Major Project 1: The Persuasive Research Essay

Synopsis/Reflection and Link to PDF Copy:

My topic is immigration and my central claim is that immigrants should be granted citizenship. Throughout my essay I talk about why immigrants should be granted citizenship, and the research I use helps me explain my point by mentioning how immigrants pay taxes, do good for our country and how they have been here most of their lives so it has become home to them. I also address some arguments people might have against immigrants getting citizenship, but prove why they’re actually wrong. Immigration and citizenship is an important topic to talk about because a lot of people do not see what immigrants go through and why they deserve the opportunity to become citizens. I chose this as my essay topic,  because of my mother being an immigrant which makes it a very personal and important topic. I hope readers agree with my central claim  and see immigrants for all the good that they are. If people start believing this then it would be more people supporting immigrants and their rights, which could change the perception of immigrants in this country and eventually help immigrants have freedom and not have to worry for their well-being in the United States.

Link to: Persuasive Research Essay for ENG 170_Why Immigrants Should Be Granted Citizenship

Why Immigrants Should be Granted Citizenship

Persuasive Research Essay Final Copy

The legal organization, Nolo, mentions on its website that undocumented immigrants are foreign-born people who do not have the legal right to be in the U.S. Nolo states that in 2023 the U.S. has around 11 million undocumented immigrants (Gasson). The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) reports an even higher number and notes that, “as of 2020… there [were] approximately 14.5 million illegal aliens residing within the United States” (“2021 Update”). Both of these numbers are just estimates, which both FAIR and Nolo acknowledge. However, the number of undocumented immigrants is less important than how good or bad their lifestyle has been as the lives of undocumented immigrants have been very challenging. Even though some of them stay in the United States because they have found a way to receive a green card, some of them must go back to their native countries where they face other problems such as crime, getting health insurance, and a job, among other issues. These challenges are some of the reasons why undocumented immigrants who have long-term residency in the United States should be allowed to achieve citizenship. 

If long term illegal immigrants are productive citizens and support themselves to prove their ability to be independent and successful, then they should be given citizenship. Undocumented immigrants have jobs and are helping society today. For example, my mother is an immigrant and she crossed the border when she was 12. She has been in the United States over 30 years and now she is working in a top New York City school as a parent coordinator. My mother has always been able to support her family even if there were times she struggled. She is the only person I know who has crossed the border, but there are many stories similar to hers. Why uproot her or anyone else  after they have been here for so long, especially when they are being productive members of society? They set a good example, they contribute to their communities, and they pay taxes. While the circumstances of how they came to the country were not legal, everyone deserves a chance to show they know what it means to be a hardworking US citizen and reach that goal. 

In truth, making citizenship harder for undocumented immigrants to obtain is also  a question of human rights—the morality and ethics of the issue. Immigrants are being dehumanized. It is an issue of importance to the whole world that they have to risk their lives to cross the border to have a better life, but few people seem to be aware of their stories. According to my mother, she struggled so much during her time crossing the border. Many immigrants lose their lives trying to get to this country because the process is so hard for them. Then for the immigrants who do make it into the United States, many face issues including being “low-income workers, or family members of these workers. Most are also uninsured, with no prospect of obtaining health insurance. Like anyone else who has a body, sometimes an undocumented resident gets sick” (Berlinger). Berlinger’s concern is about the well-being of these humans and what will happen if they get sick, as well as the other conditions they live in simply trying to achieve a better life in the United States for their kids and themselves. In fact, many immigrants do get jobs and work here in this country for a very long time and help improve this country, so it wouldn’t be fair to deport them back to their countries if they have already started a life here in the United States and had a positive impact. It is unethical to make it difficult for undocumented immigrants to become citizens and we should have safer and more realistic options for them to get their US citizenship, especially if they are here long-term.

Laws that require undocumented immigrants to be deported are unfair and often enforcing such laws often means that people of color are singled out. As mentioned on the American Civil Liberties Union website, “Across the country, people of color are being targeted based on their skin color and accents” (Usova).  Just because they are not white and speak differently, they are automatically singled out by law enforcement. For example, my family members have been stopped by officers before when racial profiling was allowed in New York City just because they looked like an immigrant, even though they were born here and weren’t doing anything wrong. Immigrants and their families are just trying to live normal lives and no one has the right to target them just because they suspect they are not American Citizens. 

There have already been attempts to help immigrants stay in this country, for example the legislation that helps DREAMers. DREAMers are a group of immigrants who arrived in the US during childhood, who benefit from DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), an administrative policy that protects them from getting deported for the time being and allows them to work if they have the right permit (Nicholls). DACA as well as the DREAM Act (The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act) are a pathway for DREAMers to get citizenship, which also helps make the case that other groups of immigrants should have a way to become citizens (Nicholls). This can allow undocumented immigrants to achieve residency because since they are allowed to stay due to a work permit and are allowed to renew it every two years, they can then apply for citizenship within that time and be able to stay here legally. 

Other immigrants should also be allowed to apply for citizenship no matter their background. The government allows some immigrants to stay with working permits and now they can go find jobs, and small businesses can hire them which lets the immigrants make a living. Immigrants, like my mother who have work permits, can even work for state governments. A good solution would be that if immigrants work for a certain amount of years in the United States, don’t get into any trouble with the law, pay taxes and support their community, then there should also be a pathway for them to get citizenship regardless of when they came to this country.  If they are working and paying taxes like other Americans and not breaking any laws, then they should be treated equally like other Americans. Overall, I believe that immigrants should be given citizenship because it’s like giving them a second chance in life and that they should have a right to fight for this opportunity and prove that they are worth it. 

It is ironic that many Americans believe immigrants will take their jobs by working for lower wages and that they will leave Americans poor and out on the streets. In fact, immigrants are trying to look for jobs in the United States that pay well, but also have hard times finding those jobs and, unfortunately, many times will have to accept lower wage jobs. Meanwhile, most Americans do not want the jobs undocumented immigrants are willing to take. In fact, experts say that there are positive outlooks on immigrants and jobs. According to a study by fwd.us, “The U.S. needs to increase the number of immigrants entering our country each year substantially to grow its competitive advantage and expand our future workforce” (“Increasing Future”). In order to accomplish this, the United States government will have to allow more immigrants into the country. These people will likely be able to get good paying jobs, but only if  they have a pathway to become citizens. Then this will allow the immigrants to really achieve their goals of a better life in the United States since they will have money to support themselves and have better access to opportunities, such as affording healthcare or better education.

Based on my mother’s experience and my research, I really hope the United States government makes a change in immigrants’ lives so they don’t have to worry anymore. Illegal immigrants who have long-term residency in the United States should be allowed to achieve citizenship. I say this because immigrants should feel like they belong. They shouldn’t have to feel worried about being forced to go back to their native countries, especially when many have been here so long it’s the only home that they remember.

Works cited 

Berlinger, Nancy. “Out of the shadows.” The Hastings Center Report, vol. 41, no. 5, Sept.-Oct. 2011. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A268403541/OVIC?u=newpaltz&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=afd9e10b. Accessed 4 Mar. 2023.

Gasson, Kristina. “Who Is an Undocumented Immigrant?” Www.nolo.com, Nolo, 24 Feb. 2023, https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/who-is-undocumented-immigrant.html. 

“Increasing Future Immigration Grows U.S. Competitive Advantage.” FWD.us, 8 July 2021, https://www.fwd.us/news/future-immigration/. 

  Nicholls, Walter. The DREAMers How the Undocumented Youth Movement Transformed the Immigrant Rights Debate / Walter J. Nicholls. Stanford University Press, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1515/9780804788694.

“2021 Update: How Many Illegal Aliens Live in the United States?” Federation for American Immigration Reform, 21 June 2022, https://www.fairus.org/issue/illegal-immigration/2021-update-how-many-illegal-aliens-live-united-states. 

Usova, Georgeanna. “Three Faces of Racial Profiling: Immigrants Are the Latest Victims: ACLU.” American Civil Liberties Union, 27 Feb. 2023, https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/three-faces-racial-profiling-immigrants-are-latest-victims. 

Persuasive Research Essay: Rough Draft

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that,“by 2000…the number of illegal immigrants in the United States was approximately 7 million,” and that, “by 2010, it was estimated to be nearing 10–12 million.” This is how you know there are a lot of immigrants in the world! The lives of immigrants throughout the world have been very challenging for a long time while some governments support sending all immigrants back to the countries that they came from, which works against them even more. There are over 7 million immigrants traveling around the country. Some of them have to go back and some of them stay because they already have a green card. Should illegal immigrants who have long-term residency in the United States be allowed to achieve citizenship? I say yes because immigrants should feel like they belong. They should not have to be worried about having to go back to their native countries. We should all be able to have the freedom to search for more safe and stable lives

If long term illegal immigrants are productive citizens and support themselves to prove their independence, then they should be given citizenship. I say this because all immigrants are not bad. Most of them have jobs and are helping society today. My mom is an immigrant and she is working in a school and she crossed the border when she was 12, so she has been here most of her life. Why take that away from my mom or any person just because of their immigrant status?“The DREAMers shows how a stigmatized group—whether immigrants or others—can gain a powerful voice in American political debate.” I picked this evidence from