All Immigrants Should Be Given Citizenship in the United States (Essay Sample)

All Immigrants Whether Legal or Illegal Should Be Given Citizenship in the United States of America Iriana McCarthy University of North Texas - Dallas ENGL 1323 Professor November 21, 2021   The fight for providing legal residence or legal citizenship to immigrants, whether documented or undocumented, lingers on as the issue continues to be contentious among legislatures for 40 years now. The debate is between fostering growth and development versus promoting illegality along the borders. While some Americans believe immigrants are important for the growth of the country, others perceive them as a strain on resources because more immigrants will be motivated to sneak into the country. As these immigrants are optimistic about getting citizenship status in America, illegality through unauthorized crossing along the borders is presumed to escalate. However, the latter ignores historical success in providing legal statuses to immigrants, such as that seen in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). Polls indicate that most Americans support the immigrants’ pathway to citizenship, which is necessary as the country seeks justice, equity, and robustness in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The 10.2 million workers, neighbors, and friends in the society, unfortunately, are undocumented immigrants. Yet, the country can experience significant economic gains through tax revenues, jobs, and earnings by giving citizenship to all immigrants. Some researchers have used models to illustrate how the entire nation would benefit if it would issue residence and legal citizenship to all immigrants. Therefore, this paper asserts the importance of ensuring that all immigrants, whether legal or illegal, gain legal stay in the United States of America. Immigration has become an issue of contention recently, even though it has exponentially reduced, as shown in figure 1 below. Each wave of immigrants is strenuously opposed, creating a divide among the American people, while immigrants are marginalized people in American society. Mexico has been a formidable force for long in the inflow of immigrants into the United States. However, the Great Recession, economic stability, and slowed population growth have contributed to the backdrop in immigration. The United States has merely had a series of spontaneous laws to guide migration without giving a roadmap on the fate of immigrants in the county (Open Society Foundations, 2019). As a result, presidential campaigns are now centering on this area, which has become an issue of interest, as there is a need to decipher a suitable way of dealing with the 11 million immigrants already in the U.S (Peri & Zaiour, 2021). Despite the dwindling numbers of immigrants in the country today, compared to the past, it is imperative to resolve the uncertainty of the many immigrants who seek refuge and are actively in the prosperity of the beloved American nation.                                                                               Figure 1: Immigration, contrary to high held notion, has been reducing in the United States (Orrenius, 2016)                                                                              The first reason all immigrants, regardless of whether they are documented or not, should be given citizenship status is that the country will realize economic benefits. Lynch and Oakford (2013) believe that the 11 million undocumented immigrants could help the country in economic growth, job creation, and increasing incomes along with tax revenues. As long as immigrants are not allowed legal citizenship in the country, they are economically sidelined; hence, they cannot engage fully in the prosperity of the nation. Furthermore, if they continue to lack optimal productivity and monetary gain, their consumption and tax-paying abilities are thwarted. Projections on plausible outcomes if all immigrants could attain legal status and citizenship suggest that these immigrants do not contribute to their full potential. Immigrants are willing to fill in the gaps in the labor market by working in areas where there is an established need for workers. There are specific times that have paved the way for immigrants, resulting in the current high numbers. World War II, the 1970s and 1980s oil boom, expanding South and Mountain West states, as well as the Internet boom are some of the periods which have been characterized by increased immigration. During these times, immigrants were welcomed to fill in the shortages that were considered to dampen the country’s growth (Orrenius, 2016). Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic claimed many people's lives, some of whom were employees and contributed to the nation’s building; thereby, creating a similar gap, like in previous times that can be addressed by giving citizenship to all immigrants, whether documented or not. While there are legal means through which immigrants found their way in the country, there are also illegal ways that saw many immigrants find their way in the country and settle. Sequentially, it is not fair to drive out individuals who are usually working hard to ensure the country grows. All immigrants, therefore, should be given citizenship status as they are part and parcel of America’s labor market that works hard to ensure the nation’s growth. The second reason why all immigrants should be given citizenship is that it is in alignment with the American culture and resonates with the American people. The country has porous borders that have created a pathway for the immigrants to enter the country, though with difficulty, and it is unfair to subject them to consistent fear of an uncertain future. Many Americans blame the poor immigration structure for victimizing the immigrants as it has not been updated for 40 years now, according to Peri and Zaiour (2021); otherwise, they deserve to gain legal status and citizenship. The country gives entry to numerous immigrants and then neglects them, forcing them to live in fear of being deported at any time. The Pew Research Center (2013) indicates that 71% of Americans agree that immigrants should be given citizenship based on a set guiding criterion because it is still important to protect the borders. Therefore, in tandem with the will of the people and the American constitution, all immigrants should be led on the pathway to citizenship. America is known as a haven for democracy, and it is known to harbor adventurous spirits willing to abandon their lands and rules in search of opportunities in the U.S. The United States largely consists of immigrants, apart from the Native Americans; hence, it beats logic to deny other immigrants, who make up the nation, the right to live and stay in the country. Kiefer (2014) says that America advocates for fairness; hence, it is not the American style to have two groups of people with unequal rights. The immigrants, and especially the undocumented, will only have full functioning capacity if they get out from the shadows. The fight for and against immigrants is historic as it is fueled by myths about the effects of immigration (American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU], 2021). As a result, there have been various limitations on the immigrants, for example, 1996 that excluded immigrants from receiving certain benefits. The country should review its legislative framework and adhere to its culture of diversity by giving all immigrants citizenship status. The American Constitution does not permit the entry of foreigners even though porous borders provide physical access, where undocumented immigrants experience hallowing challenges crossing the border. All the same, after entry, the country is supposed to offer protection to the immigrants, some of whom came to America when they were still children and regard the U.S. as their home country. On a different note, there are fears that legalizing the status and citizenship of immigrants might lead to their proliferation. However, the ACLU (2021) asserts that the numbers used by anti-immigrant entities are exaggerated. The ACLU indicates that there are legal channels through which immigrants gain entry into the U.S., and claims of an influx in the immigrant numbers are false. As a result, denying immigrants the right to live in the U.S. based on these far-fetched grounds is unjustified. The third reason for giving citizenship to immigrants is to ensure that they are safe and can stay in their country of choice in peace. No matter the mode of entry, once an individual is within the American borders, they are entitled to the same rights as the rest of the American citizens. Many of these individuals have families, which would agonize due to separation and loss of livelihoods, and as such, cannot live in peace and function optimally (Ibe, 2021). Yet, the country stands to benefit more if families are allowed to gain citizenship status as they become active participants of nation-building without fear. Denying citizenship to immigrants means that they face challenges related to compliance with the law, and their future in the country of choice is not guaranteed. As a result, undocumented immigrants are forced to live in the shadows; yet, they can function optimally by gaining citizenship. The fourth reason why immigrants should be given citizenship is that they are part and parcel of the land. Contrary to the highly held notion that immigr...