Immigration: Still A Problem Today Immigration has been linked back to our earliest ancestors. Although this may seem ridiculous, some people believe that Christopher Columbus, known founder of our country, was an illegal immigrant. Illegal immigration has always been a part of our country, but it had not been a major negative issue until recently. Over 200 years ago, in 1795, the Naturalization Act restricted citizenship to “free white persons” who lived in the United States for a minimum of five years and cut all ties with their former country. To this day, we are still facing predominant immigration issues. In our factories and large companies, there are illegal immigrants working for lower wages than our citizens. These workers who are willing to work for so cheap are forcing our citizens out of their jobs and into the unemployment field. Illegal immigration also causes many problems near our borders. Towns surrounding the borders, both in the United States and in Mexico, are becoming overrun by drug cartels. American and Mexican citizens are being murdered, along with officials. Illegal immigrants are putting a huge damper on our society, and we must put an end to it. Certain states, like Georgia for example, are attempting to pass laws that will make it easier to keep illegal aliens out of our country. Less than two weeks ago, on March, 3rd 2011, a law was passed in Georgia that requires employers to ensure that all of the workers they hire are legal. The law has been repeatedly compared to the recent Arizona immigration law, and most of the responses had the same ideas in them. Many opposers of this bill are calling this a “copycat”. All companies will be required to use a federal database to view all of their workers’ and applicants’ citizenship status. Transportation of illegal immigrants is illegal and all police officers can check the legal status of any person in their custody. The illegal immigration is affecting all citizens of the United States because it is causing our economy to decline rapidly. This topic is also relevant to us because we have just learned about immigration for different groups, and also there are two very different views on this subject. The first view of this idea is also the topic it is related to from our book: stereotyping. Stereotyping, as discussed in lecture two, is taking individual characteristics and applying them to an entire group. Racial profiling is one result of stereotyping. One group against the passing of this new law, the American Civil Liberties Union, argues that the bill will encourage racial profiling while also harming the agricultural industry. Police officers in Arizona were pulling over citizens they “deemed” to appear illegal. They noticed certain characteristics, such as a thick mustache, dark skin, and a cowboy hat, and pulled over anyone who fit their description. This fits the stereotyping definition exactly and is what opponents of the bill in Georgia fear. Another problem that opponents of this bill fear is that it will create second-class citizens. A second-class citizen, as defined by Google, is “an informal term used to describe a person who is systematically discriminated against within a state or other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or legal resident there.” This would be shown through any form of discrimination that is committed. Although there are opponents to this bill, there are also supporters. Many Americans support this bill, and many bills similar to this around the United States. There are many benefits to this bill. First off, it would punish people who purposefully transport illegal immigrants into this country. It would also require many employers to check and make sure that all of their employees are eligible to work here. Local and state government