Miller 1

Lara Miller

Professor King

English 1A

14 November 2017

Views on the Issues of Immigration

In just the first year of his presidency, the newest president of the United States, Donald

Trump, a Republican, has made quite a few changes. Immigration has been something he talked

about during the election period, and generally has been a hot topic for many years. Our previous

president, Barack Obama, a Democrat, made a policy for people who had come into the country

as minors and stayed illegally, to be able to work without being deported. This policy was called

DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. In September 2017, The Trump administration

announced the end of the program. Congress decided to delay this for six months to figure out

how to handle all of the people protected under the policy. The liberal view on immigration tends

to be more supportive of illegal and legal immigrants and their rights, while conservatives

usually agree with only legal immigration. These days, when you go online or watch the news,

its almost impossible to get true information without a voice behind it swaying you to one side

or the other. There are so many different news stations, websites and magazines that readers are

able to choose which titles and headings agree with their views and beliefs. This freedom we

have is important, but we may not realize how reading biased articles instead of collecting

information and facts first, affects the way we form opinions and stances on some of the main

problems in our country. With two strong and outspoken political parties backing up different
 Miller 2

views, its hard to focus on what matters most and how we can effectively and fairly deal with

the issues at hand.

In discussion about immigration, liberals are typically more supportive of allowing

immigrants to stay in America under certain circumstances. Some amenities that liberals lean

towards wanting immigrants to have are education, health benefits and participation in the work

force. In an article posted to Vox.com the author, Dara Lind, explains how the deadline Congress

gave to DACA recipients was abrupt and how many immigrants will fall through the cracks.

The article, titled Thousands of immigrants are losing their DACA protections already, gives

insight on immigrants who tried to make the deadline that the Trump administration gave them,

only a month in advance. It also gives some insight on the amount of people being affected and

the problems that Lind believes come along with the sudden end to the program. Lind goes on to

describe how a mysterious mail screw up caused many peoples renewal applications to not get

there on time. The author believes that the sudden deadline for DACA recipient applications will

cause concerns for many of the immigrants who werent able to get them in on time or the many

that sent them in on time, but somehow didnt get there on time. Congresss desire to carefully

deliberate a solution for DACA recipients makes sense but they ought to at least be aware that

their deliberate pace has consequences for some of the very people theyre trying to protect.

(Lind). The authors tone sounds more liberal and in favor of immigrant rights. Unbiased articles

would state facts and outline the situation without sounding opinionated. Instead this article says

that congress didnt do their job in helping all immigrants the way they made it seem like they

were going to.

Many children and young people are immigrants in our country, which is part of why this

topic is so controversial. Another left wing voice on the topic of immigration is how children are
 Miller 3

being arrested for gang affiliation without solid evidence to back it up and without allowing the

minors to speak with a lawyer. An article posted to ALCU.org with the title The Trump

Administration Is Detaining Immigrant Kids for Gang Membership without Evidence. So We

Sued goes into detail about a few different cases where the author, Stephan Kang, believes the

way this issue is being handled is unfair. Kang explains situations where juvenile immigrants

have been arrested and instead of calling the childs parents or a lawyer, they get the

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) involved, who then sends them to the Office of

Refugee Resettlement (ORR). In one case Kang explains how a juvenile was transported across

the country without notification to lawyers or the childs parents. Kang concludes the article by

saying, Of course, we should address gang violence in our communities. But while trying to

appear tough on gangs, the government is tearing children from their families and depriving

them of their most fundamental constitutional rights. (Kang). Gang violence can be very scary

and when kids are involved its important to intervene before its too late. The author made a

good point about addressing gang violence. He gave a lot of background and information on the

issue, but his opinion was clear throughout the article. A news report with an opinion thats

clearly stated doesnt give readers the chance to analyze the information without an opinion

influencing theirs. It can be concluded that more often liberals support immigrants who are

trying to become legal and believe they should have rights too.

On the other side of the spectrum, conservatives are less supportive of illegal immigrants,

although they believe that immigrants who come into the country legally and obey laws deserve

more rights. On the website ConservativeTribune.com, Ben Marquis talks about a new program

called Safety and Fairness for Everyone Cities Network designed to give free legal

representation to legal and illegal immigrants. In the article called Liberals Launch Program to
 Miller 4

Increase No. of Illegals Allowed to Stay by 1,100%, Marquis explains how the The liberal

New York City-based Vera Institute of Justice initially used private money to start the program

but will use tax payers money to continue. He says, Were this initiative to be completely funded

by private dollars, we would have no qualms with it whatsoever, as it would be nothing more

than liberals putting their money where their mouths are and funding a venture to protect illegals

by themselves. (Marquis). His argument is that this is a liberal program and he doesnt believe

that taxpayers should be paying for lawyers to represent illegal immigrants. The article explains

that without a lawyer, immigrants were winning cases by defending themselves at only a 4

percent rate, whereas, with someone representing them it increased to 48 percent. Marquis makes

it seem as though all liberals agree with this and every liberal taxpayer wants their money to go

to this. An unbiased article would give opinions from both parties and have a more neutral tone.

An argument that conservatives have clearly stated is that immigrants are working

illegally and are taking American jobs. In another right leaning article, the author, Ken Blackwell

talks about a system that may help keep illegal immigrants out. The article, posted to

DailyCaller.com and called End The Root Cause Of Illegal Immigration describes how the

system E-Verify will allow employers to ensure they only hire people allowed to work in the

United States. Blackwell says, Most Americans want citizens and legal immigrants already here

to get priority for U.S. jobs over citizens from other countries who are in the U.S. illegally.

(Blackwell). Some might argue that everyone needs to make a living, and thats part of the

reason immigrants came here. Another argument to that could be immigrants do a lot of tough

jobs that many others dont want. The article is shows bias by not giving the view of the

opposing party. All in all, illegal immigrants getting free legal representation and letting them

work in America is less supported by conservatives than it is by liberals.

 Miller 5

Immigration is a serious topic right now in the United States. With tough opinions

weighing in from the left and the right wings, finding articles with a middle ground and an

unbiased tone isnt so easy. In an article posted by the New York Times, Miriam Jordan provided

background and gave facts on the subject matter while keeping the article mostly neutral. The

article titled Citizenship Applications in U.S. Surge as Immigration Talk Toughens, Jordan

noted how the numbers of immigrants applying for naturalization, which protects them from

deportation, is rising and will likely surpass last years numbers. Jordan gives accounts from

multiple immigrants about their feelings on immigration laws and applying for citizenship.

Jordan explains how immigrant applications have increased this year, while Trump is moving

towards firmer laws. She says, As Mr. Trump campaigned on promises of a border wall and

strict crackdowns on immigration, 2016 became the busiest year in a decade for naturalization

applications. (Jordan). While giving facts, the author also stays away from strong words or

phrases to explain the situation. The article does give more insight on how people affected by the

new laws feel, yet she keeps the talk unbiased by not giving her own opinion or using harsh

language.

Another article that doesnt show favoritism was posted by CNN.com with the title US

immigration: DACA and Dreamers explained. The authors, Catherine Shoichet, Susannah

Cullinane and Tal Kopan, give fair, valid and true information about the DACA program, the

history of it, and whats going on now in the news. The article answers questions like, Who's

been protected by DACA?, What has Trump said about DACA?, and Why did the Trump

administration decide to end DACA?. When reporting to the question Why did the Trump

administration end DACA? the authors wrote, The move was praised by groups who advocate

for stricter immigration controls, who have long decried DACA as executive overreach and
 Miller 6

argued that it is akin to providing amnesty for lawbreakers. (Shoichet, Cullinane, Kopan). The

authors response to each question is very neutral. They gave solid information with links to

studies and statistics, all while giving views from both the liberal and conservative sides. The

importance of giving accurate information without being prejudiced is crucial to understanding

and advocating for the current issues and controversies in our country.

After researching information from both liberal and conservative viewpoints, as well as

unbiased reports, my stance on this highly debated topic is somewhere in the middle. I

understand why so many people have come to America. I believe many families come to work,

so they can provide for their children. Many parents want their children to receive a better

education than they received. The idea that in America we have freedom, better education, and

lots of jobs, can definitely make someone in a poor, violent or war ridden country want to find a

safer or more prosperous place to live and provide for their families. Although, I do believe that

it is important to come to the country legally and obey laws. Overall, I think we should extend

our hands to our immigrants and be compassionate and understanding to the struggles it took to

get here and the reason they came in the first place. Instead of abruptly making laws that can

split families and cause chaos for people trying to become legal citizens, we should help them

and make fair laws that wont send them back to a country they may hardly know.

Being able to read the news and knowing whats going on in our country is a privilege

that not all countries enjoy. Being able to vocalize our opinions gives us our own voice and

individuality. Biased news provides information to the person that agrees with it. While having

the freedom to read and believe what we want, its extremely important to get factual

information without a voice thats obstructing your own thought process. Republicans and

Democrats can be strongly opinionated at times on matters that are important to them.
 Miller 7

Immigration is a topic that has been debated and concerning for many years, and wont likely go

away anytime soon. Whether you lean to the left or the right, finding information that is unbiased

and fair is what will make a difference in advocating for the solutions on the issues that matter

most to us.
 Miller 8

Works Cited

Blackwell, Ken. End The Root Cause Of Illegal Immigration. The Daily Caller, The Daily

Caller, 28 Nov. 2017, dailycaller.com/2017/11/25/end-the-root-cause-of-illegal-

immigration/?utm_campaign=thedcmainpage&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=So

cial.

Jordan, Miriam. Citizenship Applications in the U.S. Surge as Immigration Talk Toughens.

The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Oct. 2017,

www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/us/citizenship-applications-immigration.html.

Kang, Stephen. The Trump Administration Is Detaining Immigrant Kids for Gang Membership

Without Evidence. So We Sued. American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil

Liberties Union, 21 Nov. 2017, www.aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-

and-detention/trump-administration-detaining-immigrant-kids.

Lind, Dara. Thousands of Immigrants Are Losing Their DACA Protections Already. Vox,

Vox, 10 Nov. 2017, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/10/16633956/daca-

deadline-missed-renew.

Marquis, Ben. Liberals Launch Program to Increase No. of Illegals Allowed to Stay by

1,100%. Conservative Tribune, 13 Nov. 2017, conservativetribune.com/liberals-

program-illegals-

allowed/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=conservativetribune&utm_content=2017

-11-13&utm_campaign=manualpost.
 Miller 9

Shoichet, Catherine E., and Tal Kopan. DACA, Dreamers Explained. CNN, Cable News

Network, 26 Oct. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/09/04/politics/daca-dreamers-immigration-

program/index.html.

Conservative vs. Liberal Beliefs. Student News Daily,

www.studentnewsdaily.com/conservative-vs-liberal-beliefs/.