Immigration as a Social Issue in the US - Essay Example

Immigration Introduction Immigration is one of the most important yet contentious social issue in the United States. The Obama administration has received immense criticism from both the elected leaders and the public owing to its controversial approach to the issue. Immigration is the migration of people from different countries to another country. Such is a major source of population growth and cultural diversity in the country. Despite such, the complex demographic phenomenon gives rise to a number of social problems such as identity theft, increasing crime rate and drug abuse among others. Peter Mathews argues in his book, Dollar Democracy, that the cause of every social ill in the country is legalized bribery of the elected leaders (Madrid 101). Such is the case with the analysis of immigration. Immigration presents a flurry of social problems to the country all of which arise from the legalized bribery of the elected official as the discussion below portrays. The United States is the world’s largest economy and a model democracy. The country has a number of systematic legislations that govern every aspect of the society. As such, one would assume that the United States is an ideal society in which every aspect follows a set of stipulated legislations. While the American government would wish to sell such propaganda, the truth of the matter remains that immigration is the leading source of most of the social problems in the country. Immigration continues to present a number of problems despite the existence of both effective legislations and equally effective government institutions mandated with the regulation of the immigration process (Masud-Piloto 68). If the legislations and the constitutional institutions worked effectively, the country would have an ideal system of immigration, one that would not cause the numerous social problems. However, both the legislations and the institutions continue to experience infiltrations of bribery thereby failing to work in tandem to protect the country from the problems of immigration. American immigration laws strive to capture every aspect of the social phenomenon thereby ensuring that everyone interested in migrating to the United States does so but only after meeting the legal requirements. According to the laws, immigration is a systematic social procedure that should not cause any social problems. Legally, immigrants can seek such basic services as education, health care and jobs provided the laws permit them. This implies that such are ideal immigrations that should not cause any form of social upheaval or contribute to the social vices (Yoshida and Woodland 43). The United States has a number of law enforcement agencies including the police departments and border patrol all of whom should oversee the immigration process thereby keeping the country safe and secure. The United States has found itself in a precarious state and unable to regulate the immigration process effectively. The government does not have any definite number of immigrants entering country either legally or illegally. Such is a vital concern to the American people and points out to the nature of corruption in the country’s legal system. The legal institutions do not carry out effective surveillance of the borders thereby leaving them porous. Illegal immigration accounts for more than 70% of immigrants in the country (Haugen and Susan 71). Once in the country, the political leadership continues to portray greed and self-interests, both of which are forms of a corruption in the legal system, thereby failing to provide an effective legal solution to the menace. Given the social and legal structures in the country, people without social security number among other valid documentation should not exist. Such people cannot access such basic services as health care, education and cannot seek any form of employment from both the government and the private sector. In fact, such people should not always rent houses or buy the property in the country. Such provisions create a system where no one can survive unless they seek official recognition from the state. It, therefore, becomes ironic for such a country to continue recording an ever-increasing number of illegal immigrants who come from neighboring countries and continue to risk the lives of legitimate Americans. The increasing number of illegal immigrants in the country shows bribery of elected officials who fail to carry out their constitutional duties effectively, various lobbyists, corporations, and the wealthy stand to benefit from such social developments. This motivates them to continue bribing the system thereby exposing the country to unregulated immigration. Immigration influences various important aspects of the society key among which is the voting pattern. The United States has a unique social pattern often characterized by racial discrimination, ethnicity differences, and upward social mobility issues. The political elite in the country, therefore, continue to formulate immigration laws that protect their interests. Such is a complex type of corruption as the political leaders formulate laws that protect their interests. Before 1965, the country had discriminatory immigration laws such as the national origins formula, which limited opportunities for both immigration and naturalization to people from Western Europe only. The legislations were politically motivated as the white majority sought to advance their hold on political power. They permitted the naturalization of people from Western Europe since such people would perpetuate the politics of race superiority thereby fostering the country’s political system. A modern trend in immigration is developing as the country’s politicians watch helplessly. As the real estate’s industry continues to expand, the corporations continue to target the wealthy from other countries. Among the most viable markets are China and Japan. The wealthy people from China and Japan among other Eastern countries continue to buy such property even though they lack American citizenship (Haines 77). Analysts have claimed that such developments portray the interests that citizens of such countries have in the United States and their desire to settle in the country in case of any emergency in their home country. China, for example, is currently the most polluted country in the world. The wealthy people in the country are therefore preparing to evacuate their country and settle in the United States. They, therefore, buy such prime property with the agents often engaging in such serious crimes like money laundering in their desire to sell their high valued property. The above scenario is a contemporary development that shows the level of corruption in the system as corporations continue to bribe the political leadership in order to permit them to grow their profits by exploiting the weak systems. The corporations have systematic and equally effective ways of bribing the political class. The directors of the leading corporations constitute the wealthiest section of the population. Additionally, some of them are politicians. This way, they access the intricate parts of the country’s political systems. Some corporations finance politicians during campaigns with the view to gaining immense financial benefits incase their candidates succeeds. The benefits come in the form of review of the laws in the country in order to permit the multinationals to gain immense profits, as is the case with the current trends in the real estate’s industry. Another equally important corruption is the tremendously slow pace of naturalization of immigrants. As explained earlier, illegal immigration is a major source of concern for most Americans. Illegal immigrants are among the most vulnerable group in the country. Such people sneak into the country by exploiting the weak political and constitutional structures in the country with the hopes of finding employment and better-living conditions in the country (Borjas 54). However, once in the country they never achieve their desires. The country has a complex naturalization process that does not make it easy for such a group of people to exist in the country. Illegal immigrants, therefore, resort to crime, sale and use of drugs and prostitution among other risky occupations. President Barack Obama faced immense criticism when he recently stated that his government would naturalize more than two million immigrant children who had crossed the country’s border from Mexico among other neighboring countries. Naturalizing the children would benefit the country since such children would quit living in fear and in deplorable conditions. They would seek education, seek high-quality health care and find jobs. Such a policy was a sure way of cushioning the country from the various social ills that arise from the illegal immigrants. Failing to naturalize such children would mean that the children would grow up to become unwanted in the society and unable to seek the basic services. Such populations enhance the spread of diseases and perpetuate the growing rate of crime in most cities. Furthermore, the American government cannot always send them back to their countries since they lack any documentation. American politicians failed to be visionary in their approach to the issue thereby putting the lives of Americans at risk of the myriad social problems associated with the high number of illegal immigrants. In retrospect, Peter Mathews’ autopsy on American declining fortunes is indeed true. The country faces a number of social problems all of which arise from the legalized bribery of the political class in the country. Immigration remains a major concern and a contentious issue in the country. Immigration is a natural process that contributes to the population growth of the country and may, therefore, help safeguard the future of the country. However, through the legalized bribery of the political class in the country, various systems continue to fail, and immigration continues to present a number of serious social problems that threaten the future of the country. Works cited Borjas, George J. Mexican Immigration to the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. Internet resource. Haines, David W. Illegal Immigration in America: A Reference Handbook. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Greenwood Press, 1999. Print. Haugen, David M, and Susan Musser. Illegal Immigration. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Print. Madrid, Cori. Dollar Democracy: The Politics of Dollarization in Latin America. , 2014. Print. Masud-Piloto, Felix R. From Welcomed Exiles to Illegal Immigrants: Cuban Migration to the U.s., 1959-1995. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996. Print. Yoshida, Chisato, and A D. Woodland. The Economics of Illegal Immigration. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Print. Read More