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Jaquelinn Reyes
Mr. Jones
ENG 101-103
17 November 2014
Legalize Illegal Immigrants
The American Dream is hard to achieve, but by working hard and putting in a lot of effort, you
may start to better yourself while maybe even impacting your country. The following story
explains how immigrants can make a big difference for the people in this country. Joaquin and
Julian Castro are two brothers who both went to public school until high school. Then both of
them graduated from Stanford University, and they attend Harvard Law School where they
received their Juris Doctorate degree. Their grandmother was an immigrant from Mexico who
used to have two or three jobs to help support her family. She wanted to achieve the American
Dream and provide a better life for her and her family. The Castro family were living with a
regular salary and attended public schools. They realized that they wanted to better themselves
but also wanted to assist the people who were hard workers. Joaquin was elected to serve in the
U.S. House of Represented as representative of Texas. His brother Julian was elected to his third
term Major of San Antonio (Castro, no page number). Joaquin is focusing on helping military
families and investing in their education. These two gentlemen came from a low-income home
and still had a bright future. Both of them attended two of the most prestigious universities in
America. There are many other examples of stories such as Julian and Joaquins. Many
immigrants have big expectations for themselves and for this country (Castro, no page number).

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Illegal immigrants should be legalized in the United States of America. Illegally hardworking
immigrants living in the United States have impacted this countrys economic, social and
political growth. Why should they still be working illegally, if they came here to work and have a
better life? Their only purpose in coming to this country was to work and support their families,
while at the same they are making a difference in this country. Many immigrants work extremely
hard, they dont receive any benefits at work, and also they dont have insurance or a social
security number. Things that many Americans take for granted, immigrants wish they were able
to receive. Immigrants have been treated differently than Americans. However, they do as
much, if not more than any American living in this country. They might have two or three jobs to
support their families and their salaries are low. They dont have the benefits that a citizen would
have, and for that reason, if they have an accident their bills are much higher than any other
citizen.
Many people still look at illegal immigrants like they are criminals, however, many are not. It
has come to the extreme of prohibiting illegal immigrants from being able to receive a drivers
license. The government is separated on this issue, some are in favor of helping these
immigrants, and others are not. Many Democrats are in favor of helping illegal immigrants to
have a better future. On the other hand, some Republicans think that they should deport them.
For example, when the government decided to stop giving driver licenses to immigrants. After a
while, they noticed that it wasnt making any good but it was doing the opposite. They were
driving without a driver license, and its dangerous to drive without a license. Since they need to
drive to go to work and provide for their family; they would put themselves in danger for their
family. The government decided to help them, giving them the opportunity to take driving
classes and get their licenses. Now its much safer for immigrants to drive because theyll be

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driving legally. As in the state of Maryland a new law came on; January 1, 2014, requires the
state to issue driver's licenses regardless of an applicant's lawful status in the U.S. or whether he
or she has a valid SSN (Issuance of Driver's Licenses, no page number). This law does not only
pertain to Maryland, but also other states such as Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and
Washington, and other states are working to make every state give them the opportunity to have
licenses. (Issuance of Driver's Licenses, no page number).
Many people want to help them achieve a better life. The president of this country has
acknowledged how important it is to help these immigrants. President Obama wanted to help and
thats when the Obama Administration granted deferred action to stop the deportation of more
than 1.4 million undocumented immigrants who came to the US before age 16 (Duhita and Lisa
80). Many immigrants, students or, parents are immigrants who are struggling to go to colleges
or universities, but many of them are eligible to be in the Dream Act. This way they can attend a
college or university and dont have to pay out of state. Even though they are not eligible to
receive scholarships or financial aid, paying in-state has helped them a lot. These individuals
are granted conditional permanent status upon acceptance into an institution of higher education
or service in the military and are assessed 2 years later to determine whether they are eligible for
unrestricted lawful permanent residence status or if their status would be revoked (Duhita and
Lisa 80). These students have great expectations and want to accomplish them even though it
will be hard, and not only for them but for their families too. Many immigrants who are part of
the Dream Act are involved in the military and have served this country with pride and honor.
Some of them were not born in the U.S. but because they been living here for most of their lives,
they now feel that this country is their country (Duhita and Lisa 80-85).

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Many immigrants have helped this country in many ways. They have helped the government,
the military, the economic system, the educational system and also media. Why should they keep
working in fear because they are not living here legally? Many will say that it costs a lot of
money to legalize immigrants, money that Americans have to pay the government. That is not
true because any individual immigrant who wants to be legalized has to follow the criteria. They
have to pay fees and the money is not coming from the Americans but from the immigrants
pocket. They have to pay penalties, plus whatever it will cost to become legalized in this country
(Bray, no page number). Senators have also acknowledged this topic. For example, senators
such as Schumer, McCain, Durbin, Graham, Menendez, Rubio, Bennet, and Flake have talked
about and came up with a proposal. This proposal is Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive
Immigration Reform. With this proposal, they have very strict requirements for people who are
living here. Whoever came before December thirty-first two thousand and eleven, will receive
the opportunity to be legalized in this country, but whoever came after that date will be deported
to their original country. The borders will be more secure and it will not be easy for a person to
cross the border. They will be required to come here with a legal document like a visa or work
permit (Schumer et al., no page number).
President Barak H Obama is struggling to help immigrants to be able to live in the United
States legally, without fear, and without shame. This is the 21st century, why are we still having
people living in the shadows, like they are not humans? Illegal immigrants should have the right
to have the same opportunities and the same benefits as any other person living here legally.
However, President Obama stated that there is a pathway to citizenship (Obama, no page
number). There are things that immigrants have to do to earn their citizenship which its
completely understandable. According to the White House Website, one of the things they have

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to do like paying taxes, paying a penalty, learning English, and also it includes passing a
background check (Obama, no page number). As he continued, President Obama proposal is to
create a provisional legal status. Meaning, those undocumented immigrants have to register then
submit biometric data after that they pass a background check and finalize with national security
check and have paid all penalties and fees. They have to do all these before they will be eligible
for a provisional legal status (Obama, no page number). After this the next step would be to
Create strict requirements to qualify for lawful permanent resident status (Obama, no page
number). Here is when undocumented immigrants apply for green cards after they go farther on
criminal background checks and national security and they have paid all of their fees and
penalties. Immigrants also have to learn English and U.S. civics. Then after having the green
card for five years then can now apply for U.S citizenship or other legal permanent resident.
President Obama also has plans for Dreamers with his proposal he wants to give the citizenship
to Dreamers. He knows that many children came to this country without knowing that they were
coming to a new country illegally. Dreamers have to either go to college or serve in the Armed
Forces for at least two years. He believes that these children should be given an expedited
opportunity to earn their citizenship. He wants to, Create Administrative and Judicial Review
and here is if a person lawful status was either revoked or denied, here will have the opportunity
to go with the administrative and judicial and they can review and they could change the
previous decision (Obama, no page number). On his final thing on his proposal is to Provide
New Resources to Combat Fraud where they will special training for adjudicators because they
want to prevent fraud and abuse to people who want to be legal in this country (Obama, no page
number).

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As they did with the Dream Act its a great start to help immigrants. Now about the money,
immigrants are going to pay to receive these benefits. Theyll pay whatever is necessary for them
to receive this great opportunity to work here legally. Legalizing millions of immigrants living
in this country would be very hard. It will be difficult, but it can happen. However, what we need
to do is to make this proposal something real. Not just leave it as a "proposal" but make it
happen. Just like how the Dream Act has helped students to continue their education to become a
doctor, lawyer or a teacher.
There is approximately 1.7 million unauthorized immigrants who could demonstrate continuous
U.S. residence since 1982 (Kossoudji and Cobb-Clark 599). Immigrants who come here
dreaming of the American Dream, they only work as a housekeeper, landscaper or dishwasher
with minimum wage. Some managers take advantage of them and they pay them lower than what
is the law. They are afraid to tell someone that their salaries are lower than the rest of the people.
However, if they been living here for a long time, their manager or their bosses have to promote
them. Managers know how hard these immigrants work and how loyal they are. Even of they
work at a certain place for years they never receive benefits from work or the government. The
reason is because they are living here illegally, but they are working harder than most Americans
and always giving their best. Some bosses prefer to hire illegal immigrants because they don't
have to do what the law says, for example, pay overtime or give them benefits. How can you do
that to a human? Helping them become citizens will change this country for the better.
Amnesty would bring these workers out of the shadows. People granted amnesty are referred
to as the legalized population (Kossoudji and Cobb-Clark 599). They will come out the
shadows and work better without fear and do more things for this country (Kossoudji and CobbClark 598-628).

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It will not be easy, but it will not be impossible, we as a country can make it happen. Just think
how it would be if you have to travel to a completely different country because you can have a
better life for you and your family. Also, you would need to adapt to a new culture and maybe
even learn a different language but you doing it because you want a better future for your family.
For these immigrants its the same thing, they just want a better future and more opportunities.
They are not criminals, they just want to have a better life and also better opportunities for their
children. The United States of America is full of immigrants, many of Americans came from
Europeans countries. Expect the Native Americans who were been living here longer than many
of Americans. Now, why do you want to close the door on these immigrants? If they are
hardworking people who just want work and serve this country.

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Works Cited

Bray, Ilona, ed. "Whats in the Senate Immigration Reform Proposal for
Undocumented Immigrants." NOLO Law for All. Legal Encyclopedia, 2014. Web.
15 Nov. 2014. <http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/
what-s-the-senate-immigration-reform-proposal-undocumented-immigrants.html>.

Castro, Joaquin. "Full Bibliography." Congressman Joaquin Castro Texas' 20th

District. House, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://castro.house.gov/
about/full-biography>.

Duhita, Mahatmya, and Gring-Pemble M. Lisa. "Dreamers and Their Families: A

Family Impact Analysis of The DREAM Act and Implications for Family
Well-Being." Journal Of Family Studies 20.1 (2014): 79-87. Print.

Issuance of Driver's Licenses to Undocumented Immigrants. Old Research Report,

29 May 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://www.cga.ct.gov/2013/rpt/
2013-R-0194.htm>.

Kossoudji, Sherrie A., and Deborah A. Cobb-Clark. "Coming out of the Shadows:
Learning about Legal Status and Wages from the Legalized Population."
Journal of Labor Economics 20.3 (2002): 598-628. Print.

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Obama, Barack H. "Earned Citizenship." The White House. Government, 19 Jan.
2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration/
earned-citizenship>.

Schumer, et al. "Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform."

Flake Senate.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.flake.senate.gov/documents/immigration_reform.pdf>.