Caleb Pettit

4 Mar 2017

Counter Argument

The United States of America is a country built upon the foundation of Immigration.

Immigration is key to the growth of this country. Without immigration, the United States would

cease to be a melting pot of ideas and cultures which of course are the backbone of its greatness.

Immigration is a very divisive and heated topic. First and second-generation immigrants are a

powerful voice in the America of today. They hold great sway in the countrys politics, culture

and religious beliefs. We are a nation of immigrants. Every man, woman and child in this

country is descended from someone who was an immigrant. Without immigration, this country

would not be where it is today. The very fiber of this country depends on having vast opportunity

for all nations and peoples to come and rise to the top. The American dream is something

particularly poignant and directed to those coming to America, escaping poverty or persecution

with the beauty of America almost beckoning, come and succeed. It is this group of people that

make America so great. In its diversity, America has her strength. The cluster of so many

different ideas and cultures create an environment for all to succeed and grow. People are

exposed to so much culture here from everywhere around the world. Ethnically and culturally

diverse areas flourish because of the accumulation of ideas that promulgate and foster growth.

Without immigrants, we would not have many of the biggest companies in the world. It was

immigrants that founded the revolutionary software behemoths of Google and Paypal, companies

that improve the standard of living for all Americans and provide jobs for so many more. Quite

frankly, immigrants are an integral part of America, and without them the country would

crumble and die.

 We are nation of immigrants. Immigration has always been the foundation of this

country. Each and every person in this country has descended from immigrants or is one. In all

nations, it is very important to define an immigration policy. America has always had very open

borders which have contributed to the nations identity. If we close these borders now, we risk

losing what makes this country great. The races that we get now are perhaps slightly different

than in times of old, but that just reflects the anti-racism growth that we have undergone.

Historically, immigrants and immigration policy were largely geared towards northern Europe

and white people. Now, we get immigrations from all parts of the globe with varying religious

and ethnic backgrounds. This is not a bad thing, as many of the anti-immigration activists believe

but rather a great one, displaying our nations growth and allowing for more diversity. The

countrys immigration laws are no longer as racist as they once were and neither are Americans.

If we close the borders and make them as they once were, we are truly saying yes to racism in

America. We cannot let the racists and bigots have their way.

Diversity is something that is so important to the American Identity. Throughout its

history, America has been known as the great melting pot of peoples. This aspect of American

life and culture has led it to bread one of the most ethnically diverse nations of all time. Despite

the efforts of white privilege to combat the virtues and contributions of different ethnic

minorities, great things have come from the American ethnically diverse minority. A culturally

and ethnically stagnant nation can never grow in such a way as the diverse version of itself can.

Different ideas and insights in all aspects of life provide a beautiful collage of academic thought

and economic advancement. For example, economic diversity have greatly benefited Buffalo

New York in reinvigorating a dying economy (Schwartz). Another good example is how racial

diversity, particularly through Mexicans, is greatly benefiting the rural towns in America
(Lichter 4). There is a saying that two minds are better than one. This is true only if those minds

have differing ideas. In this nation, this improvement of productivity described by this colloquial

expression is most easily accomplished in an economy driven by robust diversity.

Without immigrants, our nation wouldnt have much of the innovation and economic

growth that it has had. For example, two relatively new companies, Google and Paypal, were

both founded by immigrants. Google was co-founded by Sergey Brin, an immigrant from Russia

and Paypal was co-founded by Max Levchin, an immigrant from Ukrain. Imagine what your life

would be like without these two companies. Have you ever used paypal to purchase something

from Amazon or another retailer? How about had a question but thanks to google, the answer

was just a keystroke away. These immigrants have greatly benefited America and its citizenry.

The tech industry, medicine and acedamia all rely heavily on highly skilled immigrants

(Schwartz). One common argument of anti-immigration advocates is that our current quality of

immigrants is very poor. They argue that they commit more crime and are economically less

independent than native Americans but that they come into the country and take jobs from

Americans. The fact is that these immigrants are taking jobs that normal Americans would not

want to do (Schwartz). Additionally, the lies about immigrant crime and poverty are ridiculous.

Immigrants are industrious and hard working. They do not commit crime for fear of being

expulsed from the country by those that would not have them here for fear of diversity or

perhaps of just their skin color.

It is true that illegal immigration is a problem in the United States. By definition, these

immigrants are criminals just by entering into the country. This is a flawed system, one that

breads crime and hate and hinders the countrys growth. The simple solution to this problem is to

make immigration to the United States more readily available to all people so that they dont
have to worry about all the problems of illegal immigration. If we legalized this immigration it

would take the power from the criminals who facilitate this smuggling of people across the

border and put the power in the hands of our very own government. Another common argument

is that the countrys immigration policy could be merit based. This policy is inherently rasist at

heart. How can we judge who will be a productive American citizen? Perhaps these immigrants

would fail such a requirement because of the environment in which they are surrounded in their

home countries. It is certainly possible and likely that immigrants who perhaps appeared to be

not good enough could immigrate and become productive and contributing United States

citizens. For example, immigrants are increasingly occupying the top spots in American

universities, getting more patents and copyrights (Hanson 25). It is also possible that seemingly

great immigrants could become criminals or hurt the country rendering this system useless and

counterproductive.

There have been great leaps in immigration equality over the past half a century. There

must continue to be this growth for the country to reach its full potential. It is still far too difficult

for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship and further benefit the economy. Our borders are brutal

and the current presidency wants to further close these borders and give more leeway to these

border cops to commit more atrocities against future Americans. Additionally, sanctuary cities,

which provide support and relief for these good people are losing support and the current

administration is attempting to end the extreme good that is done within them. We cannot allow

racism and fear of change to prevent the countrys glorious future. All nations and ethnicities

should be welcomed into our country. With the many benefits that they can capitalize on, these

immigrants can be far more productive here than in their native countries, providing massive

benefits for our nation and relief to many millions of individual lives. This unique aspect of
American tradition, the acceptance of immigrants and the melting pot that is America, is what

makes this country great. We cannot allow ourselves to regress into a closed border nation,

taking away the very thing that makes our country so special.
Works Cited

Hanson, Gordon H. "Immigration and Economic Growth." CATO Journal, vol. 32, no. 1,

Winter2012, pp. 25-34. EBSCOhost,

dist.lib.usu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&

AN=70924521&site=ehost-live.

Lichter, Daniel T. Immigration and the New Racial Diversity in Rural America. Rural

Sociology, vol. 77, no. 1, Mar. 2012, pp. 3-35. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1549-

0831.2012.00070.x.

SCHWARTZ, HERMAN. "How Trump's Assault on Immigrants Will Damage the Economy."

Nation, vol. 304, no. 11, 03 Apr. 2017, pp. 16-18. EBSCOhost,

dist.lib.usu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&

AN=121883956&site=ehost-live.