Summary: The United States Immigration System

The United States Immigration system is very complex. Immigrants have had to deal with many laws promoting exclusion and anti-immigration sentiment. Immigration is “The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA), the body of law governing current immigration policy, provides for an annual worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants, with certain exceptions for close family members,” (“How the United", 2014). Currently, “Immigration to the United States is based upon the following principles: the reunification of families, admitting immigrants with skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy, protecting refugees, and promoting diversity,” (“How the United”, 2014).

Migrant Workers

Migrant workers are among many immigrant that come to the

1). Furthermore, “Title I, Part C, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act defines a migratory child as a child who works, or whose parents work, in the agriculture, dairy, or fishing industry and who has made a qualifying move in search of work within the previous 36 months.” (Reynolds et al., 2007, p.3) Migrant workers and their children face many hardships when coming to the United States and are usually financially, educationally, and socially

They are at a higher risk for “intestinal parasites, nutritional deficiencies, dental problems, diarrhea, exposure to pesticides, and continuous cycles of otitis media leading to hearing loss,” (Nichols et al., 2014, p.2). Migrant children are also at an increased risk for child abuse. Child abuse reports reveal, “The level of maltreatment among migrant family life is much higher than for the general population,” (Green, 2003, p.