Ofelya I. Today illegal Immigration is a very large social issue in the United States. In recent times many immigrants from Mexico and other Central American are migrating into the United States through the Southern Borders, especially children. Kids caught at the borders were placed in detention rooms until the border patrol could find their relatives in the US to keep the child until the day of the hearing. Many politicians lay the blame for this on President W Bush who approved a law that guarantees a hearing for Immigrant Minors from Central America instead of immediate deportation. This is a Macro-Level issue and from a Functionalist's perspective it is a nationwide issue between American Citizens and Un-documented immigrants. Kids are constantly being caught at the border trying to reach their parents who left to find better jobs to aid their families. Immigrant kids nowadays know the trick to use to reach their parents, it's the excuse of "I am running away from my country because of the influence street gang's have on us." This will result in the border patrol trying to find the child's parents in the US to take care of the child until the day of the hearing. But the problem is that the majority of the kids are holding back the truth. They are not running away from street gangs, but from the social problems they have to face there everyday without their parents or grandparents beside them. The obvious solution to this problem would be the pass of the Immigration Law which means the Un-documented immigrants can be granted the benefits of being American Citizens until their Immigration Status can be decided.If this law is passed then the immigrants can help the nation's finances by being able to work without having to try to avoid paying taxes. When this is passed, those kids who were cought at the border trying to sneak into the country will be taken to their parents, who are now citizens (in some ways). The US Government has met with the presidents of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in hopes of solving this immigration problem, especially in regards to child immigration. President Obama has attempted to solve this problem by increasing the number of deportation cases of immigrants.
In today’s society Immigration still happens to be a major problem that has negative consequences between border patrols and the person crossing the border. Border patrols deal with more work and their security of their nation oppose to a person crossing, these people that immigrate take a toll psychically facing dehydration, hunger, and weakness from crossing the border. Recently it has come to a point of awareness that more and more kids are fleeing their native country from Central American, South America, and Mexico. Due to limited resources in these countries gangs, cartels, mafias, etc., have gained a type of power that presents a repercussion of fear and for instance creates a type of social inequality. The United States is the land of the free well, so what because from a point of view people are being deported to be free now tell me how is the US living up to its motto.
From an interactional perspective immigrant children are often looked down upon and not only that it is seen that while there are being looked down they unconsciously label their parents as irresponsible. Border Patrols on the Latino community are labeled as bad guys because of what they do and the process of deporting a child. To be clear as to child immigrating to the border patrol they coincide to society matters. For instance border patrols are forced to do because of their label requirements. As to the child it’s for their own well being trying to avoid the impending doom in their country, gang violence and other harassments that affect their well being.
I strongly believe that as a child crosses the border they shouldn’t be deported back to a place they are trying to avoid. The saying everything happens for a reason stands because there are horrible reason as to why they choose to immigrate to the states. The reason I commented on this specific topic is because I know what it feels being apart from someone I know how gangs can be and what they are capable of doing. By all means I understand the daily struggles of people who are trying to flee from gangs especially from another country and who are we as individuals to stop anyone to achieve their life goals. One solution that can benefit these children would be providing them with political asylums and a bill that can prose them to achieve residency as a political refugee.
Illegal immigration has become on of the most controversial issues in today's society. Someone is always going to have to be viewed as the "bad guy' in this particular situation. There has been a recent increase in undocumented immigrants pouring into U.S. cities near the border, not only from Mexico, but other Central American countries as well. What has really perplexed the Department of Homeland Security is the age group of the immigrants crossing the border, which were younger children, most from the age of three to about thirteen. The recent surges in migrants have also overwhelmed the temporary holding cells for processing, which is now taking longer than it used to. Normally, they would process them and then either send them to group homes, or deport them based on their situation. Now, they spend as much as a few days in the holding areas. More and more children are arriving here in the U.S. stating they've come here to seek political asylum and to be reunited with family. In those types of cases a bigger question arrises, are we to encourage immigration by granting them asylum, or should we strictly enforce our immigration policies?
From a functionalist perspective, all illegal immigrants as a whole are creating an imbalance and more political problems in our country, and are therefore looked down upon. Most people who are against any type of immigration believe that we spend too much money trying to aid these countries that are unstable, rather than focus on what is wrong in the U.S. With all of the people flowing in from other countries unexpectedly, it creates a higher demand for places used to shelter these people temporarily, and requires more money in order to pay the salaries of more border patrol agents. What does that mean? Since its government spending, something else has to be cut to compensate the costs needed to take care of these children.
Personally, I believe that this topic goes hand in hand with whats morally right, and whats lawfully right. It would be morally right to take in these people who are in need of better opportunity, or seek political asylum. On the other hand, its lawfully right to just deport these illegal immigrants back to their countries. And although we do both, what right do we have to only grant some people the ability to stay? However, the fact of the matter is, by allowing these people to stay here by using the "political asylum" excuse, we are encouraging others to flee here and use that very same excuse knowing its their ticket in. Mexico isn't helping much either. As the smuggler said, its easier to take children to the border than the adults who flee, because the kids are innocent and once they cross, they become our governments problem. So while these human smugglers are making money, we become burdened. Even though i am Mexican, and a second generation American, i believe that we should strictly enforce the already existing laws. I still have family in Mexico, who are doing just fine and are considered upper class citizens. Not to mention, my grandma, the first in my family to arrive here, came here legally. With that being said, we should not continue to encourage smugglers and immigrants to find shelter here illegally. Unless, of course they have family here who are legal, and are attempting to reunite with them. If we continue to do so, we open the doors to many more problems.
Bianka S. The increase of migrant children has gone up dramatically. “Around 50,000 of them have been detained in the past eight months”, states John Burnett. That is a huge number, we were used to seeing families crossing the border to come into this country in search of a better life. But now the children from Central and South America are crossing alone. They have to pass many obstacles in order to come to the United States. This is a social problem because, they could easily be manipulated into child prostitution or become drug mules on their way here. Karl Marx the conflict theorist would accept that this is just a way for the children to try to gain some sort of self-actualization. In the process of completing their dreams on living in this country the children would attempt to better their style of living and think that there is a greater future ahead. They would want to take control of their situation and not have to live in fear of having to join some sort of gang in their home country, in order to bring food to the table. I believe that by all means these children have the right to come and fight for a better future. My father and his brothers all came to this country in search of a better life. Together they were able to bring the rest of their families here including my own. I am now in college trying to get further in life and make all of my father’s sacrifices worthwhile. If it wasn't for him I would still be living in Mexico and probably had three children with no hope of ever going to college. A solution to this problem would be for the border patrol to allow these children to stay with their families and have a chance to make a difference in their lives.
We have seen an increase in border crossings in the last couple of years; many of the people crossing are women with children or children unaccompanied by an adult. While illegal immigration has been a problem for the United States for the last few decades and will very likely continue to be a social problem, the increase in child migrations is alarming, as it poses a burden on our emergency response systems, which as of today are unequipped and not able to care for and shelter all the child migrants. Due to this, the rise of children immigrating illegally has become a humanitarian crisis in the United States.
While this issue can be analyzed using all perspectives, I think that a conflict perspective can shed much light on the sources of the immigration crisis. For the most part, the children crossing the border on their own are not born in wealthy families, but instead, their ascribed status is that of working class poor families. The children are joining adult family members in the United States who have very likely migrated from Central America due to the lack of employment and poverty that has been perpetuated by the bourgeoisie in their countries. Having lived in El Salvador, I can say with confidence that immigrants are willing to put their lives at risk in order to escape the inequality and oppression they experience in their societies. Mills' would agree with me when I say that "power elites" exist in Latin American countries, who control the means of production and the institutions of government, while the have-nots and the people who aren't in power have nowhere to turn for help. While the Latin American economies would benefit from increased foreign investment and higher social safety (by cutting down on crime and working to dissolve gangs), the people in power "will seek to maintain their dominance" over the poor (Dahrendorf). This will continue to push people to migrate to the United States, where they can find fairer pay (but unfair under Marx's standards), find work and provide the basic needs for their family (safety, education, shelter and even food).
I think this social issue can be solved through education; increased access to education in many Latin American countries can provide the poor with greater opportunities and attract foreign investment (which always seeks an educated and skilled workforce). A great example is Costa Rica, where a focus on education has lifted the country out of economic instability and is now a leading economic power in the region. Costa Ricans enjoy a greater quality of life, and higher education opens peoples eyes to the reality of the injustices commited by the elites in their countries, further promoting social change.
1. In response to Bianka, I agree when she mentions the fact that people migrate to this country in search of a better life. It is insane how children's alone are now migrating without an adult. What caught my attention about her post is when she talks about how these children's can be easily manipulated into prostitution and perhaps become drug mules. Something I wouldn't have thought of. I decided to comment because I myself have a son and just hearing about this situation and how extremely dangerous it is for these children's traveling without an adults supervision it's unacceptable. I do believe this is a social problem because these innocent kids are being vulnerable to many things like dying, or getting lost. Just for the simple fact that they are undocumented they are putting their life's at risk in search of a bright future.
2. I would choose the functionalist perspective for this topic. The same way there is poor people we also need rich individuals. There is many laws that prohibit so many things and coming to this country while not being a U.S citizen according to such laws is not correct. Many did not asked to be born without a green card, but it happened and now they are suffering for example these innocent children. In order for society to maintain stable there is the need of laws. Some laws can be so unfair but without them society will not function.
3. Bianka's solution sounds great; however, I do not believe it is possible. This has been an issues for centuries and it continues to be an issue. Immigrants are just not allowed and it is very sad! A solution that can alleviate this dilemma can be that all these countries where these kids are coming from, their president should somehow communicate with the U.S president and come up with a solution on how these individuals can become U.S citizens. Requirements should be met and if such countries can works things while meeting all the prerequisites that are asked for they can now be allowed. Sounds a bit impossible but it can happened, communication is the key to most problems. The faster they figure something out the better it is for society.
In response to Alejandra, I agree when she says that illegal immigration has always been a social problem in the United States and will most likely continue to be a social problem. With the rising number of children coming over to America from Central America its almost like our hands are tied, because we can’t put all of them into shelters just to take care of them.
If a functionalist were to look at this issue they wouldn’t be ok with illegal immigrants. Through their perspective the illegal immigrants are creating an imbalance in our country and they make it a lot harder for us to function as a whole. Another point a functionalist would point out is that illegal immigrants cause more political problems for our country.
I also agree with Alejandra when she says that this social issue can be solved through education. Another way this social problem can be solved is by enforcing our laws. If we don’t enforce our laws it will cause major issues for our country. If a family wants to come here that aren’t legal I strongly believe that they shouldn’t be allowed unless they have family here that is already legal and want to reconnect. I believe that if we encourage illegal immigrants to come to America that it would cause a lot more problems. I commented on this post because we both have the same views towards this social problem. I believe that through education and knowledge of this issue it can be solved, if we provide the poor with greater opportunities it will attract investments.
Anthony M. In response to Brianna P. I agree with your solution to no longer allow smugglers to find shelter here illegally. What really caught my attention was the overpopulation of holding cells for these children if they have family in this country most likely they are crossing the border with some sort of contact information. Two to Three days in holding cells is a lot of time to be spent at the border what if they are being treated unfair just because they are viewed as illegal or unwanted in this country. This is a major problem because people come to this country and think that it is so easy to change their lives around. But how can you when you do not speak English, you do not have a legal status here so you cannot work, and you are not legally allowed to drive so if you are pulled over you are either sent to jail or deported. If they are imprisoned it will cost money to house them and tax payers will not agree with this.
When thinking about a solution you have to take a lot into account I agree with your solution. But what I would do is help identify reasons as to why these people left their country in the first place. What do we have over here that there isn't in their home country? There are a lot of answers to that question but we should support political candidates in foreign countries that want to change their country and make it better for generations to come and for the people who currently reside in that country. My solution will take sometime and some amount of money but think about the long-term investment here. There is no welfare system in southern and Latin America if their is its not enough children ages 5 and up are working in factories assembling clothes and toys to be shipped to other countries to be sold for quadruple what they are worth. It cost roughly seventeen dollars or less to make a pair of Jordan's but they retail for up to seven hundred dollars at footlocker. If we try to make living conditions in other countries better for people then they wont have to migrate from place to place just to avoid being paid $5 a day
Commenting on Ofelya I. Yang Il, Y. I agree with your suggestion that the obvious solution to this problem would be the pass of the Immigration Law which means the undocumented immigrants can be granted the benefits of being American citizens until their immigration status can be decided. As you mentioned, President Obama has attempted to solve this problem by increasing the number of deportation cases of immigrants. That policy has made situations worse. Statistics tell us the fact that the number of unauthorized or illegal immigrants peaked at 12 million in 2007. As of 2010, the number declined to 11.2 million. 8 million illegal immigrants are estimated to be in the labor force. In addition, there are an estimated 5.5 million children and adolescents living with illegal immigrants parents in 2011. (Leon-Guerrero, 2014, pp. 84-86).
This undocumented immigrants cause various social conflicts such as racial/ethnic discrimination in housing, health care, and education. Furthermore, they has increased the overall size of the population living in poverty, and also, lack of Medicare, health insurance, and reduced wage due to the increasing job competition are increasingly exacerbating the quality of American’s lives. Recently, young aged crossing borderers from Latin American countries are increasing because of their home countries’ economic difficulties, politically unstable states, and Obama administration’s DREAM act’s effect. Burnett (2014) reported that “more than 50,000 unaccompanied migrant kids have been detained in the last eight months, an almost 100 percent increase from the previous fiscal year.” Therefore, Concerns about how to cope with this unprecedented and unpredicted trend and what impacts it will has on American’s current and future lives become a nationwide social problem.
From the Conflict theorists’ perspective, illegal young migrants become a potential “reserve army of labour.” Also, because they reinforce the flexibility of labor force, they unconsciously contribute to the division and weakening of working class organization. This results in decreasing the value of labor power. As a result, “capitalist businesses profit from migrant workers because they are cheap and flexible” (as cited in Leon-Guerrero, 2014, p. 76). Therefore, a cheaper labor group mainly composed of immigrants who lack professional skills, English fluency, and higher education threatens the jobs of higher-paid workers and the standard for wages in all jobs.
My solution is to legalize unaccompanied young migrants selectively and gradually. Leon-Guerrero (2014) pointed out that nationwide polls support both border and workplace enforcement and an opportunity for citizenship for illegal immigrants (p. 85). While enforcing border vigilance, federal government should fund for establishment of institutions such as schools, health care centers, and public service facilities. By teaching them English and providing them basic health care and shelters, they are to be allowed to have a chance to be a healthy member of American society. Deportation will put them into a desperate situation and make them feel hopeless. Instead of making them flexible labor force, helping them have a career as a citizen will eventually be beneficial to mitigating economic and political conflicts.
Vaheh M. In response to Fredy D,I don't entirely agree with his statements. The fact that those who cross the border risk a lot is true, and the fact that they cross to avoid threat of life or violence is a tragedy. However, and it pains me to say this, our government has to consider the effect their arrival in our country has on us as well, and do what is beneficial for it's own citizens before they consider the well being of others, even if this means deportation of children back to where they were running from. For every government program they make to help these undocumented children, we have to pay increasingly more taxes so the government can afford these programs. We have to take into consideration whether our resources, be it money or jobs, can sustain both parties. On the other hand, they will provide a source of cheap labor, though an over-saturation of them benefits nobody. As far as border patrol goes, I agree with him. They do put themselves in danger, and there is no doubt that Latino border patrol officers are viewed in a negative light, but it is their job, and it is an important job.
A functionalist would say that the added immigrants are on one hand good because they would add governmental jobs for those who would help these immigrants, and that these immigrants would later add to the low-level worker pool. However, on the other hand, they are a political problem.
Deportation should be a case by case issue. Allowing all undocumented children to stay will do the US no good, but deporting all that we find is morally unsound as well. The decision should depend on the degree of danger or suffering the children were in back in their home country. Also, if a child is born in the US, but is undocumented, then the child should not be deported. For those that do stay, Fredy's solution is a fair start. However, I would add a governmental program, borrowed from Sweden, where the children get hired by an employer, but the government pays the wages. Although it is reduced pay, it will give the immigrants the training, experience and references required to succeed. This way, somewhere down the line, those who used to be undocumented immigrants who didn't contribute too much can start giving back to the community without fear of deportation, and they could start paying the taxes for the next bunch.
10 comments:
Ofelya I.
Today illegal Immigration is a very large social issue in the United States. In recent times many immigrants from Mexico and other Central American are migrating into the United States through the Southern Borders, especially children. Kids caught at the borders were placed in detention rooms until the border patrol could find their relatives in the US to keep the child until the day of the hearing. Many politicians lay the blame for this on President W Bush who approved a law that guarantees a hearing for Immigrant Minors from Central America instead of immediate deportation.
This is a Macro-Level issue and from a Functionalist's perspective it is a nationwide issue between American Citizens and Un-documented immigrants. Kids are constantly being caught at the border trying to reach their parents who left to find better jobs to aid their families. Immigrant kids nowadays know the trick to use to reach their parents, it's the excuse of "I am running away from my country because of the influence street gang's have on us." This will result in the border patrol trying to find the child's parents in the US to take care of the child until the day of the hearing. But the problem is that the majority of the kids are holding back the truth. They are not running away from street gangs, but from the social problems they have to face there everyday without their parents or grandparents beside them.
The obvious solution to this problem would be the pass of the Immigration Law which means the Un-documented immigrants can be granted the benefits of being American Citizens until their Immigration Status can be decided.If this law is passed then the immigrants can help the nation's finances by being able to work without having to try to avoid paying taxes. When this is passed, those kids who were cought at the border trying to sneak into the country will be taken to their parents, who are now citizens (in some ways). The US Government has met with the presidents of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in hopes of solving this immigration problem, especially in regards to child immigration. President Obama has attempted to solve this problem by increasing the number of deportation cases of immigrants.
Fredy D.
In today’s society Immigration still happens to be a major problem that has negative consequences between border patrols and the person crossing the border. Border patrols deal with more work and their security of their nation oppose to a person crossing, these people that immigrate take a toll psychically facing dehydration, hunger, and weakness from crossing the border. Recently it has come to a point of awareness that more and more kids are fleeing their native country from Central American, South America, and Mexico. Due to limited resources in these countries gangs, cartels, mafias, etc., have gained a type of power that presents a repercussion of fear and for instance creates a type of social inequality. The United States is the land of the free well, so what because from a point of view people are being deported to be free now tell me how is the US living up to its motto.
From an interactional perspective immigrant children are often looked down upon and not only that it is seen that while there are being looked down they unconsciously label their parents as irresponsible. Border Patrols on the Latino community are labeled as bad guys because of what they do and the process of deporting a child. To be clear as to child immigrating to the border patrol they coincide to society matters. For instance border patrols are forced to do because of their label requirements. As to the child it’s for their own well being trying to avoid the impending doom in their country, gang violence and other harassments that affect their well being.
I strongly believe that as a child crosses the border they shouldn’t be deported back to a place they are trying to avoid. The saying everything happens for a reason stands because there are horrible reason as to why they choose to immigrate to the states. The reason I commented on this specific topic is because I know what it feels being apart from someone I know how gangs can be and what they are capable of doing. By all means I understand the daily struggles of people who are trying to flee from gangs especially from another country and who are we as individuals to stop anyone to achieve their life goals. One solution that can benefit these children would be providing them with political asylums and a bill that can prose them to achieve residency as a political refugee.
Brianna P.
Illegal immigration has become on of the most controversial issues in today's society. Someone is always going to have to be viewed as the "bad guy' in this particular situation. There has been a recent increase in undocumented immigrants pouring into U.S. cities near the border, not only from Mexico, but other Central American countries as well. What has really perplexed the Department of Homeland Security is the age group of the immigrants crossing the border, which were younger children, most from the age of three to about thirteen. The recent surges in migrants have also overwhelmed the temporary holding cells for processing, which is now taking longer than it used to. Normally, they would process them and then either send them to group homes, or deport them based on their situation. Now, they spend as much as a few days in the holding areas. More and more children are arriving here in the U.S. stating they've come here to seek political asylum and to be reunited with family. In those types of cases a bigger question arrises, are we to encourage immigration by granting them asylum, or should we strictly enforce our immigration policies?
From a functionalist perspective, all illegal immigrants as a whole are creating an imbalance and more political problems in our country, and are therefore looked down upon. Most people who are against any type of immigration believe that we spend too much money trying to aid these countries that are unstable, rather than focus on what is wrong in the U.S. With all of the people flowing in from other countries unexpectedly, it creates a higher demand for places used to shelter these people temporarily, and requires more money in order to pay the salaries of more border patrol agents. What does that mean? Since its government spending, something else has to be cut to compensate the costs needed to take care of these children.
Personally, I believe that this topic goes hand in hand with whats morally right, and whats lawfully right. It would be morally right to take in these people who are in need of better opportunity, or seek political asylum. On the other hand, its lawfully right to just deport these illegal immigrants back to their countries. And although we do both, what right do we have to only grant some people the ability to stay? However, the fact of the matter is, by allowing these people to stay here by using the "political asylum" excuse, we are encouraging others to flee here and use that very same excuse knowing its their ticket in. Mexico isn't helping much either. As the smuggler said, its easier to take children to the border than the adults who flee, because the kids are innocent and once they cross, they become our governments problem. So while these human smugglers are making money, we become burdened. Even though i am Mexican, and a second generation American, i believe that we should strictly enforce the already existing laws. I still have family in Mexico, who are doing just fine and are considered upper class citizens. Not to mention, my grandma, the first in my family to arrive here, came here legally. With that being said, we should not continue to encourage smugglers and immigrants to find shelter here illegally. Unless, of course they have family here who are legal, and are attempting to reunite with them. If we continue to do so, we open the doors to many more problems.
Bianka S.
The increase of migrant children has gone up dramatically. “Around 50,000 of them have been detained in the past eight months”, states John Burnett. That is a huge number, we were used to seeing families crossing the border to come into this country in search of a better life. But now the children from Central and South America are crossing alone. They have to pass many obstacles in order to come to the United States. This is a social problem because, they could easily be manipulated into child prostitution or become drug mules on their way here.
Karl Marx the conflict theorist would accept that this is just a way for the children to try to gain some sort of self-actualization. In the process of completing their dreams on living in this country the children would attempt to better their style of living and think that there is a greater future ahead. They would want to take control of their situation and not have to live in fear of having to join some sort of gang in their home country, in order to bring food to the table.
I believe that by all means these children have the right to come and fight for a better future. My father and his brothers all came to this country in search of a better life. Together they were able to bring the rest of their families here including my own. I am now in college trying to get further in life and make all of my father’s sacrifices worthwhile. If it wasn't for him I would still be living in Mexico and probably had three children with no hope of ever going to college. A solution to this problem would be for the border patrol to allow these children to stay with their families and have a chance to make a difference in their lives.
Alejandra D.
We have seen an increase in border crossings in the last couple of years; many of the people crossing are women with children or children unaccompanied by an adult. While illegal immigration has been a problem for the United States for the last few decades and will very likely continue to be a social problem, the increase in child migrations is alarming, as it poses a burden on our emergency response systems, which as of today are unequipped and not able to care for and shelter all the child migrants. Due to this, the rise of children immigrating illegally has become a humanitarian crisis in the United States.
While this issue can be analyzed using all perspectives, I think that a conflict perspective can shed much light on the sources of the immigration crisis. For the most part, the children crossing the border on their own are not born in wealthy families, but instead, their ascribed status is that of working class poor families. The children are joining adult family members in the United States who have very likely migrated from Central America due to the lack of employment and poverty that has been perpetuated by the bourgeoisie in their countries.
Having lived in El Salvador, I can say with confidence that immigrants are willing to put their lives at risk in order to escape the inequality and oppression they experience in their societies.
Mills' would agree with me when I say that "power elites" exist in Latin American countries, who control the means of production and the institutions of government, while the have-nots and the people who aren't in power have nowhere to turn for help. While the Latin American economies would benefit from increased foreign investment and higher social safety (by cutting down on crime and working to dissolve gangs), the people in power "will seek to maintain their dominance" over the poor (Dahrendorf). This will continue to push people to migrate to the United States, where they can find fairer pay (but unfair under Marx's standards), find work and provide the basic needs for their family (safety, education, shelter and even food).
I think this social issue can be solved through education; increased access to education in many Latin American countries can provide the poor with greater opportunities and attract foreign investment (which always seeks an educated and skilled workforce). A great example is Costa Rica, where a focus on education has lifted the country out of economic instability and is now a leading economic power in the region. Costa Ricans enjoy a greater quality of life, and higher education opens peoples eyes to the reality of the injustices commited by the elites in their countries, further promoting social change.
Jennyfer L.
1. In response to Bianka, I agree when she mentions the fact that people migrate to this country in search of a better life. It is insane how children's alone are now migrating without an adult. What caught my attention about her post is when she talks about how these children's can be easily manipulated into prostitution and perhaps become drug mules. Something I wouldn't have thought of. I decided to comment because I myself have a son and just hearing about this situation and how extremely dangerous it is for these children's traveling without an adults supervision it's unacceptable. I do believe this is a social problem because these innocent kids are being vulnerable to many things like dying, or getting lost. Just for the simple fact that they are undocumented they are putting their life's at risk in search of a bright future.
2. I would choose the functionalist perspective for this topic. The same way there is poor people we also need rich individuals. There is many laws that prohibit so many things and coming to this country while not being a U.S citizen according to such laws is not correct. Many did not asked to be born without a green card, but it happened and now they are suffering for example these innocent children. In order for society to maintain stable there is the need of laws. Some laws can be so unfair but without them society will not function.
3. Bianka's solution sounds great; however, I do not believe it is possible. This has been an issues for centuries and it continues to be an issue. Immigrants are just not allowed and it is very sad! A solution that can alleviate this dilemma can be that all these countries where these kids are coming from, their president should somehow communicate with the U.S president and come up with a solution on how these individuals can become U.S citizens. Requirements should be met and if such countries can works things while meeting all the prerequisites that are asked for they can now be allowed. Sounds a bit impossible but it can happened, communication is the key to most problems. The faster they figure something out the better it is for society.
Commenting on Alejandra D.
Julie B.
In response to Alejandra, I agree when she says that illegal immigration has always been a social problem in the United States and will most likely continue to be a social problem. With the rising number of children coming over to America from Central America its almost like our hands are tied, because we can’t put all of them into shelters just to take care of them.
If a functionalist were to look at this issue they wouldn’t be ok with illegal immigrants. Through their perspective the illegal immigrants are creating an imbalance in our country and they make it a lot harder for us to function as a whole. Another point a functionalist would point out is that illegal immigrants cause more political problems for our country.
I also agree with Alejandra when she says that this social issue can be solved through education. Another way this social problem can be solved is by enforcing our laws. If we don’t enforce our laws it will cause major issues for our country. If a family wants to come here that aren’t legal I strongly believe that they shouldn’t be allowed unless they have family here that is already legal and want to reconnect. I believe that if we encourage illegal immigrants to come to America that it would cause a lot more problems. I commented on this post because we both have the same views towards this social problem. I believe that through education and knowledge of this issue it can be solved, if we provide the poor with greater opportunities it will attract investments.
Anthony M.
In response to Brianna P. I agree with your solution to no longer allow smugglers to find shelter here illegally. What really caught my attention was the overpopulation of holding cells for these children if they have family in this country most likely they are crossing the border with some sort of contact information. Two to Three days in holding cells is a lot of time to be spent at the border what if they are being treated unfair just because they are viewed as illegal or unwanted in this country. This is a major problem because people come to this country and think that it is so easy to change their lives around. But how can you when you do not speak English, you do not have a legal status here so you cannot work, and you are not legally allowed to drive so if you are pulled over you are either sent to jail or deported. If they are imprisoned it will cost money to house them and tax payers will not agree with this.
Looking at this from a Interactionalist perspective it is very common for people in other countries such as Latin America to blame the system in their country that is not well established. This is why they choose to send their children. The massive amount of migrants from southern and Latin America is a problem because if these people come here and expect to be financially taken care of we have to compensate and budget more money into the welfare system. Also all these immigrants are coming here for better lives its very cliché but true but if all these people are coming here year after year America is getting more and more overpopulated leading to one of two things. One competition in the work field working at places like McDonalds should be reserved for the younger generation to prepare them for the professional work force and help them pay their way through college. But instead these jobs are being given to undocumented immigrants who are probably working two jobs to support themselves because it's the only option they have. Second with more and more people in this country the demand for resources is high but the supply is low because a lot of people are asking for a lot of things. Leading to inflation the price of things will increase for example; I can remember when gas prices in Los Angeles were $4.95 a gallon that was higher than the national average in just Los Angeles alone.
When thinking about a solution you have to take a lot into account I agree with your solution. But what I would do is help identify reasons as to why these people left their country in the first place. What do we have over here that there isn't in their home country? There are a lot of answers to that question but we should support political candidates in foreign countries that want to change their country and make it better for generations to come and for the people who currently reside in that country. My solution will take sometime and some amount of money but think about the long-term investment here. There is no welfare system in southern and Latin America if their is its not enough children ages 5 and up are working in factories assembling clothes and toys to be shipped to other countries to be sold for quadruple what they are worth. It cost roughly seventeen dollars or less to make a pair of Jordan's but they retail for up to seven hundred dollars at footlocker. If we try to make living conditions in other countries better for people then they wont have to migrate from place to place just to avoid being paid $5 a day
Commenting on Ofelya I.
Yang Il, Y.
I agree with your suggestion that the obvious solution to this problem would be the pass of the Immigration Law which means the undocumented immigrants can be granted the benefits of being American citizens until their immigration status can be decided. As you mentioned, President Obama has attempted to solve this problem by increasing the number of deportation cases of immigrants. That policy has made situations worse. Statistics tell us the fact that the number of unauthorized or illegal immigrants peaked at 12 million in 2007. As of 2010, the number declined to 11.2 million. 8 million illegal immigrants are estimated to be in the labor force. In addition, there are an estimated 5.5 million children and adolescents living with illegal immigrants parents in 2011. (Leon-Guerrero, 2014, pp. 84-86).
This undocumented immigrants cause various social conflicts such as racial/ethnic discrimination in housing, health care, and education. Furthermore, they has increased the overall size of the population living in poverty, and also, lack of Medicare, health insurance, and reduced wage due to the increasing job competition are increasingly exacerbating the quality of American’s lives. Recently, young aged crossing borderers from Latin American countries are increasing because of their home countries’ economic difficulties, politically unstable states, and Obama administration’s DREAM act’s effect. Burnett (2014) reported that “more than 50,000 unaccompanied migrant kids have been detained in the last eight months, an almost 100 percent increase from the previous fiscal year.” Therefore, Concerns about how to cope with this unprecedented and unpredicted trend and what impacts it will has on American’s current and future lives become a nationwide social problem.
From the Conflict theorists’ perspective, illegal young migrants become a potential “reserve army of labour.” Also, because they reinforce the flexibility of labor force, they unconsciously contribute to the division and weakening of working class organization. This results in decreasing the value of labor power. As a result, “capitalist businesses profit from migrant workers because they are cheap and flexible” (as cited in Leon-Guerrero, 2014, p. 76). Therefore, a cheaper labor group mainly composed of immigrants who lack professional skills, English fluency, and higher education threatens the jobs of higher-paid workers and the standard for wages in all jobs.
My solution is to legalize unaccompanied young migrants selectively and gradually. Leon-Guerrero (2014) pointed out that nationwide polls support both border and workplace enforcement and an opportunity for citizenship for illegal immigrants (p. 85). While enforcing border vigilance, federal government should fund for establishment of institutions such as schools, health care centers, and public service facilities. By teaching them English and providing them basic health care and shelters, they are to be allowed to have a chance to be a healthy member of American society. Deportation will put them into a desperate situation and make them feel hopeless. Instead of making them flexible labor force, helping them have a career as a citizen will eventually be beneficial to mitigating economic and political conflicts.
Vaheh M.
In response to Fredy D,I don't entirely agree with his statements. The fact that those who cross the border risk a lot is true, and the fact that they cross to avoid threat of life or violence is a tragedy. However, and it pains me to say this, our government has to consider the effect their arrival in our country has on us as well, and do what is beneficial for it's own citizens before they consider the well being of others, even if this means deportation of children back to where they were running from. For every government program they make to help these undocumented children, we have to pay increasingly more taxes so the government can afford these programs. We have to take into consideration whether our resources, be it money or jobs, can sustain both parties. On the other hand, they will provide a source of cheap labor, though an over-saturation of them benefits nobody. As far as border patrol goes, I agree with him. They do put themselves in danger, and there is no doubt that Latino border patrol officers are viewed in a negative light, but it is their job, and it is an important job.
A functionalist would say that the added immigrants are on one hand good because they would add governmental jobs for those who would help these immigrants, and that these immigrants would later add to the low-level worker pool. However, on the other hand, they are a political problem.
Deportation should be a case by case issue. Allowing all undocumented children to stay will do the US no good, but deporting all that we find is morally unsound as well. The decision should depend on the degree of danger or suffering the children were in back in their home country. Also, if a child is born in the US, but is undocumented, then the child should not be deported. For those that do stay, Fredy's solution is a fair start. However, I would add a governmental program, borrowed from Sweden, where the children get hired by an employer, but the government pays the wages. Although it is reduced pay, it will give the immigrants the training, experience and references required to succeed. This way, somewhere down the line, those who used to be undocumented immigrants who didn't contribute too much can start giving back to the community without fear of deportation, and they could start paying the taxes for the next bunch.
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