes than the poor which includes undocumented immigrants. According to Phillip Magnes of the American Institute of Economic Research (AIER), he said, “According to ITEP’s most recent numbers, the top 1 percent currently pays an effective state and local tax rate of about 7.4 percent. The bottom quintile pays about 11.4 percent. These numbers confirm the moderate regressivity of state and local taxation, but they are also far short of being able to reverse the more pronounced progressivity of federal taxation” (Phillips, 2019, pg. 1). Also, according to CBO’s most recent estimates, “the bottom quintile of earners paid 1.7 percent of their income on federal taxes” (Phillips, 2019, pg. 2). The numbers from both CBO and ITEP have been combined to counter the argument that the New York Times previously made about the wealthy being taxed less. The first claim was that the overall tax distribution is progressive. In other words, tax distribution was proceeding step by step. As the end result, the state and local taxes increased on the undocumented immigrants but the wealthy still had a higher tax share. Therefore, undocumented immigrants are important contributors to the country’s economy. If undocumented immigrants were not in the country, then the country’s economy would be smaller, and governments of all levels would see a decrease in revenue without the taxes paid by the undocumented immigrants.

Second, undocumented immigrants provide another positive factor in the country by applying and taking all the low paying jobs. The reason that most undocumented immigrants come to the United States is that their home country contains a huge amount of poverty. Due to the lack of jobs and not being able to maintain their families with food or shelter, immigrants decide to abandon their families and take the riskful journey from their homelands to the U.S. in order to obtain a better life. In the book, Enrique’s Journey written by Sonia Nazario explains in depth both his and his mother’s journey. Like many other migrants, both Enrique and his mother have their purpose to travel to the north. Many immigrants actually pay their hard work, however, some don’t. Enrique’s mother makes her decision to go up north in order to get a job and send money back to her kids in Honduras in order to pay for their education.

Undervaluing a woman’s body as valuable possession is itself patriarchal domination. This commodification of women causes anxiety in conjugal life. It is noticed by Author that “the husband expects the wife to requirements of a wife, a mother, a housekeeper, and above business commodity – all rolled into one.” Ivp 259. By excuse or compromise, women subject themselves to patriarchy. The mindset calls to explain victimhood as fate or necessity as they prefer to understand it as “caused by habit or tradition or your own need to be a victim.” (33 Atwood). Nkem finds herself locked into her role as a victim. She is incapable of taking action to help herself. On Monday of Last Week is one such story that describes the emotional detachment of the young immigrant spouse Kamara and her fascination with a black American Tracy. Kamara is finally able to join Tobechi after six years dispirited by the stagnating unprosperous life in Nigeria. Though she makes her living through a teaching job, she wants to live and spend time with her beloved, she meets in the university.

A hasty marriage before Tobechi leaves America upsets Kamara as she finds herself in the pressure of making a good family with all its opulence: a well-earning husband, children, and a house. On the other hand, Tobechi, who is gradually procuring the American style of living, becomes more and more materialistic. After six long years of living like Americans, he becomes what Kamara says “that he was somebody she did not know at all.” (85). Saddened and irritated by her over husband’s strangely funny American accent and sluggish attitude, she desperately wants to get out somehow from the apartment to break the boredom of her uninteresting life. The first step of stepping on the ladder of the American dream is adapting to the English language, and attempting for a perfect American accent.

Kamara is able to notice the change in her partner: “Now, she wondered if it was even the same Tobechi, this person who seemed so eager, so theatrical, and who, most worrying of all, had begun to talk in the false accent that made her want to slap his face.” 85. Their overwhelming dreams about their future in America become futile since both of them try hard to manage their living. They eventually get tired and bored and they are only left with a baggage of expectations and dreams in the closed space. She finds it refreshing to be praised by her employer Tracy, an artist who employs Kamara as a babysitter. Kamara takes the best efforts to shape her body to appear as a model for the artist Tracy, who admires her figure and well-formed teeth. Her inclination towards Tracy can be aroused from the dissatisfaction and failed expectations about their marriage is the reason for entrapment that locks Kamara in Position Two as expressed in the lines, “There were emotions she wanted to hold in the palm of her hand that were simply no longer there.” (Adichie 85).

Kamara begins to search for the ways of distractions that will sustain her uniqueness, and deliberately needs a job for not to be affected by her man’s ignominy. She even compromises her “scratched dignity” to attend any job as “She wanted the job, any job; she wanted a reason to leave the apartment every day.” (79). Though women like Kamara have the good educational status they obtain from Nigeria, they cannot enter as easily into any sufficient paying job like the whites. There are relatively very less chances for women to survive as an immigrant than men. While Tobechi grows more acquisitive and money-minded like the other Nigerian men living in America, Kamara observes their desiccating relationship with discomfort. She is unable to share the same happiness of Tobechi for being promoted as manager at Burger King, or share the same eagerness of him to buy a big European-modelled house in main Lane. Nigerian women’s needs and expectations contrast to that of their partners: “She said nothing. Because it was not where they lived that mattered her, it was what they had become.” (83).

The passion for imitating the American way of living changes their life drastically, forcing them to imitate and always try to acquire the real American status. They are eventually drawn to a hard reality that it is not so easy to become rich, as it requires hard physical and mental labor. Financial success will always be a dangling question when one is striving to fulfill even the basic needs of life like food and paying rent for a house. Nevertheless, the black men who come from African nations still try to make an identity as American citizens to boast about their sophisticated life to his own native people for getting their awe. Tobechi’s promising reply to Kamara seemingly gives an air of hope which faded over years of time showing the hopelessness: America was about hard work, they both knew, and one would make it if one was prepared to work hard. Tobechi would get to America and find a job and work for two years and get a green card and send for her. but two years passed, then four…Tobechi was driving a taxi in Philadelphia for a Nigerian man who cheated all his drivers because none of them had papers. (83) There is not a small improvement in their life even after years of toiling work. The failure to achieve any material success pushes them into a search for space only to contemplate over their condition. This further becomes the characteristic feature of Position Two.

The couple loses their happy soul intimacies while striving for money as their attempts turn out to be futile. It is even more depressing for Kamara when she finds she could not conceive. She gets irritated by the Americans, who are obsessed about healthy parenting: it came with having too much food: a sated belly gave Americans time to worry that their child might have a rare disease that they had just read about, made them think they had the right to protect their child from disappointment and want and failure. A sated belly gave Americans the luxury of praising themselves for being good parents, as if caring for one’s child were the exception rather than the rule. (82) Through Kamara Adichie sharply criticizes the rich white Americans’ lavish spending of money, while the immigrants find it hard to make a living. Men like Tobechi fail to make out their promise for their wives of acquiring wealth and a good living in America. They cannot satisfy them physically or even emotionally as they provide no moral support during living in the immigrant nation. Their overwhelmed ambition to assimilate to America begets inequitable relationships with their women with the undertone of patriarchy. As Atwood uses, Kamara is “spiritually mutilated.” (29) after she moved with her husband in America. It is the “poverty of blackness on one side and the weight of womanhood on the other.” that strangles her physical and emotional well-being. (126 Pramod), as Kamara’s Aunty often reminds her that “a woman’s time passes quickly.” (84), insists on moving to the next stage to try for a baby.

The advice intimates Kamara to aspire for a child to keep herself intact preventing (before) fading away to nothingness “if that did not shake her out of her dismay at least it would give her something to care about.” (86). The need of a child is desperate for her as the way she needs a distraction from the idle routine of their life. “she flushed one [contraceptive] pill down the toilet each day and wondered how he could not see the greyness that clouded her days, the hard things that had slipped in between them.” (86). Her psychological angst is revealed at many times when she begins to channel her emotions to Lucy’s admiring comments on her. She is loaded with threats of isolation and feels entrapped into a life of emptiness, where she is of no importance to anyone. Her immediate urge to have a child is aggravated by the caution of losing her own self too like him losing his identity. Kamara’s embitterment towards Tobechi and her depression makes her to seek attention Some contain crippled successes (the character does more than survive, but is mutilated in the process).” (28). They lose their human vitality and can’t enjoy the hardware goodies they get in return 172.

The Thing Around Your Neck talks about the story of Akunna’s search and realization of identity from her exclusive immigrant experiences status in America. As in many other immigrant stories, she too realizes the deceptive, persuading desire to achieve the American dream, only when it is too late to contemplate. She expels herself from the sexually abusive Uncle, who explains America as “give and take” to enjoy advantages. (Adichie 117). Like all the other women seeking escape from reality, she too moves away from the abusive Uncle to find a waitress job that further introduces a relationship with a young white man, proposing marriage. Her hope to settle into a good American life gradually fades away facing the “condescending” behavior of the man who loved her. (Adichie 120). Pondering over the reality back in the homeland of Nigeria, where her family suffers from poverty, she plans to return leaving the boyfriend to his own prejudices about Africa. Akunna seems to be in self-deception while she builds hopes to live a better life in the cottage with the white American boyfriend. But, at the end, she moves to the pessimistic Position Two, conscious of the hard-bare-reality that chokes her neck: the plight of her mother’s suffering in Nigeria.

Akunna moves to America hoping for a prosperous life which is commonly imagined by African people who intend to move to the country. Unemployment and poverty push the educated youth and jobless men to seek opportunities to earn in America. The lack of economic strength in Nigeria reflects in the increasing number of immigrants to the USA. Like all other immigrants, Akunna is in desperate need to earn for her poor family. She shows up a common misguided preconception about going to America: “Right after you won the American visa lottery, they told you: In a month, you will have a big car. Soon, big house…” (115). The hope of what might appear as repudiating one’s background to move further for a better future is defied later by the hard reality that pushes to nowhere in the unknown land. Nevertheless, Akunna cannot be blamed of the sexual abuse attempted by her uncle, it makes a point that the negative cultural impact is expressed by him residing years in America. Akunna’s decision of moving away from her uncle’s home is an act of rebellion that seeks immediate escape that really causes bewilderment. The consequences she faces are the impression of Position Two spatial and psychological entrapment. “You ended up in Connecticut, in another little town, because it was the last stop of the Greyhound bus you got on.” (117).

She could move no known place or seek no original identity. She “ended up” as similar to Atwood’s analysis on a book “that described a circle…the route taken by Canadian fictional characters in their unsuccessful efforts to escape from their families.” 146 She could expect nothing from the new land she is in. Atwood talks about a similar situation of immigrants of Canada: “The lack of expectations is a common characteristic of protagonists in Canadian “immigrant” fiction. The characters don’t think they are coming to a promised land; as a rule, they come to get away from bad conditions somewhere else, but they are not traveling towards anything. No Statue of Liberty or Golden Doors await them. When they do have expectations, these are purely material.” (167). Akunna manages to find a low-paid job in a restaurant, staying in a poorly furnished room. She cannot pursue her education as there is no community college that charges low fees compared to the universities.

The responsibility to feed her family is primary and she cannot negotiate her willingness or choice as it is her necessity to bear the burden of poverty. In his analysis of the African immigrant woman in the US, Takougang notes how aspirations for the American Dream have pushed African women, including Nigerian women “at the forefront of economic opportunities in the United States”; these women “who have traditionally been in the background of most traditional African family structure… are playing important economic roles in maintaining the family structure both for the family members who are still in Africa and those in the United States…” (Nigerian women ivp 255) Akunna begins to realize that her lack of fortune is the cause of her victimhood, from which she could find no escape in a country far away from home. She cannot afford to buy anything beyond her survival. She does not write letters because she feels she has nothing to write about. While rich white men like Akunna’a boyfriend spend money for voluntary visits to countries for relaxation, people like Akunna, move away from her homeland needing money desperately for survival. The narration below shows Akunna’s view of life that constitutes the idea of Position Two: “He said he had taken a couple of years off to discover himself and travel, mostly to Africa and Asia.

You asked him where he ended up finding himself and he laughed. You did not laugh. You did not know that people could simply choose not to go to school, that people could dictate to life. You were used to accepting what life gave, writing down what life dictated.” (121). This explains the need of her passive acceptance of victimhood in a totally different environment that contrasts to that of her homeland. She could never be fully happy with her boyfriend as she feels no emotional or psychological satisfaction in their relationship. She does not want to maintain a relationship that has no basis of understanding at all. The difference of culture and economy separates her from him. She cannot drop her Nigerian identity for a new relationship that is congested with compromises consequently between two opposite cultures. She runs away from her uncle to preserve her self-respect and do the same from her boyfriend too for she begins to experience a vague worry about whether she deserves his relationship. The imagery signifies the dejected, fruitless survival story of Akunna: “your fortune cookie had two strips of paper. Both of them were blank.” (121). Elusive fear occupies her mind about her hopeless future blurred by negative thoughts. Even the sudden extreme happiness and wealth threaten her even there is no call for victimization occurs.

She feels she is captivated inside the capsized new life. Atwood’s description of Position Two suits her status quo: “Sometimes the fear of these obstacles becomes itself the obstacle, and a character is paralyzed by terror (either of what he thinks is threatening him from the outside, or of elements in his own nature that threaten him from within). It may even be life itself that he fears, and you have a moderately vicious circle.” (28). One could see the psychological strain that Akunna cannot wholly enjoy being with her white boyfriend who is more affectionate but careless and uninterested with all the wealth he possesses. It becomes an ironic situation for her as she has been accustomed with poverty back in Nigeria and now she finds comfort and sophistication in his happy life of new richness that she is afraid to lose. The current situation shows her inability to dwell on the happiness out of her excruciating guilt of having a home to feed, bringing her unnameable cry: “you said nothing, although you thought a lot was wrong. Later, in the shower, you started to cry. You watched the water dilute your tears and you didn’t know why you were crying.” (126). Akunna fears for her life that would only push her into a sense of guilt of selfishness for avoiding the harsh reality of the poverty in her family over preferring the wealthy, sophisticated life of his boyfriend offers her.

Her reply for her boyfriend at the end suggests that she prefers the former with all its inadequacies, but only with the satisfaction of being true to herself. Her physical displacement to Nigeria implies the return to the roots, though it causes self-mutilation in terms of survival in the home country. The main character in The Arrangers of Marriage receives a shock soon after she moves to America with her “new husband”, who has got a green card through a fake marriage, waiting for a legal divorce. Thwarted by the statement that her new husband married her out of his selfish motivations, expecting a light-skinned quiet Nigerian virgin, she loses hope. Her Position Two entrapment can be understood through the threatening reply of her husband who points her helpless situation when he is inquired about him hiding his previous marriage: “it wouldn’t have made a difference… Were you going to say no to people who have taken care of you since your parents died?… Besides, with the way things are messed up back home, what would you have done?… Aren’t people with master’s degrees roaming the streets, jobless?” (Adichie 185). Marriage and divorce is common among immigrants who want to settle in America with a green card. Back in Africa, it is a ritual among many, and it’s bound by tradition and culture but not without the constraints of patriarchal dominance. Marriage means so much for the wifehood and motherhood of African women to cherish and respect all through her life. It is an unwritten rule for women to preserve and hold the values of marriage by adapting and adjusting to her husband in a pleasing way. To earn the privileged name of a doctor’s wife in America, she has to preserve her given role, even though it turns out to be emotionally, and psychologically abusive. Attracted by the benefits of sophisticated life, many Nigerian women prefer to go to the US through marriage. In an article about intimate partner violence, the Author writes, “the potential wife is likely to be resident in Nigeria and by way of arranged marriage, she immigrates to the US to join a husband she neither dated nor hardly knows.” 256 ipv AOM.

“Do you remember me, Cheena?” Growing up, I would hear this phrase constantly. Family is the most important thing to Filipinos, thus I had many, many relatives. Most of which, I did not remember their names. My nickname, Cheena, was born because I looked very Chinese when I was a baby. This may be because I have a little bit of Chinese blood. My dad and his dad are both named Confucius after all. However, I am fully Filipino. Growing up in the Philippines was great. My dad didn’t have work, and we would play all day. When we had enough money, we would go to the corner store and buy my favorite candy, Pochi. At home, my dad would cook me my favorite dish, Tilapia. Every night, my mom would sing ang gabi palapa to lull me to sleep. Out of everything I experienced in the Philippines, the most notable part of our culture was respecting our elders.

Every time I greeted my Lola or grandma, I would have to do the mano. The man is a sign of respect given to elders by placing their hand on your forehead. Elders were thought of to the the most wise because of their age. Also, we had to follow whatever our parents told us to do. Whether that be our career choice, who we marry, or how many kids we have, we always had to get our parent’s opinion first. Even my relatives tell me what to do. At every family dinner, I always hear the phrases “Don’t get a boyfriend yet,” and “Are you studying hard enough?’ Most Filipinos want their children to be nurses because it pays well, and has great benefits. Whenever I expressed my dream of being an actress, they would all laugh at me. However, as the years went by in America, the more accepting my family became.

According to migrationpolicy.org, “After the U.S. annexation of the Philippines in 1899, large numbers of Filipinos migrated to the United States to study or to fill agricultural jobs, primarily in California and Hawaii.” My family was part of this number. We flew to America when I was four. On my first ever plane ride, I was so dizzy I threw up in a paper bag. I was four years old, and so excited because my parents told me we were going to America to go to Disneyland. Little did I know, we were moving there. The first thing I ever did in America was drink calamansi juice made from concentrate. It was the most delicious and refreshing thing I had ever tasted. We did eventually end up going to Disneyland, but I was confused because we weren’t going home yet. When I was six years old, I asked my mom why we weren’t going back yet. She told me she got fired from her job as a teacher because she expressed an interest in moving to America. She told me that we were better off here because the education was much better, and I’d have more opportunities to succeed.

On the outside, transitioning to the American ways was fairly easy for my family. In the Philippines, English is taught in schools. So, this made it easy for my mom to find a job in America because she had an edge on everyone else. However, the hard part of the transition was the internal changes. For example, my mom got a job at a progressive private school. The school was very accepting towards everyone and had a very activist-oriented mindset. So, she was exposed to all sorts of new ideas and beliefs. This caused her to start questioning the fundamental ideas she held deep inside.

The change in my family’s values didn’t just happen instantly. Our values are usually instilled in us early on, and it’s hard to change them. However, because of the need to adapt to the new environment of the United States of America, my family started adapting their mindset. The society in the Philippines was very backward-thinking. It was the norm to be racist, homophobic, and sexist. That kind of thinking would get you in a lot of trouble in the U.S. Especially in California, we pride ourselves on being open and accepting to everyone. Because of this societal pressure, a lot of my family stopped their offensive remarks. Or at least, kept it to themselves. Even though they may have stopped verbalizing it, a lot goes on behind closed doors. While my family has gotten a lot more progressive, we still have a long way to go.

The biggest change, however, was present in the family dynamic. As I stated earlier, elders were respected, while the young ones were cast aside. However, I started noticing that my family listened to me and my cousins more. We’d sit at the dinner table, and while they were talking about politics, we were asked to pipe in instead of being told to shut up. Another huge change was that my family was way more matriarchal than patriarchal. My mom runs everything in our household, not my dad. Even my very traditional grandparents let me speak my opinion, even though they don’t necessarily agree.

Toxic masculinity and heavy reliance on the matriarch is prevalent in the Philippines. This caused my family to believe that the father is always right and that the children’s opinions don’t matter. Older people’s beliefs were respected more, solely because they lived longer, thus causing my family to put authority above all else. In the Philippines, there was no hope for a better future. The wealth you were born into was the wealth you would have for the rest of your life. Moving to America is every Filipino’s dream because it signifies that you have a chance to make it in life. To provide a better future for me, my parents decided to move us to America. Although my family used to value absolute parental authority, moving to the United States of America from the Philippines caused my family to start valuing care, and listening to their children’s needs. California, in particular, is a democratic state with an emphasis on free speech. Because of this Western influence, my family began to allow me to make my own decisions, and to value care and fairness.

Introduction

In ‘The Winter Hibiscus,’ a short story by Min Jin Lee, the author utilizes various literary techniques to convey deeper meanings and explore complex themes. Published in 2007, the narrative follows the journey of a Korean immigrant family as they navigate the challenges of assimilation and cultural identity in America. In this literary criticism essay, we will delve into the rich symbolism employed by Min Jin Lee in ‘The Winter Hibiscus,’ shedding light on the story’s underlying messages and highlighting the power of symbolism in conveying universal human experiences.

The Winter Hibiscus

The winter hibiscus, a recurring symbol throughout the story, represents the resilience and tenacity of the Korean immigrant family. Despite the harsh conditions and challenges they face, the hibiscus continues to bloom, symbolizing their ability to endure and find beauty even in the most difficult circumstances. It serves as a reminder of the characters’ strength and determination to thrive in their new environment while staying connected to their cultural roots.

The Piano

The piano holds significant symbolic value in ‘The Winter Hibiscus.’ It serves as a symbol of cultural heritage and acts as a bridge between the characters’ past and present. For the protagonist, the piano represents a connection to her mother and the rich traditions of her homeland. Through her relationship with the piano, the protagonist grapples with the tensions between assimilation and preserving her cultural identity, highlighting the universal struggle faced by immigrants in navigating their dual identities.

Language

Language plays a crucial role as a symbol of communication, cultural heritage, and identity in ‘The Winter Hibiscus.’ The use of Korean language and English translations reflects the characters’ attempts to bridge the gap between their native and adopted cultures. It explores the complexities of language acquisition and the challenges faced by immigrants in expressing themselves fully in a new environment. The linguistic symbolism serves to emphasize the importance of language as a vehicle for connection and understanding.

Food

Food acts as a powerful symbol of cultural identity and tradition in ‘The Winter Hibiscus.’ The characters’ culinary practices and shared meals become a means of preserving their cultural heritage and finding comfort amidst the challenges of assimilation. Food also serves as a medium for connecting with others and fostering a sense of community. The symbolism of food highlights the role of cultural traditions in shaping personal and collective identities.

The Journey

The journey undertaken by the characters in ‘The Winter Hibiscus’ symbolizes the transformative process of immigration and adaptation. As the protagonist and her family navigate their new surroundings, they encounter both internal and external obstacles. The journey represents personal growth, resilience, and the quest for a sense of belonging. It underscores the universal human experience of seeking a place to call home while grappling with cultural and personal identity.

Conclusion

In ‘The Winter Hibiscus’ by Min Jin Lee, the effective use of symbolism adds depth and layers of meaning to the narrative. The winter hibiscus, the piano, language, food, and the journey all contribute to the exploration of themes such as cultural identity, resilience, and the immigrant experience. Through these symbols, Min Jin Lee beautifully captures the complexities of assimilation, the enduring power of heritage, and the universal longing for connection and belonging. ‘The Winter Hibiscus’ stands as a poignant literary work that resonates with readers, inviting them to reflect on the challenges and triumphs of the immigrant journey and the significance of cultural heritage in shaping individual and communal identities.

Life, as we know it, should be seen as a gift given to us as the beauty of life makes living our lives worth living. The beauty of life comes in many varying degrees, from person to person. Still, from the vast varying degrees of life, there also comes inequality in how the beautiful essence of life becomes distributed from one person to another. The varying degrees of life range from poor rural people to high-class urban people. Life is a constant uphill climb, with the more fortunate people climbing a hill and the less fortunate climbing a mountain. Many people climb their mountains to one day hope to be able only to climb a hill, or many people would also climb their mountain so that their future generations could climb the hill that their past generation has set them up to rise to view the beauty of life. Many of these people are parents who only want the very best for their children as their parents want their children to experience what they could not while growing up. Many parents, including my own, had fought and continued to fight for their children as they want to see the opportunities they were not given when they were young. The fight for the beauty of life is a constant struggle being dealt with by many parents. Still, they continue to fight for their children to view the beauty of life that was given to them through the fight their parents had fought to give their children the opportunities and freedom they are offered today.

Life is fought for to be able to move away from the hardships and limited opportunities, to be able to seek a new way of life hopefully. Many immigrant parents share the same story; they had grown up in a poverty-bound area where opportunities and happiness were almost nonexistent. These parents had known from an early age that from the situation they were in, they became trapped in their poverty-based community with no escaping their harsh realities. Many parents accept their planned fate, while others seek and continue to fight to have a slim chance of viewing the beauty that is life. The captivating walls built around the society, which many parents could not overcome by leaving, are often the separation point in either remaining home with your hopes only now a dream of leaving everything behind to have a chance to improve the quality of life. With only a few who have determined themselves in search of finding the beauty of life, only a smaller percentage will have any success in discovering the goal they had been searching for. To discover their goals, many people fight a constant battle to remain to view their beauty in life. In Mexico, many parents and families move away to seek better opportunities for their future, as well as for the future of their children. These parents and family members from Mexico will almost always travel north to reach the border between the United States and Mexico. Throughout the past couple of years, many people attempt to cross this border, which has, over time, become more challenging to cross as law enforcement and physical barriers stand between hope and life lost in agriculture. With the few who had luck on their side to pass through the gates that lead into the United States, any small misdemeanor with any law enforcement called will result in the possible life-threatening journey going to waste.

Illegal immigrants first ventured through the US territory as the United States had advertised their land as the one place in the world for freedom. Freedom in many poverty-bound areas within a country had almost been nonexistent how the only possible way to survive was to grow crops and raise cattle in which. Thousands of people, especially parents, flooded through the border to able to escape their past and rebuild a future for themselves and their children. Life in the United States for many immigrants was a drastic change. Many immigrants flooded the labor jobs throughout America as they were the only jobs available that did not need a level of education. The dream from an outside view these immigrants may not have looked like any dream was accomplished, but to the immigrants, they had seen success as for what they were getting paid; it was the equivalent of a week’s worth of pay in the harsh labor areas back at home. Discrimination often got the best of these immigrants, however, like now, the only obstacle that they faced were the people who have taken what they had for granted and of course, law enforcement. It was like ‘living in the shadows’ claimed my parents as any wrong move or anything that stood out that would not have been seen as ‘American’ would make you stand out. Illegal immigrants, especially ones with children, have to fear the most over these situations as their children, if born in the United States and having parents born in Mexico, would almost certainly end up with the parents being sent back and the children put in foster care. These morbid regulations often get overseen as even though yes, these parents do not belong to the United States, no they do not do it to leave their country, they do it for their children who have no say in what their background states where or what they should be doing.

Through the life of a child from immigrant parents, the normality in that child’s life is close to none as new dangers emerge from your association. Many children of immigrant parents are told to keep their mouths silent and never to describe any personal detail. The strict regulations brought by the child’s parents are to only protect their family, as with any information leaking out into the abyss of the unknown territory they are in, the more likely they will be saying their final goodbye. My parents always told me to watch out for police officers and to be cautious about my surroundings. Many parents, in general, say these things, but having partial responsibility that one day will not be able to go home with your parents shows the severe matter that children of immigrant parents deal with regularly.

The beauty of life is taken for granted by many people, but these people have not seen how much trouble many people, like immigrant parents, go through to have a small glimpse of the true beauty of life before it is handed over to their children. The children have all the freedom in the new world they are in, while the parents can only shadow the lives of their children as they remember their recent past. The beauty of life is a gift to all, but it is also a gift distributed unequally, as one child is brought home to their two-story house, while the other is brought home to their shed next to gardening tools. Freedom and opportunities can be handed out to everyone, it just takes a long fight for the unfortunate to obtain them, but in the end, the beauty of life awaits the one who has fought the most to enjoy what he has conquered.

Immigration has been a source of great controversy in many host countries around the world. This essay will explore the major areas of concern surrounding immigration, namely the social, economic, and political challenges it can present. Specifically, it will discuss the impacts of immigration on crime rates, social services, ans labor markets. These topics are of particular importance since immigration has far-reaching consequences for all involved.

The Impact on Labor Markets

Immigration has a major impact on labor markets, both positive and negative. On the one hand, it can lead to increased economic growth, innovation and employment in certain industries, as immigrants bring with them unique skills, experiences and knowledge. This can help create new industries and fill labor shortages with increased productivity.

However, immigration can also have a negative effect on labor markets. In some cases, immigrants may be competing with native-born workers for jobs, resulting in lower wages and fewer job prospects for locals. This is especially true in industries such as construction or hospitality that already employ a high number of immigrant workers.

It is also important to consider how different groups of workers are affected by immigration. Highly skilled immigrants may compete for higher-paying jobs which could potentially result in wage disparities among native-born workers. At the same time, low-skilled immigrants may enter low-paying industries which could further reduce employment opportunities and wages for local people.

The Impact on Social Services

Another potential negative effect of immigration is its impact on social services such as healthcare, education, welfare, etc.

Immigrants tend to have lower incomes than native-born citizens and therefore cannot afford to pay for the same level of health services as native-born citizens. Also, immigrants often lack access to health insurance through their employers, so they are more likely to rely on government-funded programs. As more people enter a country, demand for these services increases, which can lead to overburdened systems, resulting in reduced quality for everyone involved.

Furthermore, if taxes do not increase correspondingly with population growth, then there may simply be insufficient funds available to provide adequate service levels for all citizens.

In addition, immigrants also tend to be poorer than native-born citizens because they typically come from low-income countries with poor economic systems. This can lead them to rely more heavily on welfare programs such as food stamps and unemployment benefits than native-born citizens do when they find themselves unemployed or otherwise unable to support themselves financially due to lack of skills or education in their new country of residence.

The Impact on Crime Rates

A third potential negative effect of immigration is its impact on crime rates. There was evidence that the presence of more immigrants resulted in more crime rates, as well as increased levels of poverty among both natives and non-natives alike.

On the one hand, it is argued that immigrants, especially those who enter without the proper documentation, may be more likely to engage in criminal activity due to their marginalized position in society. Furthermore, language barriers, cultural disconnect, and limited access to education and jobs can increase their vulnerability to such behavior.

However, some recent research has shown that immigrants are no more likely than native citizens to commit crimes, it has also shown that certain types of crime (e.g., drug trafficking) are disproportionately associated with immigrant communities due to poverty or other factors. This can lead to increased fear among native populations and further tensions between different groups within society.

Conclusion

Immigration has long been a complex issue, but it is one that must be addressed in order for any society to thrive and progress into the future.

There is no denying that immigration can have both positive and negative effects on any country’s economy, depending on various factors such as pre-existing economic conditions or cultural values held by its citizens regarding foreign nationals entering their borders legally or illegally.

Nevertheless, research strongly suggests that there can indeed be negative effects associated with large-scale immigration such as impacts on labor markets, social services, and crime rates, but these effects can also be mitigated through proper planning and policy implementation.

Understanding this better is key to making informed decisions about how best to move forward regarding immigration policies, both now and in the future.

The book ‘‘They Take Our Jobs!’: And 20 Other Myths about Immigration’ written by Aviva Chomsky highlights the widespread myths and beliefs about immigration and immigrants. Throughout the book, Chomsky challenges the biased assumptions that increase the misinformed claims about immigrants, radically altering the notions of citizenship, stereotypes, the law, discrimination, and US history. As she quotes, “Immigrants are blamed for a host of social ills and compared unfavorably to generations of immigrants…a lot of our assumptions and opinions about immigration today are based on a set of beliefs about this country’s past. These beliefs are formed by our social studies and history classes…” (pg.12). Chomsky hopes to create a possible idea about what a humane immigration policy would look like and how creating a humane immigration policy that would connect to other changes at a national and global level. In this essay, I will focus on one, but to me, the most important of the myths she describes, that immigrants are taking American jobs.

As Chomsky emphasizes in her book, there are two fallacies that indicate and prove that there are multiple reasons that immigrants are not the only reason to blame for many Americans not being able to have many job opportunities. In the first fallacy, she emphasizes that the concept of ‘American’ jobs is not the correct term to use and that many people wrongly use it because in today’s society you cannot just indicate or assume it to be one national identity. The second fallacy indicates the notion that immigration and immigrants reduce the number of jobs available to people already in the US. Furthermore, Chomsky writes that by maintaining and exploiting global inequalities, the US economic system has managed to create a high profit/cheap product model. Many industries tend to employ the poorest and most vulnerable people to seek a reduction in costs. These industries went to the extent to move to different parts of the world where there is an increase in poverty and inequality, which creates a vulnerable labor force, which did not support policies and laws in the US, such as immigration policies. For example, the New England textile industry was one of the first to try to move and relocate plants, which led to a shift of their production to the United States. The reason why New England started doing this was because they wanted to decrease their costs. Suddenly after what New England did, at the end of the twentieth century, many businesses had spread to all industries. Even the United States started to do this later in the mid-twentieth century, and their reason was that they also wanted to find cheaper workers and labor abroad. This led to Puerto Rico’s program ‘Operation Bootstrap’, which helped US businesses to transfer the most labor-intensive portions of their operations to the island. This program appeared because the United States wanted to regulate law wages and a high-profit system that was locally inside of the United States and reached by factory workers. When it comes to the increase of immigrants reducing the number of jobs available, according to Chomsky, there is simply no valid correlation between the increase of immigrants and unemployment. In fact, during the Great Depression in the 1930s, when unemployment was at its all-time over 20%, immigration was also at one of its lowest points in our nation’s history.

Despite all the evidence Aviva Chomsky presents in his book, the myth that immigrants are taking American jobs is invalid. American society needs to be more aware and finally get rid of prejudice against immigrants.

As it becomes a considerably serious controversial topic, immigration should be seen as an advantage to us. Immigrants have revolutionized our society in distinct methods for our welfare. Immigrants diversify society by enriching the culture and influencing change.

Immigrants evolved culture for the generation currently and the generations to come. They expanded the cuisines and customs of the American culture. As new practices are being introduced, it teaches non-immigrants to be respectful of others’ traditions and rituals. It also allows Americans to broaden their customs when they combine their established ways with immigrant beliefs. By bringing their native-born population to other states, they’ve created more diversity. For example, employers are more interested in multilingual employees an employee that just speaks one language. America has had a growing language capacity ever since immigrants came from other countries. Their resettlement to a new country advocates for an improved existence for the rest of society. Immigrants have revolutionized the world by having fabricated America’s culture and establishing communities. While immigrants look for housing, they tend to choose neighborhoods that have been abandoned by others. Once they’ve moved in, the neighborhood then becomes alluring to different types of people. Therefore, they contribute to the start-up of those areas where citizens of America contemplate buying a house. It brings a range of people together as a community. For instance, when Parvaneh and her family first moved they were very distinct from the other people in the neighborhood. However, they soon got along with their neighbors and warmed Ove’s heart. Parvaneh cared deeply about Ove when he was at the hospital, since “it took the combined efforts of Patrick, Jimmy, Anders, Adrian, Mirsad, and four nurses to hold her back” (Backman 326). This also shows how many people she’s gathered together, ever since her arrival in their community. Immigrant relationships in America reshape its society.

Immigration has shaped America and will continue to as it develops the economy and immigrants integrate furthermore. The economy of America has exceedingly bettered. Since most immigrants go their whole life undocumented, they’re usually hired for low-wage jobs that wouldn’t be taken by documented citizens of America. Therefore, immigration opens up more job opportunities for others and increases the productivity of the workers too. On top of that, high-skilled immigrants produce jobs too as they start businesses. Although thought otherwise by many, the increase in the population of immigrants boosts economic productivity. The demand for more products provides more occupations, as the supply decreases the demand increases. Numerous innovations and services come from immigrants, so as their incomes increase so do others. Overall, immigration has long-term benefits for the economy and formulates opportunities. Immigration integration leads America to be a supreme society. By integrating, immigrants contribute to America substantially. Preserving the language and culture of immigrants teaches them to be comfortable in this new environment and non-immigrants to be considerate. Another way immigrants integrate is by becoming citizens of America. They have the same rights as Americans and share their customs with them. Despite the fact that it’s not likely, it’s still very effective in integrating. Regardless of the fact that it’s a barrier, language can equally unify immigrants and non-immigrants by ensuring that they can obtain the resources necessary to communicate with one another. Several modifications make to America today came from immigration integration. As integration rises, the advantages it has will help our country immensely.

Immigration is truly promising for immigrants and America. The privileges immigrants have when they come to America really amplify all the things they could accomplish. Their children could receive free public education from kindergarten to twelfth grade and then to college. Education here is far superior to education. Once they’ve acquired the necessary knowledge for a career, they could apply for and secure a job. Then, they would have a stable life in America because of their parent’s immigration. Moreover, employment for immigrants is available. Hence, they could continue to live in America without having to worry about money. In addition to all those perquisites, immigrating to America is safer than living in a foreign country for plenty of people. Plus, if one were to achieve citizenship in America, one would have additional rights. Even though they’re usually thought of as criminals, immigrants commit crimes at a lower frequency. Having said that, immigration policies are based on stereotypical reasons because of this. A large number of people are starting to realize that immigrants are just like non-immigrants though. They share a lot of the same goals and wish to fulfill them. Countless Americans are educating themselves on who immigrants genuinely are. They’re realizing that they just want a better-quality life like Americans. Immigrants, on the other hand, comprehend the conditions of living in America. They’re going to be discriminated against, on account of their situation. Nevertheless, living in America spares chances of equality and a bright future for the immigrant. It’s a place where you can express yourself openly and freely. Lots of immigrants see it as a beacon of hope because of all the possibilities it has; “Immigrants come here to live the American Dream” (Griswold). Anyways, how immigrants view America and how Americans view immigrants should both be understanding of each other.

Conclusion

Immigration is crucial to America. It factually strengthens the economy and the country as a whole. Without one’s individual immigration to make up an entire movement, there wouldn’t be a modern change in this society. It is a needed action, in order to aid America and its assets.

From instituting America’s culture to changing to point of view of immigrants and Americans, immigration plays an imperative role in America’s world today. They assist America’s economy and promote the quality and style of life. Their labor in low-wage jobs is much needed. Along with that the variousness of our culture now

Academic Experience of Immigrant Students

Since the 1970s, the number of immigrants migrating to the U. S. has been on a steady incline. In 2017, immigrants made up 13. 7% of the population, the highest share of the total U.S. population that immigrants have contributed to since 1910 (“US Immigrant”, 2019). With the continuously changing demographics of the population, we must consider the kinds of issues that will arise for these immigrants and their children. One such issue is how immigrant youth experience the U. S. educational system and the resulting academic outcomes of that education. There has long been the idea that America’s educational system can help to achieve social and economic mobility. However, in the case of immigrants, the educational system in the U. S. can help to achieve socioeconomic mobility for some immigrant groups while forcing other groups to face discrimination and disadadvantage (Zhou, 2009; Stone and Han, 2005). Immigrant children face many barriers when entering the U. S. educational system that native U.S.-born children often do not face, such as language barriers, cultural and social differences with the host country, and issues surrounding identity. These unique barriers to education present difficulties for immigrant students that impact their academic achievement, however the effects of such barriers impact immigrant groups in different ways and are not universal.

To understand how immigrants experience the U.S. educational system, we must understand their academic outcomes and how they compare to that of native students. Comparing the academic achievement of immigrant students with that of native students allows us to see in what ways the educational experience in the U.S. varies for non-American students and how that variation presents among different social groups based on their identity memberships. Research done by Pong and Hao (2007) shows, using GPA as a measurement of academic achievement, that there are significant differences in the achievements of students separated by both ethnicity and nativity status. Latino immigrant children have significantly lower GPA than non-Hispanic White children, while Asian immigrant children of Chinese and Filipino descent have significantly higher GPAs. Additionally, non-Hispanic Black immigrant students and non-Hispanic White immigrant students did not have a statistically significant difference in GPA with that of non-Hispanice White native students.

Academic achievement and school performance are impacted by a number of factors. A large sector of the research has found that schools naturally have a large impact on the academic achievement of its students. School characteristics like resources, teacher experience, teacher turnover rate, and school funding have a huge influence on student performance. Another large sector of research focuses on how neighborhood location can be a determinant of school quality and thereby serve as an indicator of the academic performance of students. Within the intersection of neighborhoods and schools, research has shown that a number of neighborhood and school effects such as X, Y, and Z can heavily influence and impact the educational outcomes of students. Include the impacts on educational outcomes. This research, however, traditionally focuses on the academic achievement of students as a general body or broken down into racial or socioeconomic groups. This kind of breakdown, however, does not address the very different academic and social experiences of immigrant children within these cohorts as compared to their native counterparts. As such, we must consider how students of different ethnicities and nativities experience their academic life and how their academic achievements are influenced and impacted by their ethnic and native backgrounds.

Immigrant youth are a very diverse population, which means that we cannot create simple generalizations for their experiences. Immigrant youth come from various nations of origin and bring with them a number of various religious and spiritual, linguistic, educational, and cultural beliefs, practices and backgrounds. Their families’ reasons for coming to the U.S. also vary, with some escaping religious or political persecution and others looking for better educational and work opportunities. And while some immigrant children may come from privileged and high-income families, many experience difficult situations that are linked to poverty, such as food insecurity, housing mobility, and poverty-induced mental and psychological disorders (Capps, 2001). Concluding sentence needed.

With these diverse backgrounds, immigrant students also have a multitude of needs, as well as struggles, they face in school that native students often do not experience. However, to this point, the identity and backgrounds of students are complex and multi-faceted. As such, immigrant and native students can have much in common that present them with similar situations and obstacles. However those experiences can be, and are, shifted by their immigrant identity for non-native students. So accordingly, some key issues that immigrant students face within American schools are focused on the ideas of language, culture, and identity. As for language, many immigrant students are not native English-speakers, which presents many difficulties in their adjustment to American English-speaking schools (Shorts & Fitzsimmons, 2007). They face issues of learning sufficient and proficient English in order to perform academically well in American schools, while balancing the maintenance of their native language. In addition, immigrant students may attend schools that may not have sufficient and decent ESL programs, or are not equipped to serve students that speak the student’s native language. Additionally, learning another language takes time, and these students must learn the curriculum in their non-native language in addition to English, which compounds the difficulties in understanding and learning. On top of these, the language barrier further presents stress on immigrant students, specifically second generation students with immigrant parents, who must act as interpreters for their parents. This puts pressure on the student to understand the U.S. educational system and relay that back to their parents, making them responsible for their own education and behaviors (Goh, et al., 2007). Immigrant students face many language-focused barriers to the U.S. educational system, and this need is not always properly addressed, which can further exacerbate their issues integrating into American schools.

Cultural and identity issues also present significant barriers to education for immigrant students. Immigrant students often feel the need to adapt and assimilate into American culture through their school setting, and in doing so they feel pressure to abandon their own heritage and cultural background (Bemak and Greenberg, 1994). Yet this attempt can still feel isolating for the students, where they can feel a disconnection from both their home culture and the host country. Identity and cultural issues are closely linked to each other, given the nature that culture can make up a large part of someone’s identity. Identity is complex and multifaceted, and is shaped not only by one’s culture, but also social connections and relationships, race and ethnicity, gender, religion, socioeconomic status/class, and many other factors. For immigrants, it is important to consider how their identity is shaped and influenced by their peers, family, teachers, and communities (Kwak, 2003), by their ethnicity and ties to their ethnic group (Nesdale & Mak, 2003), as well as by sociopolitical and cultural contexts. Additionally, the intersections between race, class and gender also further complicate the immigrant experience within schools for immigrant youth. For example, students’ social relationships can vary across racial, class, and gender lines, and the varying membership in these groups can affect social behavior within the school setting (Grant & Sleeter, 1986). A student’s identity as an immigrant can also affect these relationships by influencing both the behavior and reactions of the immigrant student and their peers. Overall, the issues that immigrant students face can be narrowed down to, but are not exclusively limited to, issues surrounding language, culture and identity.

However, even with these complex and disadvantageous issues faced by children from immigrant families, immigrant children tend not to struggle as much as expected, even performing more strongly in school than their native counterparts (Crosnoe & Turley, 2011). This phenomena is known as the “immigrant paradox”, in which first generation immigrants perform with higher academic results than immigrants of later generations or native students, despite first generation immigrants having less time to acculturate and typically dealing with greater economic and social disadvantages. However, research has shown that there are many inconsistencies in the immigrant paradox, and that it is dependent on many factors, making it not universal for all immigrant students. The immigrant paradox varies greatly based on factors such as the type of academic achievement being measured, the age of the child as well as ethnicity and race (Coll, et al., 2014). There are strong disparities between racial and ethnic groups within immigrants and their academic performance, with Asian and White immigrants performing higher than Hispanic and Black immigrant students (Michael & O’Connell, 2009). While the immigrant paradox does not hold true in all instances, it does highlight the fact that immigrant groups have varying outcomes in the U.S. educational system, and no experience is universal.

The academic achievement of immigrant students varies for a number of reasons, one chief among being the social context in which these students exist and participate. Specifically in regards to the relationships between immigrant children and their family, peers, and teachers, these social contexts of immigrant students shape their life course and serve to both develop and acculturate them to the host culture. These social contexts are divided into two categories: one representing the immigrant student’s home culture (family, ethnic group, ethnic peers) and one representing the host culture (school, native peers) (Motti-Stefanidi & Masten, 2013). The social contexts of both the home and host culture work together to provide an individually unique experience that impacts the educational outcomes of immigrant youth. So for example, an immigrant student’s academic achievement can be influenced by school factors like teacher experience or teacher-student relationships, as well as by individual family factors like parental expectations or parent’s school involvement.

Of all the social contexts previously mentioned, there has been a great deal of research focused on the relationship between immigrant children’s educational outcome and family influence. This family influence can be expressed in a number of ways and varies greatly between different social groups, acting as a form of investment with the payoff being school performance. James Coleman argued that certain forms of structured social relations produce advantageous outcomes and thus could be seen as “capital” (Coleman et al., 1966).

Immigration is embedded in our country’s roots, and the history of immigration in our country is long. In today’s society, immigration has become an ethical dilemma and it has developed decades of debate. It is easy for some people to have an issue with immigrants in America, but there’s a part that a lot of people forget about in this world America was formed by immigrants. Immigrants come from every part of the world, there are four types of immigration status that exist: citizens, residents, non-immigrants, and undocumented. The purpose of this paper is to show the ethics of immigration and how immigration isn’t a bad thing.

The Different Groups that

There are two groups that have debates about immigration, there are the people who support it and the people who oppose it, but there isn’t a good way to settle the problem nor do both parties in the government seem to know how to fix the issue of immigration. To understand the current situation of the immigration policy in the United States we need to dig into its history of it, “in 1790, a law was passed to spell out who can be naturalized as a citizen the person had to be a resident for two years and a person with a good moral character. From 1875 to 1917, they limited or banned immigration from many parts of the world, mostly Asia. Then in the early 1920s laws were passed to limit the number of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe to favor immigrants from northern and western Europe and in 1965, congress passed the Immigration and Nationally Act, which radically changed immigration policy” (Vaughn). This year 2020, the trump administration has announced a proposal that would grant immigrants with green cards who meet requirements related to education, age, and English-speaking ability. The administration has previously proposed regulations that would deny immigrants entry to the U.S. or lawful permanent residence if they are likely to use Medicaid, the supplemental Nutrition assistance program, and other forms of public assistance (Pew Research).

Immigration helps America

These people dwell on the fact that immigrants are also human beings and that they are possibly looking to the United States in search for looking somewhere to be safe. The misconceptions of immigrants such as immigration harm the economy, and unauthorized immigration getting worse. Many people believe that immigration has an effect on the U.S. economy, but it if does, the impact is minimal, and the often-overlooked fact is that illegal immigrants are taxpayers. The anti-immigrant lobby tends to ignore the money the immigrants often pay in payroll and sales taxes while counting the money spent on the education of children born in the United States. Most research on the subjects shows that immigration helps the economy. “Unauthorized immigration isn’t actually worse it is decreasing, from 12.2 million in 2005 to 10.5 million in 2017. In the United States, immigration comes with complications with doing demographics, but immigrants help the United States, as immigrants work at high rates and makeup up more than a third of the workforce in some industries.” () Immigrants’ geographic mobility helps locals respond to worker shortages and help out the economy that is slowly getting weakened. Immigrants hold jobs that are important to our economy and communities, the ones that don’t have a college degree make up a sizeable share of the workers in current industries.

In continuation with help in the economy, immigrants help fill gaps in the U.S. economy. Immigrants contribute to native workers’ jobs and wages in sometimes hidden ways. This helps the native-born by filling the gaps that can make their jobs impossible or reduce their productivity and lower their wages. Immigrants also help support the aging in the U.S., they keep our numbers on the rise, with a low birth rate it can lead America into a decline in the labor force, and reduce demand in certain industries such as housing. This is important given that the baby boom generation is going to retirement by 2035 it is predicted that there will be only about 2.4 working-age adults in the U.S. for each person age 65 or older, fewer than in any prior decade on record and down from 4.7 working-age adults in 2016. Without immigrants, there would be fewer working-age adults and workers and they would make up a smaller proportion of the total population.

Consequentialist and non-consequentialist theories have been used to formulate arguments and claims about immigration. People who often think argue in a utilitarian vein, pointing out that open borders would have objectionable consequences. They believe that immigration must be put to a limit or halt to at least protect the nation’s distinctive culture. Americans can argue that borders should be closed for other utilitarian reasons: because it could disrupt the economy, break the welfare system, turn control of the country

The Parties Deciding What to do

The parties have different opinions on immigration, democracy, and republican. Democratic are fighting for immigrants, especially after Donald Trump’s threats and the things he has done since becoming president such as tearing families apart and putting people in cages. Democrats will continue to work towards comprehensive immigration reform that fixes our nation’s broken immigration system, improves border security, prioritizes enforcement to take in criminals, and strengthen our economy. Republican immigration laws and immigration reforms address the needs of national security. The party has always been divided on to exactly what extent immigration laws should be tightened, but as a whole, the party believes that a system needs to be in place to ensure that immigrants who enter this country illegally are not provided with the same benefits that legal citizens are. They believe in warmly welcoming those who enter the country through legal methods while devoting extra resources to keep out those who try to enter via illegal methods, as well as keeping track of those who enter and when they leave. Utilitarians feel that if we solve the problem it will satisfy everyone, but many people still think that if they allow illegal immigrants they will overrule and become the majority, which is not true. The government is having a hard time finding a solution that will satisfy everyone. Others feel like the best solution to immigration would stop immigrants from crossing the U.S. border.

Defending Immigration Rights

two different ways of defending immigration rights. We might defend these rights as ways of protecting against the persistent violation of other rights — rights to be free from poverty or oppression, say. Alternatively, we might defend these rights as rights that are important in themselves, much as we defend the right to free choice of occupation or the right to freedom of religion. If we focus on the facts of international poverty in our defense of immigration rights, we have to face up to the fact that the best response to this poverty may not be a universal right, given to everyone, to go anywhere they want to. A human right to cross borders, for example, would likely entail that rich Americans should have the right to go to Cuba, or Nicaragua, or Haiti, and purchase land on the same terms as the locals. While this might be defensible, it is far from clear that it is the only — or the best — response to the facts of objectionable poverty in these countries. The people who have been subjected to the violence of history, whose countries are neither representative nor rights-protective, might have rights virtue of this to cross borders to escape from poverty. But all this involves the development of particular rights, whereby some people have some rights to cross some borders. We have no reason to think that we can, from these materials, develop a universal right.

The Thing Administration Can Do

Governors can also nominate personnel appointed as a policy advisor supervising the agencies ‘ work monitoring both the conditions in detention centers and the safety, welfare, and experience of those being detained. It will keep the governors updated in near real-time as to progress, investigation directions, and findings. In addition, it can help recognize vulnerabilities or bureaucratic slackness that hinder comprehensive or full inquiries. Coordination from the governor’s office would help enhance coordination between agencies in ways that will help reduce overlap and strengthen collaboration between agencies. A coordinator or czar’s main objective would be to enforce policies to ensure that supervision and oversight continue into the future. In the medium term, this person will be responsible for requiring consistent reporting on the related issues from each agency with authority. The structured reporting will then be used by a coordinator to produce a wider interagency report on the handling of prisoners and the conditions inside detention centers. Such a study will offer in-depth and thorough insight into the condition of those housed in the immigration system of our nation as well as provide an insight into how persons imprisoned for crimes are housed and handled in neighborhoods during their incarceration or imp The solution to America’s immigration crisis will require a huge, organized effort among institutions of the federal government, state and local governments, and private bodies. This will entail assistance from Mexico and Central American countries to sustain conditions so unlivable that those countries ‘ people migrate to the north for economic opportunity, democracy, and protection.