Wednesday, September 22, 2010

What are we going to do about immigration reform?

Immigration reform has been on the public agenda for a minimum of seven years now. It even made it to spot number six on the classroom list of biggest public problems. In this article, Scott Biddle says, "You can't hope to implement sound strategies unless you understand what brings people to the United States and what they thing about the nation once the get here". One thing thats clear from the research is immigrants are happy in the U.S. and would do it all over again. They even hope for their kids to grow up here. There are currently 34.2 million foreign born immigrants and over 12 million illegal immigrants in addition. The legislature need to make a decision about this situation and get the reform off of the public agenda. But are immigrants really hurting the U.S., or are they helping by working for minimum wage and putting their money back into our economy?


www.publicagenda.org/pages/immigration

Michelle Watkins

2 comments:

  1. I believe our country needs to pass something to update our policy on immigration reform. Immigrants should be allowed to enter our country, legally, but I think every year there should be a max number of immigrants allowed to move here. Also I think any illegal immigrant found should be deported back to their country swiftly. I just feel all of these "minimum wage" jobs should be going to Americans instead. There are plenty of unemployed citizens who could do any job a new immigrant could.

    - Brad Beckwith

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  2. Yes there are plenty of unemployed persons on COULD do an immigrant's job, but WOULD they?

    Many immigrants, desperate for any kind of money and sustenance, work in unbearable conditions that no American would sacrifice their pride for. They receive less than minimum wage and do not receive equal treatment under any kind of fair labor laws.

    Stephen Colbert may be a comedian, but you may have heard that he recently testified before Congress on this all too serious issue. He himself participated in "Take Our Jobs", a program created by the United Farm Workers (UFW) that invites willing participants to experience what it's like to work as a migrant worker. For more information, you can visit this website:

    http://www.ufw.org/toj_play/TOJNEW_12_JAL.html

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