Immigration

 

What does Civic Engagement mean?

By Stephen Watson

Civic engagement involves “working to make a difference in the civic life of one’s community and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.

Civic engagement refers to the ways in which citizens participate in the life of a community in order to improve conditions for others or to help shape the community’s future.

I believe civic engagement is relative to community members involving themselves within their community to bring about change, like the same way there’s revolts within a government.

Immigration Definition

Immigration means to come live in a foreign country permanently. Immigration is important to me because my parents are immigrants and so are a lot of my friends and family. I’ve heard many stories from them and that is why I wanted to talk about the topic today.

Issue:

My issue with immigration mostly is how it strips families away from others and how flawed the system is for becoming a citizen of the U.S legally. The process of becoming a citizen takes way too long and leaves the families who want to immigrate to the U.S in a bad position.

Research

First of all the system Is far too restrictive, even since the 1820’s the U.S has only admitted an average of 30 % per year. The U.S  net immigration rate for legal and illegal ranks bottom 3^rd out of the 50 countries with the highest per capita in the world. The U.S share of foreign born residents is also bottom third. Another problem is that the immigration quotas have become stagnant. Congress hasn’t updated quota since 1990. During his time the U.S’ population has increased by 30 percent and the economy has doubled. One of the biggest problems with immigration is the fact that they wait in line for decades. Most children and parents who are just receiving green card had to wait 2 decades. Because of the low quota for immigration these people are left waiting for an unreasonable amount of time.

Bier, David J. Cato.org, https://www.cato.org/blog/why-legal-immigration-system-broken-short-list-problems.

 

To continue U.S Immigration criminalizes immigrants, refugees, and also asylum seekers. The unjust punishments lead to incarceration and deportations, both of which tear families apart. Immigration laws that criminalize migration and unfairly punish those who have interacted with the criminal legal system separate families and shatter communities at every stage in the immigration process. Many of the family separations that continue to occur at the border are children removed from parents accused of criminal activity, with little to no requirements on the government to even provide justifications for the separations. Farther from the border, laws that incentivize harsher punishments for non-citizens, including deportation, regularly separate families by sending mothers and fathers into permanent exile.

“Decriminalize Immigration.” National Immigrant Justice Center, https://immigrantjustice.org/issues/decriminalize-immigration.

 

Personal:

The reason I chose this issue is because my parents are immigrants. My mom is from Mexico and my dad is from the Philippines, both places with which immigrants have to wait ridiculously long times before being able to come to the U.S. My parents were lucky enough to become citizens here relatively early in life and have me in the U.S. It affects me because I have family members who are stuck in the Philippines and in Mexico

 

How Has Immigration Affected You or Someone Close to You.

Aureo Peneloza: I feel like Immigration has affected me through my family, being a first generation to immigrant parents growing up I would constantly see my parents in  fear the law, afraid of losing everything they accomplished through the years. I feel like immigration should have a smoother process so that criminals aren’t constantly.

Brianna Felix: “My parents immigrated to the U.S before I was born for a better future for my siblings and I. They left everything behind which was a really tough decision but was for the best. I’d say if they didn’t immigrate I wouldn’t be living the same life I enjoy now and the same goes for my parents. Immigration affected my parents a lot as well because they also had to leave family behind. Fortunately my dad was able to work and so was my mom to be able to have their own house and buy their own stuff and indulge in the luxuries of having money. Immigrating over they were able to start a family in a better government with protection and all that compared to living in Mexico. My uncle was deported, leaving behind 3 of my cousins and my aunt which was heart breaking. It put a lot of strain on my 17 year old cousin as she had to pick up the other half of the bills, always working and unable to enjoy personal time.

 

Jose Enriquez: “Immigration has affected the people around me when I see families get separated oreven just people on the street. We didn’t see a close local street vendor who I’ve known for 3 years and we thpught they took him. It shows the gravity of the situation on how immigration has affected a lot because we don’t know if one day someone may be found and then taken away just because they immigrated here better opportunities.

Resources:

Bier, David J. Cato.org, https://www.cato.org/blog/why-legal-immigration-system-broken-short-list-problems

“Decriminalize Immigration.” National Immigrant Justice Center, https://immigrantjustice.org/issues/decriminalize-immigration.