The Role Of Immigration In The United States

Immigration in the United States is not a new phenomenon. Ever since the 1680s – also known as the colonial era – North America’s history has been marked by several waves of immigration from all over the world. All motivated by cultural, religious, economic, and political push and pull factors, newcomers set foot on American soil. Although the public opinion concerning immigration may have shifted throughout history, the immigrants have formed the American society. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, many American citizens demanded more severe border controls in order to avoid the influx of more illegal immigrants and also to reduce the number of legal newcomers whereupon George Washington Bush signed the USA Patriot Act in October 2001 that was intended to raise higher surveillance to protect the country from new terrorists.
However, according to the Pew Research Center the influx of illegal immigrants has stabilized. In 2012, president Barack Obama took steps to create a new policy that would protect illegitimate young adults from deportation and allow them to work legally without granting them a legal permanent resident status. This program was called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, or also known as DACA. Two years later, in 2014, Mr. Obama made an attempt to legislate a new program called DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents) with the aim to reunite families by also preventing an estimated four million undocumented family members of American citizens from being exiled and giving them permission to take