Immigration is an event that has been occurring in the United States since the 1620's when the Mayflower brought the Pilgrims to our country. Like the Pilgrims, many immigrants came to our nation looking for opportunities that their country could not provide for them. Through the years, immigration has played a key role in the development of our nation's economics and culture in both positive and negative ways. .
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From Europe and Africa, from Canada and Asia, from Mexico and South America, people have come to the United States. Here they have found work, opened shops, raised families, built schools and churches, and formed social clubs and sporting teams. Their history illustrates the common experiences and the shared realities of all the immigrants who have worked, worshiped, lived and died, laughed, prospered and sometimes failed in our country. (Bassett J.F., 2010) From the first settlements of the Quaker, Puritans, and Catholics, Americans have welcomed immigrants with opened arms. In the 1890-1910's there was a need for cheap labor. Immigrants saw this need as a chance to search for a new life, and to start over with new religious freedoms and economic opportunities.
Although most immigrants are an asset to our nation, there are those who affect this country in a negative way. .
When looking for a better way of life, some immigrants come to our country thinking that everything will be provided for them, and in turn become burdens on our government. They bring their families, which consist of sons, daughter, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even cousins, and try to acquire jobs. Although these people have good intentions, they are not always helpful to our country. Many immigrants lack the skill and knowledge necessary to maintain a job. Then, in order to survive and provide for their families, they result to welfare. It is hard enough for our government to provide for our native citizens, and yet these people who should reside somewhere else are draining our economy as well.