Lesson 64: Immigration
In this lesson, we will learn about immigration trends in the United States,
and then look specifically at the problem of illegal immigration. We will talk
about a few states that have passed their own stricter laws against illegal
immigration and finish by discussing immigration policies during the Obama
presidency.
Every year, over a million people immigrate to
the U.S. legally. About 13% of our population is made up of people who were not
born on American soil. Since 1977, 80% of immigrants have come from Latin
American or Asia.
The Hispanic population in
American now has grown to overtake the African American population, and if the
numbers continue to increase at this rate, minority groups will become the
collective majority by the year 2050.
Illegal immigration has been termed unauthorized immigration by Homeland
Security. A majority of illegal immigrants are from Mexico and even further
down from South America. Plus, there are students and tourists who enter
legally using a visa and fail to leave when their time expires. Actual numbers
are hard to count, but an estimate puts the illegal immigrant population at
about 11 million.
One major complication is that illegal immigrants often live in
mixed households. That means that
at least one member of the household is here legally, like a married couple
with one spouse being illegal or parents who are here illegally but their
children are born here, granting them citizenship.
Advocates for immigration argue that
immigration is a good solution to our low birthrate and our aging population.
Plus, they expand the workforce and pay taxes, which has benefits, especially
to the older Americans through Social Security and Medicare.
Opponents to immigration argue that immigrants take jobs from
hardworking Americans. Plus, they drain the economy by receiving certain
benefits like free medical and free education.
When states such as Arizona and
Alabama have tried to pass their own tough illegal immigration laws, the
Supreme Court has consistently shut them down. The Supreme Court ruled that
Arizona could not make the failure to register under federal law a state crime,
or make it a felony for illegal immigrants to work. The Court further ruled
that Arizona police needed a warrant to arrest immigrants who might be
deportable.
Alabama attempted to pass even tougher laws concerning illegal immigration and
the Court blocked most of it as well. Other states such as Georgia, Indiana,
South Carolina, and Utah are passing their own laws similar to the ones passed
in Arizona and Alabama.
When President Obama stepped into office, he was in
support of reforms that would allow illegal immigrants to become citizens. But,
that support took a back seat to health-care reform and the passage of
Obamacare. What he ended up doing was setting a record for how many illegal
immigrants he rounded up and deported, which came to 1.5 million.
When it came time for reelection,
Obama announced that
he was suspending deportation activity when it came to
illegal immigrants who were brought over here as kids and had made a decent
life for themselves. That promise turned the disappointed Latino community back
into supporters of the Democrat party.