Under the U.S. Constitution, Americans claim to uphold the ideals of liberty, equal opportunity, and acceptance of the world’s “huddled masses,” However, we have failed to honor this.  The implementation of strict immigration policies and the threat of detrimental consequences for undocumented immigrants have put fear into the hearts of many, and have tainted the reputation of America as a refuge for the world’s poor and hungry masses.  But this need not be so.  President Ronald Reagan, during his farewell address to the nation, envisioned America “…as a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere.” And in that regard, the U.S. can learn a lot from Germany’s recent example of integrating immigrants.  America should provide immigrants with a faster, clearer path to citizenship and do more to integrate them into American society.

Currently, the path to citizenship for most immigrants is painfully long, expensive and complex.  According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, requirements for U.S. citizenship include:  holding a green card and residing in the United States for at least 5 years before applying, English language proficiency, an understanding of American history and government, and being of good moral character.  But there’s a catch: only those who have a green card, which gives the holder permanent residency status, can even apply for citizenship.  Obtaining a green card is an exercise in futility for most immigrants, given the stringent requirements to obtain the “immigrant visa,” a prerequisite to obtaining the green card.   The U.S. has an established order of preference for granting immigrant visas, by which would-be immigrants are grouped into one of five preference categories.  According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, these are:  

• First Preference: Individuals with special abilities, distinguished academics, professors, and researchers, and international executives.

• Second Preference: Professionals with an advanced degree or workers with exceptional talent.

• Third Preference: Skilled workers and professionals. Workers are required to have at least two years of experience and professionals usually require degrees from accredited universities.

• Fourth Preference: Individuals under special circumstances like Translators, Armed Forces Members, NATO-6 employees, certain religious workers, and Employees of global organizations.

• Fifth Preference: Immigrant investors who are willing to invest between $500,000-$1,000,000 in a venture that creates at least ten new jobs for U.S. citizens.

It is plain to see these categories hold little promise for the average immigrant, who is typically poor and uneducated.  But even if an immigrant is lucky enough to be permitted to start the process, by being granted an immigrant visa, it can take up to 28 years and cost over $2,000 in testing and application fees.   

The problem is that there are more people who want to immigrate to the U.S. than we are legally able to process.  Because America presents the promise of better jobs, escape from wars, conflict, and oppression, the number of applicants for citizenship continues to be greater than the U.S.’s ability to process them.  To put this into perspective, in 2015, 730,259 people became naturalized citizens, from a waiting list of over 4.4 million visa holders.  These numbers do not even include the estimated 1.5 million immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally every year to avoid the endless wait.  

The U.S. immigration process takes so long because it is supposed to be rigorous in screening out those who might do Americans harm (e.g. terrorists, felons, war criminals, spies, etc.).  With America at war, the fear is greater than ever that state-sponsored evildoers, seeking to harm Americans, will slip into the country unnoticed — especially since it appears to be so easy to enter the country illegally.  

According to, the “Pew Research Center,” America was built by immigrants, and the country certainly benefits from the roughly 40 million immigrants (of whom 11 million are estimated to be illegal), living here currently.  Among other things, “The White House” news source claims that immigrants create 18% of American small businesses, employ over 5 million people, have started 25% of America’s new technology companies, represent over 1.5 trillion dollars in annual purchasing power, and produce between 50-75% of new U.S. patents.  Immigrants continue to be a vital source of America’s growth and financial success.  

Under current U.S. immigration policy, undocumented immigrants living in America, and those continuing to seek refuge here by unofficial means, are considered illegal.  Illegal immigrants are perceived as a problem for the country, by some, because:

1. They have not been officially screened by the government’s vetting process and may have criminals and other undesirables among them.
2. They compete for and take jobs for lower wages than American citizens will.
3. They send their children to public schools and take advantage of hospitals and other public services which American taxpayers have paid for, using up limited resources.
4. Many don’t speak English or try to integrate into the American culture.
5. They don’t respect the law.

Of course illegal immigrants who are criminals should be deported.  And, while it is true that America cannot afford to provide a social security net for the world’s poor, sick and needy, it is also true that we can and should do more to help those seeking refuge within our borders.   Undocumented immigrants fear having to return to the poverty, violence and oppression they escaped from, having to uproot their families, and missing out on the American Dream.  Surely America can do more to help them.

Europe has been tackling the challenges of large scale immigration for many years now, and Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, has led one of the most successful programs, under their “open door policy.”  Included within the German Constitution is the “Asylfluechtlings law,” which declares Germany’s promise to provide protection to any immigrant or refugee seeking political asylum there. Merkel has expanded on this idea, allocating 7.7 billion dollars to the integration of immigrants. Immigrants are provided with food, housing, education, money, and other support to get them properly integrated into German society. Charities and churches teach necessary courses on the German language, culture and civics. The government has allocated 500 million euros for refugee housing construction, between 2017-2018, and suspended a law that gave EU citizens priority over refugee housing applicants. Additionally, in order to head off potential cultural integration issues in the future, the children of refugee families are directly immersed into the German school system, once families are established.

German and American policies towards immigration could not be more different.   Merkel’s open door policy provides for immigrants to be accepted with open arms, eliminating their fear of being sent home to the miserable conditions they fled from, and providing them with the opportunity to build a new life. In contrast, the U.S. has typically treated immigrants with indifference, at best, and hostility, at worst, threatening deportation of the undocumented, and the de-funding of sanctuary cities that have tried to protect these people from federal government action.  A root cause for the America’s less welcoming approach towards immigrants is almost certainly its lengthy, cumbersome immigration application process.  With such a long wait, illegal immigration is an incentive for many. The U.S. can learn a lot from Germany’s example, by allocating funds at the state and local levels to implement programs geared towards welcoming and integrating would-be immigrants into American culture.  Such programs might include English language and civics courses, basic financial assistance to seed their start as contributing future Americans, schooling for their children, cultural awareness courses for immigrants and local citizens, alike.  But, most importantly, the U.S. must work to provide immigrants with a faster, clearer path to citizenship.

Specifically, we need Congress to:

1. Review and streamline existing immigration laws, policies and rules.
2. Act on the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S.; they are here to stay and need a legal path to citizenship.
3. Fund more resources at the federal level to speed up background checks and the processing of paperwork.
4. Fund additional personnel at state and local levels to help integrate and socialize immigrants into American culture. Let’s make good Americans of our immigrants.
5. Enforce tighter border controls to limit illegal immigration in the future.

Our role in the process is clear, too.   One day soon, we will all be voting adults.  We have voices and they should be exercised.  Lobby your representatives in government to take a stance on immigration reform.   Contact Senators Mark Warner (www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact) and Tim Kaine (www.kaine.senate.gov/contact).   Reach out to Congressman Bob Goodlatte (www.goodlatte.house.gov/contact/).   Let them know this is an issue you care about and that it should be on their list of legislative priorities.   America needs immigration reform.  We are better than this.