Undocumented Residents : Not Just An American Problem

As the daughter of an immigrant, I have witnessed the various barriers faced by immigrants, and this experience has motivated me toward my career objective. According to the Pew Research Center Hispanic Trends Project, there were about 11.3 million immigrants living illegally in the United States in 2013 (Passel et al., 2014). These immigrants come from all parts of the world for several different reasons. Whether to provide better resources for their family back home or to live a better life, these immigrants usually work in environments that can be harmful and dangerous to their health.

There are many vulnerable populations within the United States. One of the many vulnerable populations are undocumented immigrants. Undocumented immigrants also known as illegal immigrants according to Wikipedia (2016) is defined as “the migration of people across national boarders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country” (para 1). The United States of America has one of the largest population of immigrants. In this paper, I will be discussing the multiple stressors related to undocumented immigrants as well as the programs that can be used to help alleviate those stressors.

Immigration is an issue that many people see as small and insignificant. Many believe that it doesn’t concern or affect them in any shape or form. Truth is, it doesn’t matter if you're African American, Caucasian, Asian, Mexican, or another race, immigration is an issue that affects everyone. Immigration affects the economy, the workforce, families, and the individual’s themselves whose main goal and dream is the “American Dream” that they come to the US looking for.

America is deemed the land of the free and the home of the brave. The very fabric of this great nation was built upon immigrants from the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock to the millions of immigrants landing at Ellis Island. America is known as a melting pot of many different cultures and ethnic groups with roughly 11.7 million illegal immigrants living here. There has been a long standing love/hate relationship with the issue of immigration. It has long been debated as to whether or not we should continue to allow immigrant into our country so freely.

In the United States of America, there is a big problem with illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is an enormous issue that during the 2016 presidential primary debates. It was a problem when President Obama took office eight years ago, and it is an even greater problem now that he is getting ready to leave office. Most Americans want the border closed, but that will only solve half the problem. The other half of the problem can be solved by deporting the illegal immigrants that are already in the United States. Illegal immigrants are taking American jobs. Therefore, negatively affecting the economy. Furthermore, they have a higher crime rate than the average U.S. citizen. Yet, supporters view illegal immigrants as a good thing because it helps grow the economy by doing jobs nobody else will do. Besides helping the economy, supporters believe that illegal immigrants are not criminals and will not do any more harm than coming into the country illegally. Most U.S. citizen believe that the U.S. immigration policy needs to be reformed. Illegal immigrants should not be allowed to stay in the United States because they take away U.S. jobs, they negatively affect the economy, and contribute to crime.

Better research on immigrant health and health outcomes would go a long way to shining a light on how to tackle these problems. The current debate in the research concentrates on social determinants of health such as acculturation, which of course influences a lot of other health and healthcare decisions made by immigrants. However, only focusing on social determinants of health undermines the importance of other factors that also heavily affect immigrant health in the United States. Specifically in the case of undocumented immigrants, the debate need to focus on systemic issues impeding access to healthcare as well as pre and post migratory social, political, and economic factors. Some examples that Martinez et al listed include, “specific environmental conditions such as pollution and contamination of water, as well as pre-and-post migration experiences ranging from rape, sexual assault, and abuse to extortion and several other specific geopolitical and economic factors” (966). Social strife, political persecution or famines are real problems that can affect an individuals’ health and specifically their mental health for the rest of their lives. Torres et al urge “those involved in public health research, policy, and practice” to

There were eleven and a half million unauthorized immigrants in the United States in 2014. The population has remained stable for five years, and currently makes up three and half percent of the nation’s population. In the United States Labor Force, there were eight million unauthorized immigrants either working or looking for work in 2014. Is it ethical to employ illegal immigrants? According to the Pew Research Center, Currently, “49% of US citizens agree with the statement “immigrants today strengthen the country because of their hard work and talents.” Somewhat fewer (41%) agree with an opposing statement: “immigrants today are a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing and health care”” (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press). It also states that this same poll has been taken each year and that the opposing statement is getting more popular each year. There are a few different sides to the question of illegal immigrant employment being ethical and I am going to share some information about this topic with you today.

Although the number of illegal immigrants is substantially growing on a daily basis, the national health care policies seem to fail in addressing their medical needs. This, however, is becoming a growing challenge because of the conflicts between medical ethics and immigration laws. Despite the alluded hope for this patients group within the immigration reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) fails to alleviate the burden of their unmet health care needs. Advocates of their rights for health coverage argue that medical ethics and the United States moral obligations necessitate expanding coverage to all population residing within the borders of the country. Conversely, opponents deny their health coverage because their illegal status disqualify them from all public benefits. This paper goes beyond these opposing assumptions and instead, proposes a strategic plan to raise and combine resources necessary to establish a health care center for the uninsured, underinsured, and illegal immigrants in Northern California. The paper covers the establishment of this center with special focus on strategic funding, funding constraints, related state and national regulations, health policy, resources allocation, and managerial and leadership.

There have been legislative bills that have limited the access that illegal immigrants have to medical care, whether it be private insurance or with federal help such as state funded resources like Medical. For example the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 restricts medical care for illegal immigrants. Jeffrey Kullgren a medical student at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, argues that having severe limitations on health care services threatens the public’s health. He argues that the original purposes of the act were to reduce illegal immigration and preserve resources yet the act burdens health care providers and endangers the public’s health. The act stated that it was made in order to “remove the incentive for illegal immigration” and so that “individual aliens not burden the public benefits system”. These were the argument made in order to place eligibility restrictions for service made available by the local, state and federal governments. Although there were exceptions to the act, such as being able to get emergency care and immunizations, it still made getting proper health care very difficult. Placing these kinds of restrictions on people Kullgren argues has consequences on health. One is that it leads to greater waiting times and increase cost which reduces the efficiency of medical facilities. Another is that it can affect the lives of the American born children of immigrants. Although they are able to receive medical services, their parents are afraid to seek health care because they believe that they can get deported. Or they are not sure of whether their children are able to get medical coverage. Another negative result due to the act, Kullgren states, is that public resources are not being effectively used. It costs more to treat emergency situations that could have been easily prevented or that could have

With the parents maintaining unauthorized status, it can create stress for children, which can result in developmental growth. With hundreds of nurses, health-care workers, medical students, doctors-in-training amongst the DACA organization, the implications regarding the status of this policy puts them at risk with their ability to complete their training. The ending of DACA is capable of hurting the nation’s supply of physicians and other health-care providers which can negatively impact patients and our health-care system. The DACA ‘Dreamers’, known as, physicians, aids, nurses, and facility professional, have managed to leave their footprints in the organization by doing their part to make American health care

For many years, people from all over the world have come to the United States seeking a better life for themselves, their spouse, their children and even their children's children. However, not every immigrant comes into this country legally and many of these illegal immigrants are poor, uneducated and may be carrying contagious diseases. They may arrive here via human trafficking, smuggling or other methods. There is one thing we know for sure that many of them choose to remain silence when they become victims. The three main reasons they become invisible victims are they are not aware they are victimized, they don't know the right way to ask for help and they are afraid to be fired or even deported.

I am not the ‘Ilegal’ you think I am, and Immigration is not what you think it is” Why do people cross the line illegally? there are many reasons for undocumented immigrants to cross the united states do with the poverty in the country, high level of education in the united states, and the better opportunity of jobs. Many immigrants decide to emigrate from their country of birth to seek a new opportunity for all the family, but analyze the information is not only one culture a lot of different cultures immigrant to have a better life in the united states. Undocumented immigration is a big issue in the united states because many immigrants come to live the “American Dream”. Immigrants from all around the different country come to a better economic opportunity, good education, and escape from their reality.

In a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, these 81 million residents are responsible for 5% of the labor force of the United States, the same work force that provides wage gains for native born Americans (Greenstone). Even with a prominent population, the struggles of immigrants go unheard. One such struggle that is silent among the voices of the nation are an immigrant’s struggle with mental health, and the limited accessibility to help asylum seekers have available. While it may seem to some that mental health of a non-citizen is not a responsibility of the host nation, it is actually true that the security of health is a right for all regardless of legal status because of the ethical, social and economic responsibilities we hold as a single human race.

“I am not the ‘Illegal’ you think I am, and Immigration is not what you think it is” Why do people cross the line illegally? there are many reasons for undocumented immigrants to cross the united states do with the poverty in the country, high level of education in the united states, and the better opportunity of jobs. Many immigrants decide to emigrate from their country of birth to seek a new opportunity for all the family, but analyze the information is not only one culture a lot of different cultures immigrant to have a better life in the united states. Undocumented immigration is a big issue in the united states because many immigrants come to live the “American Dream”. Immigrants from all around the different country come to a better economic opportunity, good education, and escape from their reality.

     Illegal immigrants usually hold jobs that have bad conditions and worse pay.  Oftentimes, these jobs are found in sectors such as agriculture, construction, food-handling and manufacturing (Dwyer).  Unfortunately for the illegal individuals who acquire these jobs, they have no access to comprehensive health care, though their line of work tends to demand it.  Although illegal immigrants are consequently strapped for cash, many of them will not visit primary care physicians for fear of being deported.  This sets up a vicious cycle: individuals get sick yet ignore the signs.  When illnesses get remarkably worse and are too severe to treat at doctors' offices, the individuals then go to emergency rooms, where the cost is considerably greater.  More often than not, the immigrants cannot afford to pay their hospital bills.  The cost is then covered by the medical institutions and tax-payer dollars (Wolf).  While some argue that illegal migrants do not