Good Argumentative Essay About A Critique Of Obama’s New Immigration Policy

The United States of America is a cradle to immigrants. Hence, its title of being the “melting pot of the world” . In 2013, the US accommodated a total of 41.3 million documented immigrants . This accounts to 13% of the total population of US residents inhabiting the country. However, there is the unverified statistics of undocumented immigrants settling and benefiting from the resources of the country. In fact, in 2008 a report of the Center for Immigration Studies carried by a reputable news outfit revealed that there were approximately around 12 million undocumented immigrants living in different parts of the United States . Considering the uncontrollable increase in the number of immigrants, the government has already spent $18 billion just to implement the immigration policy which led to several deportations . The escalating cost brought about by the increasing number of undocumented immigrants prompted President Obama to implement reforms to the immigration policy which had received numerous criticisms from both supporters and critics of the president. The controversial reforms raises concern for many. They believed that instead of a solution, the reforms in the existing immigration policy would only cause bigger problems and social unrest. This paper would try to offer an impartial analysis of the proposed changes suggested by President Obama and argue why the said proposal are in fact effective and is advantageous for the US economy and the American society.

A Primer to the Reformed US Immigration Policy

The US immigration policy lays the foundation of the country’s plan relating to the transit of people across the borders of US territory particularly focusing on the people who intends to work and stay in the country . Since Obama’s candidacy in 2008 he has been very aggressive about creating reforms in the existing immigration policy of the country point out key areas that needs amendment. Obama’s Immigration Policy Reform focuses on the following points:
Strengthening of the Border Control ensured by enforcing additional infrastructures, manpower and technology in the country ports of entry and borders.

Fostering an improved immigration system that would fix the dysfunctional system to allow families of immigrants to stay together.

Removing the incentives that allow illegal immigrants to work in the US.
Opening a more flexible law that would help illegal immigrants who are in hiding to have better opportunity to make their stay legal.

Arguments in favor of the Reformed Immigration Policy

Obama believed that these changes can help protect the US economy and the welfare of the American society. By enforcing a more vigilant monitoring of the boarders and port of entry, the US is able to monitor the people coming in the country. This way they can intercept any entry which signifies significant threat to the security and the welfare of the country. This could prevent the entry of potential terrorists and who would be burden to the US than they would be an asset. In addition, Obama also capitalized on offering opportunities to illegal immigrants who would like to secure a legal status in the country. The president believed that by allowing majority of these undocumented immigrants who were mostly young professionals and skilled workers, the US can actually be able to tap the best minds and the most skilled artisans that the country will ever have. Obama believed that if these people are able to acquire legal status, they can be subjected to pay taxes, contribute to the productive workforce of the country and potentially increase revenue for the country.

Arguments Opposing the Reformed Immigration Policy

Critics believed that by awarding the undocumented immigrants an earned citizenship will only encourage more immigrants from flocking the country. In addition, this is a threat for natural born residents who are being stripped off the opportunity to compete for work because of the stiff competition created by the immigrants’ qualifications and their unmatched skills to become effective, efficient, productive and cheaper compared to actual residents of the country.

Conclusion

Overall, the reformed immigration policy still has significant advantage. While critics believed this as a threat, it should be viewed as a challenge for natural residents to prove their worth rather than complain. At the end of the day, every applicant will still have to be evaluated base on their qualifications, skills and performance.

Works Cited

BBC News. "One-Minute World News: Melting Pot America." 12 May 2006. BBC News Website. Web. 20 March 2015.
Gerber, David. American Immigration: A Very Short Introduction. London: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
Preston, Julia. "Immigration: Decline Seen in Numbers of People Here Illegally." 31 July 2008. New York Times Website. Web. 20 March 2015.
The White House. "At A Glance: Immigration." 21 November 2014. The White House Website. Web. 20 March 2015.
USA Today. "Obama administration spent $18B on immigration enforcement." 7 January 2013. USA Today Website. Web. 20 March 2015.
Zong, Jie and Jeanne Batalova. "Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States." 26 February 2015. Migration Policy Institute Website. Web. 20 March 2015.