Immigration Reform: New Americans to Be Sworn In as Tradition Continues on Fourth of July Holiday
Aside from the celebration of independence, the Fourth of July has also long been regarded as the day when foreigners become citizens by swearing their oath of allegiance to the United States. This year will be no different.
The tradition, which has served as a reminder each year of how America has always been a nation of immigrants since it was founded 241 years ago in 1776, will continue this year by swearing in nearly 15,000 people at various naturalization ceremonies that will be held all over the states.
According to USA Today, immigrants presently make up about 13.5 percent of the U.S. population. Out of this percentage, 32 million have come to America through legal means, while roughly 11 million have slipped in by illegal methods. Aside from Mexico, an increasing number of immigrants have also now been arriving from other Latin American countries, Africa, and Asia.
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Citing a landmark study from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in 2016, the article further reported that U.S. taxpayers were losing $57.4 billion a year to first-generation immigrants. However, second and third-generation immigrants can soon make up for it by creating a net benefit reaching up to about $30.5 billion and $223.8 billion, respectively.
But these benefits, over time, have reportedly been overlooked during President Trump's first address to a joint session of Congress earlier this year in regards to the restriction of immigration.
According to Frank Sharry, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based immigration advocacy group, America's Voice, Trump's radical approach to immigration reforms have remained unprecedented in modern times.
"There's a historic challenge to our nation's tradition of welcoming refugees and immigrants. It's up to us whether we are going to survive this era and emerge with a stronger sense of inclusive patriotism that makes us proud," Sharry said.
On the other hand, Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Reform, which is an organization advocating lower levels of immigration, the hysteria that has surrounded immigration issues have been unnecessarily "hyped and whipped" to make people think they are under siege.
"If you tell them that enough, they start to believe it. All Trump is doing is recognizing that laws are meant to protect American workers," Mehlman said.
