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US Immigration
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| Yes | 53% | 17 votes | Total: 32 votes | |
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Add to FavoritesA blanket "Yes" statement isn't necessarily true, however, in recent years more often than not, an immigrant is portrayed as illegal. This portrayal is put forth in both the fictionalized television programs we as Americans watch on a daily basis, as well as on the news. It seems that in past years, immigrants were often portrayed as legal, but "bad." Immigrants were often portrayed as mobsters or other ruthless characters. The negative image immigrants are given by our media has changed only in form.
My family has been in the United States for 5 generations, but at some point they were immigrants - just as every one else's was too. My mother in law is a Legal U.S. Resident, though she is not a citizen. She came here when she was 16 with her family and chose to retain her German citizenship while still acquiring her legal residency.
There are many, many illegal immigrants to this country, but there are also many, many more legal immigrants. It seems to me that we need to be more careful in our generalized portrayals of those who come to this country because our children are simply learning a new form of hatred and bigotry. It is one thing to instill in them right and wrong (being here illegally is wrong and those people need to go back home until they follow the proper procedures for coming to this country, while there are those who are here legally and should not be viewed as bad or evil) it is entirely different to teach them that everyone who is different is bad because they "Probably" are illegal.
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No
The US media is not responsible for news of illegal immigrants reaching the public more than often than that of legal immigrants. The immigrants themselves dictate the media coverage.
A legal immigrant is rarely any different that John Q. American. The person has a job and a beloved family- in America or another country, is a law-abiding citizen and has a vested interest in the clause "the pursuit of happiness". Just like any other American, this person's chances of garnering media coverage is better posthumously than it is during his lifetime.
On the other hand, illegal immigration is a newsworthy subject. It affects every aspect of American life from job availability to housing to crime. In order to punctuate and reinforce its newsworthiness, the US media is adept at shining a bright light onto the behavior of illegal immigrants by branding them as illegal. This compounds the negative impact.
As an example, let's consider two brothers of any lineage, hereafter called Jacob and Joseph Immigrant. Jacob enters the United States legally, obtains his green card and begins fulfilling his commitment to obtain citizenship. Joseph enters the US illegally, must conceal his identity to hide his first crime, illegal immigration, and attempts to find work.
Soon, Jacob is enjoying his family in an apartment, when his son, James, falls and needs to go to the hospital. As part of his employee benefits, Jacob calls on his insurance company to pay for James' treatment.
The same afternoon, Joseph's son, Julius, fall as well. Joseph takes Julius to the hospital, but cannot present identification or money to pay for the services. Joseph has not gotten a job because he cannot prove that he is in the US legally. Julius is treated nonetheless.
The loss the hospital absorbs is now passed on to the insurance companies in the cost of high contract prices which raise premiums and even higher cost to the uninsured. While Julius' trip to the hospital is not noteworthy, in and of itself, the fallout from it is newsworthy.
When the hospital laments its failure to make a profit, the media inquires into how it fell on such dire circumstances. Since an illegal immigrant can be faulted for one of the reasons, the media will highlight it. Illegal immigration hurts everyone involved.
No, the US media does not portray all immigrants as illegal. In fact, they portray legal immigrants as American, as well they should.
Learn more about this author, Ann Marie Dwyer.
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