Summary:
Discusses immigration with reference to the article "Don't Wobble on Immigration" by Ben Wattenberg, which argues that immigration is good for our society because it keep our population stable and it is good for the economy.
Keywords: immigration policy
What do you think about immigration? Or should I ask, are you an immigrant? In the article "Don't Wobble on Immigration", Ben Wattenberg thinks that immigration is good for our society because it keeps our population stable. He also thinks that it is good for the economy. He says that the United States should not be against immigration.
As an immigrant, I agree with Wattenberg that wobbling on immigration is not the way to protect Western civilization, and I agree that immigrants can be the US's best salesmen. However, I disagree that immigrants choose the American way of life.
A lot of people are against immigration because they think certain groups like Muslim radicals are here to attack the Western civilization. That's partly true. But I agree with Wattenberg that wobbling on immigration is not the way to protect Western civilization. As Wattenberg mentions: "The events of Sept. 11 were perpetrated by Muslim radicals. All were foreigners; some were here illegally" (Wattenberg 423). Immigration should not be the issue; the real issue should be illegal immigration. For these Muslim radicals, even if the US government didn't accept them to immigrate here, they could still come into the US illegally. Also as the news showed several days ago that before these 911 Muslim radicals went onto the airplanes, they were checked by the airport security guards. The security guards thought they were clear and let them aboard, and later 911 happened. If the US government stopped them from coming into the US illegally, and if the airport security guards stopped them from boarding, 911 wouldn't have happened. I think instead of limiting the number of immigrants or making the application process so long and complicated, the US government should put the focus on how to prevent the illegal immigrants, and also on making the security system effective.
Also, we can say that over 99% of the immigrants are here not to attack Western civilization. Most of the people immigrated here because they believed that they could get a better life in the United States. I agree with Wattenberg that the immigrants are the US's best salesmen:
"Immigrants are also our best salesmen; no one tells the American story better. And we're going to need all the salesmen we can get as we go about the business of recruiting economic, cultural and military allies - allies who believe in liberty, as we do"(Wattenberg 425).
When I was in Taiwan, my parents were always talking about how great life in the US was. Good education system, liberty, safe traffic, low crime rate, nice weather...etc. They once immigrated to here to studied higher education. And when they moved back to Taiwan, they always suggested people to immigrate to the US if there was a chance; they made advertisement for the US. Most people believe that the United States is the only super nation in the world. It's not because the US has the most nuclear bombs in the world; it's because the people who have experienced the good life here tell the world.
The immigrants are here for good lives. However, I don't agree with Wattenberg that "immigrants choose the American way of life" (Wattenberg 425). For the Chinese immigrants like me, we immigrate here to live in a better environment, but it doesn't mean we accept the American way of life, we still want to keep our own way of life. We may speak English and dress westernized, but we still have the Chinese New Year, we still believe getting good grade is important. For me, I still cannot agree to have sex before marriage. These are what we were taught through our entire life, and we couldn't give them up even we are not in the place we used to live.
Immigration has become one of the big issues in the United States. Some people may think that immigration brings problems to society. But in fact, these problems can be prevented if we pay more attention to illegal immigration and security. Besides, most immigrants are not here to bring trouble. They may not accept the way Americans live, but all they want is to get a better life in a great nation as the United States of the America.
Works Cited
Wattenberg, Ben. "Don't Wobble on Immigration." Patterns of Reflection. Ed. Dorothy U. Seyler. New York: Pearson, 2004. 423-425.
This is the complete article, containing 721 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
