The Hispanic Immigration Dilemma

In the last couple of years, the U.S. has become a beacon for international immigration especially in relation to the influx of Hispanic immigrants. What appears to be a revealing, distinct income gap between the two countries, families are finding that immigration to the U.S. is becoming more and more promising-even risking to break the law. To analyze the current U.S. policy on immigration which is one that has found itself much more aggressive under Obama’s administration than that of previous presidents, the dilemma is twofold: The U.S.’s  immigration policy can only do so much to either assimilate or expel a large population that comes to find a better life. And on the other hand, Mexico can only do so much to keep their people from immigrating out of their country. The divide in the standard of living between the two countries is persuading Hispanics to find their way across the border into the U.S. in both legal and illegal fashion.

                            The current immigration policy that the U.S. follows is one that has found itself undergoing close scrutiny in the past few years. Complaints from many border states are rooted in the fact that the influx of Hispanics from across the border are coming straight into the U.S. without legal citizenship and taking jobs from Americans. This assessment of what is actually happening is not entirely true. While there are many jobs that are underhandedly being given to low wage immigrants, the extension of this problem is more than an economic problem; it is a cultural problem as well. The large influx of Hispanics is proposed to become 25 percent of the population by 2050 (Huntington). If this prediction serves to be true, the U.S. and Mexico immigration policy will have to find a way to assimilate immigrants, as well as find a medium of regulation through the form of an established institution.

                            Last week, newly re-elected President Obama urged Congress to help facilitate the establishment of an immigration bill that would work co-jointly with the newly elected Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto (Brown). Internationally, this is a huge step in working through bilateral cooperation with Mexico for the U.S.  Moreover, this international highlight also serves to be a domestic transition that is much needed. Americans need to find a way to work together with Mexico to find policy “that includes both tighter security at the border as well as a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are already in the United States” (Brown). As well as finding a way toward cultural assimilation under the law, Mexican immigrants also suffer the economic barriers that many foreign immigrants face. In a study conducted by the Center for Immigration Studies, Mexican immigrants faced the highest percentage of welfare-based support in comparison to all other immigrant nationalities (CIS). This startling fact only bolsters the proposal of an effective institution that can help assimilate both culturally and economically. The effect of Mexican immigrants who are using welfare in the United States also helps stigmatize the widespread disdain of immigration through Mexico.

                            Mexico has not done much to stop illegal immigration into the U.S. In a fight that the U.S. is spearheading, the constantly evolving nature of finding effective ways to stop this immigration can only serve to do so much when only one side of the problem is working to fix it. A strong majority of illegal immigration is entwined with the drug trafficking through cartels who are currently bribing Mexican government officials and law enforcement to help facilitate the transportation of drugs into the U.S. In reality, that is one of the determining factors that cause uproar when immigration laws are brought up in the U.S. This is the excuse the U.S. uses when people criticize the strict immigration policies that are designed to fight criminal activity. Obama stated in an interview that “immigration authorities have focused on threats to the United States -- criminals, people apprehended at the border -- rather than illegal immigrants with clean records and deep roots in the country” (Friedman).  The fight against all the negative aspects of immigration are clouding the minds of Americans and portraying a bad image of Mexican immigrants.  So, it is necessary that transparency in Mexico’s government and active participation are needed in helping reform immigration laws and re-creating a better image of the Mexican immigrant.

                            Determining the effects of such a large scale problem that has yet to be fixed is difficult to assess. Of the 40 million immigrants in the U.S., 11 million of them are illegal Mexican immigrants (Wilson). Of these 11 million immigrants, a huge majority is receiving pay and work that goes unaccounted for- through underhand payments of cash that leave no paper trail that can be traced back to an illegal immigrant. At a conservative measure, this in the slightest bit affects the budgets of most border states. This problem is one that most definitely needs to be addressed through the establishment of an organizational approach that will help facilitate illegal immigrant citizenship. How many of those immigrants would benefit from becoming an actual U.S. citizen? In building a transparent organization that can help regulate assimilation as a U.S. citizen, the relationship between Mexico and the United States is vital. Incorporating officials from both governments and providing a round table forum where both sides can voice opinion and ideas that would further their goals could be one option. Depending on how engaged the new relationship between Obama and Nieto is, will reasonably predict how the upcoming years involving immigration will go.  If the U.S. does not make their approach to immigration friendlier, the occurring relationship could be strained. However, it isn't that easy- if the U.S. is to make a more lenient immigration policy, it would greatly weaken its grip on maximizing security in relation to criminal activity. In this instance, establishing an outside organization could maintain the best of both worlds. It would still find a policy that provided American security as the number one priority, and equally find an effective vehicle incorporating illegals that then become citizens. This dilemma wouldn't then be so polarized, because it would ensure that the problem is constantly being addressed from both spectrums.

                            The immigration problems that are posed to the United States in relation to Hispanic immigrants look to become even larger in magnitude in the upcoming years. As policy is shaped to dictate the current state of affairs, immigration policy is an outlier. In the past 10 years (more specifically, the past 5 years) Mexican and Hispanic immigration has taken root on an enormous scale in the Southern United States. The hardships that the U.S. faces, such as defending an adjacent border that covers a large area of land is not an easy task to handle. That is why adjusting the policy to help strengthen and maintain U.S. security and engage with illegals becoming citizens is so hard. The time for one area of policy to finally mature and find its way in use at local levels takes time. This in turn, gives these patterns and trends of Mexican immigration to keep growing. In the upcoming years, the relationship with working with Mexico will need to take steps in finding a way to harness the patterns, yet find an effective solution to the illegals already in the country.

Works Cited

Friedman, Uri. "Foreign Policy Magazine." Foreign Policy. N.p., 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/09/20/obamas_teflon_on_immigration>.

Huntington, Samuel P. "The Hispanic Challenge." Foreign Policy. The Foreign Policy Group, LLC, 1 Mar. 2004. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2004/03/01/the_hispanic_challenge?page=full>.

"Immigrants in the United States: A Profile of America's Foreign-Born Population | Center for Immigration Studies." Center for Immigration Studies. N.p., 2010. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://cis.org/node/3876>.

Jackson, David. "Obama: I'm Going for Immigration Bill." USA Today. Gannett, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2012/11/27/obama-nieto-mexico-immigration/1730043/>.

Wilson, Bob. "Fifty-seven Percent of Mexican Immigrants on Welfare." Examiner.com. N.p., 01 Dec. 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://www.examiner.com/article/fifty-seven-percent-of-mexican-immigrants-on-welfare>.