Immigration has been the forefront of discussion since the inception of America, but more particularly since the beginning of the 2016 presidential campaigns. The ropes on immigration are being tightened due to new legislation under President Trump. America was founded on the basic principal of immigration. Our country is one of freedom, opportunity, and new chances, which is why so much attention has been brought to this topic. At one end of the debate lie predominantly democrats or libertarians who favor expansionism and open borders; the other side of the spectrum are the opposing republicans and conservatives who favor closed borders and a limit on immigration. Where do you stand?

Immigration policies in our country serve several purposes and have particular goals. Immigration unites families by enabling those living in foreign countries to join their family members that reside in the United States. Immigration also serves as a refuge for those facing any kind political or religious persecution in their land of origin, as well as a way to increase diversity.

Laws passed in 1885 and 1887 were among the first to restrict immigration based on economic concerns. Legal admissions were 8.5 million in the United States, which was almost double the total immigrants in the 1970s. Our current immigration numbers are the highest they’ve ever been since World War I. As of 2014, government data reported that 11.3 million people present in the United States are illegal immigrants, which is 3.5% of the American population.

Restricted immigration policies and a crackdown on illegal immigrants would pose much needed benefits to the United States. Our country needs Donald Trump’s immigration plan so that border security increases and so there is a stricter enforcement on current immigration laws, which essentially will eliminate many illegals. A prevalent problem we are facing is the foreign laborers negatively affecting the employment and pay rates for native laborers. Noticeably many immigrants are hard workers because they’re given the chance at a new life and have strong work ethics. However, inexperienced illegal immigrants without proper work ethics are hired over experienced American workers. In many cases, illegal immigrants accept jobs for minimal pay, which is why they get hired over U.S. citizens. When they have medical needs and need to go to the hospital, they can’t be turned away, which leaves people of the working class to pay for their care. Physician Praveen Arla has seen poor, and long-uninsured patients receiving Medicaid through Obamacare, and also sees the middle class patients increasingly staying away. Patients are turned off by such high deductibles and are claiming to go to the doctor’s office as little as possible because of it. American’s health insurance premiums increase in order to help pay for the people that are unable to do so themselves.With soaring immigration numbers, this takes a direct toll on the middle class in particular.

A commonly misunderstood perception is that supporters of legislation like the travel ban and restrictive immigration policies are unwelcoming and prejudice. People that wish to restrict immigration are not against immigrants, but rather illegal ones that set an economic burden on legal U.S. residents. There isn’t a prejudice against immigrants, but rather a prejudice over those who don’t work, break the law, and suck money from the pockets of Americans. Our country was founded on legal immigration. Immigrants that came over abided by the laws, and contributed to society. Illegals receive government assistance programs and get federal aid. However, a hard-working family of 5 struggling to make ends meet don’t get assistance because they don’t meet the poverty line. In most cases, illegals are able to stay in this country in exchange for cheap labor. They cross the borders and bring their children, grandchildren, and aunts and uncles in search for a better life. However, they make such little money which causes them to be on government programs, leaving countless middle class families to pay for it and causing their insurance premiums to skyrocket. What puts an illegal over a law-abiding citizen? Illegal immigration has impacted things like daily American life, job rates, income, increased taxes, welfare programs, and poverty rates. Today, the middle-class carries the burden of not only supporting their family, but hundreds of other ones across the country, including illegal immigrants. We need to bring the jobs back to legal Americans.