Immigration is and has always been a major factor of demographic change in the US.
Over the past few decades, the number of immigrants has increased and the immigration rules have changed as well. America has had both legal and illegal immigrants and even though the number of illegal aliens has decreased today, human smuggling into the country is still very evident. In the 1950s, a large number of immigrants originated from Europe but today immigrants are mostly of the Latin American and Asian origin. On the other hand, the number of European immigrants has decreased (Borjas, 2008). Before the 1950s, most of the population of America was immigrants as opposed to today where they make up only a small percentage the population.
According to Borjas (2001), in early days, immigrants were chosen according to their nationality. Thus, migrants from the UK and Germany got more than 40% of the opportunities. Nevertheless, this has changed with the introduction of Immigration and National act that reserves most visas for Americans’ relatives. It is one of a number of changes made to the immigrations laws over the years. Should immigration policies find out how many immigrants can get permission to enter the US? On the other hand, what kind of people should immigrate to the United States? A visa application is a procedure used to identify immigrants on the base of different characteristics and values, and sets restrictions for limiting the number of immigrants (Borjas, 2001).
Persons with relatives in the USA have always had priority over others but it is a poor way to control immigration by giving favors to certain kind of immigrants. For instance, the neediest, most talented and most oppressed are among the criteria under review while considering applicants. However, Borjas (2008) asserts that this mode of favors would complicate the process mainly because it is difficult to say exactly how many applicants are needy from a great number of visas. In conclusion, citizenship is a right that any one is entitled to, no matter their race, country or religion. It is not disputable that everybody has an equal opportunity to obtain any citizenship and the only criteria in this case should be ‘first come first serve’.
Fairness and equality are undoubtedly a crucial aspect of the selection process.
