Essay Sample on Immigration to the United States

One of the major sources of population growth in the United States is due to the legal migration of people from other countries. Immigration refers to the permanent movement and settling of non-U. S nationals, legally or illegally, in the state. However, over the years, there has been the formulation of various regulations that restrict immigrants from entering the United States. For instance, the Emergency Quota Act passed by Congress in 1921 and the Immigration Act of 1924 restricted immigrants from Europe who had begun entering the country in vast numbers (Heer 35). Other regulations regarding immigration in the United States include the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. In 2017, President Donald Trump signed an order to temporarily bar immigrants from Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. The president also called for the construction of a perimeter wall across the U.S- Mexican border to stop the entry of Mexicans to the United States.

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The debate regarding whether immigrants should be allowed into the United States has been going on for a long time since policymakers have to put specific issues into consideration. For instance, concerns such as security must be weighed to come up with comprehensive immigration reform. In his campaign to run for president, President Donald Trump promised to curb illegal immigration. The plan was to build a wall across the Mexican border, ban Muslims and deport the millions of undocumented non-citizens in the United States. Currently, immigrants comprise 14% of the United States' total population.

One of the reasons why immigration to the United States should be curbed is due matters regarding national security. Over the years, there has been increased terrorism, criminality, and other issues that compromise national security (Ewing 4). The problems mentioned above have brought a debate regarding the effectiveness of the immigration system in the U.S and if citizens are secure. There have been reported cases of immigrants who are involved in crimes and the possession of dangerous weapons. After the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Orlando, and Paris, there were calls from various people to ban the entry of Muslims into the United States to curb criminals who may want to harm U.S citizens from doing so.

Secondly, immigrants lead to overcrowding and congestion in cities, and at the same time exploiting public services (Murdock 29). If these immigrants come from underdeveloped countries with limited essential amenities, they often seek for areas with higher chances of prosperity and availability of basic needs. As a result, they lead to overpopulation of cities and other urban centers thus posing various problems. The risks involved due to overcrowding include contraction of infectious diseases, high poverty levels, water scarcity, crime, and poverty among others. Immigrants lead to the stretching of resources and social services meant to serve the United States' citizens. These people put the greatest strain on the health system by creating increased demands as they have more children than the U.S citizens.

However, curbing immigration would adversely affect the United States' economy. Currently, the job market requires high-tech skills, but by 2026, more than half of the jobs available in the country would require a high school degree as the only qualification (Murdock 71). Such jobs are mostly done by immigrants who are paid low wages and work under undesirable conditions. Americans do not appreciate such low-paying and physically jobs. Therefore, the less educated immigrants with little skills have a significant impact on the country's economy. Currently, the population of foreign casual laborers and domestic workers in the United States make up 17% of the working population (Murdock 71).

In my opinion, immigration to the United should be legalized since the advantages outweigh the demerits. They significantly boost the economy of the country while undertaking jobs as casual laborers and domestic workers. However, there should be policies enacted to ensure that they enter the country illegally and with recommendations of what is expected of them. Consequences of irrational behaviors like crime should be clear and precise to discourage any illegal activities while in the country.

In conclusion, immigration in the United States is classified as illegal and legal, and it has its merits and demerits. There are more than ten million illegal immigrants in the United States, most of whom come from Mexico. The massive influx of this people has both positive and negative impacts. Some of the positive results include cultural diversity, cheap labor, and boosting the country's economy. On the other hand, the influx of these foreigners leads to overpopulation of cities, compromising of national security, and draining of social services among others. There have been several acts containing policy changes initiated by the Congress to ban immigrants from entering the country. Some of the measures that were suggested in the Immigration bill were massive deportation of foreigners and the building of a wall on the American border. President Donald Trump also ordered the construction of a wall across the U.S- Mexico border.

Works Cited

Ewing, Walter A., Daniel Martinez, and Ruben G. Rumbaut. "The criminalization of immigration in the United States." (2015).

Heer, David. Immigration in America's future: Social science findings and the policy debate. Routledge, 2018.

Murdock, Steve H. An America challenged: Population change and the future of the United States. Routledge, 2018.