America’s Immigration Policy

LEQ: Old or new what are the reasons for and opinions on immigration into the United States? Drill: Why might people from around the world want to immigrate to the United States?

Why Immigrate? Push Factors Pull Factors Unemployment Poverty War Political/Religious Persecution Environmental Problems Jobs Lure of Freedom; new form of government Attractive Environment; land Family

America’s Melting Pot European exploration 15th – 18th century = Western Europeans to the Americas (2 million) Old Immigrants = mostly Irish and German arrive between 1820-1870 (7.5 million +) New Immigrants = mostly from southern and eastern Europe and Asia arrive between 1880-1920 (20 million +) Current Immigrants = mostly from Latin America and Asia (38.5 million = legal; 11 million + illegal) http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states-1#1

Opposition and Support Economic Growth = new businesses, create and fill jobs; increased tax revenues; more consumers Technological advances = engineers, scientists, innovators Costly Deportation and Border Defenses Reduction in drug cartels and violence at border Reunification Economic Costs = job competition, education, and social services Negative Environmental Impact = over population; scarce resources Increased Crime Rates Protection against infectious diseases Distortion of National Identity

LEQ: How can one become a legal immigrant to the United States LEQ: How can one become a legal immigrant to the United States? Why has immigration reform failed? Drill: Why do you think our leaders have not been able to reach agreeable terms regarding immigration reform?

Identifying the Terms: Emigrant – one who leaves their native country to live in another Immigrant – one who left their native country and now lives in yours Migrant – one who travels within their country; one who travels often Sponsor -  to bring to the United States or "petition for"

Green Card vs. Visas Green Card Visas Grants emigrants the right to apply for entry (done before get to U.S.) Two types: nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay OR immigrant visa for temporary stay Has to be renewed (some people wait as long as 20 years to get) Allow an immigrant to live and work in the U.S. indefinitely Is evidence of lawful permanent residence Has to be renewed every 10 years (some people wait up to 10 years to get)

Who Gets a Visa? Family-Based Visa: family member of a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident (LPRs) Employment Based: Temporary or Permanent Refugees and Asylees: admitted based on a “well-founded fear of persecution” or already in U.S. and apply for asylum *Per Country Ceilings: no group of permanent immigrants from a single country can exceed 7% of total immigrants admitted*

The Waiting List According to 2013 data 4.4 million emigrants are on the waiting list to receive Visas 4.3. million of this total are waiting on family sponsored visas 113,059 of this total are waiting for employment based visas According to 2013 data 11 million or more are currently living in the United States as illegal immigrants

Proposed Immigration Reforms DREAM Act: first introduced in 2001 by two U.S. Senators (Dem. & Rep.) President Obama’s 2013 Plan for Immigration Reform President Obama’s 2014 Executive Action on Immigration Reform

LEQ: How can one become a legal immigrant to the United States LEQ: How can one become a legal immigrant to the United States? Why has immigration reform failed? Drill: Get into your groups from yesterday. YOU WILL TEACH YOUR PEERS TODAY!