




Immigration is a sore spot with many people in the United States. The ramifications of topics ranging from the number of refugees the U.S. allows in each year to the future Hispanization of the country keep immigration at the forefront of American political discussion.

Some feel that the United States will be taken over by Hispanic individuals, and others feel that this is not ever going to happen. If it does occur, it’s not likely to happen soon. The number of illegal immigrants in the U.S., especially from Latin America, is a touchy topic with many. Some of the main issues of discussion revolve around whether U.S. citizens and legal immigrants should have to pay for schooling, housing, food and medical care for illegal immigrants who want free or reduced cost social services. States are also considering whether to allow children of illegal immigrants who are not U.S. citizens to take advantage of college financial aid.

Refugees are admitted to the United States after undergoing a thorough identity and background screening by the United Nations. The president’s office sets the cap on how many refugees are allowed in each year. The numbers often range from about 75,000 to 80,000 per year. However, the question many in social services ask is, “How are we going to provide for this many people?” Resettlement agencies are understaffed, and the money isn’t available to help refugees as much as many would like. Jobs are scarce for citizens and other immigrants, and trying to find them for refugees who may have little work experience or knowledge of English makes it challenging to meet government refugee self-sufficiency standards.

How to provide for illegal immigrants and refugees is a difficult topic that must be dealt with on a daily basis. Teachers, case workers, policy makers, administrators, volunteers and many others may want to provide for those in need no matter their immigration status. The exact ways to do so, however, is a question with no easy answer.

Whether American citizens can continue to take care of their families and other legal immigrants and citizens into the unforeseeable future remains to be seen. Eventually, a point may be reached where more difficult decisions may have to be made at the state and national level regarding immigration. Some states, such as Arizona, are already taking matters into their own hands to deal with the problem of illegal immigration.





Few nations are as important in assessing foreign policy issues as Russia. Though the Soviet Union is now two decades gone, Russia’s position as a major resource producer who happens to be armed with several thousand nuclear warheads means that no country can afford to ignore the Kremlin.

Russia is a unique nation in many ways. It is the largest country in the world, spanning two continents and a dizzying array of geographic landforms. Its population is concentrated in the European half of the country, but its most important economic assets – its oil, natural gas, and coal – are predominantly located east of the Urals in sparsely populated Siberia. It grew from a minor power centered around the ancient port of St. Petersburg to a global superpower in little over two centuries, and from 1945-1991 the Soviet Union, with Russia at its core, provided the major international counterpoint to the US-led NATO alliance.

Although the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s reduced Russia’s prominence on a global scale, the rise in oil and natural gas prices of the early 2000s has brought Russia back to leading power status. Her military is undergoing expansion and modernization, and the leadership duo of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev recall the glory days of the Soviet Union. Russia fought a short, sharp conflict with the tiny nation of Georgia in 2008 and has begun to deploy warships to the Indian Ocean and even the Caribbean Sea.

Russia has also developed a strong relationship with China, whose economy is now heavily dependent on imported Russian raw materials. Together their economies are anticipated to give them the clout to counterbalance the United Stated by the mid 21st century. This growth threatens to once again bring the United States and Russia into political conflict, and perhaps even renew the nuclear standoff that characterized the Cold War.

Current major bones of contention between Russia and the United States involve the US deployment of ballistic missile defense systems in Eastern Europe, the NATO alliance’s expansion across Europe to incorporate states on Russia’s western border, and Russia’s backing of US-opponent regimes Syria and Iran. Over the long term Russia’s rebirth and America’s decline are expected to somewhat equalize the power imbalances that occurred after the Soviet Union dissolved, and the emerging economic power bloc of the BRIC nations – Brazil, Russia, India, and China – may one day translate to military and political power sufficient to challenge the western developed nations.

Questions of statehood. Walls. Possible human rights violations. Checkpoints. The conflict between Israel and Palestine is ongoing, and continues to mar both Israel’s record and ongoing efforts towards overall stability in the area.

At the heart of the problem is the creation of Israel itself. The Jewish state was carved out of land that, at the time, belonged to the Palestinians. The displaced population’s anger directed at the new country became entangled in the policies of several of the Arab states. Israel responded by displacing even more people and building new settlements in predominantly Palestinian areas.

In the long term, a Palestinian state is likely to be the only solution. But it is hard for the Israeli government to negotiate with terrorists – and terrorist acts have certainly been perpetuated by Palestinian extremists. Many Palestinians consider the Israelis to be terrorists. In some parts of the country, the conflict has the qualities of a blood feud. Each death breeds more deaths.

Making real progress, too, would require uniting the Palestinians, but that is harder than it seems. Divided in methods and even, in some places, in cause, the Palestinian people have no united front to present to Israel and the world. With the construction of the infamous fence, the Israeli government has taken a hard line stance that seems to show an unwillingness to even look at the problem.

Between all of these factors, it appears that the conflict is a long-term feature of regional politics. It has lasted for decades and is likely to last for decades more. As unstable as the current situation is, it seems to have an odd kind of equilibrium to it, as if it has become the way things are done around here. It might look to the outsider to be completely untenable, but it seems as if nothing is ever going to change.

Is there a solution? Perhaps the proverbial ‘take the leaders and lock them in a room until they come to some kind of agreement’ is the only answer, but sadly not one the leaders are likely to agree to. Meanwhile, the ordinary people have developed abiding hatreds that may make it almost impossible for them to live in peace.