The Golden Door To America Essays - Demography, Population

The Golden Door To America Writen by Randy j 11/24/00 I wrote this paper for Political Life 1110 Should America Close the Golden Door? America has, is, and will always be a nation of immigrants: the great melting pot. In the years that have passed since Emma Lazarus' poem was inscribed on the Statue of Liberty ?the golden door? has seen times when it was open wide and times when it was closed shut to almost all immigrants. Many people tend to look at the present immigration problems as a purely modern dilemma. The truth is America has always struggled with the issue of immigration, both legal and illegal. Changing times however make it imperative that our government re-examine and adjust today's immigration laws to today's standards. Those standards however are not easily defined. All too often the issue of immigration is used as a political tool or is lost in heated moral debates. In any discussion about immigration you will have those who claim it is good for our nation and those who claim it is ruining the nation. More often than not the bottom line in any debate of this sort is money; will more or less immigration mean more or less money for those already in America. The moral debates come down to a question of who we are as a nation and how we want the rest of the world to perceive Americans. If this great country was forged and built by immigrants passing through ?the golden door? , then how can this same country turn away new immigrants. The inscription on the Statue of Liberty invites all to enter, yet not all are allowed to enter. Immigration has become a selective process with many gray areas. Now Americans are faced with a new dilemma; the nation must decide not whether it is willing to accept new immigrants, but whether it can afford new immigrants. All new immigrant, both legal and illegal must be considered in this equation. Congress can attempt to ease the burden of legal immigration by passing restrictive laws and only allowing in those who they believe will become self-sufficient. Congress must also find a way to slow the flow of illegal i mmigration by enforcing the laws already in place. What this paper will attempt to do is bring the immigration issue into perspective. America most certainly has immigration problems but they will not be fixed by eliminating immigration all together. In fact, America will never totally eliminate immigration, because no matter how tightly the door is closed some illegal immigrants will get through. As long as America continues to be seen as a nation of prosperity, opportunity, and freedom there will be those who wish to come to America. Immigrants have always come to America looking for a better life and Americans are always forgetting that their forefathers were once looking for that same life. As a nation there must be a decision on whether immigration is an issue of conscience or economics. History of Immigration Laws Though most Americans see immigration as a modern problem it has been heavily debated since the 19th century. Throughout most of America's history immigration was se en as a natural process that benefited the nation (Divine 2). Until the 1890's there were no clearly defined policies on immigration. During this time the country started questioning the economic benefits of more immigrants, so things have note changed in that respect. In May 1921, the first bill in American history restricted European immigration and created the quota system (Divine 5). This turn toward restriction could be justified by the downward turn in the economy. Who could argue for more immigrants when the nation's own citizens couldn't find work. The slowing economy and the ?spirit of intense nationalism? in the United States at this time made immigration a hot topic (Divine 23). After the depression hit everyone was in agreement that there was a ?need to limit immigration,? of course the extent of those limits were not easily agreed upon (Divine 77). World War II brought with it a new set of immigrants, and eventually the passing of the Displaced Persons Act of 1947. This allowed immigrants, displaced by the war to enter