Immigration

Immigration: The Ethical and Moral Dilemma at Our Doorstep
Kyna Greenley
GEN499: General Education Capstone
Instructor Wendell Johnson
August 3, 2014

Immigration: The Ethical and Moral Dilemma at Our Doorstep Immigration has been an issue for our country for many, many years. It is a topic that few like to approach and has undergone little change over the decades, even though it has had significant impacts on our country as a whole. For many years there has been an ethical debate as to immigration reform, and the humanitarian effort behind it. The fact that our current issue is centered on child immigrants and the situations that brought them here to our country in the first place has sparked a new fire under this long term issue. America, the home of the free, the land of the brave, the land of opportunity, the melting pot, regardless of what we call our country the fact is that the world looks to us for aid, assistance, and leadership. The moral and ethical ramifications of our choices as a country in this matter will have lasting effects on not only Americans but the entire world as we know it. The history of immigration is something that many Americans may not truly know about unless they hold a government office. Before 1965 there was a quota system in place, meaning that there were a limited number of immigrants allowed to enter our borders from certain cultures, and each culture or country had a limit that when reached meant that they could no longer come to our country until their quota time period had ended or restarted. “By the early 1960s, calls to reform U.S. immigration policy had mounted, thanks in no small part to the growing strength of the civil rights movement. At the time, immigration was based on the national-origins quota system in place since the 1920s, under which each nationality was assigned a quota based on its representation in past U.S. census figures. The civil rights movement’s focus on equal treatment regardless of race or nationality led many to view the quota system as backward and discriminatory.” (History.com, 2010) There were many different cultures that wanted to come to America; however the quota system made it hard for many to achieve their goals because the quota system aimed to allow Europeans in more than any other region. However, since an ethical debate of sorts had already been settled in the civil rights movement, it gave government no choice in the matter and something had to be done to fix this immigration debate. “The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, abolished an earlier quota system based on national origin and established a new immigration policy based on reuniting immigrant families and attracting skilled labor to the United States. During Congressional debates, a number of experts testified that little would effectively change under the reformed legislation, and it was seen more as a matter of principle to have a more open policy. Indeed, on signing the act into law in October 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson stated that the act “is not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions….It will not reshape the structure of our daily lives or add importantly to either our wealth or our power.” (History.com, 2010) However, little did they know it seems. “All told, in the three decades following passage of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, more than 18 million legal immigrants entered the United States, more than three times the number admitted over the preceding 30 years. By the end of the 20th century, the policies put into effect by the Immigration Act of 1965 had greatly changed the face of the American population. There could be perhaps no greater reflection of the impact of immigration than the 2008 election of Barack Obama, the son of a Kenyan father and an American mother (from Kansas), as the nation’s first African-American president. Eighty-five percent white in 1965, the nation’s population was one-third minority in 2009 and is on track for a nonwhite majority by 2042.” (History.com, 2010) Does this information change the way you view current immigration issues facing our country my fellow American? Does knowing that there may be an expiration date on our own culture change or alter your view points? I have to admit, it does not help me maintain my ethical and moral high ground at times. The current situation that we are facing with immigration is no different than those we have already faced throughout our history. Countries other than our own fight within their borders and create war in which the innocent citizens are caught in the crossfire. Granted that many countries have validated reasons for this fighting, it does not change the fact that there are casualties, and innocents suffering for it. “Over the course of the last year, and more specifically in the last few months, the southwestern border of the United States has seen a major increase in unaccompanied immigrant children. Between the fiscal years of 2013 and 2014, U.S. Customs and Border Protection saw a 106% increase in the apprehension of children (ages 0-17) along the southwest border of the United States. This amounts to more than 57,000 unaccompanied immigrant children illegally crossing the border so far in 2014. The majority of these immigrant children are coming from El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras.” (Wiehl, 2014) But what is driving these children to the U.S? “One explanation is gang violence. In many cases, teenagers are asked to be a part of gangs, and if they refuse, the groups act aggressively against them and their families. So the decision is made to trek to the United States, oftentimes alone and sometimes without any family here in the U.S.” (Wiehl, 2014) There are many explanations that are circulating as to why this crisis is happening right now. In fact, many of these countries say that the U.S. shares just as much of the responsibility for this matter as they do. They claim that when the U.S. undertook helping Mexico and Columbia free themselves from violence and organized crime, the violence and crime was pushed on their countries which were already under their own stresses. “Honduras has become the murder capital of the world — and poverty for the sudden exodus of migrants from their countries.” (Peralta, 2014) Many Americans have their own opinions and viewpoints on the issues. I, myself was born and raised in America, and throughout my childhood I was taught and learned many life lessons on right and wrong growing up. I am like every other American in our country in the fact that I want to raise my children to do right, thrive, and grow to have a happy and healthy life. Is it illogical to think that many other parents and individuals may feel the same way regardless of their home nation? I was taught to have pride in my country and heritage, help my fellow man, be part of a strong community, etc. My teachers never specified that these values should be bordered and limited to those within my own country. I feel that many Americans are facing this ethical debate within themselves as this crisis carries on. On one hand, we want to open our arms to children in need and offer help in whatever possible ways we can, while on the other hand we could be asking for a lot of future problems down the road if we do in fact help and accept these children. President Obama has had many addresses to our nation in recent months regarding the current immigration crisis. Many organizations have pulled together in a humanitarian effort to provide these children with shelter, food, and other needs while this crisis is in continued debate. However, “a new report claiming illegal immigrants awaiting deportation to Central America are carrying potentially deadly diseases has some neighbors in southeastern New Mexico concerned.” (Younger, 2014) The risk associated with the humane treatment of these children is even facing its own debate. At this current moment in our country there is an overflow of health risks alone associated with this crisis for many of these children could in fact have scabies, lice, tuberculosis, measles, chicken pox, and many other diseases that could spread amongst our own people if not contained properly and with the surge of these children there is no way of knowing for sure if these measures are 150%. Although health risks are only reason Americans are in an uproar over this crisis. “The national controversy over a surge of Central American immigrants illegally crossing the U.S. border established a new battleground this week in a small Southern California town, where angry crowds stopped detained migrants from entering their community.” (Payne, Martinez, & Yan, 2014) These demonstrators stood their ground based on their feelings toward the U.S. government rather than the actual immigrant children; however the effects of these types of encounters send a message to the global community that we are a part of. It is almost as if our country is divided in a sense. President Obama, congress, and the American public all have mixed opinions and views and can only agree that something needs to be done. This message of confusion is portraying us to the global community as confused, not united, and weakening in certain areas. My opinion is that this is so sensitive of a topic, on an ethical level, that no one wants to make the hard decisions on the right levels, so instead they point fingers back and forth at one another while the crisis grows in the meantime. “President Obama and the Democrats have also sent conflicting messages, which has added to the problem. Youngsters who arrived to the United States have mentioned that they could stay in the United States once they entered. Others have heard that there has been a change in the law where border patrols release women and children and let them stay in the United States. The president has been highly criticized for failing to enforce the law and sending mixed signals to those across the border, giving them false hope. Both political parties need to find common ground in immediately resolving this humanitarian crisis.” (Schlapp, 2014) But how are we to do this? There are hard decisions that have to be made and regardless which route we choose, there will be an overall message sent to our neighbors in the global community. As stated previously, President Obama has made many addresses to the nation in past months on the topic of immigration and an immediate need for passing immigration reform. In his most recent address, as well as many others in recent months, he mentions “all of these policies have been blocked by congress.” (President Obama, 2014) During this crisis, President Obama has taken executive action to what limits he can in an effort to aid the situation, however congress in now on vacation while the crisis keeps growing! So in a quick recap, no government throughout our history has wanted to really dive into immigration reform, we are being flooded with immigrant children, we are facing possible health risks, our assistance programs are facing a flood of children lessening availability for our own, and our leaders are busy pointing fingers in one another directions before taking a month long vacation. What kind of message does that portray to the keen observer? The ethical decisions that have to be made in order to fix these immigration issues at hand, and those in the future, need to portray a message of obtaining citizenship in our country the right way and that wrong doers will not be welcome. However, the reasoning behind this matter and the fact that these are children has put us, as a country, in deeper than your average debate. These children are not criminals, or necessarily wrong doers, but rather refugees trying to escape in order to save either their own lives or those of their families. Many of us have never, or could ever imagine, living in a manner that some of these children are coming from. During the course of this class with the topic at hand, I have had classmates respond on the issue asking questions of how could the parents of these children could allow them to go and cross over on their own. After my research on the matter, with a lot of the gang violence and such it does not seem that many have a choice in the matter. These children and families are fleeing in hopes of saving their lives and at the very least the lives of their children. How can we fault them for that? If it were my child, granted it would be the hardest thing I would ever have to face but, I would do what had to be done to at the very least ensure that they were in the safest environment possible. And this is not the first case of child immigrants that the U.S. has been faced with. “When the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro seized power, parents sent their children to the United States under the Pedro Pan program in 1960s. Approximately 14,000 children arrived in Miami under the sponsorship of the Catholic Welfare Bureau. They were placed in temporary shelters, and some lived with families across the country. The separation was a difficult experience for these children and their families, but these children were the lucky ones. They were given a chance for a better and free life.” (Schlapp, 2014) The differences are clear between the numbers of immigrant between these two separate crises, but the principle point is the same. We have always sent a message of aid during inhumane times within countries that have asked for our assistance, and we have always done our best as a country to adhere to the reputation that we have put forth for ourselves. We are no longer just our local societies with limited access like many may remember from deep in our history. Technology and other devices have opened the doors to a global environment that the U.S. is such a huge part of. I, myself have learned valuable lessons throughout my life that justify my feelings of needing to help these children, while at the same time wanting to ensure the survival of a time long forgotten. However, our society has changed throughout the years, in ways that it will never change back from, technology is a good example. My personal opinion is to embrace the changes that take place in my lifetime in order to help prepare my own children for their own lifetimes. Just as we have responsibilities to our own communities to assist them in growth and survival, we also have one on a global societal level as well to ensure our reputation goes untarnished in the eyes of our neighbors. The moral and ethical ramifications of our choices as a country in this matter will have lasting effects on not only Americans but the entire world as we know it. We will either stay true to our message of aid and humanitarianism, or we will send a message that we merely do not want outsiders regardless of their situation and we will send you home. Population and ethnic cultural changes have already embraced our nation, and whether or not the Caucasian race will dwindle in numbers in the future is of little matter in reality. We are a melting pot, a mecca of culture as one of the biggest nations in the world. We hold a lot of influence and are held to certain expectations within the global community that we are a contributor too. Truth is, I feel that a lot of our governmental problems stem from unacceptance that times are changing, and they are faced with a president that they just do not seem to want to work with. The day we stop with petty differences, and focus our energy on the greater good for all will be a day that we can regain our sense of pride in calling ourselves American once again.

Resources
History.com. (2010). U.S. Immigration Since 1965. A+E Networks. Retrieved from: http://www.history.com/topics/us-immigration-since-1965

Payne, E., Martinez, M, & Yan, H. (2014). Showdown over immigration: 'This is an invasion'. CNN. Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc. Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/03/us/california-immigrant-transfers/

Peralta, E. (2014). Central American Presidents Say U.S. Shares Responsibility For Migration Crisis. The Two Way. NPR. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/07/24/334942174/central-american-presidents-say-u-s-shares-responsibility-for-migration-crisis

President Obama. (2014, August 1). President Obama's Full Press Conference [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRrQekJsx_c

Schlapp, M. (2014). The Fierce Urgency of Immigration Reform. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved from: http://www.usnews.com/opinion/mercedes-schlapp/2014/06/27/border-migration-crisis-shows-the-urgency-of-immigration-reform

Wiehl, L. (2014). The Current Border Crisis Creates More Immigration Debate. WordPress. Retrieved from: http://www.liswiehlbooks.com/2014/08/the-current-border-crisis-creates-more-immigration-debate/

Younger, E. (2014). Report claims illegal immigrants carry deadly diseases. KRQE News 13. Retrieved from: http://krqe.com/2014/07/09/report-claims-illegal-immigrants-carry-deadly-diseases/