The Negative effects of Illegal Immigration
People come from all over the world to live in America, work hard, and achieve their dreams. However, overtime, many people began to flood into America and eventually we developed policies and laws that immigrants had to follow in order to become a part of our nation. Nowadays, some people choosing to bypass all of the regulations and enter into America illegally in order to reap the benefits of living in our country, while others are following rules that we set in place to keep our country safe. Illegal immigration has now become a growing issue in America today and at the center of many political debates and movements. The current increase in illegal immigration has caused many negative effects on American society, Thus we need to understand the issue and find a way to solve it. We created our immigration policies in order to maintain our nation, therefore we must enforce the laws that we have put in place in order to preserve our great nation.
Before discussing how to combat the issue of illegal immigration, it is important to understand the issue. Illegal immigration has been a growing topic in America, for many decades.(We estimate the illegal population of the country to be between 11 and 13 million persons, and it has been rising recently each year by about a half million persons. Other reputable researchers have estimated a much higher illegal population. (Martin 2)) Illegal immigrants either enter our country by illegally crossing our borders, or by legally enter our country (via visa) and refusing to leave once there stay has expired.
The reason the rates of illegal immigration has increased is because we have not made efforts to increase the security at our borders. Our first defence in the battle at the border is how well guard our borders. Since the attacks that we faced back in 2001, we have beefed up our borders with miles of fencing for miles, over 21,000 agents, and surveillance systems to watch our borders. "Activists say border crossers are diverting to more remote and dangerous terrain, making them more dependent on violent smugglers." (Kariam 3) Reports from press have confirmed confessions from captured Isis members, that there were plans to create tunnels into America that cross under the Mexican border. We must remain vigilant when it comes to securing our borders for national security.
Also, Mexican citizens are trying to escape to America From Mexico because, there are trying to escape the political corruption and are seeking for better opportunities. More than 70% of our immigrants come through our southern borders from Mexico and Central American countries, while the remain percentage come from Europe and Asia combined. Immigrants from Mexico are trying to find financial stability in a more well-rounded economy , as well as escaping the corruption in their own government in Mexico. "Drug-related homicides soared, and former elite soldiers on the payroll of a drug cartel were responsible for numerous kidnappings and killings. Murder victims' tortured bodies frequently appeared on roadsides in key drug trafficking hubs throughout the country - and scores more victims, including more than 40 U.S. citizens, vanished without a trace." (Freeman 1) The drug war has been taking place in Mexico since 2005 and has been mainly been based in the areas close to the northern border. Drug Cartels are using their power and money to bribe government officials to do as they please and so that they can perform their illegal acts without government interference. In the past years alone, numerous amounts of mayors have been killed by what investigators believe were ordered by Drug Cartel leaders. As it would seem, most if not all, political leaders are willing to aid the cartel because they fear the drug cartels or that they are profiting from it.
One issue that illegal immigration has caused America economically is the use of cheap labor. Immigrants tend to be very hard working people just looking for a better life and better opportunities and many business take advantage of immigrants desperate need to be able to make money. Also in these situations, many Americans find themselves struggling to find work and are unemployed because of immigrants coming to America and obtaining all of the low end jobs. (Indeed, if there is a silver bullet in addressing the problem of illegal immigration, this is it. Jobs are the primary magnet that draws illegal aliens to the United States (Kobach pg 470). Even though hiring illegal immigrants is considered a crime, small business employers tend to hire immigrants because they are seens as better works because the work harder in comparison to others in the low wage labor market. With the increase in hiring illegal immigrants would come with the decrease in wages and levels of education required for jobs, which would increase the levels of illegal immigration even more.
Another, Economical problem that is associated with illegal immigration and the fiscal burden that falls upon the United States Taxpayer. Immigrants are able to receive benefits from the United States government and at taxpayer expense; benefits such as: medicare, reduced tuition rates, deducted taxes from their paychecks, in-state tuition reimbursement, as well as several other examples. "With an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., that $11.6 billion comes to about $1,050 per person, which The Latin Post hails as "lots of taxes." In fact, it's less than the average paid by citizens in even the lowest-tax states, such as Tennessee, where the average per capita state and local tax burden is $2,805, not to mention high tax areas, like Washington, D.C., where the figure is $7,540, according to data from the Tax Foundation. Media reports point out that illegals pay about 8% of their incomes in state and local taxes, compared with 5.4% for "the 1%," but ignore that average taxpayers, based on the Tax Foundation data, pay an average of 9.48%." (Katel 2)Research shows that the the cost that taxpayers must pay for illegal immigration greatly outweigh the revenue that illegal immigrants contribute to the economy. Studies from 2013 have shown that on average illegal give $10,000 in total taxes, however they receive almost $24,000 in Welfare. And after further investigation, Survey show that more than 60% of illegal households use at least one form of Welfare benefits. As the population of illegal immigrants increase, the economical deficit that our nation is facing will also grow.
Secondly, a very important discussion topic that is discussed is that our flexible immigration policy uncovers the possibility of a threat to our national security. The great debate on National Security became the center point of many debates after the attacks on September 11, 2001, considering that the attacks were performed by terrorists using visas. Since then, the Department of Homeland Security has been press to increase the security down by our southern borders by increasing our agents at the border, increasing funding to illegal prevention, and building more structures such as walls and towers. Also, the drug crisis that is taking place in Mexico has also spread through the southern border of the United States. Research discovered by the Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA) uncovered that up to 80% of methamphetamine in the United States originated from labs in Mexico. "Opponents of immigration reform claim that "illegal" immigration, especially through the U.S. Mexican border, is a gateway to potential criminal activity and go so far as to connect immigration with terrorism." (Johnson 2) Nowadays, we face conflict with the most current terrorist group, Isis. In the most recent years, several attacks have occurred on United States ground in the name of Isis. Whether or not these attacks were performed by actual members of this terrorist group or just criminal using the terrorist group's name, it should bring the issue of border security to the top of the list of topics that our government are discussing.
There are several approaches that we can take in order to prevent a further increase in illegal immigration. The primary reason that people immigrate to the United States is because of appeal of the free benefits and the large amounts of jobs that are available to people without job experience. We need to have stricter punishments for those who decide to come into America illegally such as not allowing someone, who entered the country illegally, to apply for citizenship or work visas. If immigrants are willing to break our country's immigration laws then we need to reinforce and create more effective repercussions in order to prevent further increase of illegal immigration population. "Americans rightly incorporate into their lives and celebrate the values of America, including individual freedom, limited government, and free enterprise, and beckon others to join us. Lawful immigration greatly benefits both America and the lawful immigrants, while unlawful immigration presents challenges to America's ability to protect its borders and preserve its sovereignty." (Addington 2) During the Obama administration, pulled away from cracking down on the immigration issue. On the flip side, the former president actually was willing to increase benefits for all illegal undocumented immigrants. During President Obama's presidency he even proposed to grant amnesty and allow citizenship for all of the undocumented immigrants that currently lived in America. Amnesty is not a good response to unlawful immigration, as it creates financial and economical strain on the host country and discourages become a legal immigrant in the future. The United States needs to find a medium in between creating strict immigration prevention laws, however, not so strict that it prevents people from even attempting the legalization process.
Many people look as immigration as a benefit to the United States and are welcoming to accepting of all form of immigration. A very common pro that US citizens tend to find with illegal immigration, is that hiring undocumented workers help boost the economy and small businesses by hiring workers for lower wages. Also, since illegal immigrants are willing to work low wages, it in turn keeps salaries down and helps keep economy from inflation. And also since immigrants do not pay income tax, they are continuously depleting government funding. The biggest argument that supporter of immigration use is that, it would cost the government far to much money so we would be better to grant the amnesty and allow them to remain in America as legal citizens. In the end, when it comes down to facts and numbers, undocumented immigrants cost the United States more money than they contribute. "There are three main changes in policy that might reduce or eliminate the fiscal costs of illegal immigration. One set of options is to allow illegal aliens to remain in the country, but attempt to reduce the costs they impose. A second set of options would be to grant them legal status as a way of increasing the taxes they pay. A third option would be to enforce the law and reduce the size of the illegal population and with it the costs of illegal immigration." (Camarota 7) Debates about our immigration policy is present all over the media and in our politics. The support of allowing all illegal immigrants to become legal citizens is mostly a movement of the left and liberals, in an effort to be supportive of all cultures. I firmly believe that we need to focus on the well-being of our own country and citizens before turning our focus to the need of those who broke the law to be here in the first place.
Currently now in America, the United States if torn between different viewpoints and now because of the most recent presidential election, people are being more vocal about choosing a side. Presidential elect, Donald Trump, has many times openly expressed the need to preserve our borders and fight back in battle that we are losing at our borders. Trump, During his Presidential Campaign coined the term "Build the Wall" and took a very strong stance on our current situation on immigration. "He called the United States a "dumping ground for everybody else's problems" and said Mexico is "sending people that have lots of problems," including some who are criminals and rapists. He promised to build a wall on the nation's southern border." (Mantel) At being to focus point of attacks from supporters of undocumented immigrants, this also gave rise to those who also believe illegal immigration to be a nuisance in America. Supporter favor Trump because of he claims to focus on bring jobs back to Americans, decrease illegal immigration population, building a physical wall at our southern borders, and cracking down on business and illegal immigrants with new immigration work laws. Those who oppose Trump concluded that Trump is a terrible person who uses hate and racism to push his agenda, that his policies would not benefit America. In the end, Trump is currently our presidential elect and he is his plans for America's immigration policies are on the other side of the spectrum compared to Obama. Trump's changes should show results as to if immigration is really beneficial to the United States or harming it.
All in all, the growing population of illegal immigrants in the US has been causing negative effects of society and the economy. Our current Presidential elect, Donald Trump, has proposed many plans and policies that he intends to enforce onto all issues of illegal immigration.