Saron Tesfaye

Government 2305-81019

Professor Calin Scoggins

December 10, 2015

Immigration Policy

America is a nation of immigrants. However, it doesn’t mean anyone can walk in unauthorized.

As a country, it has to protect its borders and immigration laws. According to Opposing Viewpoints

Online Collection “…The 2010 US Census reported that 10 million illegal immigrants resided in the

United States” ("Illegal Immigrants", 1), and these numbers are increasing rapidly. The major problems

the United States face are: how to deal with illegal immigrants currently in the country, and how to

strengthen and increase border security. This essay will address these issues based on my point of view

and find support from current presidential candidates on the solutions. I will present research on the costs

and benefits associated with the proposed solutions on these major problems as well as compare my

findings with my initial opinions about these issues.

In my assessment, solving the problem between what to do with the undocumented immigrants

and strengthening the border security boils down which one needs to be solved first. Therefore, I suggest

to reinforce the borders and security by building fences around the southern borders, and increasing

border patrols, as the first course of action. Second grant amnesty, provide path to citizenship, and

establish some kind of temporary guest worker program to the undocumented immigrants already residing

in the country. The United States needs strong borders to keep out illegal immigrants and drug smuggling.

Afterwards find a way to document the undocumented “Americans” because it is immoral to separate

families and take away their security. It is also difficult, financially, to displace millions of people and

take care of the people they supported. If we secure the borders and have documented people in the

United States, we will have somewhat of a clean slate to discuss other immigration policies.

The problems I have mentioned are the main issues around immigration that are being addressed

by many presidential candidates in the 2016 election. Among these candidates, Governor Jeb Bush and
former Secretary of States Hillary Clinton partially agree with my solutions for both problems. The

Republican and Democrat candidates Bush and Clinton, respectively, have differences in all the issues

raised in these election debates, including immigration policy. However, they somehow have a similar

solution to the problems I have addressed. For example, regarding the issue on how to strengthen and

increase border security; on 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin, Clinton

acknowledged her stance and how it differs from Bush by saying:

There’s a lot we’ve learned about technology and smart fencing. There is technology that can be
used instead of a physical barrier. It requires us having enough personnel along the border so that
people can be supervising a certain limited amount of space and can be responsive in the event of
people attempting to cross illegally. The way that the Bush administration is going about this,
filing eminent domain actions against landowners and municipalities, makes no sense. After a
careful review, listening to the people who live along the border, there may be limited places
where it would work. But let’s deploy more technology and personnel, instead of the physical
barrier. That will work better and will give us an opportunity to secure our borders without
interfering with family relations, business relations, recreation and so much else that makes living
along the border wonderful. ("Hillary Clinton on Immigration")
Regarding the issue on how to deal with illegal immigrants currently in the country, Democrats declared

on their official web page, for undocumented residence in good standing, to atone for breaking the law

and learn English before asking for citizenship ("IMMIGRATION REFORM"). Despite being a

Republican, Bush has identical view. According to ontheissues.org, he tends to be more moderate on the

issue of immigration. Regarding a question about granting citizenship to undocumented immigrants living

in America. He answered, “‘yes …You have to deal with this issue,’ […] ‘You can't ignore it, and so

either a path to citizenship, which I would support--or a path to residency of some kind’” ("Jeb Bush on

Immigration."). Certainly there are opposing views between these two administrations. However, they

have a similar idea on how to secure the borders and deal with undocumented residents in the United

States.

Nothing is black or white in this universe and as a result these solutions have costs and benefits to

them. From my research, it shows that securing the borders by fencing and having a closed door
immigration policy cost US more than it benefit. What makes fencing costly is the area we are trying to

protect. An article from Wall Street Journal try to explain the measured distance of this border by saying

“If you were to lift the Texas end of that border, like a string, and move it northward toward the Great

Lakes, the length of the border between the U.S. and Mexico, as noted on the nearby map, is about the

distance from San Diego to Chicago. That "border" would cross California, Utah, Colorado, Nevada,

Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois--most of the American continent” (Henninger), and there is no way to secure

it. If the United States tries to build a high-tech fence only along the 53 miles of the Arizona border, it

will nearly cost $1 billion to build it ("Homeland Security Scraps High-Tech Border Fence"). These

fences won’t only cost financially, it’ll also cost the safety of the citizens. According to an article

published by CQ Researcher the physical fence will leave Americans on the other side of the border. In

Brownsville, the fence cut through the campus of the University of Texas, leaving some facilities south of

the wall (Karaim, 760). Therefore, the construction of fences around the border don’t seem to benefit

anybody. It is not even fulfilling its purpose. In the same article published by CQ Researcher displays a

graph that show and conclude strengthening the US-Mexican borders in San Diego in early 1990s, only

shifted the immigration to Tucson which skyrocketed in 2004. As a result “the overall number of illegal

immigrants – 630,000 – apprehended in the San Diego and Tucson border remained about the same in

2004 as in 1992” (Karaim, 752).

The case with the benefit of closed door immigration policy most people raise are rise in job

access and wages. Stein, at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, says “if the people here

illegally had to leave, wages would rise, and employers would suddenly have incentives to provide things

like health care again” (Karaim, 752), but people who support closed door policy argue that “America is

strong because it has long been the nation richest in the resource that matters most: talent. Yet the U.S.

government every year turns away tens of thousands of the most talented, motivated people in the world”

(Katherine), besides the humanity of the act. Therefore, to secure its borders and strengthen its

immigration policy in a way that benefit the United States all depends on the cost and how much US is

willing to pay.
 All in all the research I have done for this paper have changed my thoughts. In my initial opinion

I was supporting the construction of fences around the border and more personnel to increase border

security. And granting citizenship or some kind of residence for illegal immigrants already residing in the

country. Although I still believe that we should secure the borders, I no longer think we should have

physical barrier around the borders. The thought of great walls along the borders are nice, but it is nice as

an idea. There is no practicality to it. However I still believe the US should hire more guards around the

borders. Despite my change of heart about the border security, I still support the idea of citizenship for

illegal immigrants in the US that have good standing with the law. They deserve to stay because they

have earned it by working jobs that is no longer desirable by Americans. In my opinion, no matter what

US say about its disadvantage because of the illegal immigration, the cost of constructing a fence along

the borders and deporting millions of immigrants cost more than it benefits. Therefore I suggest for the

US and Mexico government to work together in protecting the borders or Mexico to join the United States

as one of its states.

"Background on Immigration." Background on Immigration. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.

<http://www.ontheissues.org/Background_Immigration.htm>.

"Hillary Clinton on Immigration." Hillary Clinton on Immigration. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.

<http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Hillary_Clinton_Immigration.htm>.

"Homeland Security Scraps High-Tech Border Fence." Wall Street Journal (Online) Jan 14 2011.

ProQuest. Web. 8 Dec. 2015

"Illegal Immigrants." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints

in Context. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.

"IMMIGRATION REFORM." Democrats.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.

<https://www.democrats.org/issues/immigration-reform>.

"Jeb Bush on Immigration." Jeb Bush on Immigration. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.

<http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Jeb_Bush_Immigration.htm>.

Henninger, Daniel. "America's Berlin Wall; A Fence Built Along the Border with Mexico Will Stand as a

Permanent Embarrassment to the United States." Wall Street Journal (Online) Jun 20 2013.

ProQuest. Web. 8 Dec. 2015

Karaim, Reed. "America's Border Fence." CQ Researcher 19 Sept. 2008: 745-68. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.

Karaim, Reed. "Border Security." CQ Researcher 27 Sept. 2013: 813-36. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.

Katherine Mangu-Ward. "Talent on the Move; A Passionate Case for Open Immigration Policies, and the

Recruiting and Retaining of Foreign-Born Talent." Wall Street Journal (Online) Dec 28 2011.

ProQuest. Web. 8 Dec.