1.1 Introduction to Immigration

Welcome....

For the longest time, people have been coming to this vast country we call the United States, and for many reasons such as: Fleeing attacks, a better working environment, to be away from the chains of slavery, or even to reunite themselves with family members. Whatever the reason may be, the United States prides itself on the basis of freedom.
With each passing year, the United States allows for immigrants to pass through our borders and establish themselves on the grounds of citizenship (as long as they adhere to our laws of being a citizen). Illegal immigration has been another "heated" issue with numbers equaling in 2008 to nearly 20 million!! There have been mixed feelings coming from the United States as to how the government should handle the up and coming year with the new rise of immigrants, along with illegal immigrants, who just want a piece of our American "freedom" pie. Some government officials look to reforms on immigration so as to lower the amount of foreigners allowed to come to the United States. Another way of ensuring this, is presented in the form of raising the difficulty of the citizenship test that immigrants must take and pass to be able to live in the U.S.
My question to you is: Should the United States continue to "tighten the grips" on immigration (legal or illegal), or should America be open to all seeking it's freedoms?
What you will be doing is taking the information that you find from both websites; positive and negative effects of immigration in the United States; and asking yourself the likely question of what outweighs the other. You should pay attention to the article on "US immigration has a positive effect on wages" to see if this holds true in reality and whether you agree that it is positive. With the article on "The Real Problem with immigration", pay attention to the paragraph under the heading The Real Problem, that talks about the issue of national security, and see how this might lead to worries such as whether another 9/11 attack could occur. I have also provided you with a short video footage at the very bottom of the webquest (please watch AFTER you look at the two websites) that will let you see what it means to be directly impacted by immigration, through the eyes of immigrant children, or children speaking of their parents or grandparents experience with immigration.
I ultimately would like to give you as individuals an opportunity to write up a paper (At least 2 pages in length). This will not be just any MLA or APA paper, but rather you writing a letter to the government about what you feel they should do about immigration for the year 2009. I will provide you with more thorough instructions when you reach the posting labeled "Letter to the government". Please keep in mind that you should take this writing assignment VERY SERIOUS and not as some chance to slack off and write up the night before it is due. Believe it or not, immigration IS affecting you as Americans whether directly or in some other form. I am giving you a chance to carefully and thoughtfully respond to this issue by writing this letter, so again, please plan your two weeks accordingly so as to get everything done.