I am proud to say “I am an American.” I was born and raised in the United States, and my parents were also born here. Generations ago my ancestors came to America. They risked their lives with hopes and dreams of the fresh soil America had to offer. To them it was the dream of freedom and prosperity as it still is today. If someone wants to immigrate to America they should be allowed to as our ancestors were because they are not threatening our country; however, there needs to be specific rules on who can immigrate and when, and illegal immigration must be decreased through easier legal immigration.

Allowing immigrants to flee their homeland for a chance in America is a controversial subject. Many Americans believe they steal our jobs, and live off our hard-earned money through welfare and other government related programs. America is being overcrowded, and we have enough poverty and crime. Not to mention immigrants have no hope of making it big in our “high-tech economy” and “poorly educated and unsophisticated immigrants have little hope of following their predecessors into the middle class” (Topolnicki 225). Many people believe we should close our borders and ban anyone from c

“The number of illegal aliens in this country is now about 4.5 million” (Kosova 247). The most difficult problem with allowing any type of immigration in America is those who enter illegally. Illegal immigrants are a problem and must be decreased. “In California alone, illegal immigrants are draining $2.3 billion a year from their strained health care, prison and education systems while also filling some of the relatively few jobs available in the state’s recessionary economy. They will take more away than they can contribute since they lack the skills to give to the economy” (Topolnicki 225). Illegal immigrating is not fair to those who wait in line, and do all the necessary paperwork to become a citizen. Entry cannot be reduced without effective punishment of either illegal aliens or their companies. According to Gary S. Becker, employers will not stop hiring illegal aliens on their own, so in 1986 the U.S. Immigration Control and Reform Act includes penalties for companies who try to hire them (217). There must be steeper penalties such as fines, jail time, and the border needs to be better enforced. If we decrease legal immigration, “the number who seek in or seek work after entering on a tourist visa will expand, unless America is willing to punish effectively the illegal entrants and the small companies that hire them” (18).

Even though immigration is beneficial to both the United States and the immigrants who come here, it must be limited. It does not need to be limited to a specific number each year, but it should follow our economic status. George J. Borjas, and economics professor thinks that when the economy

Some topics in this essay:
Threatening America, George Borjas, Native American-compared, Reform Act, Americans Actually, Immigrants American, According Topolnicki, Third World, Gary Becker, Denise Topolnicki, legal immigration, illegal immigrants, illegal aliens, topolnicki 225, native-born americans, george borjas, close borders, health care, unemployment rate, kinsley 215,