On Border Security: America’s Approach to National Security and Economic Opportunity
The current state of immigration policy in this country requires change. Many advocate for stronger and more enforced borders, but some call into question the effectiveness and economic soundness of this approach. Those, that oppose building up our borders, call for reforming worker visa programs and making legality easier to attain for those that will cross illegally into the United States anyways. Most desire a secure border which would allow a controlled flow of immigrants into the United States. This paper explores the numerous reasons for and against increased United States-Mexico border security as well as alternative policies available for implementation …show more content…
The drive to cross into the United States ranges from the desire to better an economic situation, the will to escape gang-related warfare and simply the vision of the American dream. The biggest driving factor of illegal child immigration into the United States is ongoing conflict and poverty in Central America. The reasons children migrants flee their home countries are portrayed perfectly in the film Which Way Home?. This film meets the child migrants starting at their homes in Honduras and Guatemala and then follows them throughout their attempts to cross into the US illegally. Through the film the motives of illegal immigration become clear. Most of the boys want to go to the United States to work and send money back to their severely impoverished families. Others are following their flawed perception that the United States offers everything they are missing on their current life. The boys’ will to risk death and continually try to make it to the United States exemplifies the small effect that increased border security would have on such a determined group of people. These individuals are economic and social refugees that wish for a new home or means to care for their families. Illegal immigration will not be solved by putting up large fences, thus the only real solution to stop the flow of migrants into the US is the bettering of living …show more content…
This makes the argument for putting increased funds towards border security not hold as much weight. Implementing further border security would only have the hope of deterring immigrants from crossing over illegally. We simply do not have the means to guard every inch of the border. Increasing security could have the effects of pushing more individuals towards legal immigration, but this may be unlikely due to the fact that if the immigrant had the means to acquire legal status in, they would have taken that approach from the start. Thus, if we implement increased border security, the legal immigration system will have to be reformed for accessibility. Put bluntly, people will come over the border regardless of the security measures put in place to deter them from entering the country. The only hope of managing the influx of immigrants is to provide a legal path to work, asylum, and ultimately citizenship for those wishing to enter the
The current state of immigration policy in this country requires change. Many advocate for stronger and more enforced borders, but some call into question the effectiveness and economic soundness of this approach. Those, that oppose building up our borders, call for reforming worker visa programs and making legality easier to attain for those that will cross illegally into the United States anyways. Most desire a secure border which would allow a controlled flow of immigrants into the United States. This paper explores the numerous reasons for and against increased United States-Mexico border security as well as alternative policies available for implementation …show more content…
The drive to cross into the United States ranges from the desire to better an economic situation, the will to escape gang-related warfare and simply the vision of the American dream. The biggest driving factor of illegal child immigration into the United States is ongoing conflict and poverty in Central America. The reasons children migrants flee their home countries are portrayed perfectly in the film Which Way Home?. This film meets the child migrants starting at their homes in Honduras and Guatemala and then follows them throughout their attempts to cross into the US illegally. Through the film the motives of illegal immigration become clear. Most of the boys want to go to the United States to work and send money back to their severely impoverished families. Others are following their flawed perception that the United States offers everything they are missing on their current life. The boys’ will to risk death and continually try to make it to the United States exemplifies the small effect that increased border security would have on such a determined group of people. These individuals are economic and social refugees that wish for a new home or means to care for their families. Illegal immigration will not be solved by putting up large fences, thus the only real solution to stop the flow of migrants into the US is the bettering of living …show more content…
This makes the argument for putting increased funds towards border security not hold as much weight. Implementing further border security would only have the hope of deterring immigrants from crossing over illegally. We simply do not have the means to guard every inch of the border. Increasing security could have the effects of pushing more individuals towards legal immigration, but this may be unlikely due to the fact that if the immigrant had the means to acquire legal status in, they would have taken that approach from the start. Thus, if we implement increased border security, the legal immigration system will have to be reformed for accessibility. Put bluntly, people will come over the border regardless of the security measures put in place to deter them from entering the country. The only hope of managing the influx of immigrants is to provide a legal path to work, asylum, and ultimately citizenship for those wishing to enter the