Political Perspectives

https://www.realclearpolicy.com/blog/2013/03/25/whats_driving_immigration_reform_sentiments_467.html — This table is from a survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institution with Brookings that discovers widespread support for immigration reform that calls for a path to citizenship or legal residency among people of all walks of life. [1]

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/15/americans-views-of-immigrants-marked-by-widening-partisan-generational-divides/ — This graph is taken from a survey conducted by Pew Research Center that discovers the opinions of ciitzens depending on the political party they identify themselves with. [3]

Each political party has different motivations to fix this social problem of immigration and each opposes the other’s way of doing so. The main issue is the topic of illegal immigration and the fear of criminals from other nations entering America. They want to fight for justice, but in different manners. I am interested in only pointing out the main motivations of the Republican and Democratic Parties. The Republican Party primarily fights for the law of the nation, and the Democratic Party fights for the human dignity of the immigrants. Both standpoints are on opposite sides of the spectrum; each of the parties can learn from the other.

The United States is known, according to the Pew Research Center, as the nation with the largest number of immigrants in the world. 59 percent of adults say immigrants benefit the nation because of their “work and talents,” while 34 percent of adults say immigrants weaken the nation because they “take jobs and social benefits.” 77 percent of United States citizens believe that immigrants in America are no more to blame for crime than other groups while only 19 percent believe that they are more to blame for crime in comparison to others. 46 percent of American citizens support deporting illegal immigrants from our nation while 47 percent oppose this. 54 percent of Americans believe that immigrants in our present-day nation want to adopt our customs and way of life while 37 percent believe that immigrants want to be distinct from our society. [2]

The majority of Republicans look to reform immigration by defending the law and the safety of the country. Republicans believe in placing stricter regulations to avoid immigrants coming into the United States illegally such as harsher border security and building a wall along the United States-Mexico border and allowing for families to be separated. The majority of Democrats look to reform immigration by defending the immigrants themselves and working to give all a chance to seek opportunity in our nation. They are against the separation of families and believe in the DREAM project of allowing illegal immigrants to study, work, pay taxes, and contribute to the communities they grew up in, desiring to find a way with how to deal with undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

Bibliography:

[1] Lawler, Joseph. “What’s Driving Opinions of Immigration Reform.” RealClearPolicy, RealClearPolicy, 24 Mar. 2013, www.realclearpolicy.com/blog/2013/03/25/whats_driving_immigration_reform_sentiments_467.html.

[2] Gonzalez-Barrera, Ana, and Phillip Connor. “Around the World, More Say Immigrants Are a Strength Than a Burden.” Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, Pew Research Center, 30 Dec. 2019, www.pewresearch.org/global/2019/03/14/around-the-world-more-say-immigrants-are-a-strength-than-a-burden/.

[3] Jones, Bradley. “Americans’ Views of Immigrants Marked by Widening Partisan, Generational Divides.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 15 Apr. 2016, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/15/americans-views-of-immigrants-marked-by-widening-partisan-generational-divides/.