Greetings.
As everyone is currently aware, we are in the midst of the 2016 Presidential Race. Tonight, September 16, 2015, is the Republican Presidential Debate. Tensions are high between the top eleven candidates, and everyone is hoping to land a knock-out on the other (with Donald Trump being the primary target).
The candidates will be discussing (or more than likely arguing) over some very important subjects tonight. These pressing political issues range from international to domestic and even social. Every one of these topics is just as important as the other, which creates a very challenging situation to choose just ONE on which to focus for this post.
I’ll be focusing on one of the many issues that is both very important to the country and that resonates with my inner politician. This very important issue is immigration, and it has social, economic, and ethical ramifications.
Immigration is a very turbulent issue with opinions spanning across the spectrum. This isn’t the most important political issue facing our country, but it is one of the most important domestic-related issue. Illegal immigration is a subject that has slipped across the spotlight since well before 2008.
On July of 1868, the 14th Amendment was ratified and granted citizenship to any child born in the United States by parents who are in the country by legal means. Traditionally this applied to slaves, but in our modern times it normally applies to those with Visas or Green Cards.
The United States and its Constitutional Rights is a beacon to those in other countries who are being oppressed and denied basic civil liberties, or experiencing a poor quality of life. This country is one of the primary safe havens that provides those in need with help. However, the prospects of a better life have attracted so many people that many forego the legal means to get into the country in favor of a quicker and easier means of coming in...simply walking across the country's protected borders without bothering to apply for the appropriate paperwork. We label these individuals as illegal immigrants.
Some argue that illegal immigrants are harmful and are taking all of our jobs and damaging the economy. At the same time others say that these immigrants aid the economy by taking the jobs that the majority of Americans traditionally wouldn’t want to have. Either way you lean, this problem is of utmost importance because it has gone unsolved for countless years.
Many point out that illegal immigration causes or at least complicates the drug and violence problems within the United States. They want to label illegals as "bad," and seem single-minded in that opinion. But I believe that every situation is different and unique, and that we cannot cut off the United States from the rest of the Western Hemisphere, especially from those who are truly in need.
It is estimated that there are over 11.5 million illegal or undocumented immigrants in America. These people have created lives for themselves, with homes and jobs and families here. We cannot uproot all of them and expect America to be the better off. The majority of illegal immigrants hail from Mexico and the South / Central Americas. Therefore, their culture(s) have slowly been integrated with what is American Culture. For example, many of us now routinely learn Spanish and English in school, and it’s not uncommon to be throwing a backyard BBQ at the same time the neighbors are having a fiesta. We are an eclectic people and enjoy taking tidbits of culture and policy from many different sources and combining it into the nation we have today. Basically, our country is the melting pot of the world, as has been said for decades.
I could continue to elaborate for many paragraphs, but it's the candidates' perspectives in which we are interested. For me, I'd like to discuss Donald Trump and his views towards this hot issue of immigration.
According to this website, Trump’s main plan when he takes office is to deport all illegal immigrants from all over the country. He also plans on building a wall across the border with Mexico stating, “we need to build a wall, and it has to be built quickly...we need to keep illegals out.”
Trump is of the strong belief that the majority of immigrants coming to America from the South, “are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.,"
During his 2016 announcement speech, Trump said:
When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists.
And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we're getting. And it only makes common sense. They're sending us not the right people.
Part of Trump's point is relevant: crime has grown and can be correlated to relaxed immigration laws. By no mean am I saying we should willingly allow harmful individuals into the country, but not everyone is a rapist or drug dealer. Trump makes it out to sound like every other immigrant is in some way a criminal, when the reality of the matter is the majority are just innocent people looking to have a better life. Instead of kicking everyone out and banning most everyone from getting in, why not make the process of getting in more stringent to weed out those with ulterior motives?
A major weak point of Mr. Trump’s argument is the idea that we should get rid of all of the illegal immigrants currently present in the country. Simply, that’s just impossible. They are here and these people have made their lives there. Many have had kids here, who thanks to the 14th Amendment are citizens, and uprooting these families and separating loved ones doesn’t help anybody. As I talked about above, immigrants have become part of the United States and its culture. You cannot remove them without removing a part of who we are.
As we move into the debate, I pose these questions to you Mr. Trump:
As everyone is currently aware, we are in the midst of the 2016 Presidential Race. Tonight, September 16, 2015, is the Republican Presidential Debate. Tensions are high between the top eleven candidates, and everyone is hoping to land a knock-out on the other (with Donald Trump being the primary target).
The candidates will be discussing (or more than likely arguing) over some very important subjects tonight. These pressing political issues range from international to domestic and even social. Every one of these topics is just as important as the other, which creates a very challenging situation to choose just ONE on which to focus for this post.
I’ll be focusing on one of the many issues that is both very important to the country and that resonates with my inner politician. This very important issue is immigration, and it has social, economic, and ethical ramifications.
Immigration is a very turbulent issue with opinions spanning across the spectrum. This isn’t the most important political issue facing our country, but it is one of the most important domestic-related issue. Illegal immigration is a subject that has slipped across the spotlight since well before 2008.
On July of 1868, the 14th Amendment was ratified and granted citizenship to any child born in the United States by parents who are in the country by legal means. Traditionally this applied to slaves, but in our modern times it normally applies to those with Visas or Green Cards.
The United States and its Constitutional Rights is a beacon to those in other countries who are being oppressed and denied basic civil liberties, or experiencing a poor quality of life. This country is one of the primary safe havens that provides those in need with help. However, the prospects of a better life have attracted so many people that many forego the legal means to get into the country in favor of a quicker and easier means of coming in...simply walking across the country's protected borders without bothering to apply for the appropriate paperwork. We label these individuals as illegal immigrants.
Some argue that illegal immigrants are harmful and are taking all of our jobs and damaging the economy. At the same time others say that these immigrants aid the economy by taking the jobs that the majority of Americans traditionally wouldn’t want to have. Either way you lean, this problem is of utmost importance because it has gone unsolved for countless years.
Many point out that illegal immigration causes or at least complicates the drug and violence problems within the United States. They want to label illegals as "bad," and seem single-minded in that opinion. But I believe that every situation is different and unique, and that we cannot cut off the United States from the rest of the Western Hemisphere, especially from those who are truly in need.
It is estimated that there are over 11.5 million illegal or undocumented immigrants in America. These people have created lives for themselves, with homes and jobs and families here. We cannot uproot all of them and expect America to be the better off. The majority of illegal immigrants hail from Mexico and the South / Central Americas. Therefore, their culture(s) have slowly been integrated with what is American Culture. For example, many of us now routinely learn Spanish and English in school, and it’s not uncommon to be throwing a backyard BBQ at the same time the neighbors are having a fiesta. We are an eclectic people and enjoy taking tidbits of culture and policy from many different sources and combining it into the nation we have today. Basically, our country is the melting pot of the world, as has been said for decades.
I could continue to elaborate for many paragraphs, but it's the candidates' perspectives in which we are interested. For me, I'd like to discuss Donald Trump and his views towards this hot issue of immigration.
According to this website, Trump’s main plan when he takes office is to deport all illegal immigrants from all over the country. He also plans on building a wall across the border with Mexico stating, “we need to build a wall, and it has to be built quickly...we need to keep illegals out.”
Trump is of the strong belief that the majority of immigrants coming to America from the South, “are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.,"
During his 2016 announcement speech, Trump said:
When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists.
And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we're getting. And it only makes common sense. They're sending us not the right people.
Part of Trump's point is relevant: crime has grown and can be correlated to relaxed immigration laws. By no mean am I saying we should willingly allow harmful individuals into the country, but not everyone is a rapist or drug dealer. Trump makes it out to sound like every other immigrant is in some way a criminal, when the reality of the matter is the majority are just innocent people looking to have a better life. Instead of kicking everyone out and banning most everyone from getting in, why not make the process of getting in more stringent to weed out those with ulterior motives?
A major weak point of Mr. Trump’s argument is the idea that we should get rid of all of the illegal immigrants currently present in the country. Simply, that’s just impossible. They are here and these people have made their lives there. Many have had kids here, who thanks to the 14th Amendment are citizens, and uprooting these families and separating loved ones doesn’t help anybody. As I talked about above, immigrants have become part of the United States and its culture. You cannot remove them without removing a part of who we are.
As we move into the debate, I pose these questions to you Mr. Trump:
- How is it economically feasible to remove all of the immigrants and to build a functional wall spanning 1,900 miles?
- How will you find American Citizens who are WILLING to fill all of the jobs left open after the removal of immigrants?
- What do you feel are the cultural ramifications of removing illegal immigrants?
- What will be the procedures that would allow immigrants from South of the United States for gaining entrance into the country if at all?