Immigration has shaped the United States as a nation since the first settlers arrived at our shores over 400 years ago. Today worldwide, there is an estimated 191 million immigrants looking for a country to call home, and it impacts every country on the globe. People emigrate from one country for a variety of complex reasons, but everyone is trying to improve the quality of their lives.
Large-scale immigration is a world issue that is transforming Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americans. Approximately 115 million immigrates live in developed countries, and 20% or 38 million live in the United States.
The most recent wave of immigration into the United States is changing the nature of work based on the new technologies. Since 1990, over 50 percent of all immigrants are from Latin America and over 25% are from Asia. There is a diverse group of people from these countries, and some are highly skilled and educated, and some are poor, unskilled, and uneducated.
In Europe many of the immigrants are escaping war or religious conflicts and persecution. There are hundreds of refugee camps in different countries, and government officials have no idea how to handle this new influx of people with different customs and language. This is a new paradigm in the world, and all the global leaders are trying to develop a strategy that is humane, but economically feasible.
The GOP in the United States has decided the answer to the immigration problem is to build a fence, and send 12 million illegal immigrants back to their homeland. Common sense and practical thought tells everyone that this solution will never work, and immigration is not a problem that is just going away. Refugees and immigrants will risk their lives for a better opportunity in America, and it is time for President Obama and Congress to introduce legislation that makes sense.
America is a nation of immigrants, except African Americans, who were brought here in chains and under duress. Many in America will forget that the Indians were here before the Europeans landed on the shores, and it is crazy to send people away, who have lived here for two and three generations.
“We didn’t raise the Statue of Liberty with her back to the world; we did it with her light shining as a beacon to the world. And whether we were Irish, or Italian, or Germans crossing the Atlantic, or Japanese or Chinese crossing the Pacific, whether we crossed the Rio Grande or flew here from all over the world—generations of immigrants have made this country into what it is. It’s what makes us special,” says President Obama.
Building fences and closing borders will not keep immigrants from coming to America. The immigration system is broken and President Obama has enacted common sense executive orders that Congress should make into laws.
With 191 million immigrations in the world, every country will be impacted by migrants, and they will need policies and laws that protect these people. There will always be a small percentage or element of the immigrants, who are criminals, and they will fall through the cracks, and national security checks are essential.
But the majority of immigrants are families looking for a better life and they are the new explorers. Maybe they are the new world citizens, but every country in the world will be impacted by global immigration. There is a global immigration crisis in the world, and America cannot think they can run from the problem by building a fence, and sending illegal immigrants back to their homeland.
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