Immigration In Today's Society

1651 Words7 Pages
In today’s society, there are many topics, such as immigration, race, and socioeconomic class, that are often not addressed because they could cause disputes. American citizens do not discuss often enough the truth behind these problematic issues. It is much easier for citizens to simply admit that immigration and racism is an issue, than it is to really learn the struggle of immigrants that lie beneath the myths. Similarly, it is easy for citizens to assume that America is a middle-class nation, but in reality, America is far from it. All of these ideas stem from the central idea that Americans are narrow-minded or ignorant towards such issues. Although some may deny that immigration, racism, and economic class make an impact in today’s society,…show more content…
While most Americans may think that unauthorized immigrants could just “get in line” or “join a list”, many are ignorant of the fact that the process is much more extreme. The American Immigration Counsel states that “Most unauthorized immigrants do not have the necessary family or employment relationships and often cannot access humanitarian protection” (Why Don’t They Just Get In Line?). Undocumented immigrants must go through rigorous processes to become legalized that some simply cannot do. Frequently, the employment opportunities for permanent immigration require high levels of education or professional experience. In How Immigrants Become “Other”, the authors state that many of the illegal immigrants do not have much of an education or work experience at all; the mass of immigrants do not fit the profile that companies are looking for. The American Immigration Council also states that “family-based immigration is limited to certain close family relationships and is numerically restricted.” Essentially, US citizens can ask for spouses, siblings, and children to join them in America, but the waiting period is almost unbearable. People from countries with high levels of immigration to the United States, such as Mexico, China, and the Philippines, generally have longer waiting times. Unmarried children could possibly only have a wait time of five years, while married children of US citizens from Mexico must wait more than 20 years for a visa to become available, and Filipino siblings of US citizens are currently waiting about 25 years (Why Don’t They Just Get In Line?). There is truly no single “line” for unauthorized immigrants to become legalized. Because of the prolonged documentation process, many people must rely on coyotes (smugglers) to seek them across
Open Document