Different Perspectives on Immigration Reform

Immigration Reforms
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Institution
Course
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IMMIGRATION REFORM
Abstract
Over the past few years, people have moved to the United States for various reasons. Some have moved to the United States to reunite with their families, work, or look for safety. According to the U.S Census Bureau, there are approximately 45 million immigrants in the United States (Battisti, 2019). This means that immigrants comprise 14% of the overall population of the United States. In the United States, Immigration reform is a term that is used to discuss changes regarding the current immigration policies in the countries.
Although immigration has positive impacts on the economy of the United States, there is a need to have more restrictions. Immigration reforms are used to maintain the increase of legal immigration while decreasing illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is a controversial issue that has received a lot of attention over the past few decades. Proponents of immigration assert that illegal immigration destroys the image of the citizens. Additionally, illegal immigration jeopardizes the safety of the citizens and law enforcement along the Mexican border.
The following are some of the immigration reforms in the United States
1 The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
2 The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
3 The Dream Act
4 The Bracero Proposal
ESSAY 1
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was also referred to as the Hart-Celler Act. This was a federal law enacted by President Lyndon Johnson. This was an act that tried to abolish “de facto discrimination” against the Asians, Southern Europeans, and Eastern Europeans from the immigration policy of America. In 1924, the United States had passed an immigration policy that restricted the Asians and Europeans from migrating into the United States. However after this law was passed, immigrants from Asia and Africa were prohibited from entering the United States while northern and northern Europeans were allowed to cross the border. This was an act that dealt away with all the immigration restrictions in the United States.
The immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was eradicating the national origins quota system. This was an act that favored European immigrants. This act formed the current system where immigration is based on the need for employees and family reunion. The law also came up with the seven came up with the seven-category preference system whereby family members of American citizens, professionals, and permanent residents were allowed to move into the country. Additionally, refugees were able to cross the border without seeking temporary asylum. Foreign medical graduates, ministers, and former employees of the United States were allowed to enter the country. Lastly, immigration from the southern hemisphere was limited.
Although the implementation of this law seemed to be effective, the abolition of the National Origins Formula and the limitation of immigration in the western part together with the increase in demand for the immigrant employees by the U.S resulted in the increase of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Additionally, a lot of illegal employees settled permanently in the United States. The Immigration and Nationality Act has limited the current efforts of the United States government in restricting illegal immigration.
ESSAY 2
The Immigration Reform and Control Act 
This was an immigration reform that was passed by President Reagan in 1986 (Fonseca & Rosen, 2017). The Immigration Reform and Control Act changed the immigration laws of the United States. According to this rule, it was illegal to employ unlawful immigrants knowingly. Additionally, this Act also came up with financial penalties for firms that employed illegal immigrants. This law also legalized all the illegal immigrants who had come to the United States earlier. The policy behind this law reflected how illegal immigration and employment need greater control and stronger enforcement policies by the federal government. This law also needed employees to verify their identity and employment admissibility of both regular and temporary employment. Failure to meet the verification criteria resulted in the termination of the employment of such employees. In extreme situations, such individuals could be imprisoned.
According to President Reagan, this law was supposed to improve the lives of the people who were hiding. The law would make America a free and open society. Reagan also asserted that with this law people would be free if they chose to become inhabitants of the United States. This law also legalized certain undocumented agricultural workers. People who had minimum knowledge about the United States, history of the U.S, English language and knowledge of the government of the U.S were also legalized. The 1-9 form was introduced to make sure all workers presented documentary evidence that they were qualified to work in the United States (Battisti, 2019). However, this law failed to address the status of the kids of undocumented immigrants who were suitable for the amnesty program. However, in 1987, President Reagan authorized that minor children were supposed to be given amnesty.
This law made employers discriminate against employees who appeared to be foreigners. For example, there was a reduction in Hispanic employment. Further, the hiring procedures also changed because started hiring employees indirectly using the subcontractors. This decreased the wages of...