How Do I Get to be an American?

How Do I Get to be an American?

Legal Immigration

What Is a Citizen? A legal member of a nation who pledges

loyalty to that nation. Citizen by birth Citizen by naturalization.

Fourteenth Amendment

Ratified in 1868 Defined citizenship in the U.S. All persons born or naturalized in the U.S.

…..are citizens of the U.S. and of the state wherein they reside.

Criteria for Naturalization

At least 18 years old (children under 18 automatically become naturalized citizens when their parents do.

Have good moral character.

Live in the U.S. for at least five years as a permanent resident prior to application

Criteria for Naturalization

Read, write, and speak English Show knowledge of American history and

government $675 in fees

U.S. Foreign Born Population

1900 Europe 86% Latin America 1% Asia 1% Other regions 11%

2008 Latin America 53% Asia 27% Europe 13% Africa 4% Other regions 3%

Top Three Reasons for Immigrating:

Freedom from religious persecution

Freedom from political oppression

Freedom from economic hardships

Examination for Naturalization New version introduced in October, 2009 New exam focuses less on historic facts and

more on the meaning of democracy To pass the exam, must answer 60% of the

questions correctly

Sample Questions Old: Who was the president during the Civil

War? New: What was one important thing that A.

Lincoln did? Old: How many branches are in the U.S.

government? New: Name one branch of the gov’t.

History of U.S. Immigration

Easy to come to U.S. (pass physical exam, able to work, at least $25.00, no criminal record)

Two chief immigration stations in U.S. Ellis Island in N.Y. harbor and Angel Island in San Francisco Bay.

Angel Island facility was filthy; immigrants treated like prisoners.

ELLIS ISLAND

Anti-Immigrant Movement

Economic fears: cheap immigrant labor Political corruption: easily manipulated by

big-city politicians World War One: Nationalism Led to passage of literacy test and strict

quota laws.

Immigration Act of 1965

1960’s Economic growth Ended quota system Cleared the way for greater immigration

from Asia Emphasis on attracting highly skilled

professionals Family reunification policy instituted

Immigration Policies 1970’s: 290,000 annual limit Rise of illegal aliens Hundreds of thousands of

backlogged applicants led to rise in illegals

Immigration Act of 1990: raised annual limit to 675,000

21% of visas reserved for well-trained workers

Immigration Today 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform

Act: improved procedures for deporting illegals.

Sept. 11, 2001: national security concerns. Fear of terrorists led to increased border control and strict enforcement of immigration laws.

Economic security concerns

Economic Arguments against Immigration

Labor union leaders claim immigrants take jobs away from Americans

Hold down wages (cheap supply of unskilled labor)

Drains poor countries of their most educated professionals

Economic Arguments in favor of Immigration

Unskilled workers needed in hotels, restaurants, agriculture to help keep down costs for owners.

Many high tech industries rely on immigrants. Tend to specialize in engineering, computer science, chemistry

Arguments in Favor Many large U.S. cities have seen immigrants

open small businesses, create new jobs, strengthen the local tax base

Arguments Against Place a burden on social services like

education, health care, and welfare. Example: bilingual classes in public schools

National Security Issues

Open borders with Mexico and Canada make us vulnerable

Provoked many changes like obtaining a passport to cross the Canadian border.

Building a 700 mile high tech fence along the Mexican border; cost 1.2 Billion

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill 2007 Failed to pass Congress Controversy over what to do with illegal

immigrants: If you want to remain, have to admit they broke the

law Pay back taxes owed Pass a criminal background check to be put on path

for citizenship Increase penalties for hiring illegal immigrants Strengthen border enforcement Create a temporary worker program to allow

migrants to work in U.S. up to five years

Arizona’s New Immigration Law

Arizona took matters into their own hands and passed their own immigration law

Requires local police to question the legal status of anyone they “reasonably suspect” of being an illegal

Unclear on what constitutes a reasonable suspicion Police required to check a person’s citizenship or

immigration status if there is reasonable suspicion S.C., R.I., Pa., and Minnesota are considering similar

laws

Proposal to change the 14th Amendment

Some Republicans are pushing for congressional hearings to consider changing the 14th Amendment to deny children born in the U.S. if one or more parent is an illegal immigrant

Senator Lindsey Graham from S.C. is a vocal advocate for changing the Constitution