Immigration in the United States

Many immigrants come into America from Mexico. It's very hard for these immigrants to become citizens, although it may seem like they are starting a new life after moving to America. One common case involving immigration is when immigrants drive without licenses. It's probably because they never went to get a license since they shouldn't be living in America. Felipa Valencia was an illegal immigrant who was the cause of an accident, and now is facing a 12 day detention as well as deportation. With only three states, Washington, New Mexico, and Utah supplying license to those without residence papers, it's hard to find out which people are illegal immigrants.

Preston, Julia, and Robert Gebeloff. "Illegal Immigrants Who Drive Risk More than a Ticket - Hawaii News - Staradvertiser.com." Hawaii News, Honolulu, Honolulu News, Sports, Editorial, Features, Travel and Business - Honolulu Star-Advertiser - Hawaii Newspaper. 10 Dec. 2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2010.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20101210_Illegal_immigrants_who_drive_risk_more_than_a_ticket.html.

The DREAM Act is a bill that provides residency to people who at one point were immigrants when they were children. They would then be known as American citizens. There are a few ways to become an American citizen, one way is to attend college. Another way is to join the military for a minimum of two years. "An earlier plan would have married the DREAM Act to a bill providing permanent residency for Haitian orphans who came to the United States after an earthquake devastated the nation a little less than a year ago." (Allen 1) This means that at an earlier point in time, immigrants could have become American citizens, and for different reason.

Allen, Jonathon, and Scott Wong. "Democrats Explore Pairing Immigration Bills - Jonathan Allen and Scott Wong - POLITICO.com." Politics, Political News - POLITICO.com. 7 Dec. 2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2010. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46100.html

Many people know of immigrants coming from Mexico, because it is very common, but there are a great number of immigrants coming from other countries as well. People to come America from Mexico, Italy, the United Kingdom, and plenty of other countries as well. America isn't the only "free-land" though; people escape from their countries and live in Brazil, India, and ironically, Mexico. With all the illegal immigrants in America, a great number of jobs get taken away from the real citizens. The actual number of unemployed people in America is 26,203,427, and that number is increasing every minute. Although, you have to take into account that there are a lot of jobs that immigrants take, that many Americans wouldn't do. These are jobs that involve risking health and danger.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

In my opinion, I don't think we should immigrants living in America illegally. It takes away all the benefits and jobs from the real citizens. Of course everyone has to make a living, but they shouldn't be doing it illegally. It probably isn't that hard to find work in Mexico if it's easy in America. "To get a job, illegal immigrants need a Social Security number, and they often borrow one." (Sullivan 1) Some Americans are sharing there identity's immigrants.

Sullivan, Bob. "Hidden Cost of Illegal Immigration: ID Theft." The Red Tape Chronicles - Msnbc.com. 31 Mar. 2006. Web. 4 Jan. 2011. .

There are many songs that have been released that talk about and explain the process of how immigrants get to America, how hard it is for them to become and citizens, and just everything they deal with. I found "Illegal Alien" by Genesis to be a very good song concerning immigration.




Got out of bed, wasn't feeling too good
With my wallet and my passport, a new pair of shoes
The sun is shining so I head for the park,
With a bottle of Tequila, and a new pack of cigarettes

I got a cousin and she got a friend,
Who thought that her aunt knew a man who could help
At his apartment I knocked on the door,
He wouldn't come out until he got paid.

Now don't tell anybody what I wanna do
If they find out you know that they'll never let me through, cos
It's no fun being an illegal alien, no
It's no fun being an illegal alien

Down at the office had to fill out the forms
A pink one, a red one, the colours you choose,
Up to the counter to see what they think
They said "it doesn't count man, it ain't written in ink".

I don't trust anybody, least not around here, cos
It's no fun being an illegal alien, I tell ya
It's no fun being an illegal alien, no no no no no
It's no fun being an illegal alien, I mean it when I tell ya that
It's no fun being an illegal alien,
An illegal alien, O.K.

Consideration for your fellow man
Would not hurt anybody, it sure fits in with my plan
Over the border, there lies the promised land
Where everything comes easy, you just hold out your hand

Keep your suspicions, I've seen that look before
But I ain't done nothing wrong now, is that such a suprise

But I've got a sister who'd be willing to oblie
She will do anything now to help me get to the outside

So don't tell anybody what I wanna do
If they find out you know that they'll never let me through, because

It's no fun being an illegal alien, I tell ya
It's no fun being an illegal alien, and it's getting me down
It's no fun being an illegal alien, no no no no no
It's no fun being an illegal alien, yeah yeah yeah

It's no fun (not much fun) being an illegal alien, I tell ya that
It's no fun being an illegal alien, I tell ya
It's no fun being an illegal alien, no no no
It's no fun (not bloody much fun) being an illegal alien,
It's no fun being an illegal alien, and that's what I am.


This was rated as possibly the worst song to ever be released by the group, but it explains the process of how hard it is to become an actual citizen in America. Because of how hard it is, many immigrants live in America illegally. Many immigrants consider America, the place where "everything comes easy", which is what is being refered to in the song. Papers need to by signed and stamped for an immigrant to become a citizen, and not just anyone can get their papers signed and stamped. It's a lot harder than it seems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDdFgYWyoHE

http://www.frugal-cafe.com/public_html/frugal-blog/frugal-cafe-blogzone/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/immigration-usa-cartoon.jpg

This picture shows immigrants on their way to America. Of course it isn't as easy as it looks in the picture to cross the border, but the American side shows many benefits that illegal immigrants have. The picture shows a trail of immigrants digging under a gate to get to America. In America, they can get free education, free health care, and have many more oppurtunities.

There is a big sign that reads, "U.S.A. KEEP OUT" but there isn't much else that would prevent immigrants from coming to America. With no protection, many immigrants would come because they know they could get far with all the benefits. Most of the time they get free health care is because they don't have "real" names or adresses, since they are living here illegally.