Essay - U.s.—a Country Founded on Legal Immigration During the Past Few...

U.S.—A Country Founded On Legal Immigration

During the past few decades, ***** United States has seen extremely high levels of immigration, forcing the U.S. government and residents to make changes ***** rules regarding how immigrants fit into society.

The United States was founded on immigration. From the start of the seventeenth century, more than 45 million people have come to this country seeking new lives. Since that time, U.S. refugee and immigration policies ***** been linked to both domestic politics and foreign policy. (Beard pp. 13-16)

Most of ***** U.S. legislation shows a constant struggle to determine which immigrants should be admitted and what type ***** criteria should be taken into account.

Issue and debates from both proponents and opponents ***** have surfaced and resurfaced often throughout American history. It is not a simple issue. The debate over immigration is complicated by its numerous, and ***** conflicting, social, cultural, economic, and now environmental components. (81-97)

***** and cultural issues are key to the immigration debate. There are contrasting opinions and conceptions of America's national identity. These views of who ***** ***** makes an ***** lead ***** clashing opinions on who belongs in this country and ***** does not.

The Immigration Debate

***** of ***** argue that immigration can lead to the destruction of America ***** isolat*****g and disconnecting citizens. ***** people fear that the glue that holds this ***** *****ge*****r is broken by immigration, which restructures the United States.

***** feel ***** immigration damages the U.S. economy, as well. They say that immigrants are an ***** burden on taxpayers -- draining society's resources, increasing unemployment, reducing wages, and threatening to weaken ********** international competitiveness. (Brader)

***** the other h*****, proponents say that immigrants characterize the ***** States. They see ***** country as a country of immigrants, which has, since its inception, been based on a pluralism of ideas, cultures, languages, and ethnicities. To them, immigrants ***** played a strong role in the popul*****tion's history and American society is tied toge*****r by a common allegiance to democracy and freedom.

Proponents of immigration argue ***** immigrants do not cost American taxpayers any more than what the ***** pay in taxes, that immigrants create jobs, and that ***** bring with ********** energy and talent which only serve to strengthen America's international competitiveness.

Several reports commissioned ***** the years have supported both ***** these views, depending on the statistics ***** how ***** data is reviewed.

Immigration Leg*****lation

Immigration legislation did not exist from colonial times to the mid-nineteenth ***** so there were no laws regulating entry into the *****. Since *****n, however, immigration *****, ***** ***** based on ***** factors like global development, local *****, labor needs and the current situati***** of the nation, have surfaced and are ever-changing.

***** 1910, the United States admitted over 700,000 Mexicans, escaping ***** devastation ***** the Mexican revolution, into the country. During World War II, nearly 220,000 workers were admitted as Bracero program workers, meaning they ***** brought over to replace the American farmers called to war