Collen Damrell
Political Science Term Paper
Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th U.S. President in 2009. Since then, he and his administration have dealt with numerous amounts of issues in the U.S., such as: economic policy, military policy, foreign affairs and so on. However, in my view, the biggest issue his administration has attempted dealing with is immigration. According to Homeland Security as of 2012, there are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., and according to an ABC news report titled “Expensive Aliens: How Much Do Illegal Immigrants Really Cost?” illegal aliens cost U.S. taxpayers more than $100 billion each year. I find these numbers extremely disturbing and the numbers are why I think the Obama Administration policy on Immigration need a through analysis. In this paper, I plan on discussing what has been done in previous years to prevent illegal immigrants, what is proposed by the Obama Administration and what right now is being done.
In the beginning of American history immigrants were usually treated very differently. It did not matter if they were legal or illegal. An example would be Irish immigrants. Irish immigrants were usually unskilled and illiterate only working low jobs that most people wouldn’t dare to work. It was for this that they were constantly discriminated and abused by the American people. When the U.S. economy did well then the Irish would flood over. However when the economy was poor then the number of Irish immigrants dropped due to the lack of jobs and opportunity. This sort of immigration can be seen today in America. The U.S. is facing an immense problem with immigrants mainly illegals. The majority of the these illegal immigrants are Hispanic, according to NPR in an article titled “Study Details Lives of Illegal Immigrants in U.S.,” fifty seven percent of illegals in America are of Mexican origin and another twenty four present are form Latin America. Just like in previously history is repeating itself but on a much larger scale than before and nothing is being done about it
On the White Houses website under the immigration link, the following statement is made: “America’s immigration system is broken. Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there are 11 million people living in the shadows. Neither is good for the economy or the country.” The thing that jumps out to me immediately is the blame put on employers. It is the government’s job to handle the flood of illegal immigrants in the country, not the employers. It would be like saying too many children today are obese because of food corporations when in reality it is not the corporations’ fault but the parents enabling and the child’s lack of activity. The employers would not hire illegals in the first place if they were not here. Yet, I do agree with the statement that the immigration system is broken, and it has been for some time.
President Obama says he is going to crack down on companies hiring illegals by increasing penalties and createing a “labor law enforcement fund” to help ensure that industries that employ significant numbers of immigrant workers comply with labor laws. I find this extremely ridiculous and arrogant. The Obama Administration wants to bring the immigration crackdown on everyone else but the illegals. According to the White House website:
It is just not practical to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants living within our borders. The President’s proposal provides undocumented immigrants a legal way to earn citizenship that will encourage them to come out of the shadows so they can pay their taxes and play by the same rules as everyone else. There will be no uncertainty about their ability to become U.S. citizens if they meet these eligibility criteria. The proposal will also stop punishing innocent young people brought to the country through no fault of their own by their parents and give them a chance to earn their citizenship more