ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: immigration

In the Northwest farming and commercial cities were booming. Westward expansion was due to land being cheap and plentiful which was especially appealing. The belief that freedom laid in the west was because of the availability of land and was ultimately important to economic independence. Here farmers sold livestock and were able to rapidly plow land with aid of the steel plow. While credit and the market was to the east. Cities like Cincinnati and Chicago would grow due to the population growth from immigration and high demand for jobs.
Topic: immigration

The very first factory was established in 1790 based on an outwork system. Later large scale factories would be constructed focusing on cotton textiles. Lowell factory is known for their female factory workers. These women adopted the name “Lowell” girls. Lowell girls were young women of farm families who were offered meager wages for long hours of labor. Ultimately overworked and frustrated workers would expose the grueling conditions of working in the factory.
Topic: immigration

Written is 1845 this worker was upset and speaking out after being over worked, mistreated, and underpaid. This quote is telling not only of her personal feeling about being silenced by power but the mass feelings of injustice to the common worker by corporations at the time. I feel the audience this worker is trying to reach is not only fellow workers to gain backing in resistance of mistreatment but the corporations as well. She is standing up for her own integrity and encouraging others in her situation to the same. She is rightfully casting shame on those corporations for inflicting those conditions. It is during this time that women began to fight for equal rights of opportunity and happiness outside of the home.
Topic: immigration

Immigration caused labor demands to rise fueling the economic expansion. The approximately 4 million immigrants who migrated to America had a variety of motivating factors. Irish Potato Famine, European economic conditions, religion and politics are all some of the reasons immigrants were making the voyage to the America in such large numbers. Most immigrants during this time were German or Irish. Generally Germans came to America more skilled workers and the Irish were unprepared fleeing famine forcing them to fill low-wage laboring jobs. Eventually Nativism would rise in the 1840’s and 50’s. A racially fueled violent backlash in New York City and Philadelphia against immigrants, “Nativists” feared immigrants were the down fall of America.
Topic: immigration

Nativists blamed immigrants for crimes, corruptions, addictions, and poor wages. ‘Walks among the New york City Poor’, New York Times June 23,1853. Document 52. Voices of Freedom, Eric Foner. “Healthy, stout frames, and low, degraded faces with many stamps of inferiority”. Here the writer really captures the discriminatory American opinion of immigrants at this time. Nativism labeled these people as inferior and not capable of rising above the status that they arrive with. He is stating that immigrants are seen as inferior to everyone around them and in for a hard time as the reading goes on. I feel like the purpose of the article is to shed light on the high hopes of immigrants and minimal possibility in the new world. This was a very difficult time to be an immigrant.
Topic: immigration

During this time a group of New England intellectuals formed called The Transcendentalists. This group of men believed in the idea of The Free Individual. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a Transcendentalist who believed freedom obtained by the process of self realization transforming ones self according to their own liking. Voices of freedom, Eric Foner document 54. “The American Scholar 1837,” Ralph Waldo Emerson opens his powerful statement “In self-trust, all the virtues are comprehended”. Ralph Waldo Emerson addresses the nation and President directly. He is expressing here that self realization is the key success and freedom. This was the fundamental principle of Individualism the the Transcendentalist’s believed in. Henry David Thoreau also a Transcendentalist believed the
Topic: immigration

Immigration reform is a widely debated topic that affects the lives of every citizen whether they are for, against or indifferent to the issue. The United States needs a new immigration policy that is based less on wishful thinking and more on realism. Spending vast sums of money trying to enforce arbitrary numerical limits on immigration that bear no relationship to economic reality is a fool’s errand. We need flexible limits on immigration that rise and fall with U.S. labor demand, coupled with strict enforcement of tough wage and labor laws that protect all workers, regardless of where they were born. We need to respect the natural human desire for family reunification, while recognizing that even family-based immigrants are unlikely to come here if jobs are not available. And we need to create a pathway to legal status for unauthorized immigrants who are already here so that they can no longer be exploited by unscrupulous employers who hang the threat of deportation over their heads.
Topic: immigration

On the other hand the principled argument in favor of including illegal immigrants in health reform is that decent health coverage is a basic human right. A just nation should support that right for everyone, regardless of why or how a person is in the country. There are also practical reasons to support including undocumented immigrants in health reform. Ethics aside, there is no pragmatic way to deny emergency care to illegal immigrants The impact on morals regarding immigration reform would be how does the issue of immigration reform sits with your mores and values. Should the Christian Values of treating others how you would like to be treated be used? Many Liberals would like to change the laws on immigration to strengthen border security and be fair to taxpayers but also include a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who are in the country illegally.
Topic: immigration

Conservatives would like to strengthen the existing laws and see that the immigrants that entered the country illegally are deported even though in most cases it would cause the break-up of families as some members may be here illegally and some may be either naturalized or citizens by birth. The things to consider when reviewing how Immigration Reforms would impact our lives is: What are the costs of securing our borders? The current estimate in the costs of securing the borders is $40, 000 per illegal immigrant and the impact it would have on the families and economy of those that live in the border cities would be devastating in terms of loss jobs and revenue. This does not take into account the amount of money spent to hire and train new Border Patrol Agents and drug dogs; using the National Guard and their equipment, and building a fence which places the cost at about 90 billion dollars a year.
Topic: immigration

a. Once the ship arrived in New York Harbor, inspectors came on board to inspect the first and second class passengers. i. The inspectors checked for any contagious diseases plague, measles, and typhoid fever, as well as others. ii. If any passenger was suspected of having a disease, they were sent further on to Ellis Island, which happened very rarely. iii. According to ellisisland.org, the theory was that if a person could afford to purchase a first or second class ticket, they were less likely to become a public charge in America due to medical or legal reasons.
Topic: immigration

b. This first step was far different for “steerage” or third class passengers. i. After the first and second class passengers disembarked in the harbor of New York, the third class passengers were then sent to Ellis Island for a thorough inspection. ii. They were transported to Ellis Island by a ferry that could take only 30 passengers at a time. iii. Before boarding the ferry, each emigrant received a nametag with their individual manifest number that was then stuck to their clothes.
Topic: immigration

II. The second step in the immigration process at Ellis Island is the medical examination. a. Once on the island, the immigrants were viewed quickly by doctors to look for weakness, heavy breathing, which was an indication of heart problems, and signs of mental illness. b. After every immigrant passed, a doctor with the help of an interpreter examined the hair, face, neck, and hands of every person. i. If the doctor noticed something abnormal, he would write a letter on the immigrant’s clothing as a sign that an area needed to be checked more thoroughly. ii. About 2 of 10 immigrants got a letter on their clothing. iii. This check was known as the “six second physical.”
Topic: immigration

c. Next was the eye exam. i. The eye doctors searched for a disease of the eyes called trachoma, which is an eye disease that can cause blindness and can lead to death. ii. According to the Ellis Island information website, the nearly 50% of those who had to be examined further before registration was due to this eye disease. d. If an immigrant had other diseases or was too sick or weak to manage work, they were not allowed to enter the United States. i. Sick children 12 years of age and older were sent back by themselves to their home country. ii. Children under 12 years of age that were not allowed to stay in the United States were forced to go back with one parent.
Topic: immigration

III. The third step in the immigration process at Ellis Island is interrogation. a. After the check-up with the doctors, the immigrants were sent to the registry room to stand in lines to wait for the interrogation. i. Here the inspectors would double check the name, age, religion, last residence, sex, civil stats and if the immigrant should meet up with some other relative. ii. Every inspector had only approximately two minutes with each immigrant to determine that the information was correct and that the person could take care of himself and fulfil the demands to be able to stay in the United States. iii. Due to the time with each immigrant being short, this is where the spelling of some immigrant’s names would end up being spelled wrong.
Topic: immigration

IV. The fourth step in the immigration process at Ellis Island is getting to leave the island. a. After approval and receiving their “landing card”, it was time to prepare to leave the island and continue to their final destination. b. Before leaving the island, immigrants were able to exchange money, buy travel tickets, and claim their luggage. i. Immigrants were able to exchange gold, silver, and foreign currency for American dollars. ii. For those immigrants who wanted to travel to further cities outside of New York would buy train tickets to get to their destination. iii. After everything was said and done, immigrants were able to claim their luggage and leave the island.
Topic: immigration

With their landing card, American money, train ticket, and luggage in hand, the immigrants were ready to leave Ellis Island and embark on their journey in America. If you are ever bored some Sunday afternoon I suggest going to Ellis Island’s website where you can enter your ancestor’s name and do a passenger search. According to thestatueofliberty.com, today, over 40% of America’s population can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island. I found all of my great-great grandparents’ names and their information on the manifest sheets, and it truly is amazing to see.
Topic: immigration

Monica Ali’s Brick Lane and Amulya Malladi’s Serving Crazy with Curry both portray the rising identity changes that occur with the first and second generation immigrants. Both novels reveal that when it comes to immigration, due to a difference in their surroundings and exposure to different cultures the second generation experiences a different setting which contributes to their developing identity. However, their developing identities becomes a contrast to the identities of the elder generation; thus creating a “culture clash”.
Topic: immigration

“Culture Clash” is the act when one or more cultures are incorporated into one environment and as a result, traditions are challenged causing a disruption. First generation characters share the traits of being indignant of changing cultural values during immigration while the second generation are keen on conforming and leave their roots in exchange for freedom of being accepted into society. Through the characters and use of language, both Monica Ali’s Brick Lane and Amulya Malladi’s Serving Crazy with Curry demonstrates how immigration creates a difference in identity that exists between the first and second generation.
Topic: immigration

Coming to a completely different country, not knowing anyone at all, the first generation characters tend to be indignant. In both these novels the first generation immigrants express bitterness when adapting to different surrounding. Saroj Venturi from Serving Crazy with Curry, expresses her resentment towards the new culture, when she says “It was coming here, to this white pit that changed things between Avi and her. If they stayed in India, if only he’d wanted to stay, they would’ve been happy” (Malladi, 15).
Topic: immigration

By comparing her new place of residence to a hole, Saroj feels trapped or exiled within this alien land, proving to be the motive for her resentment. Saroj displays her regret when she wishes to have stayed in India by saying that she would have been happier there thus providing a reason for her refusal to find happiness in her new environment. Similarly in Monica Ali’s novel Brick Lane, Chanu Ahmed was asked for permission by his wife, Nazeen, to attend English lessons and here he demonstrate the characteristic of resentment: Your going to be a mother…Will that not keep you busy enough? And you can’t take a baby to college. Babies have to be fed; they have to have their bottoms cleaned. It’s not so simple as that. Just to go to college, like that.
Topic: immigration

In this passage, Chanu rejects his wife’s idea of attending English classes and uses the excuse of his wife’s pregnancy and awaiting motherhood as a way of discouraging her. On top of that he also asks questions upon questions which may suggest bitterness towards her idea of going to school and attempting to fit in with society. Not only does Chanu discourage conform into society, he also discourages his daughters from becoming too westernized because he wanted to keep their Bengali culture rooted within themselves. Both Saroj from Serving Crazy with Curry and Chanu from Brick Lane being first generation immigrants demonstrate a common trait of resentment.
Topic: immigration

Growing up in a place that is nothing like your place of origin, second generation immigrants convey acceptance while being raised in a different environment than their parents. The second generation immigrants identify themselves according to where they were born instead of their place of origin. Both Devi from Serving Crazy with Curry and Shahana Ahmed from Brick Lane, were both raised in a western environment and identify themselves as either “American” or “British”. Shahana presents her determination to fit into society when she states that “She wanted to have her lip pierced. This was latest thing. Last week she wanted to get a tattoo.” (Ali, 240). The act of getting piercings and tattoo’s are activities that are classified under western culture and when Shahana wishes to get them, it shows that she is eager to get involved and fit in with the society she is from. Getting a tattoo on her body, will represent the permanent residence of western culture within her life. Both Malladi and Ali portray the difference between resent and acceptance along with the idea of opposite traits enhancing the thought of conflict between generations.
Topic: immigration

In both novels, Monica Ali and Amulya Malladi portray the fact that first generation immigrants tend to retain their cultural values while the second generation are willing to exchange their roots for greater freedom. In Serving Crazy with Curry, Saroj Venturi wishes to instil Indian values within her children when she says, “Why couldn’t she learn to cook like all good Indian girls?” (Malladi, 19). She feels that her children do not know enough about their country of origin, and wishes to incorporate some Indian traditions into her daughters’ western lives so that they do not stray away from their Indian culture. Chanu from Brick Lane, faces a similar situation to Saroj as he also tries to incorporate Bengali culture into his daughters. Chanu uses language to discourage his daughters from becoming too westernized: “[…]that I am going to tie her up and cut her tongue. Tell the Memsahib that when I have skinned her [Shahana] alive she will not be looking so pleased with herself” (Ali, 162).
Topic: immigration

Chanu refers to his daughter as a Memsahib which is a title used in colonial India as a form of respectful address for a prestigious woman. Chanu addresses his daughter, Shahana as a memsahib due to her behaviour such as acting snobbish and stubborn like a prestigious woman; qualities that he finds to be developed as a result of westernization. Chanu uses words such as “cut” and “skinned” to threaten his daughter so that she would behave. In contrast to the first generation, the second generation exchanges their cultural values for more freedom. In Serving Crazy with Curry, Devi Venturi gets a taste of her own freedoms in the area of dating: “And each time she [Saroj] snooped, she expected to find an unsuitable man lying naked in Devi’s bedroom, or worse, naked women” (Malladi, 19). The fact that Devi’s mother has to snoop around to find a naked man or women in Devi’s room shows her limits when it comes to controlling her daughters life and dating lifestyle. As well as the word “naked” represents Devi’s growing freedoms that she later uncover after certain stages she comes across within this western culture. From Brick Lane, Shahana has the newfound freedom of wearing what she wants.
Topic: immigration

Having the freedom of choice in clothing Shahana chose to wear a skirt, which is an article of clothing that exposes the legs. When Shahana walks past a group of boys they turn around “She looked at them and cocked her head. Nazeen wished that Shahana had her trousers on” (Ali, 217). Choosing an article that exposes body parts strongly goes against the typical Bengali culture which proves that her choice in clothing is affected by the western society that she lives in. Both authors use characters to inform that the first generation attempts to protect their cultural values while the second generation lets go of it, demonstrating their clashing ways of adjusting to changes due to immigration.
Topic: immigration

Many people make the decision to leave their country of origin and immigrate to a foreign land due to the idea of finding success and living a better life. First generation immigrants have an eagerness to acquire success and the second generation has a lack of commitment. In Brick Lane, Chanu graduated with a degree in English literature and moves to London because he finds it to be the key to success. Chanu’s determination is shown when he says “Now I have to get the promotion” (Ali,36). The term promotion means to move to a higher, more important position than previously and Chanu’s desire to move onto the next level symbolizes his desire to be successful. Avi Venturi from Serving Crazy with Curry, deals with a similar situation as he learns that the military was not the right path for him when he says “This is all I am left with.
Topic: immigration

The army gave me this and what else? No medal, no nothing.” (Malladi, 85). Avi feels he must obtain achievement, therefore he travels to San Francisco, when he was offered a job there, which leads him to be where he is now, a successful business man. Avi had the determination to be successful and fulfill his ambitions, unlike the second generation who lack this trait. The beginning of Serving Crazy with curry demonstrates Devi Venturi’s character as a failure: After Devi was laid off (yet again) a week ago, it started to dawn on her that she was not going to be able to change her life. Everything she ever wanted had become elusive and the decision to end her life, she realized, was not only a good decision, but her only option.
Topic: immigration

This quote in particular shows Devi’s lack of determination and commitment in achieving her goals to complete tasks and achieve what they want. In the first sentence, Malladi describes Devi’s failure being quite continuous when she states “yet again”. When she states that “she was not going to be able to change her life” (Malladi, 1) this displays Devi’s lack of commitment and determination in accomplishing her goals because once she fails, she no longer has hope and decides that her fate will never change thus cancelling out any possibilities for improvement. The idea of not improving and changing what she thinks could be her fate leads Devi to think that the only choice she has is to end her life, which shows her lack of enthusiasm and determination to fulfill her ambitions and desires.
Topic: immigration

Over time, the United States Immigration system has undergone a myriad of comprehensive reforms which have proven to greatly impact the composition of its population. Though it is unclear whether these specific policies were products of theoretical assumptions, such as those associated with a country’s economic stature, the social norms of the time period, or further contributory factors such as the existing political landscape, the issue of immigration has continued to remain problematic in the 21st century and requires a structured approach.
Topic: immigration

Preceding the current Obama administration and previous Bush administrations of the early 2000s, relatively recent major reforms were made to the U.S. immigration system through the passage of bills beginning in 1986 under the Immigration Reform and Control Act, in 1990 under the Immigration Act, and in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Bodvarsson and Van den Berg, 368). Each of these legislative bills proposes different sets of provisions which include, to some degree, address comprehensive immigration reform.
Topic: immigration

It is within the scope of this philosophical shift that has elicited the question of why the most recently implemented immigration policies have been limited to the expansion of border enforcement mandates, while preceding legislative reforms aimed to embrace a somewhat broader framework that addressed additional issues beyond enforcement? More importantly, is strictly focusing and funding border enforcement programs the most economically feasible solution in comparison to alternative methods? In order to reach an appropriate conclusion to the questions raised by the current trend, it is required that an extensive evaluation and comparison of the fiscal budgets of recent policies be conducted, in addition to an examination of the overall efficiency and effectiveness of those policies by analyzing annually recorded statistics.
Topic: immigration

Also, a thorough understanding of the overall complexities and interconnectedness of these policies with other prominent issues in the public policy realm is required and must serve as a starting point in order to clearly establish the context of the existing public discourse on immigration. This gradual regression of the US immigration system can be understood by first examining some of the ways in which certain large-scale issues played a role in the federal government’s policymaking process during the turn of the 21st century. Migration Policy Institute analyst Marc R. Rosenblum discusses some of these issues in depth in his insightful piece titled, Understanding the Stalemate over Comprehensive Immigration Reform. As he points out, the months following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks demonstrate the ways in which the immigration system was, though indirectly, greatly effected by the efforts made by Congress and the President to take swift action, in which he reiterates in his words, “immigration processes and border controls immediately became a central topic of concern,” (4). This immediate response by the government led to a massive restructuring of the immigration system under new security and anti-terrorism policy measures.
Topic: immigration

Any notion that these actions would essentially entail some comprehensive reforms would prove to only result in the passing of the Real ID Act in 2005 which only toughened regulations for immigrants trying to acquire a state driver’s license, and also did so only as an attachment to another unrelated measure (5). Other efforts by supporters of comprehensive immigration reform in both the House of Representatives and Senate would eventually fail to push forward any new legislation in 2006 and again in 2007 despite passing the Senate, but ultimately lose momentum for any chance to propose restructured visas or legalized amnesty after the abrupt economic decline of 2008 (6). Even more recent legislative efforts to renew comprehensive reforms by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey in 2010, as well as by former Texas Representative Solomon Ortiz in 2009, died in Congress despite Ortiz’s CIR ASAP bill being referred to committees (loc.gov, 2012). Though Senator Menedez’s bill was reintroduced in earlier of June 2011 to the current 112th Congress, the senate has only passed a total of 24 public laws this year (loc.gov, 2012). In contrast, enforcement based provisions as well as their monetary funding requirements passed easily over the same period of time through bills such as the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 and the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (Rosenblum, 5).
Topic: immigration

The legislative activities during these years present the very pattern that remains today. One that had ultimately began with the passing of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, where President George W. Bush authorized the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, which would eventually become the permanent cabinet department that federal border enforcement programs and immigration officials would operate under (Chishti et al, 2). In addition to his discussion on the policy agenda set forth by the 9/11 attacks, Rosenblum offers specific examples as to why the trend favoring the strict use of enforcement has continued and declares that within the field of immigration policy there is a strong bias which is, “in favor of enforcement rather than legalization or visa reform,” (10). He continues to then list three primary reasons for the existence of the bias noting of the cost-benefit advantages of migration enforcement, the procedural difficulties for drafting and enacting new legislation, and its classification as an issue which is conveniently easy to support in the political arena (Rosenblum, 11).
Topic: immigration

While Rosenblum’s examples summarize the most basic obstacles that have successfully defeated any efforts to formulate comprehensive reforms earlier in the decade, these same rationales have only continued on and remained consistent today, even under a newly elected President in Barack Obama. Given that the 2007 McCain-Kennedy bill marks perhaps the most legitimate effort at achieving comprehensive immigration reform in the 21st century, it seems as though the complexities of the legislative processes and strategic ploys utilized by the field’s major players have successfully prevented any changes to policy approach. However, it is also critical to note that Obama’s legislative agenda became focused with the sudden economic downturn shortly after taking office in 2008, as well as taking on other major legislation in addressing healthcare and insurance reform. The outline of these concerns can also be understood as a list of relatively new constraints upon comprehensive immigration supporters, as there is a distinct contrast in the policy approaches between the 107th-112th congress and those with which preceded it.
Topic: immigration

The earlier legislative bills which utilized comprehensive immigration measures, such as the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, were generally aimed to address and, if successful, rid some of the problems at which the immigration system faced at the time. However, it is also clear that by doing so these specific programs also helped to realign and improve the current system as a means to better establish the general trajectory and stable functionality of the system in the future. Though the extent to which programs were more or less effective is often debated, it is necessary to assume that the immigration system as a whole requires continuous adjustments appropriate for fulfilling, as writer Richard A. Boswell states, “the overall objective of immigration laws in the United States,” or more specifically to, “keep the flow of people into the country to a manageable level, while preserving the interests of family unity and the need for labor,” (Boswell, 204).
Topic: immigration

While Boswell’s definition is by no means interpreted as federal law, the author’s statement essentially grasps the premise of immigration and two of its most pressing issues which remain at the core of the modern day discussion. As the congressional record of today’s policies in the greater the 21st century have shown, lawmakers have failed to properly preserve immigration by choosing to over pursue and implement a vast agenda of security measures which, have thus far proved only ineffective and highly inefficient in solving the field’s most glaring issues. The continued efforts to focus on enforcement and reestablish stricter policies have proceeded beyond necessity and have reached excessive levels of spending without producing adequate or proportional results.
Topic: immigration

The statistical reports provided by the federal government reinforce these observations, as they largely reflect the emphasis of strict enforcement programs backed with high spending, particularly when evaluating the fiscal year budgets and recorded results for all active US immigration organizations. For example, dating back to 1990 the United States Border Patrol had a fiscal year budget totaling the amount of $262,647. Since then, their budget has dramatically increased by 1,251 percent given their reported 2011 fiscal year budget of $3,549,295 (CBP.gov, 2012). For their parenting agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the budget also grew from $5.9 billion in 2003 to $11.8 billion in 2011 (DHS.gov, 2012). The newly created Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency also experienced a budget increase over time, from $3.3 billion to $5.7 billion in 2011 and peaking at $6 billion in 2009 (DHS.gov, 2012). The examination of the data also revealed an unlikely detail, depicting no drop or reduction in enforcement spending despite the economic downturn during the fiscal year of 2008, nor afterward in 2009 (DHS, 2012). Although the funding for enforcement continues to steadily increase, the immigration system remains largely cost-ineffective.
Topic: immigration

In an article published by the Immigration Policy Center, estimates calculated by the National Immigration Forum stated that costs to detain a single person under the ICE agency amount to $166 per day, and also require over five million dollars in daily operating costs to detain 33,400 people in more than 250 facilities (immigrationpolicy.org, 2012). The article also reported that, “In 2009 and 2010, over half of detainees did not have criminal records,” and that “Traffic offenses account for nearly 20 percent of those who did,” (immigrationpolicy.org, 2012). The statistics listed in the article suggest a clear pattern of inefficiency that takes place at a micro level on a day-to-day basis. Although it is hardly sufficient to utilize these numbers as the fundamental basis against the use of heavy enforcement in immigration, an examination of the fiscal issues and its greater impacts at the macro level represent many more problems. Given that the increased spending on enforcement programs aim to essentially reduce the overall unauthorized immigrant population in the United States and prevent further illegal entry into the country, statistics provided by research studies suggest that the coveted outcomes do no match the actual results.
Topic: immigration

When looking at the Department of Homeland Security’s annual population estimates for the unauthorized immigrant the number was reported to be 11,510,000 for the year 2011 which grew in comparison to the 10,790,000 estimated for 2010 (dhs.gov, 2012). Though there are immediate concerns given the data limitations which distort the overall accuracy of the estimates made by the DHS, the unauthorized immigrant population living in the United States has thus far grown significantly from the 8.5 million as detailed by the department back in the year 2000 and into the double digits during the new decade (dhs.gov, 2012). Those who strongly support the strategy of strict enforcement, such as Jessica M. Vaughan of Immigration Daily, expected quite the opposite of what the current statistics have measured. In her article, Vaughan anticipates that through strict enforcement tactics such as attrition, immigration enforcement should then greatly improve to being both “faster and cheaper,” (cis.org, 2012).
Topic: immigration

Also, she offers a prediction that the strategy could, “reduce the illegal population from its current 11.5 million to 5.6 million in a period of five years, a 51 percent reduction,” (cis.org, 2012). Considering the scope of these outcomes and the results of the actual data producing statistics not even remotely close indicate that the current enforcement programs are ineffective, but continue to experience budget growth. Still, in the simple context of theoretical presumptions, heightened security measures and the overall approach of adopting strict immigration laws should ideally yield the capacity to generate a mass reduction in the unauthorized immigrant population over time, and provide greater collective protection against the most dangerous criminals and/or terrorists that are considered threats to the United States. However, another alarming statistic mentioned by immigrant attorney Tara Magner from an analysis done by Syracuse University research proves the liability of these assumptions at which, “It found that less than 0.01% of arrests of noncitizens by Homeland Security agents were terrorist related,” (Magner, 3). With the steady growth of enforcement budgets continuing at the forefront of US immigration policy, one can conclude that the current system is in desperate need of more cost-efficient and highly beneficial reforms.
Topic: immigration

Another key aspect at which the current US immigration system affects is the national economy. For example, author Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda uses a general equilibrium model in his research to help calculate and project the economic outcomes of alternative immigration reforms (Hinojosa-Ojeda, 177). Under his first alternative scenario, which calls for the creation of, “a pathway to legal status for unauthorized immigrants in the United States and establishes flexible limits on permanent and temporary immigration,” his research estimates a yearly increase in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product by .84 percent, or $1.5 trillion dollars over a full decade (177). This alternative alone holds more positive benefits for an already struggling economy by primarily improving wages and productivity but also by increasing small-business formation, home ownership, and greater household investment in education (187).
Topic: immigration

In a second setting, Hinojosa-Ojeda analyzes the effects of a temporary worker program and concludes that the U.S. GDP would increase annually by a slightly less .44 percent, totaling an additional $792 billion over a 10-year span (177). While comparatively not the optimal scenario between the two, establishing a temporary worker program remains on the table when constructing a partisan bill in Congress. Also, an extreme third option proposing mass deportation is for the most part an unrealistic policy approach and widely unpopular on both sides of the issue but nevertheless, “serves as an extreme or boundary case against which we can evaluate the other two scenarios,” as articulated by the author. (188) When closely examining the first scenario and its greater effects, however, the comprehensive reforms also add close to $1.2 trillion dollars in consumption and more than $250 billion in investment, while also generating additional tax revenues of $4.5 to $5.4 billion dollars, numbers that can sustain new jobs at a range between 750,000 to 900,000 (189). It is then made clear that the benefits of comprehensive reforms exceed those brought forth by a temporary workers program or a mass deportation and is thus the most favorable option, despite any difficulties it may have in becoming a bipartisan political acquisition that successfully reaches a vote in Congress.
Topic: animal-testing

Planet Earth has been in a constant state of change for the length of its existence, which is close to five billion years. The first life that began to form was bacteria and that was 1.5 billion years after the Earth formed. Bacteria moved to fish, the fish sprouted legs and went onto land, then the fish turned into reptiles (dinosaurs) then they ruled planet. Only two hundred million years ago mammals came into the equation, and in the last 1.8 million so did the human race.
Topic: animal-testing

Humans are by far the most intelligent species that have ever come to live on the planet. Humans have done some amazing things, since their emergence, such as build immensely tall skyscrapers, built the car, invented the nuclear bomb, and found the cure to many deadly diseases. The cure for diseases and viruses came a lot in term from the medical experimentation of animals, namely primates such as chimpanzees and orangutans. The medical experimentation of these primates, though immoral and evil, should be used because: the primates are very similar to humans in terms of genetic makeup, scientists are able to find the cures for deadly diseases and viruses, and scientists and doctors are able to test the effectiveness of the drugs that they create in the labs.
Topic: animal-testing

org, para 1). He did it to just communicate. To see if there was cogitatively something there. This was just used to get an understanding about a different animal. But later, different scientists implemented his findings into a medical aspect. They brought in orangutans as well. Researchers learned that these animals were kind of like people in a sense, so they thought that it would be a good idea to try using them for medical experiments and testing. They found out many things from these animals like chimps and orangutans that could be transferrable to humans. The learned that they were genetically similar as well and psychologically similar (but this essay won’t talk much about the mind).
Topic: animal-testing

As mentioned a little earlier, primates like those of chimpanzees and orangutans have a very similar genetic makeup as their human counterparts. Chimpanzees and orangutans are 98.8 percent similar in their DNA to humans. This means that these animals are the most similar living organisms that are currently coexisting with humans in terms of genetic makeup. An article by the University of California at Davis Primate Research Center quoted Dr. Jeffrey Kordower, a neuroscientist who examines how diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s affect the brain (UC Davis Article, para 4). Dr. Kordower stated that “Monkeys have certain traits and characteristics that make them essential and irreplaceable in medical research. They’re the bridge to the clinic”. Primates are able to help scientist put two and two together to be able to fully understand how the human body and mind work. In the same article by UC Davis, it also proclaims that “95 percent of the lab animals in scientific and medical research are rats and mice [and that] just half of 1 percent of research is conducted with nonhuman primates…but their impact on our health is enormous,” said FBR president Frankie Trull in paragraph 3 of the article. President Trull continues to add that “NHPs, mostly monkeys, are the link between smaller animals and people.” Trull later on goes on to say that, “Once a disease or drug is understood in smaller species – like rats, mice, birds, zebrafish and worms – it is often then studied in monkeys” (Trull, para 3). Because of the similarity between humans and these primates, scientist are able to test things that wouldn’t really be able to be studied with animals like rats for example.
Topic: animal-testing

The DNA is what causes these primates and humans to be similar. According to the article on AMNH, “Human and chimp DNA is nearly identical when you compare the bands on chromosomes, the bundles of DNA inside nearly every cell” (para 3). Later on the article explains that, “Human and chimp X chromosomes both contain about 1,100 different genes, or sets of instructions. Each gene affects a particular trait in the body” (AMNH, para 3). With humans and the primates being so 98.8 percent similar, these instructions are relatively the same. The only difference between the DNA of that of a chimp and that of a human is the size of the strands in the chromosome of the two. That size of the chromosome strand means the difference between being human and an ape. When it comes to studying the brain, primates are the best option. According to an article on greenfacts.org, “ non-human primates (NHPs) and humans have very similar brains, experiments on primates remain crucial. At present, primates are the only animals available to study how the activity of a single nerve cell is related to more complicated brain functions” (para 20). Chimpanzees and orangutans are help researchers with studies of how the body and mind work because of the immense similarities between them. In an article by ncbi.org, there is a quotes that is very important regarding the brain. The article by ncbi states that, “while rodents are used extensively and are extremely helpful in answering many basic research questions, their usefulness is limited by differences from primates in their lack of sophisticated brain structures, less developed immune systems and motor skills, and differences in how their metabolism functions, among other traits” (ncbi.org, para 8).
Topic: animal-testing

With the understanding that chimpanzees and orangutans are very mentally and genetically similar to humans, scientists then were able to find the cures to the deadly diseases and viruses that affect the world. With the knowledge that these animals provide in terms that they are very similar with humans, they are able to provide humans with the ability to find cures for illnesses. Many deadly diseases that have existed for decades that could have been solved because of the use of chimps and orangutans in medical research. When malaria first came up in 1880, it was devastating. People didn’t know what was going on, let alone know the cure. The disease took the lives of millions of people through the course of a couple decades. However, during the late 20th century, scientists began to use NHPs in the search for the cure. “The owl monkey and the squirrel monkey are the only species (besides the chimpanzee) that are susceptible to the human malaria parasite” as stated by the article in greenfact.org. With the use of these primates, scientists were able to pin point were the disease came from and how it was interacting with the body. Researchers were also able learn key information about the malaria disease.
Topic: animal-testing

In the NCBI article, is is states that, “NHPs are also the main animals that allow quick response and research into emerging viruses” (ncbi, para 9). These animals like chimpanzees and orangutans help doctors in real time find/ locate what the problem is with the human, and help find the remedy that could save their life. For example, in the greenfacts article, “it is very difficult to develop a vaccine against malaria because there are four different parasites that cause the disease and because each parasite goes through four different stages during the course of its infection of a human host, each time presenting different substances that the human immune system has to fight (antigens)” (greenfacts.org, 2.2.3). This knowledge wasn’t known when the disease first came into the global picture. But now, with the knowledge that is now possessed by scientists and doctors, the numbers in deaths have significantly diminished. Not as many people will struggle with the health issues that diseases, like malaria, has plagued to world with. HIV/AIDS was always around, but had a spike in the late 1900s. The people that were the most susceptible were gay men from Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. As stated in the previous paragraph, chimps and orangutans were the bridge that humans need to understand disease with the human body. Peta.org constructed and article about why NHPs were used in medical experiments, namely with regards to disease and viruses. They state that, “in 1995—after hundreds of chimpanzees … —the National Institutes of Health (NIH) imposed a moratorium on the breeding of chimpanzees when it was discovered that they don’t get sick from HIV infection and don’t contract AIDS” (para 4). With the gained knowledge, they were able to locate the gene that didn’t make them susceptible and see if they could transfer that to humans. Since then, the deaths from the virus has gone down significantly. With the bringing in of primates into medical research, disease and viruses like polio, tuberculosis, hepatitis, malaria, and HIV to name a few, scientists were able find the cures for them ad save the lives of many.
Topic: animal-testing

With the use of the chimpanzees and orangutans in the medical field, doctors will be able to better test the effectiveness of the pharmaceutical drugs that they create. Because of the fact that these particular primates have a very close similar genetic makeup to humans, means that they are the best candidate. Rats are by far the most readily available, but they aren’t really that close to people, but they are used the most. An article by europa.eu regarding the testing of primates stated that, “results from research on non-human primates can often be applied to humans, and scientists have learned much about diseases, disorders, prevention and treatments for both humans and animals” (europa.ed, para 1). In simple terms, primates like that of chimpanzees and orangutans are basically a window into the human make up. Everything that is learned through them is transferrable to the human race. If the scientists and doctors are able to find out if their remedies are able work on the chimpanzees and orangutans, then therefore they can adjust the formulas in the medicine slightly so that it will be able to work with the human counterparts. Scientist and doctors can see if the drug will cause any reaction that might be seen as unhealthy, like a flaring up in skin tissue in result to a new pill. Primates like the ones listed are the last line of defense when it comes to curing humanities ailments. “Scientists use monkeys only when no other research model can provide the required information” (ncbi.gov, para 8) as states by a primate’s experimentation article from ncbi.gov. Animals like rats are great for testing out how a certain make up remover or nail polish would work for example, but when it comes to medical. Primates should be the only ones that are tested. This is because everything that can be learned and transferred, is done through them. Without them, there is not real understanding and knowledge of the human body. Most of the diseases that have harmed the world would not have been eradicated if not for the testing of chimpanzees and orangutans. Only through that knowledge that scientists gained from the testing of chimpanzees and orangutans, were they able to find what was harming humanity.