“The New Colossus” is beckoning the downtrodden to the United States, but it is also implying that some will not receive this freedom. It lists a few generic attributes of those who might benefit from life in the United States, but the key quality of all immigrants is a yearning to “breathe free.” This freedom, whether it is religious freedom, free speech, or simply a shot at fulfilling the American Dream, is paramount to what make the United States a great destination for immigrants but is also what makes the United States a great home for its citizens. Therefore, the government must balance satisfying the ideals of freedom for immigrants with satisfying the ideals of freedom for citizens. Essentially, there is a single question that lies
…show more content…
It convinces people to uproot the only life they have ever known and travel thousands of miles in search of a better one in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. It is so powerful that people break laws and risk death just to attain what it promises. This ideology defines the United States on the international stage by acting as a dramatic and enticing billboard. Obviously, being an international safe haven is a noble endeavor; however, it is inevitably a self-defeating process. The reason people flock to the United States at all is because it is seen not only as a place of opportunity but also as a place where that opportunity when combined with hard work has a strong chance of leading to success. Ushering in hundreds of thousands of people annually will result in a future population grossly disproportionate to what the population would be without mass immigration. The Census Bureau even predicts that 18.8% of the American population will be foreign-born by 2060 if immigration continues at the same rate. So, almost one in five Americans will be first-generation immigrants while another chunk of the population will consist of the children and grandchildren of immigrants. Thus, if the United States continues to indulge the ideology of freedom to this extent, it will create economic competition among its citizens at an unnatural pace and endanger something even more …show more content…
Clearly, dismantling border control is not the correct way to respect either aspect of American freedom. On the other hand, increasing border security to the point of isolationism is also a poor idea as this foreign policy has been a historically detrimental plan that always cripples a nation in the long run. Therefore, a moderate approach must be taken. Even though nobody knows the maximum sustainable population of the United States, it is clear that we must stave off the problem for as long as possible while sacrificing as little of our international standing in the process. If border control and immigration restrictions are increased slightly, population growth will slow to a more manageable pace, and the ideology of freedom will not suffer because the American Dream would still be attainable for immigrants from around the world. A lower immigration rate can also be more readily manipulated in the future allowing an opportunity to fully solve the problem when more information is available to the United
It convinces people to uproot the only life they have ever known and travel thousands of miles in search of a better one in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. It is so powerful that people break laws and risk death just to attain what it promises. This ideology defines the United States on the international stage by acting as a dramatic and enticing billboard. Obviously, being an international safe haven is a noble endeavor; however, it is inevitably a self-defeating process. The reason people flock to the United States at all is because it is seen not only as a place of opportunity but also as a place where that opportunity when combined with hard work has a strong chance of leading to success. Ushering in hundreds of thousands of people annually will result in a future population grossly disproportionate to what the population would be without mass immigration. The Census Bureau even predicts that 18.8% of the American population will be foreign-born by 2060 if immigration continues at the same rate. So, almost one in five Americans will be first-generation immigrants while another chunk of the population will consist of the children and grandchildren of immigrants. Thus, if the United States continues to indulge the ideology of freedom to this extent, it will create economic competition among its citizens at an unnatural pace and endanger something even more …show more content…
Clearly, dismantling border control is not the correct way to respect either aspect of American freedom. On the other hand, increasing border security to the point of isolationism is also a poor idea as this foreign policy has been a historically detrimental plan that always cripples a nation in the long run. Therefore, a moderate approach must be taken. Even though nobody knows the maximum sustainable population of the United States, it is clear that we must stave off the problem for as long as possible while sacrificing as little of our international standing in the process. If border control and immigration restrictions are increased slightly, population growth will slow to a more manageable pace, and the ideology of freedom will not suffer because the American Dream would still be attainable for immigrants from around the world. A lower immigration rate can also be more readily manipulated in the future allowing an opportunity to fully solve the problem when more information is available to the United