Immigration Reform: One Latinas Perspective

Immigration reform is a very divisive issue in America today. The arguments for and against immigration range from “Illegal immigrants take away American jobs” to “Give illegal immigrants in America green cards”. There are so many opinions on immigration reform that it’s sometimes hard to determine what is fact and what is fiction.

Here are the facts according to Do Something.org:

1. There were an estimated 38 million immigrants in the United States in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2010, 9.6 million came from Mexico, 1.9 million from China and about a million from Canada.

2. An estimated 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants live and work in the United States, or around one in every 20 workers, according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center based on government figures

3. Illegal aliens contribute about as much to the public coffers in taxes as they receive in benefits. New data suggests the undocumented pay about 46% as much in taxes as do natives, but use about 45% as much in services. A poll of the most respected economists found a consensus that both legal and illegal immigrants are beneficial economically.

4. As the country debates stricter enforcement of immigration laws, thousands of people who are not American citizens are being locked up for days, months or years while the government decides whether to deport them. Some have no valid visa; some are legal residents, but have past criminal convictions; other are seeking asylum from persecution.

5. Immigrants are an essential element in keeping the American economy strong, from fast food businesses to high-tech industry; they are filling an intrinsic need in the labor force.

6. The foreign-born population of the US is 12.5% of the total population (in 2010).

Now the people that are against Immigration Reform need to realize that all of us are Immigrants except for the Native Americans. Lest we forget the people who founded America came from European countries. African-Americans were dragged from their homeland in Africa and forced to work on American soil. Native Americans were killed off almost entirely and forced to move time and time again constantly uprooted from their lands. No one has any right to say that we shouldn’t have immigrants, save the Native Americans.

We should be able to share the land with others and have an easier way of helping undocumented immigrants to become legal American citizens.

I interviewed one young Latino woman about her views on immigration and here is what she said:

Q. Why did your family come here?

A. My family came to the United States when I was about seven or eight with the intention of obtaining a better education, and to improve my chances of succeeding. The U.S. offered a fresh beginning from the straining economy in Mexico. My mom used to work long shifts in a factory and for part of my childhood I remember waiting up for her to come home, and falling asleep without getting to see her.

Q. How do you feel about the efforts in Washington to help with immigration reform?

A. I feel like the issue of immigration has been in the dark for so long, and it’s finally getting to a magnitude that can’t be ignored. Immigrants play a huge role in the economy, despite misconceptions about immigration and economics. My parents pay taxes just like any citizen.

Q. What would you like people to know about people in similar situations like yourself?

A. For all the undocumented youth out there, whatever your ethnicity, remember to not give up. We have grown up in this wonderful land; we are American, but not on paper… yet.

These women have a unique perspective on immigration something that only they could genuinely answer. People should begin to understand the other side of the immigration issue and look at things from their perspective. We can only become a better nation when we learn to embrace our diversity and truly live up to the Constitution which we hold so dear to our hearts. “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.”

Resources:

http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-immigrants