Millions of foreign aliens living in the United States have reminded the government of their existence again. Tens of thousands of people took part in a demonstration to reform the immigration system in the USA. The people demanded President Obama should legalize the presence of over 12 million people in the country.
When running in 2008, Obama promised to pay more attention to the issues of migration and the legalization of illegal population in the country. Many of them believe today that the head of state does not keep his promises. Millions of people say that they have been left to the mercy of fate.
The illegals have many problems to deal with. Their salaries are considerably lower than those of native Americans, whereas their work hours are longer – 10-12 hours a day. They do not have any rights for medical insurance or any other allowance. If a medical problem occurs, these people do not have to go anywhere. Social services will report the case to the police and a person will be deported from the country.
Many native Americans treat illegals negatively. Every fourth American believes that the illegals are a source of all troubles in the nation. Many Americans acknowledge, though, that small business is based on illegal immigrants.
The biggest threat that illegal immigrants pose to the government is the change of the ethnic, racial and language balance. The Spanish-speaking population in the United States reaches the level of 15 percent, although the number was lower twice 25 years ago. Most likely, the image of white Anglo-Saxon Yankees will soon become outdated.
The US government is not thrilled about such future. The problem still remains unsolved: the number of illegals in the country has already exceeded 12 million, which makes up four percent of the country’s population and over five percent of the entire labor force.
Up to 700,000 illegals arrive in the USA every year. About 57 percent of them come from Mexico, 24 percent – from Central and South America, 9 – from Asian states and six – from Europe. As a result, California has only 43 percent of indigenous population, although the number was 70 percent 40 years ago.
The children of illegal immigrants is a separate problem. There were 5.5 million of them in 2009. About 73 percent of them were born on the US territory, which automatically gave them the right for US citizenship.
George W. Bush tried to change the situation in 2007. A special bill stipulated the right for illegal immigrants to stay in the USA within the scope of the program for guest-workers. Some said that it would be impossible to implement the program, whereas others claimed that it amnestied those who broke the law. As a result, the law was never materialized.
Many of those living near the border with Mexico protest the construction of the wall. Needless to say that the construction worsened the USA’s relations with Latin American countries.
Obama said in his recent video message that he would do everything possible to reform the destroyed immigration system.
“I believe that the way out of the situation is simple. It is better to legalize these people to receive income to the budget from them. Competition on the labor market is a positive factor: it stimulates personal growth and development, which eventually shows a positive influence on the economy on the whole.
“Many immigrants dream of legalization to be able to bring their numerous relatives to the States and make them all a burden for the government. Many Americans fear that the majority of immigrants come to the United States for welfare. In general, it is possible to solve all these problems. I think it would have been all solved if the 9/11 attacks had not happened.
“I have to say that common Americans have a lot more questions to several categories of legal citizens. For example, they have questions to Puerto Ricans who can easily enter the territory of the USA and increase the level of street criminality. I do not see any danger in a possibility for the United States to speak Spanish in 50 years. Is Spanish worse than English?”
The post is written by – Serey Balmasov and Vadim Trukhachev.
Source: Pravda.Ru published on: 23.03.2010