Tuesday, January 17, 2012

American Government 1/17/12

In Class - Continue to discuss immigration reform in the United States.  Political Cartoon analysis in groups.  Hand out the alternative view of the "Three Little Pigs."  Write a short paragraph answering the following questions: What is the moral of the story, and how does it relate to the shaping of public opinion.

Homework - Short paragraph from handout is due tomorrow.  QOW is due by Saturday, January 21 by 11:59 pm.

QOW - Do some research on immigration reform and respond to the following questions.  Refer to the syllabus for QOW expectations, objectives, and grading.  Also, be sure to include an MLA works cited page in your response.

Although immigration has been a longstanding and divisive issue, do you believe that immigration is a major problem in the United States?  Why or why not?  Be sure to include specific evidence to support your answer.  This is due by Saturday, January 21, by 11:59 pm.

17 comments:

Lisa Martinez said...

I both agree and disagree that immigration is a problem in the United States. I agree because you do see many immigrants that aren't usually from here around you in everyday life that are here doing absolutely nothing. I disagree that it's a problem also because some immigrants are actually coming to the US looking for jobs, it's better than what some Americans do here just living off the system. Once someone here's the word immigrant they think the worse about that person but they don't come here to harm us, just to have the same benefits we do, why is that so wrong? In my opinion if it's that easy for them to sneak across the border and it's such a big deal..someone isn't doing there job right. I don't see no real problem of immigrants coming into the US if they just want an education and a good career. A lot of articles just say that immigrants are here to find jobs.. well if it was so much against the law for them to be here they wouldn't be able to get a job so i say it's all the governments fault in general and there the main one's complaining.

Works Cited
Ahlers,Mike. "Test of new immigration rules says 14% of immigrants can stay in the US." CNN Justice. 19 January 2012. Web.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

In my opinion, immigration is a major problem in the United States. Immigrants come in to the United States trying to find jobs and live in the state. Immigrants obtain a fake driver license, social security number, and birth certificates. The immigrants are buying social security cards using other peoples' information. This is a fraud and also a huge problem. Immigrants obtaining all this are causing danger to the people surrounding them. This is not good for the actual citizens because immigrants also accept lower wages. Meaning they are willing to work for cheap because they are desperate for a job and in need to earn money. This causes actual citizens living in the United States to be jobless. Illegal immigrants should be deported as soon as they've been caught. They are not only breaking the law by staying here, but they are also over populating the cities. It's incredible how far people are willing to go to stay in the United States.


Work Cited
Rizzo, Tony. "Thousands of Illegal Immigrants Obtained Missouri Driver’s Licenses - KansasCity.com." Kansas City's Best Source for News. 11 Jan. 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2012.

Roman34 said...

Immigration has been a long standing issue in the united states for a while now and every president has been on for immigration reform. The United States annually spend 338.3 billion dollars are spent on illegal immigration. Many illegal immigrants that do come to the United States have some kind of criminal background and securing the border would help. The United States should as well stop spending money on Welfare, Medicaid and education for Illegal immigrants, and many illegal aliens sign up for welfare saying that they can not find work for them and their families.Spending the illegal immigrant on welfare are around 11 billion to 22 billion dollars every year



1.
Frayer, Lauren. “California OKs In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrants.” Aol News. http://www.aolnews.com/2010/11/16/california-oks-in-state-tuition-for-illegal-immigrants/ (30 Jan 2011)
2.
“Senate Bill 1070.” Az Leg. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf (30 Jan 2011)
3.
“Bankruptcy 101.” Catfish1. http://www.catfish1.com/forums/f339/bankruptcy-101-a-160026.html
4.
“The High Cost of Cheap Labor: Illegal Immigration and the Federal Budget.” Center for Immigration Studies. http://cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html (30 Jan 2011)
5.
“Welfare: How Will it Fare?” Library Think Quest. http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/00342/Welfare.html# (30 Jan 2011)
6.
Gorman, Steve. “Calif. Court Upholds In-State Tuition for Illegals.” Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/11/16/us-immigration-tuition-idUSTRE6AF0U420101116 (30 Jan 2011)

Sonia said...

Immigration can be considered a major issue to some people, but I do not believe that it really is a real major issue. It is true it's not right to have so many illegal immigrants in the country, most doing whatever they please, but there are also those that come and help the country. It could be said that the U.S almost lives off the work that immigrants do when they are here. There are many citizens who say that the immigrants take everything and leave nothing for the rest of them. When in reality all they do is take on jobs that U.S. Citizens do not want, or think themselves above such things. Most of the people who cross the border just want a better life for themselves and sometimes for their children. They just want the better benefits that being in the U.S can provide, is it really that wrong? If the government really does have a problem with the illegal immigrant then why cut back on the budget given to the border patrol, making it harder for them to do their own jobs?

Works cited
Ahlers,Mike. "Protocols could allow 14% of immigrants to bypass courts." CNN U.S. 20 January 2012. Web.

AFlores said...

Immigration has been seen as a major issue in the United States, but immigration can have a positive and negative affect in the United States. For example illegal immigration is a crime because a person is entering this country illegally and they obtain illegal documents. With illegal immigration, they obtain to work in places for lower wages but they do not pay federal taxes. Illegal immigrates do take jobs away from citizens but at the same time if a legal citizen wanted a job badly then they would get a job working anywhere even if it is in a factory. Also with illegal immigration, people have an opportunity to obtain work as a border portal or working for ICE, all these people would not have a job if illegal immigration was not a major problem in the United States.
More over, states are each separately providing ways that illegal immigrates should be treated in the state. For example, in California, some are arguing that illegal immigration should pay federal taxes without the fear of being deported.
Works Cited
“Illegal Immigration.” US Immigration Support. 2011. Web. 21 January 2012
Finnegan, Michael. “Protecting Illegal Immigrants, State by State.” LA Times. 11 December 2011. Web. 21 January 2012

Tschopen said...

Immigration is not a problem for the United States, but illegal immigration is definitely a problem. According to the New York Times, the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. outnumbers the amount that are here legally for the first time in our country's history. There were approximately 11.2 illegal immigrants in America in 2010, down from 11.9 in 2008 and I don't think this number will shrink much unless there are some major steps taken towards our immigration and border policies. Even though there has been over 1.1 million deportations since President Obama began his term, there are still hordes of people sneaking across our borders. But I think that an easy way to fix these problems would be to make the citizens of Mexico more inclined to stay in their home country. If the U.S would work harder to assist Mexico in taking down the cartels and making Mexico a nicer place to live then people would not worry as much about trying to come to America to try and scrape a living in whatever way they can. Or we could work to change our green card policies. If the green card policies were improved and it didn't take years to acquire proper citizenship then people would be more inclined to get into the United States legally as opposed to sneaking in and having to worry about being deported. we could even work it out so that one could live in the U.S. while waiting to become citizens as long as they can keep a job and pay taxes. There are a lot of things we can do to solve these problems if we were to really try and think outside the box a little.
Work Cited.
Times writer. "Immigration and Emigration." The New York Times, Jan. 19 2012. Web. January 21, 2012.

leahmillerr said...

Immigration is a major problem in the United States. It will always be an issue until some major changes are made. We are worried about taking the illegals out of our country when out border isn’t even closed all the way. Illegals will keep coming across the border and until we secure it. A major thing that illegals bring over the border is drugs. The Drugs then get sold and in the United States illegal drugs are not taxed so our government does not make any money.
In the video we started to watch in class there were some mothers who got pulled over for not using her blinker. The police officer then arrested the mother and took her to be deported. In my opinion, I think that the mother should be deported even though it was sad for her to leave her children. She is in the United States illegally. I think that if some illegal immigrants really want to be a United States citizen then you should go threw the right process to become one.
I think once legislators can agree on a solution and force it then the illegal immigration will start to dye down. It will take time and it will take a while for the legislator to decided on a solution.
Work Cited: Jacoby, Tamar. "Congress' Small Step toward Immigration Reform - Los Angeles Times." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 07 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 Jan. 2012. .

HARPER said...

Do I think that immigration should be a major problem in the United States?
On my behalf of this argument no because they are people just like you and me. They also need to have a job and put food on the table for their kids. I believe that they want to have or live the American way.

Obama Changes Immigration (in my own words)
1. So for 3-10 years you have to wait to get your green card.
2. Another rule would allow family members such as a dad, mom, uncle, sister, or brother to be able to come home and apply for an us visa. Once that happens immigrants can approve for their papers.
3. Once papers come in they can take up to six months if not less. If happens it could be that the processing time can drop to a matter of days once the change takes effect.


Work sided.
http://immigration.about.com/od/immigrationlawandpolicy/a/Obama-Changes-Immigration-Rule.htm

monica barriga said...

For many people immigration is a major problem in the United States, but I believe it is not something that has to be considered a huge issue. First of all, many come here leaving behind their loved ones and country. For example, illegal people take risks like in crossing the border in which right now you hear a lot of killing and kidnapping when they are doing so, but they do it so their children can have better lives. They come here for a better life and to have the opportunities like any other born here. Illegal Immigration is heard everywhere, but does the government even consider what tough jobs they do like I mean they are the ones that harvest and sweat so much just to have something to eat every day. Practically they work out in the field working outside in the sun, getting sunburned and not complaining plus also a job that an American Citizen wouldn’t want to do. They don’t complain how much they are paid just as long as they have a job, and that’s where a lot of owners take advantage of them. Like they pay them at a cheap cost and plus illegals even have to take threats like when they tell them that if they don’t like it they’ll just send ICE to them. They come here to influence and help make a better country even though others think they are hurting them. Is it really that hard to give illegal immigrants an opportunity? Therefore, they also do contribute to pay sales taxes and pay interests to the banks.
Works Cited.
Pandey, Kundan. “Illegal Immigration Pros and Cons." Buzzle.com. 25 November 2011. Web. 21 January 2012.

Mhernandez said...

I'm on the fence on whether immigration is a problem or not in the United States. The reason being is that not all illegal immigrants are bad; most come to look for a stable job that can help support their family. While on the other hand some can be dangerous; as in the drug traffickers or terrorist. They are the ones who should be detained in jail and sent back to where they originated from. But what about those who have done nothing wrong and just want a better life or even escape the dangers of their homeland? We allow people that come from a communist country to stay in our land; why can't we allow the people who are endangered in their country to be somewhere safe? I do believe we are a country that promotes freedom. I know that it may be difficult to track down the bad illegals, but to deport innocent illegal immigrants who haven't committed any aggravated felonies just sounds wrong. Separating a family shouldn't be okay or a sacrifice needed to be done to clear our country of illegal immigrants. The new immigration law of Arizona 1070 is ridiculous. It is creating more problems than solving them. For example if an illegal immigrant where to call 911 to report an incident they could be deported because they were part of a police investigation. Immigration is going to continue to be a problem because one way or another somewhere, someone will have a problem with something!

Work Cited:

Abraham H. Foxman "The Road Ahead for Immigration Reform" The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abraham-h-foxman/immigration-reform_b_1216674.html
January 21, 2012

Freddy F said...

Although many may argue that immigration is a major problem I personally don’t agree. As a matter of fact, this country was based on people migrating over here in search for a better life. Whether a better life for their family or for themselves, the majority of people migrating over here don’t do it to cause problems, they just come over here they just want a better future. Granted there are criminals migrating along with this majority, however, according to FAIR’s statistics, only 25 % of the federal prison population is foreign-born, meaning that the rest of the criminals (the majority) are American citizens! Never the less I do accept that illegal immigration is an issue, especially when it comes to taxpaying. But this can be resolved by facilitating naturalization, by doing so illegal immigrants can obtain citizenship faster, and as a result can start paying taxes faster, thereby solving this issue. To me this seems like it would yield faster results and be a more effective strategy than trying to keep the immigrants out (our current strategy).Another issue that people attribute to immigration is unemployment and the cost of providing welfare to those who are unemployed, (with all due respect )which is an absurd argument for two main reasons . First and foremost ,immigrants aren’t getting hired for high paying jobs or even average paying jobs; instead they are “taking” the abundant low paying jobs that no one else really wants. This means that unless the estimated 1,880,000 Americans who are displaced by immigration are competing for these low paying jobs immigration is not be taking the full blame for “unemployment”. Second, by getting a higher education you are qualified for higher paying jobs that little to no illegal immigrants are competing for. Works cited:
"Immigration 101: A Primer on Immigration and the Need for Reform." FAIR: Federation for American Immigration Reform. Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). Web. 21 Jan. 2012. .
"USCIS Process." INS | US Citizenship and Immigration Services Online. USCitizenship.info. Web. 21 Jan. 2012. .

Steenkyle said...

Immigration,to me, is a key issue in american because so many people have been affected by it in both positive and negative ways. because so many immigrants don't do anything but make a home and a family. While others work hard to gain their place in the U.S..Immigration by itself is like a double-edge sword.Because it shows a powerful testament to the attractiveness of america.But on the other hand it shows how dangerously open our borders are to other countries. The economic issues are going back and forth as well in a sense. Such as the fact that the immigrant unemployment rates are lower than the national average in the U.S.. But others tend to believe that immigrants are taking the jobs away from Americans born and raised here. So as a result,immigration can be seen as a hindrance or blessing to many people in America.

Kane,Tim.Johnson,Kirk."The Real Problem With Immigration...and the Real Solution".March 1,2006.Web

Jackie_Flores said...

I agree that illegal immigration is a problem in the united states. Most of the immigrants cross the border from Mexico to the U.S. They are able to cross with their families wanting a better life. When they come to the U.S they want to find jobs, jobs we don’t have for our American citizens let alone illegal immigrants. But because the illegal immigrants are willing to work for a low rate they are able to find work. Some people believe the immigrants will do any kind of work or job, but there are American citizens out there who are willing to do the same but cant because the job is already taken. By someone who is not even legal in the U.S. I think the U.S is taking this illegal immigration issue not hard enough. We need to figure a out a way to stop so many illegal immigrants from Mexico. Having them come here is making a impact in the U.S in a very bad economical way. Giving their kids money to go to college, while kids who are American citizens have to figure out ways just to get through one year of college. I think the U.S needs to act fast before it gets worse.

Wagner, P.F. "Impacts of Illegal Immigration." The Dark Side Of Illegal Immigration: Facts, Figures and Data Show A Disturbing Truth. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. .

Ericka Montoya said...

People have different views and opinions when it comes to immigration. Personally, I believe that there should be limits for people who come to the US with good intentions because some people come here for a better life and need a better paying job. They are not trying to have a negative impact on other people's lives because they're just taking the jobs other people did not want. In Arizona, there is the SB 1070 where it is okay for a police officer to pull over anyone who looks illegal; they’re only criticizing based off of looks and skin color. Though, I can see why illegal immigration is looked down upon, but not everyone comes here with bad intentions (i.e making money off drugs, and stealing people’s jobs.). It should be possible for illegals to live like citizens and pay their taxes. Everyone deserves an opportunity to come to America for a better life, and make a better income.

Borjas, George J. "Immigration." The Impact of Immigrants on Native Earnings. 21 January 2012. web.

Deanna said...

Yes, immigration is an issue but not in a way that most people would think. Having immigrants in the U.S isn’t the issue it’s having illegal immigrants that is the problem and the U.S is partly at fault with that. Obama’s administration is focusing strongly on deportations in his term there have been more than 1.1 million people deported. They mainly single out those that have criminal backgrounds for example the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency arrested 2,901 illegal immigrants with criminal records which is great. However, at the same time why not help make those that are good people in the community become legal citizens so they don’t have to hide and worry about being deported? Having to get a visa or green card is actually very difficult especially for someone that is coming from a country filled with violence that doesn’t know the language or laws of the U.S. There are multiple kinds of paperwork to be legal and each system involves forms and recommendations from employers it can get so difficult that some require a lawyer. The government tried to make things better by creating the Dream Act which is supposed to help young adults that are illegal have financial aid to go to college but they’re completely missing the point because the bill is to help people that are illegal. This country has always had immigrants and now the issue is taking out the criminals and making those that are good people actual legal citizens.
works cited
"Immigration." Times Topics - The New York Times. 19 Jan. 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2012. .

Kevin Lee said...

I don't believe that immigration is as big a problem for the US as some make it out to be. Some people say that they make a big dent in the economy due to not paying income tax. However, studies show that out of the around 10 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., about 6 million of them do in fact pay income tax, and overall that they pay more in taxes than they gain in public services. I suppose you can argue about them taking the jobs of American citizens, but almost everyone is getting a good education and getting better jobs. Which means U.S. citizens are getting the white-collar jobs, while illegal immigrants are taking the manual labor jobs, and there isn't that much demand for them from American citizens in the first place. There are some illegal immigrants that come across the border to sell drugs, but many illegal immigrants are coming to the U.S. to escape those very drug cartels and the violence they wreak in Mexico. Just a few bad apples shouldn't ruin the whole basket.

Works Cited
"The Impact of Unauthorized on the Budgets of State and Local Governments." CBO.gov. Ed. Peter R. Orszag. The Congress of the United States, Dec. 2007. Web. 2012. .

Dukakis, Michael S. "Raise Wages, Not Walls." The New York Times. 25 July 2006. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. .