Zachary Flowers

Mrs. Jankowski

English

28 February 2017

Immigration

We are a nation of immigrants. Successive waves of immigrants have kept our

country demographically young, enhanced our culture and added to our productive size

as a nation, enhancing our influence in the world. Immigration always has been

controversial in the United States. Immigrants bring innovative ideas and

entrepreneurial spirit to the U.S. economy. They provide business contacts to other

markets, enhancing Americas ability to trade and invest in the global economy.

According to History.com, More than two centuries ago, Benjamin Franklin worried that

too many German immigrants would swamp Americas predominantly British

culture. However, that was not the case, and America would not be the same without

the impact of immigrants. Through the years, there have been different forces behind

immigration and how these forces have an impact on the immigration experience.

Immigration has affected the United States economy, immigration policies have evolved,

and immigrants are portrayed differently in society.

According to the University of Pennsylvania, the United States is home to the

largest immigrant population in the world. Even though immigrants integrate faster in

the United States compared to developed European nations. Immigrants have an

outsized role in U.S. economic output because they are extremely likely to be working

and are concentrated among prime working ages. Immigrants comprise 16 percent of
the labor force. Moreover, many immigrants are business owners. In fact, the share of

immigrant workers who own small businesses is slightly higher than the comparable

share among U.S.-born workers. The Economic Policy Institute stated, There is a

broad agreement among academic economists that in the long run, immigration has a

small but positive impact on the labor market outcomes of native-born workers.

Research has shown that immigrants do not reduce native employment rates. However,

in the short run, immigration may slightly reduce native employment, because the

economy takes time to adjust to new immigration.

According to History.com, the first policy adopted was in 1790 that established a

uniform rule for naturalization by setting the residence requirements at two years. In

1819, Congress passed the first significant federal legislation relating specifically to

immigration. Among its requirements, it established the continuing reporting of

immigration to the United States. It set specific sustenance rules for passengers of

ships leaving U.S. ports for Europe. The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965,

also known as the Hart-Celler Act, abolished an earlier quota system based on national

origin. The new policy established a new immigration policy based on reuniting

immigrant families and attracting skilled labor to the United States. As result of this, the

demographic makeup of the American population changed, as immigrants entering the

United States under the new legislation came mainly from countries in Asia, Africa and

Latin America, instead of Europe. According to the Federation for American Immigration

Reform, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Homeland Security Act of 2002

took over many immigration service and enforcement functions formerly performed by
the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Non-citizens enter the United States by

receiving either temporary admission or permanent admission.

There are many different means of mass communication. For example,

television, movies, the radio, newspapers, the internet, and advertisements. From my

interpretation, the media presents Hispanics as being law breakers, having a low

income, and having less significant jobs. All Muslims are portrayed as being terrorists,

and women are portrayed as being passive. Because of this, there are many people

who think badly of immigrants. Many of these people are scared to get near cops, or

any American who could try to take advantage of them. But we all know that not all

immigrants fit into the stereotypes of others.

Immigrants who come to this country illegally do not pay taxes. The employers

who hire on the immigrants that come into the US without a visa, do not pay taxes on

the illegals. Companies are growing by hiring illegal immigrants so they don't have to

pay for them, so in return, they make more money.

In conclusion, through the years, there have been different forces behind

immigration and how these forces have an impact the immigration experience. There is

a broad agreement among academic economists that in the long run, immigration has a

small but positive impact on the labor market outcomes of native-born workers. Many

immigrants are also small business owners. The first immigration policy adopted was in

1790 that established a uniform rule for naturalization by setting the residence

requirements at two years. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 took over many

immigration service and enforcement functions. Now, non-citizens currently enter the

United States lawfully in one of two ways, either by receiving either temporary
admission or permanent admission. Immigrants are portrayed as being bad people by

the media, which causes everyone to stereotype them. In result of this, immigrants are

afraid of what Americans will think or say about them and how they will be treated.
 Works Cited

"Facts About Immigration and the U.S. Economy: Answers to Frequently Asked

Questions." Economic Policy Institute. N.p., 12 Aug. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

History.com Staff. "U.S. Immigration Since 1965." History.com. A&E Television

Networks, 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

"History of U.S. Immigration Laws | Federation for American Immigration Reform."

History of U.S. Immigration Laws | Federation for American Immigration Reform.

N.p., 2008. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

Krogstad, Jens Manuel, Jeffrey S. Passel, and DVera Cohn. "5 Facts about Illegal

Immigration in the U.S." Pew Research Center. N.p., 03 Nov. 2016. Web. 28 Feb.

2017.

Alnatour, Omar. "Muslims Are Not Terrorists: A Factual Look at Terrorism and Islam."

The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 09 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

Team, The CAP Immigration. "The Facts on Immigration Today." Center for American

Progress. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.