Immigration is an ongoing process that increases the
population of the United States from year to year. It also adds to the
country's workforce. It is illegal for companies or independent contractors to
hire or employ any illegal immigrants that emigrate to the country via illegal
processes. The United States
accepts the most legal immigrants as permanent residents of the country out of
all the countries across the globe. Immigrants total more than 38 million in
the United States.
From 1990 to the year 2000, there was a 57.4 percent
increase in immigration population within the United States per the US Census. North Carolina has the highest percentage change of
foreign born population since 1990 and is followed by Georgia, Nevada,
Arkansas and Utah. The state with the lowest percentage
of change in foreign born population since 1990 is Maine. The state of Maine has had a 1.1 percent increase since
1990. The jump is larger to the second lowest. Montana has a 19 percent increase since
1990.
The current state of immigration in the United States
has affected the country's demographics in a positive way. The growth of the
country's population has escalated since 1990 and is expected to reach 397
million by 2050 per the Census Bureau. The United
States is suffering through a low birth-rate currently
and if it weren't for immigration, the United States population would
begin to decline instead of increase. If immigration is outlawed, the United States
population will only reach 328 million by 2050 because of the low birth-rate.
Right now, the United States has strict laws on
foreign immigration, despite an open-door policy. The U.S. has placed
restrictions on how many people per year can legally enter the country as
permanent residents. There is a need for immigration reform in the United States
so the country's population continues to grow at a steady rate and not begin to
reduce over the next 30 years.
Current Reforms
A task force was formed in 2008, the Independent Task Force
on Immigration and America's Future, and is headed up by former Michigan
senator Spencer Abraham and former congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana. The
task force has been formed to determine how the United States government should
reform immigration to make it an easier process for the people involved and for
the country itself.
One of the main problems within the country's immigration
system is the large number of temporary visas that are involved with the
guestworker program. Immigrants can obtain a legal visa to work within the
country
This is one of the provisions provided by the task force for
reforming immigration:
"Simplify and redesign the immigration system by drastically
reducing the number of visa classifications and by establishing a new provisional
visa category providing legal employment for workers at all skill levels.
Provisional visas would bridge the false divide between temporary and permanent
immigration and eliminate the need for a large guestworker program."
Affects of Reform
If the task force's findings and suggestions are put into
effect by the United States
government then the country's guestworker program will be done away with and
immigrants who want to work here will have to apply for permanent residency.
That means immigrants who only want to work in the country and still be able to
return to their home country will not be able to do that. Many guestworker
immigrants will need to acquire a permanent residency visa to live in the
country or try to apply for green card, and will need a lawyer to do so.
Are
you or your loved ones concerned about the status of your legal residency in
the United States? Contact an
immigration attorney right away to prevent your deportation today!