Immigration Reform Argumentative Essay

We all make mistakes, some small, some big, but most of us learn from those mistakes. When we make those mistakes we want to be forgiven, heard, and treated fairly and inhumanely. We expect a second chance even if our mistake lead to incarceration and temporary loss of our family, friends and freedom.

Anyone can be charged and convicted of a crime. And once they have been charged and convicted, the label of “criminal” becomes a common way to describe them. In the society we live in today, terms like “criminal aliens” are being thrown around so broadly that the definition is seldom requested. But it should be. Since the reality is, criminal aliens includes people whose crime could be as simple as trying to remain in the US such as those charged with forging documents.

What about the opportunity to prove one’s innocence?
The immigration laws prior to 1996, Immigration Reform
Being deported for a relatively minor crime is pointless and costly. What about rehabilitation and the opportunity to make it right with the law?

What about the cost to society for the incarceration?
As we think about the contribution to family, employers and community. Let’s also think about the cost to the government for the incarceration and deportation. Who is paying for those costs, the taxpayers. Instead, we could be placing the costs of incarceration on immigrants and hence we would be able to recoup the cost while they would learn a skill that would better service society.

What about those men and women who served our country in combat and living lawfully until?
There are men and women who honored us with their service in the US military that have stumbled but they have been living in this country lawfully for many years. Would we then deport them for their crimes? Let’s think about their spouses who could be US citizens and their children also. Are we so hard that we would take them away from their family members who are US citizens? I would hope