An Outdated Immigration Policy

NPR IMMIGRATION PODCAST

At the turn of the 21st century, the country has experienced another great wave of immigration, the biggest since the 1920s. It's also been the first time that the number of ILlegal immigrants have been greater than the legal ones. The U.S. hasn't been particularly happy with all of the new citizens coming to the country. Many politicians tried to work out a certain guest worker program, that would lead to a path of citizenship. However, the senate couldn't agree and the legislation died. Since Obama has taken office, his administration has been diligently working to get illegal immigrants some sort of status. Keep in mind readers, this issue has been argued about since 2004. An accord was finally reached in April of this year! Yet, with the horrible economy the amount of Mexican immigrants has severely decreased. It took SO long for the government to finally agree on this issue. The nation appears so accepting, however, when their opportunities are at risk it's a different story. People are just so concerned with foreigners seizing their employment opportunities. People panic that these immigrants are going steal their jobs. Up until 1965, the way we dealt with even legal immigration was an embarrassment. The laws clearly defined superiority. It appeared that we favored Northern Europeans (whites) above other cultures. After the assassination of Kennedy the Immigration and Naturalization law was passed. However, even that had hidden motives. Congress had debates about particular nationalities: "Congress was saying in its debates, 'We need to open the door for some more British doctors, some more German engineers."(All Things Considered). This proves the fact that there was a motive behind "leveling out the immigration playing field." They were still being discriminative! They did not think about the possibility of Black or Asian professionals. This is all a very big display of cultural ignorance. America has been shaped by many different cultures. Yet, how much does the average American know about each one? A question to ponder...