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Essay 3
Professor Amano-Tompkins
English 28
2 June 2017
Immigration
Throughout the United States, as a society, we have experienced the issue of
immigration. The issue of immigration has brought forth a significant amount of controversy.
I believe that the negative impact that immigrants bring into our country revolve around drug
trafficking, overcrowding. Immigrants cause an impact in our society politically,
economically, and culturally. Thus, people immigrate for many reasons, some of which
include economic or political reasons, family reunification, natural disasters, or the desire to
change one's surroundings. Although many people argue that immigration has led to negative
outcomes, I do believe immigrants should be given the right to a path to citizenship.
Throughout society, many immigrants try to chase the American Dream. As a result,
some chase it with illegal documents and other are in the United States by sneaking in.
However, knowing immigrants are here illegally can be misread under any circumstances but
it leads to the justification that all immigrants who are trying to chase the “American Dream”
and live in the United States as a legal citizen show that any immigrants perseverance and
will to be someone and add success to the United States is astonishing. In the New York
Times article, “My Life As An Undocumented Immigrant”, Jose Antonio Vargas was an
illegal immigrant. Throughout the story, he discussed how his grandparents counterfeited all
of his document later to find out he was undocumented. Therefore, during his stay in the
United States, his was put in a position that affected the way he lived. He lived with an
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immense amount of fear and his ability to be happy was unknown. Vargas was tired of
running so by the end of the article he decides to come forward, own up to what he had done
and told his story to the best of his recollection. He said, “The license is valid until 2016. This
offered me five more years of acceptable identification — but also five more years of fear, of
lying to people I respect and institutions that trusted me, of running away from who I am. I’m
done running. I’m exhausted. I don’t want that life anymore (Vargas).” This is important
because even though Vargas was tired of running and getting only a certain amount of time
acceptable identification he had extensive hope in his will that one day he would not have to
run anymore. He truly wanted to reach out to other people who were in his position who were
trying to become successful and chase the American Dream.
The Meaning of U.S. Citizenship by the LA Times stated, “America is often known
as a nation of immigrants.” This is important because there are many immigrants who flee to
the United states to seek more wealth and better job opportunities. Moreover, I believe
immigration makes a more innovative, flexible, and productive economy, leading to new and
better jobs for all people. In contrast, many people would argue that immigrants cause
complications throughout the country due to many stories they hear; whether it's from the
newspapers or the news on the tv. As a matter of fact, there are some situations that can be
argued that immigrants should not have a say in having a citizenship. But, not everyone who
is an immigrant is out to bring problems. For example, Jose Antonio Vargas was an
immigrant who strived to be a better person and kept working hard to only face his facts in
the end that he may never be a legal citizen of the United States. His perseverance and hard
work told an inspiring story to many other immigrants who were in his shoes that were facing
the same exact problems he had faced. He was a professional writer that kept living the
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American dream and hopefully one day had the ability to receive the appropriate documents
to be a citizen of the United States.
U.S. immigration policy has been more notable for its failures than its successes.
According to the American Prospect, “a country treats its immigrants is a powerful statement
to the world about its values and the principles by which it stands.” This statement is
powerful because it abides by immigrants who have failed and ones who have succeeded.
According to my beliefs, when an immigrant who is trying to obtain citizenship but fails, tries
over again. We do have a problem with illegal immigrants who have tried to cross the border
to achieve the American dream. For example, many would say vendors who sell snacks to
people in poor poverty areas are illegal. I view it as individuals who want to make money to
provide for themselves and even for their families. Whether your illegal in the United States
or trying to obtain citizenship, I believe everyone should have a fair chance to earn
citizenship in the United States.
In conclusion, the immigration reform is taking place today. I will stand by
immigrants and motivate those who want to gain legal access to citizenship. No matter what
era we are living in, there will always be pros and cons to any situation that is being
proposed. Immigration can cause harm in various ways but also it can lead to success for an
individual or even a family. No matter what pros or cons are presented in a proposition, there
should always be hope for an individual who is trying to obtain citizenship. If a person is
willing to do whatever they can to obtain a certain commodity, they should have the path to
citizenship whether they are illegal or about to process information to be legal in the United
states. There are always an abundant amount of different perspectives and opinions but there
should be hope for those who are legal and who are trying to make something out of
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themselves. Overall, the given right to citizenship should be an option for an illegal
immigrant.
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Works Cited
"The Meaning of U.S. Citizenship." Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles Times, n.d. Web. 13
May 2017.
"The Fundamentals of Immigration Reform." The American Prospect. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
May 2017.
Vargas, Jose Antonio. "My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant." The New York Times . The
New York Times, 25 June 2011. Web. 13 May 2017.
