Border enforcement has its results: recent numbers show, that fewer immigrants from Mexico are crossing the border than they have in decades and the ones who do, are mostly people who lived in the U.S. for decades. They are the seasoned crossers, who confidently say, that nothing will stop them from coming back. Some might attribute the decline to other factors, such as the recession in the United States and unfavorable economic climate. Nevertheless, even as the economy has improved, illegal immigration continues to go down.
The United States was formed by the immigration of many people from all over the world. Americans take pride in knowing that we are a people of vast ethnic backgrounds and culture. However, at the present time, the flow of illegal immigration, as well as a large influx of other legal immigrants is placing a strain on our land of "huddled masses." Legal immigration to the United States can easily be handled and is welcomed by most Americans. However, the flow of illegal immigrants, especially from Mexico, must be stemmed, due to the strain it is placing on the government, (at the local, state and federal level), as well as the general population. Illegal immigrants are costing the United States over 24 billion dollars a year in taxpayers money (National Review 12.13.93). Something must be done to reduce the flow of illegal immigration into the United States. The focus of this paper will be the problems caused by and possible solutions to the problem of illegal immigration.
Illegal immigration is a prevalent subject of talk all over television and in conversations. Mainly, the one immigration that many talk about is concerning Mexico and the United States of America. Every day, illegal immigrants are increasingly coming into America. Some critics are crying out for a crackdown on illegal immigration while others are saying to leave the immigrants alone and help them to become citizens. However, immigration brings numerous problems that far out way the good it brings. Immigration limits job openings, endangers the lives of others, and takes away money from the government.
“Undocumented Latino Immigrants Increase U.S. Crime Rates.” The U.S. Latino Community. Ed. Margaret Haerens. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 June 2011.
Throughout the history of the United States immigration has become apart of our country’s fabric which, began centuries ago. Only to become a hot topic in the US in recent years with its primary focus being illegal immigrants. Illegal immigration is when people enter a country without government permission. As of 2008 the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that there are 11 million illegal immigrants in the US which is down from 2007‘s 12.5 million people. Although the Center for Immigration Studies estimates are very different from other estimates that range from 7 to 20 million. While the Pew Hispanic Center estimated in March of 2009 there are 11.1 million illegal immigrants and that number is from March 2007’s peak of 12 million. The exact number of illegal immigrants is unknown because they are illegal immigrants. A 2005 report from the Pew Hispanic Center stated that 22% of illegal immigrants were from Latin American Countries, mostly from Central America, 13% from Asia, 56% from Mexico, with 6% between Europe and Canada, and 3% were from the rest of the world and Africa. In the United States alone every day there are almost 70,000 foreigners to migrate here. Within those 70,000 over 60,000 of them are businessmen, travelers and students; there are about 5,000 that are illegal immigrants; with 2,000 legal immigrants. Illegal immigrants have been and has continued to outnumber the number of legal immigrants, which has been going on since the 1990’s. It’s partially because of this that US lawmakers have recently made an even bigger attempt at enforcing immigration laws.
Latinos face a lot of discrimination when they come to the united stated or they try to assimilate to the American culture. Most immigrants have to deal with the police investigating them because they think they are all drug dealers or are in some type of illegal organization. They also have to deal with people calling them names because of their skin color. Americans also accuse Hispanics of stealing their jobs (Ramos, 53). They also face seeing racist graffiti on homes or wall of a building and they have to face hate crimes (Plunkett, 15). They sometimes get excluded from white communities (Plunkett, 39). Latinos are also blamed for serious problems the country faces (Ramos, 195). There are reasons for Americans to discriminate Latinos and reasons why they shouldn’t discriminate them.
The United States of America, being a country founded by immigrants, is known all over the world as the land of great opportunities. People from all walks of life travelled across the globe, taking a chance to find a better life for them and their family. Over the years, the population of immigrants has grown immensely, resulting in the currently controversial issue of illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants are the people who have overstayed the time granted on their US, visa or those who have broken the federal law by crossing the border illegally. Matt O’Brien stated in his article “The government thinks that 10.8 million illegal immigrants lived in the country in January 2009, down from a peak of nearly 12 million in 2007.”(Para, 2) While some argue that illegal immigrants burden the United States of America and its economy, others believe that they have become essential and are an important part of the US, economy.
In today’s society there are a number of issues that may affect a number of Americans. One issue that is a big topic in today’s society is the issue of Illegal Immigration. Whether we should grant illegal’s driver’s licenses, amnesty, deport them, how it affects the U.S. economically, and some might even consider them as terrorists. Those are just a few topics that we may hear being brought up. It is possible to see this touchy subject on television, or it may be a debate at school, or you may read about it in the newspaper. It is a subject that catches alot of peoples’ attention and some might not even care to touch on the subject because of the repercussion.
According to the information on ProCon, which as a website that gather statistics on illegal immigration, there are over 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States as of 2012 (ProCon.org). In other words, 11 million people have passed into the United States without any permission. This is obviously an issue. We have laws put into place by the U.S. government to prevent this, however, the laws are not being enforced as firm as they should be. Illegal immigration laws need to be enforced more then they already are first, do something about the 11 million immigrants that have come into our country without legal permission and second, prevent any immigrants from entering the U.S. illegally in the future.
America is one of the most diverse country who has almost every single race in the world. Even though they came from varieties of backgrounds, ethnicities, and races, they can work and help together as one as they live in the same country, America. However, as the time goes by, there is more and more people who come to the United States with the intention of becoming an American citizen. A lot of people came to the Unites States have a holiday here, yet as the limited time goes by, they did not go back to their country because they still want to live in the United States. As a result, nowadays, there are a lot of illegal immigrant who do not have a legal permit to stay in the United States. They are being treated the same as an American citizen, however, they do not do the same to the country. Moreover, they do not have to be responsible for America as they do not have to pay tax, yet they can make a living by working illegally without paying