Modern_Challenges_in_Immigration

Modern Challenges in Immigration ETH 125 Cultural Diversity August 31, 2011 Modern Challenges in Immigration The United States of America prides itself as a country comprised of many cultures and people who have immigrated from practically every nation imaginable. The plethora of racial backgrounds of Americans is because of immigration. With the exception of the Native Americans or African Americans, brought here through slavery, the country’s population today is made up of people who chose to come to a new country (Schaefer, 2006). I would have to say that there are two types of people who currently, legally migrate to the United States, those who are very determined and will do whatever it takes to migrate here and the ones who are somewhat wealthy. It is a process that is both expensive and very complicated. To explain, there are many fees associated with the filing of the forms to become an immigrant to America. For example, the filing fee for naturalization is $595 and to complicate things even more there is a Biometrics investigation, where they take your fingerprints and do a background check on you (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2011). There is a fee of $85 associated with the biometrics as well. Not to mention that according to the Naturalization Act you must learn to read, write, and speak and understand the English language (Schaefer, 2006). The only immigrants that the government should favor are the legal ones. I feel that if they are willing to go through all of the steps and are able to pay their fees then they should be given preferential treatment as opposed to illegal immigrants. To explain, I think that the immigrants that do all of these things, are proving that they can be productive and law abiding citizens. Citizenship preferences should not be given to anyone for any reason. The rules should be enforced across the board. Who would be in charge of deciding who has extenuating circumstances and who doesn’t' It becomes too much of a judgment call and can become a biased decision perhaps. All applications from all countries should be given equal priority. Once again, who is going to make these decisions on which country gets precedence' I feel that making decisions as such could be considered discriminatory or racist. In conclusion immigration will continue to be a hot topic in the U.S. for generations to come. I believe that immigration is what this country is all about. I mean think about it. This country was founded by immigrants (Schaefer, 2006). References Schaefer, R. T. (2006). Racial and Ethnic Groups (10th ed.). N.d.: Prentice-Hall. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2011, August). UCIS.gov. Retrieved from http://www.uscis.gov/n-400