Arizona Immigration Law

Introduction

Immigration is the process through which the people of foreign origin enter into another country. It is like a gateway to a foreign country for people who came from elsewhere. In Arizona, much of the reaction to new immigrants is punitive. The purpose of this paper is to enlighten and discuss the impact of immigration on the economy of the United States. Immigration is the most controversial topic of discussion, and there are several arguments on the issue of immigration; some of these arguments favor immigration and others oppose it. Several scholarly works argue that immigrants are coming to Arizona in order to steal the jobs and ruin our society. Nevertheless, some of the scholarly sources state that immigrants are a positive contribution to the society as they enhance the quality workforce.

However, illegal immigration is the burning issue in Arizona that is critically influencing the growth of its economy. Illegal immigrants are flooding United States nowadays; these immigrants migrate to United States due to several reasons (flood, tsunami, natural disaster, employment issues etc). The pull factors are the economic opportunities that are available in this country that attract people from all over the world. As Arizona tries to regulate immigration, it is concentrating too much of our attention on the pull factors and not paying enough attention to the push factors - the reasons people are leaving their homelands. Globalization has devastated many parts of the world.

Discussion

In 2002, Congress passed the Homeland Security Act, which established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was abolished on March 1, 2003, and reorganized into two bureaus under the auspices of the DHS: the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security (BTS) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). By tying immigration to national security, the act also permits and requires the attorney general to detain aliens whom he declares to be threats to national security, with habeas corpus suspended under certain conditions (Ferrie, Yankeys, 23). The USA Patriot Act has been criticized as legalizing the racial profiling of Middle Easterners and raised concern with immigrant support and civil liberties groups because of the sweeping nature of the legislation. Immigration and national security debates will likely continue as the number of entrants, especially from Mexico, continues to increase, fueled by U.S.-Mexico talks about a proposed temporary worker program for New Mexican workers.

Historical and Legal Aspects of Immigration

The evolution of immigration to Arizona mirrors the evolution of Arizona immigration law as a response to social, political, and economic changes. The parallels between past and present are striking. Immigration legislation continues to be aimed at regulating the quality as well as the quantity of entrants while trying to curb the number of those entering illegally. In 1882, at the beginning of the first great wave of mass immigration ensuing fears of dwindling employment opportunities for Americans and rising racial and ethnic prejudice led to the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act (Chiswick, 897). The act suspended Chinese immigration and ...