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Interview with Katharine's Dad
I interviewed my
father. His name is John and he is letter carrier. He is a simple man, but is
usually never the parent I interview for school project so this was the first
time I got to ask him questions. When I told him it was about a current event
and immigration he kind of got a little nervous since he doesn’t know much information
about either, but he said he would give it a shot and for next time to interview
him if it had to do with sports.
Is this a problem
you think is important? Why/ Why not?
Yes it is important because there it is a lot of people
here in the states and a lot of people trying to come over. There are just too
many people. I think about how in the beginning we used to be the melting pot
and can understand it when people say they want to live in a free world, but
some may take advantage of us and this country. It is important to regulate this
and fix it so we as American citizens who have been here their whole life get
what they need to and are still safe.
Do you think
others in our community this is an important problem? why/ why not?
Yes I think people in my community would agree with me
and see it as a problem that there are too many people here.
What policy, if
any, does government now have to deal with this problem?
I am sure there are policies out there I just do not know
of any. (I then informed him of the idea of the California passing reform
policy for immigration and what it is trying to do so I could ask him the
remaining questions and his feelings.)
What are
advantages of this policy?
The advantages would be to have it be passed. I agree
with all the criteria so they have to learn English, pay debts, have a
background check and wait the allotted years to become a citizen. When my
ancestors came over seas many years ago when immigration first came about, they
had to learn English to survive, there was no choice. Grammy, (My grandmother)
would tell me stories about her family learning to speak English because the
directions were never in Polish, their native language. It should be the same
for people today.
What are
disadvantages of this policy?
No not at all.
How might the
policy be improved?
Every policy could be improved, can’t it? I don’t know
how, but every one of them could use improvement.
Does the policy
need to be replaced? Why?
It isn’t in place yet so it should to be put in action.
What
disagreements, if any, about the policy exist in this community?
Oh, I am sure there are disagreements about this topic
and I am sure people all have different views about it. It is a controversial
topic, I just don’t know much about it
Where can I get more information about
this problem and the different positions people take on this problem?
I am computer illiterate so I don’t know if there are
places to look online for them and I don’t know for sure. I am just a simple man
who doesn’t spend much time thinking about these laws, I have family to take
care and that is what I need to worry about.
My reflection:
This interview went pretty much how I expected. He was going
to be a little confused, try to answer the questions, but only get a good
sentence out of him. I can see where I get my thinking. My family, as you can
see is really not informed about current events. We are much more into worrying
about our own people, in our own world with the people we want to surround ourselves
with. I do not think that is a bad thing, except when it comes to doing projects
on certain current situations. My father kind of talked about how when people
where coming over through Ellis Island, our ancestors, was different than what
we have going on with immigration today. I can kind of agree with that. They both
were coming over to make their lives better, but now a days I think certain,
not all, people take advantage of the system and do it the wrong way. There
needs to be a right way to do things so everyone can follow them so the people
already here can be safe and they people becoming citizens as well. That is the
biggest thing here, putting actual rules and laws about citizenship and
immigration in place and then following them. My father also seemed to know little about
this topic, not surprising. My father watches the news, but that is mostly
sports highlights and weather so he can be prepared for his work day. I really
do not know what else to say about his interview because I don’t really feel
any differently and I knew for the most part what he was going to say. The father
like daughter I guess.
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Interview
with Shauna's Dad
I chose to interview my father as well. His name is Michael and he is an
engineer. He is interested in politics so I wanted to see what he had to say
about this topic. He is usually excited when anyone wants to talk about
politics or the government with him but I wasn’t sure what his feelings were
toward immigration.
Is
this a problem you think is important?
Why/ Why not?
Yes this problem is completely
important. Many people are not educated about these types of things in the US.
If the country continues to grow in the way that it is today I think there are
going to be some serious problems. Americans should be taken care of first in
our country. Too often it seems that we are worried about everyone else when
there are people struggling to survive here who can’t receive the help that
they need.
Do
you think others in our community this is an important problem? why/ why not?
Yes. Many people talk about immigration
today and usually it is seen in a negative light. People who know immigrants
are more likely to support immigration but those who do not often oppose it.
What
policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem?
There are many different types of
policies that deal with immigration. For example, there is one called the investment
policy which makes it possible for immigrants in the upper class to invest in
businesses in order to get passports or become permanent residents; however, our government is often known for breaking
human rights laws in the policies that we have.
What
are advantages of this policy?
The advantages of the investment
policy, which doesn’t only have to do with immigration but it is often tied in
with it, is that it favors local investors rather than depending on people
around the world. Today we often look to others for everything that we need so
when we can do something ourselves I really think that its important.
What
are disadvantages of this policy?
I’ve heard that since it is usually
wealthy immigrants who can take advantage of this policy it can actually
encourage organized crime. If something goes wrong in their home country, they
simply come here and they are safe. If this is true, and I’m not exactly sure
of the details, it’s clearly not a good policy for the country. It seems that
there are ups and downs to it but I would have to do more research in order to
find out the truth about it.
How
might the policy be improved?
The policy could be improved if it
could somehow benefit other immigrants, not only the wealthy ones who are possibly
only wealthy because they are involved in organized crime.
Does
the policy need to be replaced? Why?
This policy shouldn’t be replaced since
it is important in other ways to the government. I do think that it can be changed
though.
What
disagreements, if any, about the policy exist in this community?
I really haven’t heard anyone talk
about this policy in relation to immigration. I just happen to know a little
about it because I am interested in politics.
Where can I get more information about this problem and
the different positions people take on this problem?
The internet is usually the best bet. That
would be the first place I would check.
My reflection:
The
results of my interview with my father were interesting. I am still not
completely sure about how much he knows about immigration. He seems to have
some knowledge about it, but I also know that he is a fairly strong republican
so I expected him to be completely against it. He talks about the government a
lot with the people at his work. He sometimes comes home and talks all about
topics that the rest of my family has no idea about. I actually like to listen
to him talk about it sometimes but at the same time I know that since he’s a
republican I only see one side of everything. I know my father is worried about
this country and he might have been hiding his true feelings since he knew this
was an interview for my class. In reality, I am pretty sure that he does not
think that anyone else should be coming to the country. He votes republican
whenever he can and he has debates with people in my extended family which can
get very intense. I have seen him get very emotional about these types of
topics so I usually choose not to talk about them with him. He is a very caring
person, but he thinks that some huge changes have to be made.
