(Fall 2019) Public Policy POL 211- A01

  The Moral Dilemma of US Immigration Policy: Open Borders Versus Social Justice? By Stephen Macedo. Quote: “Most people seems to accept that wealthy societies owe the first sort of concern to human beings generally, via humanitarian assistance, whether societies should pool their efforts and seek to lift poorer countries at least up to a level of basic decency; exactly what level is adequate or morally required is an important question” Meaning/Chosen: Humanitarian assistance to poor countries should be provided in an effort to ease suffering and provide a basic level of decency, especially when those countries have been exploited by richer countries. It’s true that American society should properly take care of their own less-well off, and then allow for distributive justice abroad. By doing this, immigration to US will decrease and people would not risk their lives leaving their countries, in an illegal and dangerous way, for a better life in US.

Plyler v. Doe: Still Guaranteeing Unauthorized Immigrant Children's Right to Attend U.S. Public Schools By Michael Olivas Quote: “Neighborhoods have no formal legal admission policies; people move into neighborhoods for reasons of their own, constrained only by market contingencies, while residents may choose not to welcome newcomers, the state does not prevent individuals from setting in whatever neighborhood they choose” Meaning/Chosen: The state might have strong policies about immigrants/immigration. Immigrants may get denied health insurance, denied the right to vote, the right to get certain jobs because of their legal status, however one thing   that the state does not prevent individuals is to settle in whatever neighborhood they choose to. Some neighborhoods might not welcome you but as long as you have the state protection and the rights to do so, immigrants are allowed to settle in a place they feel they fit into.

Who Belongs?: Immigration Outside the Law and the Idea of Americans in Waiting Hiroshi Motomura*    By Hiroshi Motomura* Quote: “Treating immigrants as Americans in waiting is especially crucial to combat the feeling among Latin American, Asian and African American immigrants, that no matter what they do, they will always remain strangers in the land-perpetual foreigners because of their names, skin color, languages or accents. Unless there is meaningful integration of immigrants with reciprocity and respect, they will be marginalized as permanent outsider” Meaning: By definition, immigrants come into the United States as outsiders. If we are not American, we are outsiders coming to America. As immigrants, we become insiders of the United States when our differences no longer affect the ways we interact with others, the opportunities we have for ourselves and our families and how we participate in politics and social entities. However, adapting to the new e...