During this presidential election, immigration has been a hot topic among presidential candidates. Some fear for our country’s safety, some believe there should be no limit, and others just don’t care. No one side is necessarily correct, but a current event has been stirring the pot even more.

Earlier this week it was announced that over 800 immigrants from special interest countries, who had previously been ordered to be deported, were wrongly granted citizenship. The mistake was due to the immigrants’ fingerprints not being transferred in the FBI’s database, therefore preventing their identification. Without a proper fingerprint in the database, naturalization may be granted to immigrants who are not qualified for citizenship and/or are trying to gain U.S. citizenship for fraudulent reasons.

However, just because an immigrant may have been a part of the fingerprint mishap does not necessarily mean that they are in the U.S. for malicious reasons. The Department of Homeland Security has been working to fix the issue.

At the height of one of the most unusual presidential elections in history, an event like this only fuels more controversy around the topic. Republican candidate Donald Trump has called for a ban on immigration from countries who are connected to terrorism. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is more lenient with her policy, calling for an easier and safer path to full citizenship.

In the midst of it all, what is right?

“I don’t understand the big issue with immigration,” says senior Maddux Snook. “It’s what this country was founded on.”

During the era of Ellis Island, were those immigrants less dangerous than the ones who are migrating today? Is safety only a modern issue?

It’s obvious that instances of terrorism and gun violence are happening much more frequently today, but the argument that such events correlate with immigration is still a little fuzzy. How does one differentiate between an isolated incident that could have been carried out by anyone, citizen or not, and an event that was purposely planned by foreigners who are trying to attack United States? It is a very difficult task.

“I think that it’s just as likely for a normal U.S. citizen to be a terrorist than it is for an immigrant,” adds Snook.

However, some have differing opinions.

“A lot of mass shooting in America are from naturalized U.S. citizens,” says senior Courtney Chandler. “We are way too lax on our [immigration] policies.”

Chandler goes on to add, “When we hit the quota, people still push for more immigrants but they don’t understand how many are actually getting in. We need to review the policies.”

As for the 800 immigrants who were granted their citizenship mistakenly, it’s hard to tell how significant of a mistake it actually is. As for the mistake itself, “Our system is stupid for allowing this to happen,” concludes Snook. Regardless of opinion, it wasn’t exactly the best thing to happen for the United States.