Many years ago people flocked to the United States because it was the land of opportunity. This still is the land of opportunity, but more recently immigrants, legal or not, come to take advantage of our generous welfare system. The great numbers of immigrants coming I have put a strain on out country. Americans are losing jobs, and tax money is being spent poorly, and this is all an effect of the loose restrictions on immigration.
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Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries immigrants came from all over the world to find a better life here in the United States. People came from places like Poland and China because it was safer here, and they could find work much easier. They would come here with hopes of one day becoming an American. Today everything is different. Now legal and illegal immigrants come to our country with intentions of only staying a few years and then going back to their native country. They come with no intention of learning our language or adapting to our culture. At one point, America was considered a melting pot of all peoples and cultures. "The great American Melting Pot is not melting, as once it did," said Pat Buchanan (qtd. O"Neil 18).
Immigrants are coming to the United States now and not learning our language or adapting to our culture. An indication of this is the fifth biggest television network in the United States is now Univision, a Spanish language television station based out of Los Angeles. Research done by Barry Chiswick at the University of Illinois noted that immigrants who live in areas with fewer fellow immigrants learn to speak English faster and more fluently than do immigrants who live in areas highly populated with fellow immigrants. He also noted that immigrants who have access to foreign language media tend to not use English as much or as well as immigrants who do not have this access ("Will" 1).
Spanish speaking immigrants are now the majority of immigrants in the United States.