Research Paper Proposal
This assignment was created by students at The City College of New York for the Freshman Inquiry Writing Seminar, Web Discourse. Students are researching a social issue in one of four large topics: Urban Life, Public Health, Immigration, and Education. This will result in a final research paper that explores both how the conversations surrounding the issue are enacted and how a CCNY student may enter that conversation in a meaningful way.
My question for the research paper will be: Why not give illegal immigrants who already work in the United States temporary legal status when they already obtain a job in order to support taxation?
I think it’s ridiculous that the government is looking over the fact that many illegal immigrants are obtaining jobs and forming an underground workforce and not getting taxed. If an illegal can get here illegally which is a task in itself, of course they will find a job illegally as well because that is what immigrants initially come for. It ties to immigration because it a great proposal to help the bashing of illegal immigrants and take away the target of immigrants being an economical burden and economic downfall cause. Not only that, it will give immigrants a safer more humane environment to work in since illegal immigrants work off the books and work their butts off for little pay which will also increase their wages to a reasonable minimum wage(whoever works more, spends more).
I want my audience to be everyone which is why I would put five types of views in the paper which I would write in the view of a republican advocate, an immigrant, an American for it, an American against it, and a Homeland Security representative to sum up all the point of views In this very controversial matter. I know some will be all for it and others may have a very negative look on it but I want to bring up every little detail on what it Is really about with actual voices from people by having my 5 voices be interviewed discussions .
To deepen my understanding in the aspect of making illegal immigrants for taxation I still have to look more on if the proposition of a controlled legal immigration status is acceptable. I also haven’t look on how many in fact have steady jobs and are illegal which will probably be my next blog topic and also more on the cons of immigrants getting temporary legal status.
I want to approach the paper with pointing out the unethical ways America is treating the case of immigration, one might not know it at the moment or comprehend but this is a modern day slavery trade where people are being created unjust and are unequal to others in the United States because of an “illegal” status. What will our later generations say on the way we handled this? When America was rooted and constructed by immigration, we can’t deprive that.
A great source will be the Department of Homeland security because they have actual statistics on how immigration affects our economic building block and they contain measures on how taxation will support the undocumented with services and security. I will also interview common Americans on their views on illegal immigration and containing jobs and if they think they should get temporary legal status by random selection.
I plan to see if I can get an interview with some rep from Homeland security after I come up with concrete good questions to ask. I also will have to do about 5 more weeks of blogging in order to get solid in this research so to limit bias assumptions that a research paper could contain.
A challenge I will come across for certain is thinking through how to sum up all the aspects of these questions in order to narrow the research paper down a notch. I think halfway through I will narrow the question down more specifically because I still feel like it is too broad and a broad question can become overbearing.
Comments
Sharan, it is true that is contradictive the fact that illegal immigrants working in the US are not encouraged to be taxed knowing the huge amount of them and the significance that would make in the U.S. annual income.
Researches show that there are among 7 and 20 million of illegal immigrants in the U.S. (www.csmonitor.com/2006/0516/p01s02-ussc.html) which the majority are workers, since they come to work and not to cause any harm. All the contrary, they come to offer a service to the country and they would be glad to pay taxes in exchange of being lawfully working and free.
I think there is a lot of misunderstandings and confusions around the general media about this long time neglected issue. What are the facts that impede the immigrant to pay taxes?.
To start with, most illegal people enter illegally to the country because a visa application would be denied. A minor proportion of illegal people became illegal because after a status actualization has been denied, returning to their homeland has been impeded for a humanitarian reason to consider (most cases their economical, governmental or family situation has changed in their home country during the course of their visit to the U.S.)
Their condition of not being recognized as a citizen and being deprived of its benefits they are limited in the work search most appropriate to their skills.
If they have illegally entered to the country, they are not expected to be working, but rather thinking in via to come back.
All illegally immigrant work since they need to sustain themselves and their families, but, if they can not prove that they actually work then, they can not pay taxes.
It’s understandable that the government can not grant with benefits to those who broke the law (which law again? oh, the law of not being welcomed) but I know there is usually a penalty that needs to be paid for the transgressor in the form of a fee or services etc. that would allow the law broker be clean, live free, and accepted.
The fact that illegal immigrants are treated as criminals, as Paul proposal states, is a sad truth, but I think that they are not even treated as criminals because the criminal would be granted with the chance of being judged and clean by paying for his transgression according to the law, fact that so far, is denied to illegal immigrants.
Why is this issue so difficult to resolve? As you said; the worker should pay taxes while working and should receive “worker benefits” as well, as education, medical care and a line credit according to its earnings. The thing is that all this I’m mentioning it sounds so close to what being a citizen is.
But being a citizen, as I’m learning from my own research, is more tied to a national identity. But so far all this is being resolved, the immigrant still work without being taxed nor getting any benefits!
I think Sharan you have chosen a hard yet actual and interesting issue to work on. Lots of evidence, reports, news and examples around!
Good luck!
Posted by: Alejandra Cetrangolo | November 14, 2009 02:33 PM