The Formal Research Proposal

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? In order to make things the way they should be, people’s minds need to change. Fortunately, there are theories which assume, “that immigration attitudes are relatively flexible and can be easily changed depending on information and framing.” This connects back to my main argument because, depending on how immigrants are framed, information about them can help improve or damage their image in society. This is why everyone who cares about the livelihood of immigrant communities needs to fight to make sure that they are allowed to become citizens.

In truth, it is more of a question of human rights—the morality and ethics of the issue—not just that this person is an immigrant. I feel like this because immigrants are being dehumanized. It’s an issue of importance to the whole world that they have to cross the border to have a better life, but few people seem to be aware of their stories. My mom struggles so much and now I want to help her be able to stay and be able to call herself a citizen. “ICE’s mission is to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threatens national security and public safety. This mission is executed through the enforcement of more than 400 federal statutes and focuses on immigration enforcement and combating transnational crime.” This connects back to the main argument because this program is used to prevent immigrants from crossing the border, meaning they question whether they have the right to belong here or not. They have to make programs to keep illegal immigrants from coming to our country, protecting their families, and trying to live a normal life. I hope one day this world changes and finally sees what’s really going on. Laws having to do with immigrants are often based on biased misperceptions of immigrants.

Laws directed at immigrants are mostly ones that are based on sending immigrants back to their own country or imprisoning them to an extent that’s not fair. The only reason they get imprisoned is because they are framed due to their skin color and/or being in the country illegally. Immigrants who are undocumented are trying to live normal lives and no one has the right to come for them just because they think they don’t belong here. When my mom was going through immigration, it was really hard because she was also facing a divorce at the time. This connects back to my main argument because my mom was coming back from a different state and she still had to go back through immigration even though when it’s local, you shouldn’t need to go through immigration. This means to me that the security was prejudging my family’s background and decided to pull them over. It shouldn’t feel like this. I hope I never have to separate from my mom due to any similar circumstances.

Overall, I believe that immigrants should be given citizenship because it’s like giving them a second chance in life that they are trying to fight for and have a right to fight for it. One reason is that Americans believe that immigrants will take their jobs for lower wages and will hurt Americans who are homeless or poor. I disagree with this idea because immigrants are trying to look for jobs over here that pay well in order for them to have a good future and pick their lives up. They are running away from a poor society to this country to have it better. Immigrants should be allowed to fight for their citizenship no matter their background. They should be treated equally like other Americans. Last, they should be given jobs to maintain themselves. If we give immigrants jobs, we are able to gain knowledge from their perspectives , which can help us see if the choices we make are actually good for our nation. If we don’t give them citizenship, it will be harder to associate with them and the fighting will continue non-stop. Overall, I believe that immigrants should be given citizenship because it’s like giving them a second chance in life that they are trying to fight for and have a right to fight for.

Lasty, I really hope they make 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.