Immigration article: A Good Immigration Bill

Some say, “I disagree with immigration because immigrants take away our jobs.” This is definitely not true, and the article that I read from the Los Angeles Times, A Good Immigration Bill, also disagrees with the claim. Some people oppose, while some people support it. It has been a controversial issue for many, many years. As an immigrant myself, I have a strong belief and stand on this issue.

Mortimer Zuckerman, the author of A Good Immigration Bill, starts off his article with a thesis that we should take this opportunity to come up with an immigration policy, which will “address our interest.” He points out that immigrants are actually very helpful to our society. They take jobs, which we, do not want to work, so they are not technically, “taking away our jobs.” They are helping us to improve the economy.

They also bring in different ethnic cultures and religious beliefs, which make our country, America, so diversely unique and strong. In addition, people from different backgrounds have qualities that other people might not have. This is how the country progresses, as people bring in different talents, skills, and knowledge, they are helping the country to be more productive. Amongst them are hard-working and determined people who came to America with hopes and dreams to start a new life.

His evidence is pretty strong because he tends to convince the reader to agree with his ideas. For example, he mentions that the immigrants are “family oriented, value education, and their children learning English.” In addition, he describes them as “people of faith,” which shows respect to the immigrants all over the world. He approaches the issue with kind and caring words, which draws the reader’s attention to continue reading what he has to say about the topic. In a way, he is utilizing argumentum ad misericordiam, where he pities the immigrants because they are hopeless and desperate to do whatever it take to have a better life.

He makes a statement about what people are arguing about these days, regarding immigrants “taking away” our jobs. He said, “In fact. They often take jobs many Americans simply no longer wish to do.” He also make his statement stronger by saying that “if these immigrants weren’t here, this kind of work would have been done by more skilled Americans, and they would only do it for much more money-which could be seen as a cause of inflation and a misuse of skills.” He concludes his reasoning, “So for the most part, the new immigrant and the settled American are not competing for the same jobs.” He supports his claim by stating that, “Millions and millions of new jobs requiring no more than a high school education will have to be filled over the next decade.”

The weakness of this article is that Zuckerman did not incorporate real-life situations or examples supporting his argument, which would have a greater impact on his article. Such examples, as these, may be included:

The film that I watched in my English 1A class, A Day without a Mexican, shows the importance of Mexican immigrants’ existence in Los Angeles. Not only the Mexican immigrants, but also, other ethnic groups, as well. They all play a big part in our society today. The message this film is trying to deliver to the audience is that we are human beings no matter what color, ethnicity, and gender we all are. We are the same, and without each and every one of us, everything will change, not for the better; but, for the worse. We are in this together, and we need to help each other out, like brothers and sisters. God brought us all here, to Earth, so that we can create peace and live together before we are sent to Heaven. We each have a role to play, while we are on this Earth. Just like the puzzle pieces forming together to make a picture, we have to do the same. We have to form as a team by cooperating with each other to make this world a better place to live in. This kind of argument is similar to what Zuckerman is conveying to the readers in his article.

In the news, couple of weeks ago, there was a story about elementary kids being taken away by the officers from the school because they were illegal immigrants. What do these little kids know about having documented papers? They are innocent, who came to United States with their parents. They know nothing about being legal or illegal. It is very devastating to hear such things happening to them. The question is: “Are they ameliorating the problem, or are they making the problem worse by making such practices?” Immigration issue is somewhat involved with racism. They would have done such act to kids who were assumed to be a foreigner, not to those who look American.

He agrees with the immigrants coming to America, but not everyone, only the selected few. He mentions that “America needs those who are skilled and has had a higher education.” Many, who cannot speak English and had little schooling experience, come to America for job opportunities and to get a second chance of obtaining an education. He affirms that, “In an increasingly globalized economy, we need skill!” According to the study, “Last year, 63 percent of visas went to relatives of U.S. citizens or legal residents; only 13 percent went to individuals because of their skills…” He is contradicting himself because he said earlier in his article that non skilled workers are needed to “take jobs that Americans often refuse.” However, now, he is saying that we need skilled workers. It is very confusing to follow the direction he is trying to lead in this argument.

Nonetheless, the evidence logically support the thesis because he comes up with ideas that we can all agree and disagree on, regarding the change in the immigration policy. He comes up with an initiative that “the only practical solution is to identify these unauthorized workers, and their families, as genuine immigrants and give them a way to end up on the right side of the law.” He ends his argument with these statements that touches the reader’s heart, “Immigration is both the history and destiny of America. Let’s get it right.”

The claims, assumptions, and statements that he made are similar to what I had in mind about the immigration issue. They seem accurate to my observation. The overall persuasiveness of the argument, given the strengths and weaknesses is pretty good. I was convinced to agree with his opinion because of the way Zuckerman approaches the problem gently and the presentation of the evidence supporting his claims.