Social Justice focuses on equality and considering people equal on all levels. The topic I chose to research in this category is Immigration which has become a hot topic in the US today. Many people have different views, both positive and negative, about this issue and I feel that people need to be more educated about this before considering whether it is in fact "good" or "bad." I do not necessarily feel it is either good or bad, but a combination of the two depending on the factors. The US is the third largest country in the world and is continuing to grow rapidly. According to the US Bureau of the Census, one international migrant enters this country every 30 seconds! If this rate continues, soon we will not have enough room to put all of them. California has faced this issue and has been forced to relocate immigrants to other states such as Arkansas and Georgia.
Illegal immigrants are causing a lot of issues within our country. They come into the country without consent which means it is commonly done hastily and without much preparation. These people are not screened before they enter the country allowing a much larger opportunity to bring in some sort of foreign disease that we as Americans are not immune to or do not have medication for. One of the biggest ones is Aids and others include tuberculosis and malaria. These last two have not been around for many many years and we are unable to fight them off.
Jobs are another issue with immigrants. People feel that immigrants are taking all of our jobs, but there is more to it than that. By 2020 there is a projected need for 10 million new skilled workers. This leaves low level, low paying jobs open without anyone willing to complete them. Immigrants are more than happy to take these jobs. Not only that, but they also create jobs through entrepreneurship, innovations, and purchasing food, homes, cars, etc.
We, as teachers, are supposed to be teaching students to accept everyone for who they are, but then we make a huge ruckus about immigrants. I understand that illegal immigrants should not be allowed, but legal immigrants are paying the price as well. They are judged and viewed as low in society because of the reputation the illegal immigrants have set for them. We need to shine light on this topic and educate people about it because many people are naive and believe that no immigrants whatsoever should enter our country, but the truth is we do have a need for them as they are people just like you and I. They should not be labeled because that is not teaching our students to be accepting, that is simply teaching them to be closed-minded and prejudice.
Resources:
http://www.newsbatch.com/immigration.htm
http://www.cis.org/articles/1998/sacPublicInterest.html
http://www.pbs.org/now/society/immhistory.html
The New Americans, National Research Council, 1997, p. S-5.
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