by Chika Oki

Every year, many immigrants from all around the world come to the U.S. These immigrants―legal or illegal―have a common purpose; to get a job and have a better life than they used to have in their home country. This purpose, so-called “American Dream,” has not changed since the land of the U.S. was “discovered.” Though this is still a common purpose for all people who come to the U.S., it seems that immigrant system is killing “American Dream.”

The number of immigrants who can legally come into the U.S. is 65,000 per a year. These people are so-called high-skilled workers, who are highly-educated in universities or have some professional skills. This quota seems too few because much more people come to the U.S. every year. So, even if immigrants are high-skilled, a large number of people have no choice but becoming illegal or undocumented immigrants. In addition to this, many states in the U.S. have adopted strict laws which regulate illegal immigrants. For example, in Alabama, immigrants who have no documents which certificate that they are legal may be caught by the police and forced to go back to their home country. Even if they are not found by the police, they won’t be able to get a high-paying job or have a right to require changing their bad working condition.

As you can see, American system and laws about immigration is an obstacle for immigrants who want to get a good job, raise their standard of living, and go upper class in the U.S. Nevertheless, the U.S. won’t stop accepting immigrants to keep its popularity as a land of opportunity and position as a center of the world. Also, nobody can stop immigrants’ strong desire to have a better life. So, the U.S. should change these unequal system and laws. The U.S. politicians have a bias that immigrants may bring terrorism, infectious diseases, or cultural confusion, but this opinion is totally a stereotype which has no proof. On the contrary, immigration is a good thing for both immigrants themselves and Americans. Immigrants will stir up Americans’ motivation and competitive spirit for working, bring cultural diversity, and promote international communication. In addition, more international communication may be a barrier to an outbreak of terrorism because it will strengthen international relationship. To sum up, the U.S. should revise immigration system to help immigrants achieve their American Dream, because it will lead to prosperity of the U.S. after all.

References
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16040476
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12925299