Current Events Analytical

Immigration today is in some ways just as controversial as it has always been. It plays a part in many issues like September 11th, 2001, the earthquake in Haiti, and things that happen in everyday situations. The American system of immigration has changed a lot over the years, but it hasn’t really improved too much. There are still people who are for immigration and people against it, and both have their own opinions of what should be done and what needs to change.
Soon after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, Samuel Francis wrote a column about protecting America against future terrorist attacks by restricting and regulating immigration. He wrote about how one of the dimensions of the problem was that there are places within our society that possible terrorists could live and operate virtually unnoticed by the rest of the world. “This dimension concerns what I have termed the ‘alternative societies’ that mass immigration has created and which allow alien terrorists to live and operate without being noticed.” According to Francis, because of mass immigration and them creating their own little societies more separate from ours, terrorists could be living somewhere in America out of the rest of the nation’s radar. He believes that because of mass immigration, we have let our own enemy to live within our country. Also, that the leadership class needs these possible terrorists for their own benefits such as cheap labor and a new underclass regardless of what the American public wants. Francis shows more modern immigration and how the fear some have of it can now be linked to other fears, like that of terrorist attacks.
Instead of looking at only the negative aspects of immigration, Saskia Sassen wrote about how America should be working with the rest of the world to negotiate immigration policies instead of increasing the police action and policies within our country. When faced with the threat of mass immigration of poor from around the world, most of the country agrees that the best course of action is to maximize borders and the policies within them. But, Sassen writes about how this is not the best way to regulate immigration. She shows how not only immigration has changed over the years, the world has changed a lot too. When this was written at the beginning of the 2000s, civil and human rights were being fought for more and more often in both the United States and Europe. “When the object of stronger police action is a broad spectrum of people- immigrant women, men and children- sooner or later it will get caught in the expanding web of civil and human rights it will violate those rights and interfere with the functioning of civil society.” Here, Sassen is explaining how those who are oppressed won’t stay oppressed forever, and will eventually fight back and this will affect everyone living in American society. Too much police action concerning immigration and illegal immigration will also affect the people of the United States and interfere with the desire of rule of law that is so important to our society and past. Over the years, countries across the globe are developing cross-border integration for a variety of reasons such as “for goods and services, for capital, for information, and for communications.” Because this is becoming such an important part of our society, it wouldn’t be in our best interest to increase border control and police action about immigration. The best way to regulate immigration, in Sassen’s opinion, is for countries to work together to create these policies. Even Sassen agrees that immigration is not an issue that will or can be solved quickly. But, if people begin to see and to understand the key aspects of the regulation of immigration we will be more able to create more effective and progressive immigration policies.
Obviously, immigration still isn’t perfect in America. The need for a new system of immigration here is not only shown through the eyes of Americans. Because of the long waiting lists and all the people that want to immigrate to America, it can take years for a person to get approved to come here. Not only this, but immigrants are also separated from their family members who could be approved much later. Twenty six years ago, Peter Aldeza arrived in Illinois after being approved to emigrate from the Philippines. After arriving, he filed paperwork so his brother and sister could join him. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that his sister was able to come to America, and his brother still hasn’t gotten approved. The story of Aldeza and his sister proves the changes to be made to immigration today. It also shows how hard and frustrating it is to immigrate legally. “They say some prospective immigrants, frustrated by the delays, find a way into the country illegally.” Illegal immigration is an issue that is discussed frequently today and this story proves how our system of immigration may be increasing this problem. A bill was introduced in Congress last year that will keep families together and decreasing the delays of legal immigration.
Recently, the earthquake in Haiti led to controversy about letting Haitians bypass immigration rules and come to America. In the article, “Help Haitians, but don’t throw open U.S. borders”, the author describes how doing this would actually be a disservice to them and to the rebuilding of their country. This issue is especially controversial because of all the other people in the world that maybe haven’t survived a natural disaster but are still in terrible living conditions. If the U.S. lets Haitians come into the country by the thousands, it would not be fair to all the other people who would equally benefit from immigrating here. This proves how the issue of immigration affects a lot of people and connects to many issues today. With this particular situation, America has to in some ways be a good parent. They have to learn when to baby other countries, when to take them in and when to send them away. “America will do the most good by doing what it’s capable of doing more efficiently. Finding ways ot make Haiti more livable, more quickly, will encourage citizens to stay. Helping to finance reconstruction will create thousands of jobs for Haitians, in Haiti. That might not feel as good as saying ‘ya’ll come,’ but in the long run, it will be far more beneficial.”