The Issue Of Illegal Immigration Essay

Illegal immigration has plagued the United States since immigration laws were created, and has worsened in recent history. Since Ronald Reagan’s Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 provided amnesty for 3 million illegal aliens in exchange for increased border security, millions of people have entered the country illegally. Over the past 30 years, the illegal immigrant population of the country has more than doubled from 5 million in 1986 to over 11.5 million in 2015. It has become one of the most controversial political issues in America. While not every undocumented alien is a bad or dangerous person, illegal immigrants in general are a national security threat, harmful to the economy, and a burden on the social welfare system. The best solution to the illegal alien problem is to secure and enforce the border, purge American territory of every person unlawfully trespassing upon it, and reform the immigration system to make it easier for foreigners to enter the United States legally like people have done for centuries.

Illegal immigrants in the United States (US) have long been a topic of debate for policymakers and the public. The rationale about them is that they do not pay taxes; they add to the costs of taxpayers and use up funds in resources meant for assisting citizens and legal immigrants (the legal citizens). Therefore, they are perceived as a threat to the US economy. The true impacts of illegal immigrants on the US economy are discussed by debating over the economic benefits as well as economic costs of these immigrants. The negative impacts, discussed first, presented the decreases in low skilled jobs’ wage rates for legal immigrants and citizens instigated by illegal immigrants, the social services such as educations and healthcare that they

Many presidents have promised to increase government regulation on the ongoing cycle of illegal immigration. However, none of them have succeeded in doing so. It does seem to be an impossible task with thousands crossing every day and many of them fooling the U.S. by getting a working visa then never returning back home. Although this task of illegal immigration seems overwhelming the government needs to be more involved by continuing to build border walls, allowing the states to pass laws to check for citizenship if prompted to, and, if all these actions are carried out lawfully, the U.S. will become a safer place to live.

The American public seems to be aware of the issue in general, but is short of the details. There has certainly been a healthy amount of media coverage of immigration reform, but as the coverage itself is unclear as to how best to frame the problems, it mostly informs about the existence of the issue rather than informing about the issue itself. As such, there is conflicting public opinion about the issue. This mirrors the views of politicians. This could be the result of the fact that immigration reform is often framed as a singular issue when it is not. Immigration reform is an omnibus issue – a series of issues that are all loosely related to one another. There is little real connection between the H-1B visa issue and the undocumented immigrant issue. If the public and the politicians are slightly confused about immigration reform, the framing of multiple issues as a single one is part of the problem.

Illegal immigration at the U.S. - Mexico border is a growing problem, and the death toll is rising as more people are attempting to illegally enter the United States. As a result of an increasing number of people trying to enter into the United States illegally, the border is now being guarded by an increasing number of border patrol officers. The United States implemented different laws and operations to prevent more illegal immigration from Mexico into the United States. The ‘Operation Gatekeeper’ was introduced in 1994, which increased the number of Border Patrol officers. The most recent and controversial law was passed in Arizona, which essentially ‘allows’ officers to use racial profiling to check legal status of anyone in that

The United States has long served as a refuge for people who seek to escape hunger, poverty, torture, and the oppression of the human spirit in their own countries. However, the issue of immigration in the United States has become a political flashpoint since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The sacralization of the tragedy has served to paint all immigrants with the same fear-ladened brush, and has marginalized and stereotyped an already vulnerable population. Today, more than ever, immigrants in the United States face increasing stressors as they try to assimilate in a politically charged post 9/11 world. To be an effective social worker, immigration issues and multicultural awareness is critical. Mary and Mario, a couple who

Illegal immigration has caused a lot of controversy within the United States. The media has influenced our society to make us believe that illegal immigrants are horrible people. One thing that I have learned throughout life is, “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains (Rousseau 4).” This sums up how society dictates our lives and limits us to what the media wants to us to believe. Whether it is legal or illegal, everybody should be treated equally. Illegal immigrants might always end up with the short end of the stick, but they heavily support the US economy. They contribute by paying taxes every year. In addition, they adopt difficult low wage jobs that are not of interest to the average American.

Illegal immigration was an issue in the past and is a pressing problem in the present. The U.S. Government has been trying to find a resolution to this issue for years. The United States approved the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, which allowed the American Government to punish American companies that consciously employed illegal immigrants (Nadadur 1037-1052). The United States’ Government Immigration Reform and Control Act has been unsuccessful in controlling illegal immigration. It is estimated that illegal immigration into the U.S. has a yearly interval of three hundred fifty thousand people (Rousmaniere 24-25). It is apparent that the 1986 act was not able to keep a handle on illegal immigration. Illegal immigration

With that being said amnesty comes with a different set of costs. Undocumented immigrants still pay taxes, but do not receive all the benefits that legal

An immigration policy that the U.S. government was considering is mass deportation. It is a de facto policy toward all illegal immigrants. Such a policy would be very costly for the U.S. government. Most Republicans were supporting the policy. The cost can be calculated by dividing the deportation process into four basic parts: Apprehension, detention, legal proceeding and transportation. For instance, with the DHS data, in 2008 the apprehension cost for each individual was $18,310. The detention cost was $3,335 for 30 days. After estimating the cost of deportation in 2012 for 11.6 million undocumented immigrants, it would be over 216 billion in a course of 5 years. The DHS’ annual budget is only $60 billion. Therefore, mass deportation would

If the United States were to deport all undocumented immigrants about $2.6 trillion would be lost. Also over five years it would cost 285 billion to just deport all the undocumented immigrants. Immigrants make a big positive impact on the United States through the work force.

Each year roughly 162,000 illegal immigrants from foreign countries illegally enter the U.S. Not only does this cause overpopulation but it increases drug activity which also promotes a higher crime rate, damages job availability, and also causes significant issues in relation to government spending. I undoubtedly believe that we should intensify our efforts to keep illegal aliens out of our country and keep the idea of tighter borders in our agenda.

The United States is a country affected by illegal immigration. The term illegal aliens or what is most commonly known as illegal immigrants, the word alien is simply a person who comes from a foreign country. A much more accurate expression for these groups of individuals is the term illegal alien. The term illegal alien is a much more precise term because it deals with both undocumented aliens as well as nonimmigrant visa overstayers. Both terms illegal alien as well as illegal immigrant are used to describe individuals who have broken the law of our country to enter and work illegally. The majority of the immigrants who come to this country illegally are in search of the

Next, a study by Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda states that using a comprehensive immigration plan that involves giving current undocumented immigrants legal status would benefit the country with 1.5 trillion dollars in additional GDP growth over 10 years while increasing wages for all workers. Additionally, tax revenue would be increased by 4.5+ billion dollars over three years. The same study shows the cost of mass deportation, which is 2.6 trillion dollars in lost GDP over 10 years while increased wages for less-skilled workers. These undocumented immigrants certainly have a heavy influence regarding the economy, and it may be beneficial to incorporate them by granting amnesty as opposed to other solutions such as mass deportation. With legal status, the 11 million undocumented individuals can be more productive and help further strengthen the U.S. economy.

Sending away all illegal immigrants would cost a huge amount of money. In the year 2016 “3.2 billion dollars was spent by the ICE to be able to identify, arrest, detain and remove undocumented immigrants according to the Department of Homeland Security”. People in the United States work hard everyday, some even work two jobs and still have to live pay check to pay check it isn’t fair that people are working hard for their money only to have it get used for removing undocumented immigrants. Instead of using money to remove immigrants, the United States should be using it to make schools better, help pay college tuitions, food to feed the homeless, and for the medical bills for unstable families. There are people out in the world that have no place to go walking the streets, starving, in desire need of a place to stay, some even