1

Ali Buckley
11/22/16
Mr. Burgess
English 101
Encouragement
The immigration system in the United States is in shambles. The government has been
trying to reform immigration, yet they have no idea what to do with the immense amount of
undocumented immigrants already in our country. It is unfortunate that we, as a country have
been allowing this to go on, but where do we go from here?Just imagine what the world would
be like if every child never had to endure a consequence after they disobeyed their parents. When
there is no punishment to a wrongdoing, there is no reason for the child to stop doing it. This is
just a simple analogy if the U.S. granted amnesty to the eleven million illegal immigrants.
Amnesty is not a solution. It is an encouragement.
We should not grant amnesty to the millions of illegal immigrants because of the
following reasons: economic burden (ProCon 1), increase to even more undocumented
immigrants, as well as potential danger to the United States. The economic burden is a huge
factor we need to first seriously consider.
A majority of these immigrants have come to the U.S. in search for a better life. This
includes finding employment. Americans have become filled with frustration due to the amount
of jobs being rapidly taken by people who are not even supposed to be in our country in the first
place. Many may argue that these illegal immigrants are, eager to pick crops, clean houses, bus
tables, (Krayewski 2) and do the jobs most Americans dont want to do. It is not reasonable to
generalize that eleven million people only have jobs that are not any better than being a janitor.

Even if people in support of the amnesty did want to argue that, we are only thinking of right
now and not the future generations. Undocumented immigrants have continued to increase, from
3 million in 1986 to 11 million today (New York Times UpFront 2). We need to be thinking
about what we want America to look like in 2050. How many immigrants do we want, and what
kind of job skills and education do we want them to have, (New York Times UpFront 1). In other
words, just because most Americans may be financially stable right now, we are not looking at
the big picture. The reality is without any plan to tighten our border control, illegal immigration
will not only continue but also increase. This could very well mean high unemployment rate in
our near future. Another point to add, Americans may technically not want those jobs, but at
the end of the day it can pay the bills. They still receive some amount of salary. They can still
feed their families. These kind of jobs still provide not only an opportunity but a feeling of hope.
Also giving the 11 million immigrants forgiveness only motivates more immigrants to sneak in.
According to New York Times Upfront, granting amnesty is just going to motivate more
people to sneak into our country. Rewarding lawbreakers by handing them the very thing they
are after can only encourage more people to break the law, (2). The first initial thought many
may argue is that there are too many illegal immigrants, so just give them the amnesty and be
done with it (Krayewski 5). Well, what happens to all the immigrants in the process of trying so
hard to come to America legally? Where is their justice? It just encourages them to stop putting
in the work to do it the right way when everyone else is committing the crime to ultimately get
forgiveness. Just because granting amnesty is not the right solution does not mean deporting all
the law-abiding illegal immigrants is either.
Also, there are different solutions than just trying to deport 11 million undocumented
people. The New York Times Upfront states a quote from Congressman Steve King; I oppose

providing a pathway to citizenship because you cant offer incentives for breaking the law
without expecting more laws to be broken (2). Although King disagrees with the pathway to
citizenship doesnt mean it is not an option. A reformation does not necessarily mean the U.S. is
just going to deport all of the illegal immigrants. Although There needs to be stricter border
control on immigration, there also needs to be some sort of plan for the law-abiding illegal
immigrants that are already here to become documented. People may still argue with that, and
say it would be exceedingly difficult so just grant them amnesty,(Krayewski 5). If we go
back in time to 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act providing
amnesty for 3 million illegal aliens, mentions Ian Smith, an attorney in Washington D.C, Since
then, our illegal-alien population has quadrupled (2). So, where exactly does it stop, America? If
everyone started to rob banks but nobody realized it until half the money was gone would we just
ignore it because everyone was doing it? Its as if a teenager got in trouble for drinking at a party.
Are they just going to tell the police well everyone else was doing it so they won't get a
consequence? We have always helped immigrants, but we need to keep in mind the standards we
have as a country.
Throughout history whether is was the Irish in the 1840s escaping a famine, or European
peasants running away from rapid population growth, America has always been a sort of safe
haven for immigrants. For Mexicans victimized by the Revolution, Jews fleeing the pogroms in
Eastern Europe and Russia, and Armenians escaping the massacres in Turkey, America provided
refuge, (The Statue of Liberty- Ellis Island 1). With that being said, just because illegal
immigrants should have some kind of consequence doesnt mean the U.S. is against immigration
altogether. The array of all the different kinds of people that live in America is what makes it so
unique.

The diversity America has is what makes it so great, but we cant just let people we know
nothing about into our country. The reality is that not everyone has good intentions. People have
different motives. Drugs, crime, gangs, violence, and terrorism are very real. Knowledgeable
Americans have come to understand that our welcoming immigration policies are easily
exploited by terrorists and that porous borders and lax immigration enforcement are no longer an
option (ProCon 1). It makes sense to know who you are letting into your country instead of not
doing anything and letting the bad guys take advantage of the situation. People refuse to see the
seriousness of the problem. Border control is not uncommon. Many countries, including Japan
have strict border control, which has one of the highest standards of living in the world and a
very selective immigration system (Smith 2). Smith also mentions that, if they told the 300
million living below the poverty line in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam that they were
switching to an open border system, Japan wouldnt be Japan for very long (2). In other words,
Japan wouldnt be at that standard anymore because anyone can live there, no questions asked.
Even when you go on a plane to a different state, you have to undergo certain protocol. It is a
process that everyone has to go through. It does not matter what gender, race, age, religion, or
political view a person has. Each person has to go through the set of rules in order to go on the
airplane. They have to buy the ticket, check all their bags, and even go through a metal detector.
It does not mean someone thinks a certain person is a criminal, nor is it meant to offend anyone.
It is simply to reassure every person in that particular airport to remain calm, comfortable and
safe. This should be the same thought process with immigrating to the United States.
Altogether, Steve King says it best: Its a basic law of economics: When you reward a
behavior, you get more of it; when you punish something, you get less of it (New York Times
Upfront 2). We, as Americans, admit that our immigration system needs to be repaired. We need

to realize reforming the system and getting a stricter border control needs to be taken extremely
serious in order to protect not only the citizens of the United States but the future generations as
well. Granted amnesty is not a solution. It is an encouragement.

Works Cited
"Immigration Timeline." The Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island. Foundation, Inc., n.d. Web. 22 Nov.
2016.
Krayewski, Ed. "5 Reasons to Grant Amnesty to Illegal Immigrants." Reasons.com. N.p., 7 Feb.
2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.
"Should Undocumented Immigrants Get a 'Path to Citizenship'" The New York Times Upfront.
N.p., 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.
Smith, Ian. "Yes, Amnesty Encourages More Illegal Immigration." National Review. N.p., 26
Feb. 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.
"Top 10 Pros and Cons." ProCon.org. Founder's Circle, 13 Apr. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.