Melting pot. A metaphor that is used to describe the fusion of different nationalities, ethnicities, and cultures. This metaphor was first used in the 1780’s. However, it did not come into general usage until 1908 when it was introduced by Israel Zangwill in his play The Melting Pot (Booth). For many centuries this metaphor has been used to describe America and its diversity. How can a country thats so diverse and values equality greatly, misunderstand the ambition of immigrants or undocumented immigrants?
In today’s society there are misconceptions. A common misunderstanding is that people from other countries take away jobs that would otherwise belong to American citizens. The main reason other civilians move to America is to make a better living in order to financially support their family and acquire better educational options. Civilians in America have access to many things. Free education, if not private, health care, better housing, easier access to food, clothing, clean water and much more. It is not fair to say that immigrants take away jobs when all they want to do is make a living like any other human being.
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If immigrants did not do the jobs that they do, then America’s economy would not look the way it does today. When we look at agriculture and farming we tend to find that there are many workers who are undocumented. If a substantial amount of those immigrants are deported then there would be a huge shortage in labor. According to a document about immigration facts, it has been stated that “the U.S. agricultural Industry is dependent upon undocumented immigrants to harvest the fields. If crops cannot be harvested, fruits and vegetables will be imported at a much higher expense.” Many of the jobs that immigrants do are considered as low-skilled jobs. Americans have access to higher education giving them the ability to gain more knowledge, whereas for many immigrant it is harder because many don’t know English or know little. By being more educated or skilled, most Americans would want to pursue work fields that are more at their level instead of wasting their skills on unskilled or lower-skilled jobs. When that becomes the case incoming immigrants are the ones that end up getting the low-skilled jobs.
In a way they are put into this situation by American citizens. If immigrants had the same skill sets as American citizens then the country would have little to gain or lose profit by allowing immigrants into the country. As the economy advances more high-skilled jobs begin to appear which ends up creating more low-skilled jobs.
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Immigration todayCurrently, there are 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Many immigrants are referred as legal or illegal when it would make more sense for them to be referred as documented or undocumented immigrants. Nicholas Kristof, an American journalist, wrote a nytimes article, Immigration Enriches You and Me, where he writes that “people aren’t legal or illegal, behaviors are.” Immigrants should be looked at as beneficial factors and examples of what enriches America. In a documented speech about the important roles that immigrants play in the American economy, states that “immigrants increase our nation’s capacity to develop new ideas... immigrants are the engine of true capital formation in the United States.” Immigrants should not be looked at as America’s downside.
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Every undocumented immigrant differs from the next. Their stories and actions are all different. Recently, president Obama delivered the executive actions he plans to take to reform the broken immigration system. He first plans to better the law enforcement personals so there can be a better flow between illegal crossing. Second, he wants to make it easier for high-skilled immigrants, entrepreneurs, and graduates to enrich the economy. Lastly, he wants to deal with undocumented immigrants responsibly by deporting “felons, not families. Criminals, not children.” Just because undocumented immigrants do not have the required paperwork should not mean that they get treated poorly. Many have been living here for years and have found their place in the society. For the past 14 years, Armando Ibanez, an undocumented, 32-year-old worker in Los Angeles is one of those immigrants. Ibanez says, “We want to stay together, knowing that's not for sure makes me feel frustrated. It makes me feel frustrated because my life can change any second... I think the price of the American dream is living afraid” (Shaban). Although, these rules are in the making, many undocumented immigrants still feel the need to hide in the shadows, even if they have done nothing wrong. In order for immigrants to live fearless they need America to understand their ambition.