Does Immigration Contribute to a Better America?

Tatyana Franklin

Introduction to African American History

September 27, 2012

Dr. Sylvester Cohen

Does Immigration Contribute to a Better America?

When asked, "Does Immigration Contribute to a Better America?" so many thoughts rush throughout my mind. Immigration is a significant theme of the American experience; they have made many contributions to the creation and development of this great nation. America is a land of diversity and opportunity, my answer to the question would have to be yes. Immigration contributes to a better America. The reason why I say this is because America was found by immigrants. Secondly I believe that America is the land of opportunity. Las t Immigrants do the jobs that are essential to the American economy.

One reason why I believe immigration contribute to a better America is because America was found by immigrants. Immigrant is defined as a person who has citizenship in one country but who enters a different country to set up a permanent residence. Basically an Immigrant is someone who establishes a home in a new country. Some examples of Immigrants are a pilgrim, homesteader and a pioneer. When you take the definition and the examples of what an immigrant is, you can basically say America was found by immigrants. The article states "The earliest European immigrant population converted the lands that they colonized into Western-style political and economic entities, which were transformed by the American Revolution into an independent republic, the United States of America." The reason for this is I believe that the Native Americans was the original home settlers of America until the Europeans who migrated from Europe came and took over, to claim America as their own. The article also states, "Foreign-born peoples explored the West, broke the sod of the prairie lands by the sweat of their brows, and contributed to these developments that resulted in the establishment of agriculture as a vital component of economic progress while expanding the frontiers/boundaries of this emergent and dynamic nation." People, who think immigration does contribute to a better America, fail to realize that this country was built by immigrants from every country. Not only does immigration contribute to a better America is because America was found by immigrants, but also America is the land of opportunity.

Secondly, why I believe immigration contribute to a better America is because America is the land of opportunity. America is known for the freedom and opportunities that this country has to offer, this is one of the main reasons why immigrants choose our country to migrate here from all the other countries. Many of the immigrants that come here are the ones who have goals in life, dreams that they want to