Remolona 1

Jake Remolona
Hillesland
AP English
30 August 2015
Illegal Immigrants-Equal or Not?
This week, Donald Trump was in the middle of another controversy concerning the topic
of immigration. Last Tuesday, he held a press conference in Dubuque, Iowa. Jorge Ramos, the
lead anchor for the Spanish news network, Univision, was also in attendance. Ramos persistently
tried to ask Trump questions without being called on. Trump ordered him to Sit down, you
weren't called. Go back to Univision. He also had him removed claiming that he just started
screaming. Ramos was eventually allowed to return. He proceeded to question Trump about his
motives on immigration to which Trump didnt provide a clear solution.
Trump has challenged the Bill of Rights, more specifically the First and Fourteenth
amendments, because of his actions. The first amendment, which grants citizens freedom of
speech and the press, was directly mocked when Trump threw out Ramos, disregarding whatever
he had to say. Trump stated that these are great legal scholars, the top, that say thats absolutely
wrong (the fact that a woman can have a baby one day in America and that baby is an American
citizen). He defied the fourteenth amendment, which grants citizenship to all persons born or
naturalized in the United States, because he wrongly assumed that the only people that benefit
from this are the illegal immigrants. He failed to realize that all American born babies are saved
from the process of gaining an American citizenship manually.

Remolona 2

Some people may argue that illegal immigrants/undocumented workers do not benefit us.
That they just steal our jobs, hurt our economy, and are nothing more than murderers, drug
dealers, and rapists. While that is the subject of opinion, statistics show that these workers
actually benefit our society. These people complement the skilled workers by taking care of the
routine tasks, which allows the skilled workers to focus on what they do best. Statistics show that
states with a higher population of immigrant workers had a more productive economy because
the workers were able to work longer. From 1990 to 2007, undocumented workers increased
legal workers pay in complimentary jobs by up to 10 percent. The positives that illegal
immigration brings outweigh the obvious negatives that are often associated with them.
Ultimately, through his disrespect to Jorge Ramos and illegal immigrants, Trump has
signified what freedom and equality towards others means to this country. He directly challenges
the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. If we think about it, immigrants are here
for a purpose. Typically, it is because the United States offers what their home country cannot.
For example, my parents are first-hand immigrants from the Philippines. They both came over
due to the lack of opportunity back in their home country. Immigrants come over because there
is more opportunity here for everything (think about the Puritans). Ramos stated The United
States gave me opportunities that my country of origin could not: freedom of the press and
complete freedom of expression. If we deport them, we not only deny these people their
opportunity for a better life, but we defy the Declaration of Independence because it says that we
are entitled to the pursuit of happiness. Our founding fathers intended this country to be a land
of opportunity and if Trump goes through with his plan, we are directly going back on what our
fathers intentions were. Everyone deserves the chance for a better life.