Immigration Dilemma
Illegal immigration has become the central role in United States politics
today. An illegal immigrant is an individual who resides
in a nation illegally; the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) estimated 10.78
million illegal immigrants in the U.S. as of 2010.
here have been many debates concerning illegal
immigration creating a lot of controversy throughout the nation.
It is clear that concern over illegal immigration has increased over the
past few years. Native citizens in
general have either been for illegal immigration seeing a potential positive
impact, or against it saying illegal immigrants should simply be deported. However, despite your current position
regarding the issue it is important to be well informed.
There are many questions about illegal immigration that need answering,
questions like:
Throughout this literature review I will answer
the previous questions with information regarding the topics of illegal
immigration.
Is illegal immigration affecting the safety of
citizens in the United States?
One
of the biggest concerns about illegal immigration is the possible effects it
might have on the safety of people living here legally.
Preventing the admittance of criminals to this nation has always been a
priority to protect our safety.
Consequently, we
have laws that inhibit the citizenship of immigrants with a criminal
record.
A substantial percentage of people feel that
illegal immigrants are the cause of high crime rates in cities.
Higher crime rates lead to an increase in risk of death, damage, or
damage to property all of which affect our safety.
This assumption may seem
straight forward and easy to verify.
However, most studies and research that compared crime rates with the
amount of illegal immigrants in a city could not find a clear association with
the two. This is due to the lack
of dependable data available to make such connections (Vaughan & Camarota,
2009). Data for the overall
population composed by the Census or surveys are safe to assume reliable because
the general public does not have a reason to lie, the problem is with the prison
inmates. The small number of
jurisdictions that have carefully collected data on its inmate’s immigration
status may not be represented in the nation as a whole.
The absence of information on immigration status is relevant because it
makes it difficult to pin point a correlation with illegal immigrants and
crimes.
Advocates who are pro-immigration believe that
illegal immigrants are not endangering our safety for several reasons. Ruben G. Rumbaut, PhD, Professor of Sociology at the
University of California, Irvine, and Walter A. Ewing, PhD, Research Associate
at the Immigration Policy Center of the American Immigration Law Foundation
(AILF), in a Spring 2007 Immigration Policy Center report entitled "The Myth of
Immigrant Criminality and the Paradox of Assimilation: Incarceration Rates among
Native and Foreign-Born Men," concluded that: “because many immigrants in general have lower
levels of education, society tends to stereotype them with crimes and
incarceration”. In general, an
individual who thinks of people who are in prison, they think of an uneducated
individual. They
also believe that people link illegal immigration and criminality because they
were willing to break the law to make a living here in the first place (Rumbaut
& Ewing, 2008).
Nonetheless, we cannot deny the fact that there
have been crimes that can be linked to illegal immigrants besides their clear
immigration offence. According to
CJS (Criminal Justice System) there has been an increase of illegal immigrants
charged with crimes particularly in drug trafficking.
From 1985 to 2000 drug trafficking prosecutions of noncitizens has
increased drastically from 1,799 to 7,803 (Scalia & Marika, 2002). Illegal immigrants may see drug
trafficking appealing, for the “easy” money. Additionally, according to the
informative video on immigration “The Whole Enchilada” there is 700 gangs in Los
Angeles, 500 of which are of illegal Latino immigrants.
It is believed that half of the inmates in California are made up of
illegal immigrants.
What would be the advantages or disadvantages of
legalization as a way of addressing illegal immigration in the United
States?
In order for illegal immigrants to be legally living in the United States
an amnesty has to take place. An
amnesty for illegal immigrants is a pardon for breaking the law by driving,
working, and living here without the proper documentation.
This would not be the first time the United States has done this. Before the amnesty of 1886, amnesty was
only given to individuals case by case but never to a large group.
In 1986 amnesty was given to 2.8 million illegal immigrants, giving them
the opportunity to change their immigration status through the Immigration and
Reform Control Act (Immigration Amnesty, 2011). If
another nationwide amnesty were to take place what would the consequence
be?
Having amnesty for all illegal immigrants to legally be here may have
many negative effects. The
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), believe that
"The proposal to simply convert illegal alien
residents to legal resident status with an amnesty violates a fundamental
principle of immigration reform, because that will encourage rather than deter
future illegal immigration."
Having another amnesty may convey a wrong message
to foreigners, having them believe that they will be rewarded for ignoring our
immigration laws. They might see
illegally migrating to the United States as a plausible method of gaining
citizenship here making the problem worse. James Sensenbrenner a house representative, said
the following regarding the issue, "illegal aliens should not be granted amnesty
and a path to citizenship. This would be a slap in the face to all those who
have followed the law and have come to America legally.”
An amnesty would be unfair for the legal
immigrants. This is because all
legal immigrants have to go through a process to be legally here.
They have to apply once accepted they are tested on both English and
civics (United States history and government) by passing the exam they are
granted citizenship (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Policy, 2013).
By granting illegal immigrants amnesty they would not have to go through
the long process that all immigrants who are legally here went through.
Having a nationwide amnesty can also be beneficial. Morally
speaking, an amnesty is a good thing because it will prevent families from being
torn apart. It is not uncommon for
the parents of a family living here to be illegal immigrants; meanwhile their
kids are citizens by birth.
Without the amnesty the parents run the risk of being deported back to
their country of origin, tearing the families apart.
An
amnesty would also benefit the investment we have already made on the students
who are illegal immigrants that received a free education through the public
school system. A lot of times
illegal immigrants are restrained from pursuing a higher education for the lack
of proper documentation required by Universities.
Having more people with a higher education will benefit everyone in the
long run. When President Barack
Obama was asked about the proposed immigration and amnesty laws, he stated
“We are not going to ship back 12 million people; we're
not going to do it as a practical matter. We would have to take all our law
enforcement that we have available and we would have to use it and put people on
buses”. It may be too impractical and expensive to deport
all of the 12 million illegal immigrants.
Having all of the law enforcement used to round up people will be very
expensive and inefficient.
Additionally, unless changes are made to the border and immigration
policy they will come right back.
If illegal aliens have access to public services
such as healthcare and public schools, how would this affect society within the
United States?
If illegal immigrants were to have access to all of the
governments’ services such as Medicare, Social Security, and food stamps like a
citizen of the United States, what would be its possible outcomes?
As of now illegal immigrants have access to a limited number of
government services like:
emergency medical care (which includes emergency labor and delivery),
emergency disaster relief that is provided for the short term and is not a cash
payment, limited immunizations and testing, and treatment of symptoms of
communicable diseases, certain community programs such as soup kitchens or
crisis counseling, as specified by the Attorney General, limited housing or
community development assistance to those already receiving it in 1996, and of
course public schools (Bank,
2009)
Having everyone (legally and not legally) here
have access to all of the government services can benefit the society in our
country. In case of a robbery or
even rape an illegal immigrant will be able to feel safe from having to hide in
the shadows because of the fear of being deported.
They will have the right to report the person committing the crime. Being able to report a crime will help
in ultimately causing the removal of dangerous people from walking in the
streets, making the United States a safer place. Having restrictions on health care for
illegal immigrants can also cause the United States more problems rather than
solutions. These restrictions fail
to take into consideration the ultimate role of the local government that funds
the health care programs which is to protect the health, welfare, and safety of
everyone within the border. For
example, an illegal immigrant who has an infectious disease may not be aware
because they have to avoid medical attention. If they aren’t aware they could be
spreading the disease unknowingly, putting people’s health at risk.
Secondly, denying discounted health care will prevent the children of
undocumented immigrants who are likely citizens from birth from getting the help
they are eligible for (kulgren, 2003).
Having everyone have access to government services can
also have a negative effect on society.
One of the most noticeable effects is the increase in cost it would be to
have the government services reach even illegal immigrants. As of now the
government is already spending an estimated 113 billion on illegal immigrants at
the federal, state and local level.
The following circle graph shows how the money is being distributed for
several of the governments’ services.
Federal Outlays for Illegal
Immigrants
The graph shows how education for the children of
illegal immigrants is the largest expenditure of taxpayer’s money, costing 52
billion a year (Martin & Raurk, 2010).
Besides the impact on cost by illegal immigrants to government services,
they would also reduce the amount of help available to taxpaying citizens who
really need the help as well.
They would receive less help because the government will have to spread
the resources available which were funded by citizens paying
taxes.
What affect is illegal immigration having in our
economy?
The fiscal impact of illegal immigration is one
of the biggest issues still being debated today. The reason why is because the economy
is another hot issue with the nation that needs improvement.
Do the goods outweigh the cost of having illegal immigrants?
There are several factors that have to be taken into consideration to
find out.
The economic effect from immigrants greatly depends on
their level of education. More
educated immigrants tend to have better skilled jobs making a greater positive
impact to the economy. However,
because illegal immigrants in general tend to be young men with low levels of
education they work in labor intensive jobs. Consequently they do not contribute a
significant amount to the economy.
Nevertheless, they cost less than a low skilled citizen to the economy
because they are not eligible to numerous government programs.
Consequently, most economic research has found that illegal immigrants
have reduced the earnings of low skilled natives due to their willingness to
work for less (Zavodny, 2007).
Illegal immigrants are an indispensable work force for farms,
restaurants, hotels, and construction projects. However, the biggest issue is that part
of the money they earn is sent back to their family.
Although this is not necessarily a bad thing, this hurts the local
economy because of the money not being circulated in the United States. Instead the money earned here is being
used and circulated somewhere else.
Conclusion
Historically speaking, our great country was founded by immigrants and we
have prided ourselves in being a melting pot of culture.
Nevertheless, the increase in illegal immigrants has had its effects
(good and bad) to our nation.
Securing the borders will slow down illegal immigration, but if they
really want to be here they will find a way. It is important to be well informed
regarding the topic because we need to change our laws of immigration. To find solutions that will benefit
both a legal citizen while at the same time giving illegal immigrants the
opportunity to become a citizen and pursue the great American dream.
To make this happen we have to look past our borders and see into the
future... so this problem will become part of our
history.
References
Bank, Justin. "Social Security for Illegal
Immigrants?" FactCheckorg. Fact Check, 1 Mar. 2009. Web. 03 Mar.
2013.
"Immigration Amnesty." US. U.S. Immigration
Amnesty, 2011. Web. 01 Mar.
2013.
Kullgren, Jeffrey T. "Restrictions on
Undocumented Immigrants’ Access to Health Services: The Public Health
Implications of Welfare Reform." NCBI.nlm. N.p., Oct. 2003. Web. 3 Mar.
2013.
Martin, Jack, and Eric A. Raurk. "The Fiscal
Burden of Illegal Immigration on U.S. Taxpayers." FAIR.org. Federation for
American Immigration Reform, July
2010
Mcdonald, William F. "Does Illegal
Immigration Relate to Higher Crime Incidence? - Illegal Immigration -
ProCon.org." Does Illegal Immigration Relate to Higher Crime Incidence? -
Illegal Immigration - ProCon.org. ProCon, Aug. 2008. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.
Rumbaut, Ruban G., and Walter A. Ewing. "Does
Illegal Immigration Relate to Higher Crime Incidence? - Illegal Immigration -
ProCon.org." Does Illegal Immigration Relate to Higher Crime Incidence? -
Illegal Immigration - ProCon.org. ProCon, Aug. 2008. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.
Scalia, John, and Marika F. Litras.
Immigration Offenders in the Federal. Publication no. 191745. N.p.: Federal
Justice Statistics Program, 2002. Encore. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.
The
Whole Enchilada. Filmaker Library, 2010. Database Video. Encore. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.
United States. U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services. Department of Homeland Security. U.S.Citizenship and
Immigration Services, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Mar.
2013.
United States. U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services. Department of Homeland Security. U.S.Citizenship and
Immigration Services, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.. Web. 4 Mar.
2013.
Vaughan, Jessica, and Steven A. Camarota.
"Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Conflicted Issue | Center for Immigration
Studies." Center for Immigration Studies. Center for Immigration Studies, Nov.
2009. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.
Zavodny, Madeline. "What's the Economic
Impact of Illegal Immigration? Why Target Employers?" Msnbc.com. NBC News, 7
Oct. 2007. Web. 04 Mar. 2013.
Illegal immigration has become the central role in United States politics
today. An illegal immigrant is an individual who resides
in a nation illegally; the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) estimated 10.78
million illegal immigrants in the U.S. as of 2010.
here have been many debates concerning illegal
immigration creating a lot of controversy throughout the nation.
It is clear that concern over illegal immigration has increased over the
past few years. Native citizens in
general have either been for illegal immigration seeing a potential positive
impact, or against it saying illegal immigrants should simply be deported. However, despite your current position
regarding the issue it is important to be well informed.
There are many questions about illegal immigration that need answering,
questions like:
Throughout this literature review I will answer
the previous questions with information regarding the topics of illegal
immigration.
Is illegal immigration affecting the safety of
citizens in the United States?
One
of the biggest concerns about illegal immigration is the possible effects it
might have on the safety of people living here legally.
Preventing the admittance of criminals to this nation has always been a
priority to protect our safety.
Consequently, we
have laws that inhibit the citizenship of immigrants with a criminal
record.
A substantial percentage of people feel that
illegal immigrants are the cause of high crime rates in cities.
Higher crime rates lead to an increase in risk of death, damage, or
damage to property all of which affect our safety.
This assumption may seem
straight forward and easy to verify.
However, most studies and research that compared crime rates with the
amount of illegal immigrants in a city could not find a clear association with
the two. This is due to the lack
of dependable data available to make such connections (Vaughan & Camarota,
2009). Data for the overall
population composed by the Census or surveys are safe to assume reliable because
the general public does not have a reason to lie, the problem is with the prison
inmates. The small number of
jurisdictions that have carefully collected data on its inmate’s immigration
status may not be represented in the nation as a whole.
The absence of information on immigration status is relevant because it
makes it difficult to pin point a correlation with illegal immigrants and
crimes.
Advocates who are pro-immigration believe that
illegal immigrants are not endangering our safety for several reasons. Ruben G. Rumbaut, PhD, Professor of Sociology at the
University of California, Irvine, and Walter A. Ewing, PhD, Research Associate
at the Immigration Policy Center of the American Immigration Law Foundation
(AILF), in a Spring 2007 Immigration Policy Center report entitled "The Myth of
Immigrant Criminality and the Paradox of Assimilation: Incarceration Rates among
Native and Foreign-Born Men," concluded that: “because many immigrants in general have lower
levels of education, society tends to stereotype them with crimes and
incarceration”. In general, an
individual who thinks of people who are in prison, they think of an uneducated
individual. They
also believe that people link illegal immigration and criminality because they
were willing to break the law to make a living here in the first place (Rumbaut
& Ewing, 2008).
Nonetheless, we cannot deny the fact that there
have been crimes that can be linked to illegal immigrants besides their clear
immigration offence. According to
CJS (Criminal Justice System) there has been an increase of illegal immigrants
charged with crimes particularly in drug trafficking.
From 1985 to 2000 drug trafficking prosecutions of noncitizens has
increased drastically from 1,799 to 7,803 (Scalia & Marika, 2002). Illegal immigrants may see drug
trafficking appealing, for the “easy” money. Additionally, according to the
informative video on immigration “The Whole Enchilada” there is 700 gangs in Los
Angeles, 500 of which are of illegal Latino immigrants.
It is believed that half of the inmates in California are made up of
illegal immigrants.
What would be the advantages or disadvantages of
legalization as a way of addressing illegal immigration in the United
States?
In order for illegal immigrants to be legally living in the United States
an amnesty has to take place. An
amnesty for illegal immigrants is a pardon for breaking the law by driving,
working, and living here without the proper documentation.
This would not be the first time the United States has done this. Before the amnesty of 1886, amnesty was
only given to individuals case by case but never to a large group.
In 1986 amnesty was given to 2.8 million illegal immigrants, giving them
the opportunity to change their immigration status through the Immigration and
Reform Control Act (Immigration Amnesty, 2011). If
another nationwide amnesty were to take place what would the consequence
be?
Having amnesty for all illegal immigrants to legally be here may have
many negative effects. The
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), believe that
"The proposal to simply convert illegal alien
residents to legal resident status with an amnesty violates a fundamental
principle of immigration reform, because that will encourage rather than deter
future illegal immigration."
Having another amnesty may convey a wrong message
to foreigners, having them believe that they will be rewarded for ignoring our
immigration laws. They might see
illegally migrating to the United States as a plausible method of gaining
citizenship here making the problem worse. James Sensenbrenner a house representative, said
the following regarding the issue, "illegal aliens should not be granted amnesty
and a path to citizenship. This would be a slap in the face to all those who
have followed the law and have come to America legally.”
An amnesty would be unfair for the legal
immigrants. This is because all
legal immigrants have to go through a process to be legally here.
They have to apply once accepted they are tested on both English and
civics (United States history and government) by passing the exam they are
granted citizenship (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Policy, 2013).
By granting illegal immigrants amnesty they would not have to go through
the long process that all immigrants who are legally here went through.
Having a nationwide amnesty can also be beneficial. Morally
speaking, an amnesty is a good thing because it will prevent families from being
torn apart. It is not uncommon for
the parents of a family living here to be illegal immigrants; meanwhile their
kids are citizens by birth.
Without the amnesty the parents run the risk of being deported back to
their country of origin, tearing the families apart.
An
amnesty would also benefit the investment we have already made on the students
who are illegal immigrants that received a free education through the public
school system. A lot of times
illegal immigrants are restrained from pursuing a higher education for the lack
of proper documentation required by Universities.
Having more people with a higher education will benefit everyone in the
long run. When President Barack
Obama was asked about the proposed immigration and amnesty laws, he stated
“We are not going to ship back 12 million people; we're
not going to do it as a practical matter. We would have to take all our law
enforcement that we have available and we would have to use it and put people on
buses”. It may be too impractical and expensive to deport
all of the 12 million illegal immigrants.
Having all of the law enforcement used to round up people will be very
expensive and inefficient.
Additionally, unless changes are made to the border and immigration
policy they will come right back.
If illegal aliens have access to public services
such as healthcare and public schools, how would this affect society within the
United States?
If illegal immigrants were to have access to all of the
governments’ services such as Medicare, Social Security, and food stamps like a
citizen of the United States, what would be its possible outcomes?
As of now illegal immigrants have access to a limited number of
government services like:
emergency medical care (which includes emergency labor and delivery),
emergency disaster relief that is provided for the short term and is not a cash
payment, limited immunizations and testing, and treatment of symptoms of
communicable diseases, certain community programs such as soup kitchens or
crisis counseling, as specified by the Attorney General, limited housing or
community development assistance to those already receiving it in 1996, and of
course public schools (Bank,
2009)
Having everyone (legally and not legally) here
have access to all of the government services can benefit the society in our
country. In case of a robbery or
even rape an illegal immigrant will be able to feel safe from having to hide in
the shadows because of the fear of being deported.
They will have the right to report the person committing the crime. Being able to report a crime will help
in ultimately causing the removal of dangerous people from walking in the
streets, making the United States a safer place. Having restrictions on health care for
illegal immigrants can also cause the United States more problems rather than
solutions. These restrictions fail
to take into consideration the ultimate role of the local government that funds
the health care programs which is to protect the health, welfare, and safety of
everyone within the border. For
example, an illegal immigrant who has an infectious disease may not be aware
because they have to avoid medical attention. If they aren’t aware they could be
spreading the disease unknowingly, putting people’s health at risk.
Secondly, denying discounted health care will prevent the children of
undocumented immigrants who are likely citizens from birth from getting the help
they are eligible for (kulgren, 2003).
Having everyone have access to government services can
also have a negative effect on society.
One of the most noticeable effects is the increase in cost it would be to
have the government services reach even illegal immigrants. As of now the
government is already spending an estimated 113 billion on illegal immigrants at
the federal, state and local level.
The following circle graph shows how the money is being distributed for
several of the governments’ services.
Federal Outlays for Illegal
Immigrants
The graph shows how education for the children of
illegal immigrants is the largest expenditure of taxpayer’s money, costing 52
billion a year (Martin & Raurk, 2010).
Besides the impact on cost by illegal immigrants to government services,
they would also reduce the amount of help available to taxpaying citizens who
really need the help as well.
They would receive less help because the government will have to spread
the resources available which were funded by citizens paying
taxes.
What affect is illegal immigration having in our
economy?
The fiscal impact of illegal immigration is one
of the biggest issues still being debated today. The reason why is because the economy
is another hot issue with the nation that needs improvement.
Do the goods outweigh the cost of having illegal immigrants?
There are several factors that have to be taken into consideration to
find out.
The economic effect from immigrants greatly depends on
their level of education. More
educated immigrants tend to have better skilled jobs making a greater positive
impact to the economy. However,
because illegal immigrants in general tend to be young men with low levels of
education they work in labor intensive jobs. Consequently they do not contribute a
significant amount to the economy.
Nevertheless, they cost less than a low skilled citizen to the economy
because they are not eligible to numerous government programs.
Consequently, most economic research has found that illegal immigrants
have reduced the earnings of low skilled natives due to their willingness to
work for less (Zavodny, 2007).
Illegal immigrants are an indispensable work force for farms,
restaurants, hotels, and construction projects. However, the biggest issue is that part
of the money they earn is sent back to their family.
Although this is not necessarily a bad thing, this hurts the local
economy because of the money not being circulated in the United States. Instead the money earned here is being
used and circulated somewhere else.
Conclusion
Historically speaking, our great country was founded by immigrants and we
have prided ourselves in being a melting pot of culture.
Nevertheless, the increase in illegal immigrants has had its effects
(good and bad) to our nation.
Securing the borders will slow down illegal immigration, but if they
really want to be here they will find a way. It is important to be well informed
regarding the topic because we need to change our laws of immigration. To find solutions that will benefit
both a legal citizen while at the same time giving illegal immigrants the
opportunity to become a citizen and pursue the great American dream.
To make this happen we have to look past our borders and see into the
future... so this problem will become part of our
history.
References
Bank, Justin. "Social Security for Illegal
Immigrants?" FactCheckorg. Fact Check, 1 Mar. 2009. Web. 03 Mar.
2013.
"Immigration Amnesty." US. U.S. Immigration
Amnesty, 2011. Web. 01 Mar.
2013.
Kullgren, Jeffrey T. "Restrictions on
Undocumented Immigrants’ Access to Health Services: The Public Health
Implications of Welfare Reform." NCBI.nlm. N.p., Oct. 2003. Web. 3 Mar.
2013.
Martin, Jack, and Eric A. Raurk. "The Fiscal
Burden of Illegal Immigration on U.S. Taxpayers." FAIR.org. Federation for
American Immigration Reform, July
2010
Mcdonald, William F. "Does Illegal
Immigration Relate to Higher Crime Incidence? - Illegal Immigration -
ProCon.org." Does Illegal Immigration Relate to Higher Crime Incidence? -
Illegal Immigration - ProCon.org. ProCon, Aug. 2008. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.
Rumbaut, Ruban G., and Walter A. Ewing. "Does
Illegal Immigration Relate to Higher Crime Incidence? - Illegal Immigration -
ProCon.org." Does Illegal Immigration Relate to Higher Crime Incidence? -
Illegal Immigration - ProCon.org. ProCon, Aug. 2008. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.
Scalia, John, and Marika F. Litras.
Immigration Offenders in the Federal. Publication no. 191745. N.p.: Federal
Justice Statistics Program, 2002. Encore. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.
The
Whole Enchilada. Filmaker Library, 2010. Database Video. Encore. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.
United States. U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services. Department of Homeland Security. U.S.Citizenship and
Immigration Services, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Mar.
2013.
United States. U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services. Department of Homeland Security. U.S.Citizenship and
Immigration Services, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.. Web. 4 Mar.
2013.
Vaughan, Jessica, and Steven A. Camarota.
"Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Conflicted Issue | Center for Immigration
Studies." Center for Immigration Studies. Center for Immigration Studies, Nov.
2009. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.
Zavodny, Madeline. "What's the Economic
Impact of Illegal Immigration? Why Target Employers?" Msnbc.com. NBC News, 7
Oct. 2007. Web. 04 Mar. 2013.