My Blogging Expierence

I want to start by saying that I am now a big fan of this teaching method. Blogging was something that I knew absolutely nothing about. I was amazed at just how big the blogging community is. One of the main reasons I like blogging for English 112 and in general is the freedom it gives you in writing. All I knew about illegal immigration before my blogging experience was well pretty much nothing. Now I, like most Americans based my accusations about illegals with out knowing the facts. Blogging helped me add fact with opinion and I now know where I fully stand on the issue off illegal immigration.

When you read a newspaper, magazine, book, ect. You have to read what's published and you have no way to express to them your opinion, with blogging you get that opportunity. You can respond to someones blog with your opinion's whether they be good or bad. Now looking at it from another perspective I like blogging because you can write how and what you want to write about while controlling who reads your blog. So I would definitely say my experience has been a fun, knowledgeable, eye opening experience helping me look outside the box.

Fixing the problem..!

There is no way to please everyone in fixing illegal immigration. You could say that anybody here illegally should be thrown in jail, but that would add to out already overpopulated prison system and cost tax payers more money. You could say anybody here illegally should be deported immediately. Deport them where, the border, they would just cross back over the second we dropped them off. The US government could deny illegals emergency services and all social services, but we would never deny anyone medical care. Another thing I think our society over looks is people who aid illegal immigration. Those who aid and abet illegal immigration should be subject to prosecution.

In my opinion here is what should be done on illegal immigration. If you want to come over to the USA sign up for the military, that's right the military. I purpose that illegal immigrants serve a 5 year tour with the branch that our government assigns them to. Once that tour is served green cards will be given to the immediate family. Immigrants would benefit greatly from the military for reasons such as health care, a paycheck, learn English, pay taxes legally, and they would learn a valuable skill/trade. While in the service we would provide benefits to the immediate family. The same proposal should be extended to those already here illegally. I know that this is a very raw proposal but I think it has potential. If I ever won the Presidential election I would purpose this in the first 60 days of office.

Ilegal immigrants and health care

Health care, now there is something that is a issue in the USA even without considering illegal immigration. According to the US Census Bureau, there are almost 302 million people in the Continental U.S. (population clock). There are around 7 million illegal immigrants in the US, 70% of those are Mexican (US Census Bureau). The number of "legal" immigrants in the USA is
1 million (US Census Bureau). One out of every four uninsured people in the USA is an immigrant (CNN.com). Almost half of immigrants have either no insurance or have it provided to them at taxpayers expense. In some hospitals, as much as two-thirds of total operating costs are for uncompensated care for illegal aliens. Border hospitals reported losses of almost $190 million in unreimbursed costs for treating illegal aliens in 2000, with another $113 million in ambulance fees and follow-up services(fairus.org). Illegal immigrants generally live at or below the poverty line, and can not afford health care coverage. They are eligible for free emergency care, but this has traditionally been abused because illegal immigrants have no other source of care. Because of that, they visit emergency rooms for non urgent care, which contributes to the $250 million annual hospital reimbursements for free care provided for non-urgent visits. Now heath care for US citizens is far from being a solved issue so there is no end or resolve in the near future for immigrant heath care both legal and illegal. The only that would be a quick fix in my opinion is deny any both without insurance health care, but we live in a society that will never look at it that way because it is morally and unethically wrong.

Problems with Illegal Immigration

In my last blog I wrote about my experience in Mexico and the answers I received from the locals on why they want to come to the USA. In this blog I want to discuss the problems with illegal immigration from an American point of view. Illegal immigration is a problem that affects all Americans. Illegal immigrant is defined as any persons who migrates to a country for a permanent residence without some form of identification. There are many problems which develop from illegal immigration, including overpopulation, rising crime and unemployment(1). In my opinion the American government must control the flow of illegal immigrants into the USA in order to provide more opportunities for Americans. The Illegal Immigration Act of 1965 act placed a limit on the number of immigrants allowed per country, and increased the rate of Hispanic and Asian Immigration. Another main problem in the United States today is crime. I spent five years as a Military Policeman in the U.S. Army and I can tell you crime comes in many different forms, such there is rape, murder, theft, etc. When immigrants come to the United States illegally, no background report is given to our government on that person. Now imagine trying to run an illegal immigrant through a local police database and for that matter the DOJ (Department of Justice). You would come up with absolutely nothing. Immigrants who enter illegally can bring all sorts of a shady/sketchy past. Here is a example, A major player in drug trafficking may be feeling the heat of what every country he/she might be in so what's the next best thing, come to America illegally. Now when that drug dealer slips in to our country unnoticed he/she can start his operation up again and our government would not have a clue. Thus adding to our already enormous drug problem.

References Cited

(1)Crime & the Illegal Alien: The Fallout from Crippled Immigration Enforcement, by Heather Mac DonaldCenter for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, June 2004

My Trip to Mexico....

Several weeks ago I went to Cozumel, Mexico, it was my first time in the country. It was my intention while there to ask questions that pertained to my blog on "Immigration" and I did just that. The main question I focused on the was simply "why the USA". Now I must have asked that question (respectfully and charismatically) at least 100 times but only found English maybe 10 to 15 times and it was Spanglish at that, yes it's a real word. Anyways, I had several different answers from each person I asked but they all had one common answer that they were in agreence on and that was money. Money, well that answer did not surprise me at all but it got me thinking how is that different from what Americans want? Truth be told it's no different, Mexicans want what Americans want and that is money. The second answer I received the most of was "family". Almost everyone I spoke with said that they wanted what's best for there family. From my experience of being there i can tell you that there is not much of an economy and the major revenue comes from tourism. The reason that the USA is so sought after is because of it's economy, you have to have a good economy to in return have a good job market. At least half of the people I spoke with dropped out of school at a young age. Immigrants can come to the USA and make more money doing the jobs that our society doesn't want to do and they can make twice the money as they would in there native country with little to no education. Now I know that sounds a little harsh but it's true. Experts say that the success of many immigrants in the U.S. hinges on such factors as their legal status, their education and how much money they had in their pockets when they arrived here, that sure does make you think(1).

References Cited

(1)William Booth, "Sweat of Their Brows Reshapes an Economy," Washington Post, July 13, 1998.

I have often wondered what the real number of illegal immigrants really is in the U.S. According to Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in August of 2000, which was just recently absorbed by USCIS, over 7 million illegal aliens were living in the United States, a number that is growing by half a million a year (1). In 2003 in which the INS was still its own organization it was reported that at least 8 million illegal immigrants called the U.S. home. Eight million people, to me that number seem very large but also smaller than I had anticipated. So if you follow the estimates that the INS gave out in 2003 we would in 2008 have close to 11 million illegal immigrants in the continental U.S. and mind you that number is for illegals only. In the 1990's the INS issues 1.5 million green cards to illegal aliens. The proportion of the illegal immigrants who are Mexican has increased to nearly 70 percent from less than 60 percent, the INS said (3) . If you are curious about the state statistic break down of illegal immigrants just click the link. The two main things which attract immigrants (legal and illegal) are jobs and family. The typical Mexican worker earns one-tenth that of an American, and numerous American businesses are willing to hire cheap, compliant labor from abroad. Our country lacks a viable system to verify new hires' work eligibility which is why millions of immigrants are able to work in the U.S. In addition, communities of recently arrived legal immigrants help create immigration networks used by illegal aliens and serve as protection and shelter for illegal immigration, providing jobs, housing, and entree to America for illegals, there relatives and fellow countrymen(4).


References Cited


1)http://www.cis.org/topics/illegalimmigration.html

2)http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

3)http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/31/illegal.immigration/

4)http://www.cis.org/topics/illegalimmigration.html

The Process.......

Well what do you say we jump head first into "The Process" of obtaining a green card. First of all, a green card is a Permanent Visa to USA. A green card gives you the status of permanent resident with legal rights to work in United States. Once you have a green card you may apply for USA citizenship. The green card does not affect your present citizenship. An immigrant usually has to go through a multi-step process to get the green card(1), which entitles him or her to live and work permanently in the United States. The whole process may take several years depending on the type of application and the country of origin. In the first step, USCIS approves the immigrant petition by a qualifying relative, an employer, or rare cases such as with an investor visa, the applicant. If a sibling is applying, they must have the same parents as the applicant. Second, unless the applicant is an "immediate relative", an immigrant visa number through the State Department must be available. This number might not be immediately available even if the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) approves the petition because the amount of immigrant visa numbers is limited every year. There are also certain additional limitations by country, most immigrants will be placed on lengthy waiting lists. Those immigrants who are immediate relatives are not subjected to the limited quotas of immigrant visas and may proceed to the next step immediately. Immediate relatives are defined as spouses and children under 21 years of age of U.S. citizens, and parents of a U.S. citizen who is 21 years of age or over. Finally, when an immigrant visa number is available, the applicant must apply with USCIS to adjust their current status to permanent resident status. If the applicant is outside the U.S., they have to apply for an immigrant visa at the nearest U.S. consulate before being allowed to come to the U.S.(2) When most people here about immigration services they think of Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and INS used to issue green cards but that agency was absorbed by USCIS.


BB


References Cited

(1) http://www.foreignborn.com/visas_imm/immigrant_visas/9imm_process.htm
(2) http://www.uscis.gov

How Do Illegal Immigrants Enter the Country...?

Everybody in the U.S. knows that illegal immigrants enter the country everyday. Do you ever wonder why or better yet how they enter the U.S. illegally? First, I would like to talk about how immigrants enter the country. Immigrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who do not qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like the U.S.-Mexico border or the U.S.-Canadian border. The U.S.-Mexican border is the most frequently crossed international border in the world, with some 350 million people crossing (legally) every year (Borders and Law Enforcement. US Embassy Mexico) . The U.S. Mexican border's total length is 1,951 miles. There are countless rivers and unpatrolable terrain along the massive 1,951 miles of border. Another border is the U.S.-Canadian border. Canada and the United States of America share the longest common border in the world that is an enormous 5,500 miles long and let's not forget it borders Alaska as well. The U.S.-Canadian border is not a militarized border. As you can read with the enormous borders to our south and to our north it is seemingly impossible to patrol all 7,500 miles that border the U.S. Now with that being said we forget about our ports and the endless amount of water that borders the U.S. from the west to the east and even the south. Since boats first saw water they have been a pipeline of getting immigrants into the country. Now this becomes less and less as the years pass but in earlier decades and even centuries it was a major issue.

In my next blog I will try and get in depth as to why immigrants come to the U.S. illegally but I will end by saying that the first thing that comes to my mind is "Necessity" plain and simple.

BB






References Cited
Borders and Law Enforcement. US Embassy Mexico. Retrieved on 2006-03-07.

Writing what I know about my topic...!

In my initial blog that I posted last week I said that when most Americans hear the word immigration they instantly think Hispanics with an emphasis on Mexicans. I can honestly say that I used to think the very same way. I am not going to just focus on the two countries that border the U.S. I would rather take a look at immigration as a whole. I will be the first to admit that i know very little about the subject which is the main reason I chose it. Being born and raised in Virginia I can honestly say that I have never had to deal with immigration laws or policies so I can not agree nor disagree with them but in the next couple of weeks I plan to dive head first in to the always disputable and controversial immigration laws, policies and, statistics in the U.S.

Here are just a few topics I hope to discuss during this coarse.....

(1) What makes the U.S. such a desirable place?

(2) What are the intentions of immigrants immigrating illegally?

(3) What is the current process to gain a Green Card?

(4) As American citizens what do you think should be the minimum requirements to be granted U.S. citizenship?

(5) How do immigrants enter the U.S.

(6) What are the statistics on immigrants in the U.S. (Illegal or legal)?

(7) What is the ethnic break down on immigrants in the U.S. (illegal or legal)?

(8) What job or profession do the majority of illegal immigrants obtain and what is the average yearly income per household?

(9) Ilegal immigrants and health care.

(10) How do we stop illegal immigration

By looking at Ms. Peluso's syllabus for this class it looks like we have to write around 10 blogs on our respective subjects. Per above I have written down 9 topics on my subject I would like to discuss and plan on discussing one each week.

BB

Immigration....

Ok so I am going to attempt to discuss the topic of immigration. Now the first thing that most Americans think of when the word immigrant is thrown around is Hispanics emphasis on Mexicans. I made the comment in class last week that I had some "creative" idea's for the Mexican border and after that comment almost instantaneously Ms. Peluso said what about the Canadian border. Well I am not going to just focus on the immigrants from the countries that border The U.S. but I am very interested in tackling immigration as a whole. I am going to focus on the U.S. of coarse and go into our policies and I hope to gather statistics on all races in the country that are so called immigrants. Now I am prior service (Army), I now work for the government and I am a conservative. I certainly have a strong opinion on the subject and that is why I chose "immigration". With your feedback may we as professionals can learn and help each other understand our individual opinions.

BB