Fourth Wave of Immigration in the USA (Part 2)

In this entry the main issue is immigration since 2000 and the consequences it had in the country.

In the first decade of the 21st century, a large number of immigrants continued to arrive to the country. A million immigrants entered the United States legally every year. In total there were 30 million legal immigrants. However, also illegal immigrants managed to enter in the country, about 8.7 million.

The majority of these immigrants -both legal and illegal- were Hispanic, Mexican, Caribbean and Central Americans. In 2000, the number of immigrants increased by 63% from 22.4 to 35.3 million immigrants residing in the United States.

The illegal entry of so many people into the country represents a great danger because their rights and freedoms are at greater risk since these illegal immigrants have no right to dignified health or education. For rural work, employers prefer the labor of illegal workers since not having a contract they can work more hours for less money, which contributes to exploitation.

The immigration of so many Hispanics to the US, mainly Mexicans, is taking place despite the restrictive immigration policy and the intensification of border controls. Mexicans contribute to a large amount of money, especially to the field of gastronomy and agriculture. However, only 2 work programs exist for 300,000 Mexican immigrants which has caused more illegal Mexican workers. To curb the massive arrival of Mexicans, the US has intensified the controls of borders, but this policy had no effect. The US government continued to report 100,000 Mexicans each year.

The US government had little interest in legalizing Mexican immigrants because what made agriculture and gastronomy thrive were the low costs of illegal workers.

President Bush announced a law to regulate ilegal immigration on January 7, 2004. All illegal immigrants living in the US would receive a work visa for a maximum of 3 years. After these 3 years they would have to apply for a residence permit. It was a big step to end illegal immigration.

In 2006, millions of people gathered in protests for a comprehensive reform against the existing immigration laws in the United States. The protests began in response to the legislative proposal known as H.R. 4437 which would increase the punishment for undocumented immigration, and would classify undocumented foreigners and any other person who helped them enter or remain in the United States as criminals. Finally, on May 25, the Senate passed the S. 2611 law which includes a path to citizenship for 8.5 million illegal immigrants.

In 2009, Barack Obama was elected president. In his first term, he met frequently with immigrant advocacy groups and called on them to persuade Congress to take action on the issue of migration. All of his proposals were denied by Congress, including the so-called DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors). Without the endorsement of the Congress, Obama established in 2012 the program of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). (These two programs will be explained and adequately detailed in future entries due to their repercussion.)

Obama left office without a comprehensive immigration reform law, but he took important steps to protect the Dreamers and to focus on the priorities. However, deportations increased to record levels. On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump was elected 45th President of the United States. 

According to everything said before, do you think the USA is as modern and advanced as they think?

Information from:

Gratius, S. El factor hispano: los efectos de la inmigración latinoamericana a EEUU y España. 2005.  Real Instituto Elcano de Estudios Internacionales y Estratégicos. Online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28104342_El_factor_hispano_los_efectos_de_la_inmigracion_latinoamericana_a_EEUU_y_Espana
Immigration waves. Immigration to the United States. Online: http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/603-immigration-waves.html
Yale-Loehr, S and Smith E. Trump and Obama immigration enforcement: A tale of the tape so far. Online: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/trump-obama-immigration-enforcement-tale-tape-article-1.3801147?cid=bitly