Voted B, but there is a ton of nuance in the answer that the either/or option does not quite cover. It is in fact more complicated than that.
To start, the principle of the rule of law should be paramount. In a populist age where the public is apt to think that law is oppressive and a restriction on freedom and authenticity, this is even more the case.
As Burke said, "Liberty too must be limited in order to be preserved." Suffice to say, for democratic representative government to work with its whole plethora of rights - particularly in a culture that creates new rights with metronomic regularity - the rule of law is essential. Violate that principle and over time that violation will become habitual and bad things are apt to follow.
Set against that principle is the blunt fact of economic necessity and demographic reality. The American population is aging and the birthrate is almost below replacement level. There are a variety of factor causing this, many of which public policy cannot impact in any significant way. (Birthrates are, historically speaking, immune to any incentives government can proffer to increase them.)
Suffice to say the population is aging, the workforce is therefore shrinking relative to population and therefore there are fewer and fewer current and future workers and hence future taxpayers. This has all sorts of knock on effects - declining output, declining productivity, a decline in the ratio of workers paying into private and public (think Medicare and Social Security) pensions and welfare systems relative to the number of beneficiaries. This raising the tax burden on the poorest demographic - ages 18 to 25 - while reducing it on the richest - 65 and older.
Suffice to say, the easiest way to correct this problem is to import more workers through immigration. Albeit that poorly educated immigrants, lacking skills and not speaking the language are as apt to make matters worse and will exacerbate social tensions and pathologies.
Put simply, then, the issue is not that legal immigration should be easier, but the kinds of immigrants that are permitted. This is where the problem begins.
In fact, the issue splits several ways. The business community wants more educated legal immigrants. The agricultural and construction sectors want more manual laborers. The unions, with some exceptions, actually oppose more immigration as more workers tends to depress worker's wages. All of this mixing with the problems that come with trying to absorb alien cultures.
(It sounds great to admit more immigrants, until it turns out that they come from cultures where female genital mutilation is a common practice. They you get shouts from the open minded about the importance of women's rights. There is only so much open mindedness a culture can handle.)
Suffice to say, you can see how this not only divides society but splits the parties not only between each other but within themselves. This taking on more importance in that the United States is a society that gets its sense of national identity from adherence to the creeds articulated in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. So citizenship and the sense of national community is about what is in people's heads and therefore immigration becomes a even more existential question.
(As to the provision of benefits and such, that is probably not wise. As the economic and demographic data show, the nation needs immigrants who are economically productive. To make benefits available carte blanche would not make that easier but would draw in more poorly educated and less productive workers, thus creating both an economic drain and more cultural resentments.)
So the answer to the question of whether legal immigration should be easier is a qualified yes. In straight out absolutes most certainly. Rather, the difficulties begin in the shades of gray.
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My stancr need context.:
I live in a country where the immigration is out of control. One a immigrant claim citizenship his extended family (cousin, grandfather, aunt, uncle, etc) can start the immigration process. We are currently having birth problem for the original population and the children of immigrants. People just can't afford getting kid without crazy investment and most couple only get one kid because of that. If we take half of the budget of tge immigrant of process and give it to the families struggling to get by our birth rate higher (including immigrant families). Our refugees are paid to be in my country and often bypass in front on the official list. More often than not the criteria is less harsh for s refugees than an immigrant. Refugees who managed to become get their hand on the citizenship often treat the original citizens and immigrant like shit since once they get tgeir citizenship, they lose their money source from thr government and must find a job to pay rent and food. The original population have a hard time to see the difference between immigrant and ex refugees. So immigrant are blamed for sll tge shit the refugee do. a lot of refugees have bevior problem on top of that and often fall in the crime life since that's all they know and all that they want to know (generalization). For both immigrant and refugee, some can't even speak the language of the original population...
My view on it according to my country situation:
We need to stop putting so much money on immigration and focus on tge problem we have currently in our country. Fix the birthrate would be a priority since it affect every one immigrant and original population. Stop taking those refugees and paying them for living in our country at our expense.
My general view :
It a must but you need to keep a close eyes on who you choose. is the person going to be a productive member of society? is he capable of speaking at least one of the language of the original population? mental ilness (heavy case?)? Is their culture mesh correctly with tge orginal population? It is not a right, nor a gift, nor a lottery. Only people who prove themselves worthy.
I'm a immigrant in my country and I see a lot failure in the immigration process. I am an odd sheep in my ethnic group. I am Seeing people getting their citizenship who clearly should not. I love my home country. But, things need to change and fast.
Living in Orange County, California with it's illegal immigrant problem that is draining our economy, I think if people come LEGALLY it would be acceptable. Still they should have some kind of trade or skill with which they can earn a living besides selling drugs, being in gangs, or through other crime. I have seen Russian immigrants who live in big, expensive houses getting Government support checks each month and I'm thinking WTF? If they can't come here and be self supporting then I say forget them. I'm tired of paying, through my high taxes, for free loaders to live here.
I mean look at london and other scandinavic countries. They are slowly turning in middleeastern countries. Most if the refugees are millitary age men which should protect their country instead of leaving their kids/sisters/wife and raping western women. Since the refugee crisis people are afraid of going out night
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Prioritizing people that will benefit this country. In addition allowances made for people fleeing for their lives on a case by case basis after a thorough investigation, followed lastly by anyone who wants to come LEGALLY. Quotas should be made. We should first grant doctors and scientists and other people who will benefit us, and emergency situations citizenship first. Then admit everyone else. We have enough competition for the American worker to get jobs after having to compete with the flood of illegals. America should look out for America and the interest of Americans FIRST.
One thing I’m fond of saying is the best way to help the poor is not become one of them. If you’re poor, you can’t spare much and can’t help too many. If you’re better off you have more surplus resources to help others.
The same holds true for countries. If we have policies that benefit all the nations then we will have nothing for ourselves and nothing left to give. We can’t help anyone in that circumstance.
I’m strongly against globalist policies. America first, then others as were able.B. Because you can't control exactly how many people will be born, or will die, or what they'll choose to do. Therefore you need to fill in what's missing.
But that's it. It should be extremely regulated, with a background check, and an obligation not just to integrate, but to assimilate, which include finding a job, learning the values, culture and language of the country, and willing to be a part of it and not just live with your own community.
And a trial period in which you'll be a "citizen apprentice" and show that you're really willing to assimilate and not be a burden. If you fail, you're out.
If you're a criminal before, you're out.
If you refuse to assimilate, you're out.
If you commit a serious enough crime, you're out.
If you lied on your background, you're out.
No country need someone who will come and act as if he was still in his previous country, or follow opposite values to the country's values. "Coming legally" shouldn't be enough, you have to be useful somehow.
Also, immigrant from a different culture should be kept in a very small minority as they shouldn't change anything in the country's culture.This is a dumb choice. You pick the one who will allow you to collect more tax in the future and take a very long time to take back the tax. The young KIDS.
You don't want some 50-year-old has-been joining the country even if he is very beneficial now. Who is going to pay for his healthcare when he is 65? You?
You don't want the rich people either. How many rich guys pay taxes? Rich people don't pay taxes.
Pick well educated parents with 2-4 kids. It doesn't matter what the parents can get as a job. You get 4 kids who will grow up and pay for the parents plus at least 2 more old people!!!
Even better, get parents with STEM career or entrepreneurs. They can make money without knowing the language. And their kids will be taken care of all the way to universities so you don't have to pay anything.At this point in American history ideally we would have a near moratorium on further immigration so as to enable us to assimilate the 70 million we have admitted through the legal immigration system over the last 50 years. We have done that before in our history (the immigration act signed into law by Calvin Coolidge in 1924) and it was good for the country. Assimilation is necessary so that --- among other things --- we don't have to "press 1 for English." And obviously the existing laws against illegal entry into the country should be vigorously enforced and our borders secured.
I'm an immigrant to South Africa. From an immigrant's perspective, a lot of the laws in any country favour the citizens rather than either legal or illegal immigrants. Even if they're married to a citizen.
There isn't a nation on the planet that can actually claim they don't have enough physical space for immigration to be allowed.
The latest "f*ck you" move by Trump to try and prevent travel to the USA from African nations at the end of his tenure as ruler of America (where he seems to think he's king, not an elected representative of the population) smacks more of his own racist views than a legitimate policy on immigration. He is also trying to establish chaos that Biden will be left to sort out. As a British citizen I will be avoiding America until all his policies have been straightened out.No imigration control, people had move all our history to country wher is more prosperity.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/LHWNao8T1XI
Making selection will bring just more dificultys for thous people who can't make a good life in theyr contry. They will eventualy change in criminals and thiefs.
The imigrants need to be asimilated just.
Try to get to the local religion or at last theyr future kids.
Get a job
Learn the leanguage
Try to mary local people to mix and create a new citazean.To carry nationalism a step further, I suggest to not only screen immigrants for wealth, but also for genetic 'wanted' attributes.
PLUS:
For each accepted immigrant, the government should expel a useless or unworthy present citizen in return. Alternatively, collect them in a secure and secluded area, and use them up in power plants.
This way, the government can i. e. control voter majorities and breed a population with more pure genes.
(if you, reader, can't see me my sarcasm... then you will love my idea)i think we should first off make a very clear distinction between migration and refugees.
i won't go into refugees but:
we should only allow immigration with very strict criteria. one of the criteria should be: the people who are let in have to have at least the money needed to go back to where they came from, if they can not manage to become a productive member of our society.
also i think it would be sensible to hard cap the number of immigrations a year at a certain point as to not create internal cultural stress, that may lead to hate against those immegrants.The pro-immigration policy maintained by the West is the West trying to continue colonialism, if you take the intellectuals from developing nations they will forever stay a developing nation. It is also a cheap cop out for governments to deal with declining birth rates, declining birth rates are as a result of the failures of modern day capitalism and housing crises, people who feel stable and happy are more likely to have a lot of children. The fact that people are not is as a result of the cost of living being too high. People are too "busy" to get "busy" because when you need 2 incomes to sustain a house today whereas just a couple of decades ago you only needed 1 it results in people living to work rather so than working to live.
B. Why would ANY country openly permit people in to live there, if they can't be of benefit to that country? The US spends enough in Federal aid housing, feeding and giving medical care to people who are here illegally. Mexico and it's issues are not our problem. Perhaps the citizens need to have another revolution so that they can make their own country one they do not want to leave.
Everyone is an immigrant, if you go back far enough.
The problem has never been immigration, but illegal immigration - which has multi faceted and complex issues.
it isn't simply a matter of "close the borders" - smugglers and traffickers love that, as it's profitable for them. Nor is it a matter of "open borders" corporations and agencies love that, as they can get specialist staff for cheaper than local staff.Right now we're having some problems with Venezuelans illegally coming here and we've deported some, including their kids, back to Venezuela. Some are desperate or won't learn; they've come back. I say, deport them all! If they want to come here, let them do it the right, legal way.
Legal immigration should be the only acceptable method all others methods should be immediately deported my mother immigrated to US and was married to my dad who immigrated to the US as a child and was veteran of the US Army and she was a permanent US Alien resident for over 40 years before her US citizenship was finally approved
Humans have been moving around since day one, it's our natual behavior. Perhaps what's needed is global effort to improve countries that people are fleeing from
F - Do as you please but don't be a freaking hobo or a troublemaker.
I'm actually a migrant from Germany in the poor east (forced due to my parents making countless of poor choices and the family is full of hobos). I wish to return. The poor east is not for me.
The US is a nation built by immigrants.
Immigration gives the United States an economic edge in the world economy. Immigrants bring innovative ideas and have enriched American culture
We need to embrace immigrants, not exclude them.I've gotten into some quite heated arguments with older members of my family about immigration.
I believe that as a rich country it is our duty to help those in need (since in all likely hood we caused the war). Also i think all of these people who think we shouldn't take refugees in would expect other counties to take them if there county was in a civil war or whatever reason someone might need to leave there homeF) I support a tiered immigration. Make it easy for those who want to come here to work to do so legally. Be insanely tough on illegal immigration. No social programs or handouts for anyone who wants to immigrate here.
I have no issue with people coming into the country legally I think we need to vet them and do a simple background check in order to let them in but I don’t think we should bar people from coming into the United States
A.
If they're so great that they'll enrich our culture and benefit us, why are they fleeing their home countries and why haven't they made that place great? If we need them so badly why are they coming here? Why are we not going to them?
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