Thanksgiving

I apologize for my Thanksgiving blog being late. I had a great Thanksgiving this year, like always. Each yeah my family and I make the trip to Flint to stay with my Aunt Margaret. My other aunts and uncles from  various parts of the country join us as well. The Appel family has roots in Oregon, Washington, and California along with a few from Michigan. On the trip there we hit some hectic traffic, and getting off the highway at the craziest exit I have ever seen didn't help. This off ramp turned into a giant traffic circle with 5 entrances. We went to grab a bite to eat, and when we tried to get back on we ended up cruising down the highway in the opposite direction we were trying to go. When we finally arrived we were greeted with the sweet smell of apple and cherry pie. We spent Wednesday night celebrating all the major birthdays form the previous year. These consist of milestone birthdays and anniversaries. This year was my Aunts' 65th birthday, and my grandparents 65th wedding anniversary. The festivities began with a loud screech filled rendition of happy birthday by my Aunt Margaret. After all the birthdays were done we ate some pizza and watched Michigan play (and defeat) UCLA in the Maui Invitational. The next day when I woke up I was hit with the smell of a 20 pound turkey roasting in the oven. We watched the lions lose in a pathetic fashion but didn't let that get our spirits down. Dinner was next. Mounds of mashed potatoes, hunks of turkey, a steaming mound of corn, and a roll garnished my plate. After dinner we sat around and watched the Cowboys game. At around 7 o'clock when all of my cousins and their wives arrived we went to the basement. Since my family lives across the country we have Christmas on Thanksgiving as well. Our Christmas is unlike most other families Christmas' however. We partake in wadding up balls of wrapping paper, and chucking it at each other. This can occur when opening a present, or simply not being on your toes. Being blasted in the face with a wad of paper is our way of saying "I love you." Crazy? Yes very. But it is what we do. After all the gifts are unwrapped, and the wrapping is picked up, we all head up stairs to eat some pie. This is a much less violent activity, and it is a great way to end the night. The night ends with everyone saying goodbye, and I'll see you in a year. Thanksgiving is a great time, and I really enjoy seeing my family. The great food and enormous amounts of laughter make it one of my favorite times of the year.

Illegal Immigration Paper Structure

            I am writing my paper to show that is should be easier for immigrants who want to work in America to become citizens, or legal residents. In the beginning of my paper I plan to discuss the class of people that are the closest related to the illegal immigrants, skill wise. This is the lower class and high school dropouts. They have relatively the same education level and therefore they work in the same jobs. Most of these jobs are service positions such as hotels, or simple maintenance.

            The process for becoming a legal resident is quite complicated and very time consuming.  To receive a green card someone must either have proof that they have a full time job in America, or have family members who are in America. In order for either of these to happen it takes multiple years for the process to be complete. If an immigrant becomes legal, and then wishes to bring his newly wed wife to America with him, it takes six years for this to be complete. It is this type of law that makes people come here illegally instead of following the proper procedures.

            The illegal immigrants that are here eventually earn enough money to enjoy some of the novelties of life. They buy clothes, cell phones, gas, and many other day-to-day items. By forcing them all to leave it would take away from all of the businesses that supply these items to the immigrants. The best thing for our economy is to make it easier and faster for immigrants to receive their green card so they can legally work in America, and help to support our economy.

            I plan to use these three main points for my paper to show that it would be better for our economy to have immigrants come her and work. They do not have much competition for the jobs the do, they are willing to become legal it just takes to long, and they support our economy. By making them legal this also forces them to pay taxes. Taxes form 12 million people would give more money to the government and would be a good thing for the economy.

Illegal Immigration

I think that there should be stricter laws on illegal immigration into the United States of America. Each years thousands and thousands of illegal immigrants are smuggled into the country, or sneak in on their own. The problem with this is that these illegal immigrants to not pay taxes, and they use many of the services provided by the federal government that is funded by taxes. The most common service they use is the school system. Approximately fifty million dollars will be spent on educating illegal immigrants this next year. These illegal immigrant children should not be allowed to go to school here if their families do not pay taxes.

            There was a law passed in Arizona in 2010 that was aimed at catching illegal immigrants. This law allowed police officers to ask for proof of residency from anyone who they are reasonable doubt to suspect they were here illegally. This law was later declared unconstitutional by the United States government. This law did seem to be rather invasive, but in order for this epidemic of illegal intruders America is going to have to do something drastic.          

            A new tool to catch illegal immigrants is called “e-verify.” This is a government run system that allows potential employers to check if someone has the right to work in America. This tool is very useful because it prevents companies from hiring illegal immigrants, and it also allows the government to find illegal immigrants. The number of illegal immigrants infiltrating America is getting out of control, and our government needs to take action to get this under control.