Taylor Benedict

4/20/2016
Jamie Nelson
Political Science: Civil Rights and Liberties essay
Immigration is a widely discussed topic in American society today for many reasons, not
the least of which being a recent presidential candidates idea to build a wall around our border.
In this paper, we will explore American immigration rights and how they have been redefined
throughout the countrys history to arrive at their current status. Immigration is one of the most
difficult problems the United States of America has faced since becoming one of the leading
nations in both safety and economy, making it an attractive place to live for people from other
countries.
The definition of immigration according to the Oxford Dictionary is the action of
coming to live permanently in a foreign country (Oxford Dictionary). Immigrating to the United
States is a difficult process for many different reasons which well discuss later. Because of this
difficulty even before someone becomes a legal citizen of the United States, they still have rights
that are granted by the United States while they are within the borders. These rights are called
basic human rights, Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our
nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any
other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights
are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible (OHCHR). To just name a few basic human

rights as defined by the United Nations: we are all free and equal, there is to be no slavery, all
have the right to privacy, and all have the right to freedom of thought. These rights were
established in 1948 by the United Nations to help all people gain understanding of how to treat
all individuals fairly and humanely (Melody, Sarah). Amazingly enough, many countries that are
not a part of the United Nations do not grant their citizens these basic rights.
Those countries show us that not all people feel that basic human rights are important,
especially when it comes to immigration. This is the problem that the United States has been
facing for a while and why there has been so many changes in how rights are assigned. In the
United States the process to become a U.S. citizen is incredibly expensive and can take a
lifetime. This has been the case for my good friend Armstrong and his family. Armstrongs
parents moved to the United States from Haiti when he was four years old, his parents were
allowed to enter the United States on traveling visas. Two years later when he was six-years-old,
Armstrong entered the country also on a traveling visa to be with his family. These visas
eventually expired and could not be renewed again. That happened around the time of the
devastating earthquake in Haiti and all Haitian citizens were then granted refugee or temporary
protected status in the U.S. that must be renewed every eighteen months and costs far more than
the family has readily available. So they are still struggling to find a solution every day.
Armstrongs younger siblings are all citizens of the United States because they were born here
and hopefully when they are twenty-one they will be able to file for an immigrant visa for him
and his parents. Unfortunately, that process is estimated to take nine years or more from
beginning to end.

Armstrongs situation is not unique especially right now with so many refugees entering
the country and trying to become citizens. The United States is faced with more and more illegal
immigrants entering the country every day to seek refuge but with little to no means of meeting
the demands of our countrys many immigration policies. All people are granted their Basic
Human Rights but not the rights of this country and much is expected of them with how little is
given but in many cases the Human Rights that are given them here are better than what they
received in their own countries, so they consider it worth it.
Still some might ask why it is so difficult to receive immigrant status and become a
citizen in the United States. Why do we need anchor babies, marriage visas, US history tests,
and all other kinds of hoops to jump through to gain citizenship? Is it fair to exclude people
from the opportunity of living in a country like the United States? Should it be a special club
where only those who were born in this country are allowed? Is it against our concept of Basic
Human Rights to treat people differently just because they were born outside the borders? To
find answers to these questions we need to look at the history of the United States.
The United States, like most great nations, was actually founded upon undocumented,
blatant Immigration. During the 17th century, pilgrims from England traveled to the American
Continent and colonized the eastern coast. Over the next 200 years they separated from England,
creating their own government and policies. At first there was little to no immigration policy or
limitation and the United States flourished as more and more people immigrated to America. The
first official act in regards to immigration happened in the year 1790, when the Federal
Government established a two-year residency requirement on immigrants wishing to become
U.S. citizens (PBS). Almost 100 years later in 1875 the Supreme Court created stricter

immigration policies that stated that convicts, prostitutes, and coolies (chinese contract
laborers) are barred from entry into the United States (PBS). More exclusionary policies were
introduced slowly, a test for literacy became standard in 1917 and almost all Asian immigrants
were not allowed passage through the U.S. border (PBS). As the years continue to pass,
amendments are made and changed and removed according to circumstances. Eventually we
arrived in the present where immigration into the United States is all but impossible unless you
have the right connections; be it family, work, or money.
Today the Status of Immigration is hard to define. It is not like it used to be in many
ways. For a time, immigrants received benefits and were taken care of, but now they are often
times mistreated and neglected. Most of those who try to immigrate to the United States are
looking for asylum but what they receive is deportation back to the countries they were running
from. Unfortunately, even living in this country as a second rate citizen is better for some of
these people than living in their own countries and it could be interpreted that the United States
wants to deny them the opportunity for a better life. We can see the discrimination made obvious
in making immigration so expensive and difficult process, more often than not making it
impossible to pass the test to enter the country. One in three current U.S. citizens wouldnt be
able to pass the test but we expect those from other countries to be able to memorize when the
Declaration of Independence was signed and who wrote the constitution. Also if they choose to
defer the citizenship process, the process of applying for a temporary visa is still terribly
complicated with many steps and interviews (figure 1) and necessary documentation that, though
important, is incredibly daunting and difficult to provide and complete, especially for refugees
fleeing with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.

As the United States of America has changed throughout history so has its Immigration
Policies and some of the rights. Some rights have been granted and some have been neglected
but for the most part Immigrants to the United States are treated well and taken care of. Today
Immigration rights are Human Rights and protected as such so all may have an opportunity
though an anchor baby or wedding may be what gives someone a better chance of becoming a
citizen or not.

Figure 1 Immigration visa

process

PBS. "Immigration Policy: Past and Present." PBS. PBS. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

History.com Staff. "U.S. Immigration Since 1965." History.com. A&E Television Networks,
2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

"Definition of Immigration in English:." Immigration: Definition of Immigration in Oxford

Dictionary (American English) (US). Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

OHCHR. "What Are Human Rights." What Are Human Rights. OHCHR. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

Melody, Sarah. "We Have 30 Basic Human Rights: Do You Know Them?" Samaritanmag.
Samaritan Mag, 16 Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

"Human Rights / Immigrant Rights - Fact Sheet." Home Page. One America. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

"The Immigrant Visa Process." The Immigrant Visa Process. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.