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Should illegal immigrants be allowed health care
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Everyday people are sent to the hospital. Not only are they in fear of losing their life but also in fear of being in debt due to the prices of health care treatment they need. But what if this patient happens to be an illegal alien? What if the patient has a foreign illness that needs to be cured so it does not spread? Should healthcare providers continue to provide (s) he with treatment even if they cannot pay? Or should illegal aliens be treated just like any other patients by having a right to health care?
Illegal aliens are net consumers of public services and they contribute to economic growth (Immigrants’ Economic Contributions, 2009). Since 1990, immigrants have contributed to job growth in three main ways: They fill an increasing share of jobs overall, they take jobs in labor-scarce regions, and they fill the types of jobs native workers often shun. The foreign-born make up only 15.6 percent of the U.S. population and 23.9 percent of the labor force (The Foreign-Born Labor Force in the United States, 2009).When you do the math, it makes a good deal of sense to spend the little that we do—if not more—to keep them healthy (Karvounis, 2007). Care for undocumented immigrants represents a tiny fraction of the nation’s health care burden. They receive minimal care; some pay taxes. Between one half and three quarters of undocumented immigrants pay taxes and some work “off the books” jobs as well (What Immigration Reform Could Mean to the US Economy, 2009). Illegal aliens provide as much as 7 billion dollars a year to the Social Security Fund although they cannot claim benefits for this program (Immigrants’ Economic Contribution, 2009). Further still, undocumented workers pay sales taxes where applicable and property taxes—...
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... News of the Day Blog. AAPS - Association of American Physicians & Surgeons. Retrieved from http://www.aapsonline.org/newsoftheday/001018
11. Few illegal immigrants are denied social security benefit. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.tscl.org/NewContent/102725.asp
12. Kirchick, J. (2008). Open the Gate | Hoover Institution. Hoover Institution. Retrieved from http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/5756
13. Bungay, F. (2010). Open Borders. Adam Smith Institute - the free-market think tank. Retrieved from http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/international/open-borders/
14. Forman, W. (2010). Open Borders « Commentarius. Retrieved from http://www.commentarius.org/?tag=open-borders
15. Hilda Solis on Immigration. (2006). OnTheIssues.org - Candidates on the Issues. Retrieved from
http://www.ontheissues.org/CA/Hilda_Solis_Immigration.htm
... 2002. Mexican immigrants use about $250 million in social services such as Medicaid and food stamps and another $31 million in uncompensated health care, that leaves a profit of $319 million” (218). But should we still allow people to put their lives at risk?
A random sampling procedure was used to help remove bias in the author’s data collection. The data was collected from different websites that analyze border security. Random sampling procedure was effective because it helped the researchers choose from different previously-conducted research designs, and provide a summary of information collected from different areas of study. The dependent variable in the study is border security, while the independent variable in the study is the immigrants. From the research presented in the article, it is evident that the issue of border security is influenced by the issue of immigrants in the region (Rugg & Petre, 2007).
Referred to by both Macedo and Carens in their articles, in my own reading I found an interesting article in the Boston Review by Martha Nussbaum “Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism.” I found many flaws in cosmopolitanism and the idea for open borders and found the theories from this article great to connect both Macedo and Carens, as it explained the many sides of the morality of borders. Macedo condemns cosmopolitanism throughout his chapter; Macadeo emphasizes his main view against cosmopolitanism as an economic problem for Americans. Our loyalties lie with getting our poor residents a job and not brining in more people to fill these jobs who are equally poor, this does not solve a poverty problem in the long run. However closing off the border entirely and restricting immigration further is problematic.
Foreign policy and Immigration since 1945”. Threatened Peoples, Threatened Borders: World Migration Policy. Eds. Michael Teitelbaum and Myron Weiner. New York: Columbia University, 1995. p.123-124.
Some viewpoints assert that if a person is in the United States illegally, he should have no rights and no benefits. Proponents justify this position by blaming illegal immigration for economic hardships, such as increasing health care costs, for the American people. This attitude is simply inaccurate. Many undocumented immigrants do contribute to the economies of the federal, state and local governments through taxes and can stimulate job growth. However, the cost of providing healthcare impacts federal, state, and local governments differently.
Gaining access to health care can be rather difficult for immigrants. There always seem to be some sort of obstacle in the way. For example, the cost of health care is skyrocketing. Immigrants whether they are legal aliens or illegal aliens are impacted the most by high health care costs. Each year the numbers for health care change but they never seem to get lower. Immigrants lack health care insurance due to the high cost of health care.
Among the problems that face our nation, illegal immigration seems to be one of the most regarded. “In 2005, there were 12.7 million people classified as refugees in the world. Refugees are forced to migrate because of danger in their own country.” (Cath Senker 12) Some push to end it while others want to have it legalized or less strict. There are many points that are argued on this topic. Although immigrants support the economy, they should have to pay taxes. Illegal immigration should be stopped or slowed until the legalization process and borders are improved. Due to the fact, that taxpayers are the backbone of our economy and nation as a whole.
Probably the largest contribution that immigrants given America’s economy - whether they are illegal or legal - is that they spend the money that they earn and put it back into the economy (Davidson). According to Costa, Cooper, and Shierholz, “immigrants’ share of total output was about 14.7 percent over 2009-2011.” This is true even though they make up 13 percent of the total U.S. population, because a majority of immigrants are working age, compared to the diverse ages of the general U.S. population (Costa, Cooper, Shierholz). Another point that is brought up in “An Immigration Stimulus: The Economic Benefits of a Legalization Program” is that if the U.S. legalizes more “illegal” immigrants, they are then able to earn more. When Immigrants are able to earn more, they can then pay more in taxes, and their ability to spend more money to put it back in the economy grows (“An Immigration Stimulus: The Economic Benefits of a Legalization Program”). And on the point of Social Security, illegal immigrants have contributed $15 million a year to the Social Security Trust fund. And while they are contributing such a large amount to Social Security, very few of them are able to get the benefits from it (Davidson). So as a group, they are giving much more into the Social Security system than they are taking out. After taking into account all of
America is known for democracy, freedom, and the American Dream. American citizens have the right to free speech, free press, the right to bear arms, and the right to religious freedom to name a few. The Declaration of Independence states that American citizens have the rights including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” America promises equality and freedom and the protection of their rights as outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. But with all the rights and freedoms that American citizens enjoy, there is one particular area where the United States seems to be lacking. That area is health care. The United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t have some form of legal recognition of a right to health care (Yamin 1157). Health care reform in the United States has become a major controversy for politicians, health care professionals, businesses, and citizens. Those in opposition to reform claim that health care is not a human right, therefore the government should not be involved. Supporters of reform believe that health care is most definitely a human right and should be available to everyone in the United States instead of only those who can afford it, and that it is the government’s responsibility to uphold that right.
The United States cannot afford to lose the economic gains that come from immigrant labor. The economy would be suffering a greater loss if it weren’t for immigrants and their labor contributions, especially during the 2008 U.S. recession. The U.S. economy would most likely worsen if it weren’t for the strong labor force immigrants have provided this country. Despite the mostly negative views native-born Americans have towards immigrants and the economy, their strong representation in the labor forces continues today. Immigrants aren’t taking “American” jobs, they are taking the jobs that Americans don’t want (Delener & Ventilato, 2008). Immigrants contribute to various aspects of the economy, including brining valuable skills to their jobs, contributing to the cost of living through taxes, and the lacked use of welfare, healthcare, and social security when compared to native-born Americans, showing that the United States cannot afford to lose the contribution immigrants bring into the economy.
Dougherty, Jon E. 2004 “Illegal: The Imminent Threat Posed by Our Unsecured U.S.-Mexico Border” Publisher: Thomas Nelson.
In his address to a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson declared freedom of the seas in times of peace and war. Looking back, it seems ridiculous to think that anyone could challenge the right of individuals to navigate the oceans freely. However, fast-forward to the twenty-first century and we can see an analogous debate over the issue of immigration rights, with territorial borders being the main topic of discussion. The system of immigration in the United States is complex and oftentimes restrictive, and while revisions to the system usually include increasing quotas or other solutions to let in certain groups of people who deserve special consideration (such as those whose skills are needed in a particular field), they are still very limited solutions. The obvious question that arises from letting in some people but not others is that of fairness. Is the accident of birth or luck of being in the right place at the right time enough to justify restrictive citizenship to a select few? I would argue not. I intend to argue that a commitment to human rights entails the position that borders ought to be open in order to guarantee other human rights, especially the right to migrate.
In modern times, illegal immigrants cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year. Immigrants of every kind use welfare to get by, which happens to be a main cause for the sudden rise in tax expenses. Illegal immigrants have a higher welfare use rate at 57 percent than native households in the sense of food stamps and Medicaid, but lower in the case of cash programs at just 23 percent. Because of this, restrictions on government benefits are not enforced, as they should be. Another problem is the way food stamps are handled when it comes to illegal immigrants. Companies responsible for food stamps sympathize with these people because they happen to be “vulnerable” to the plight of applying for these benefits. Food stamps are no longer seen as helping poor families receive proper nutrition because illegal immigrants have taken advantage, causing the companies to feed off of their dependency instead of those actually in need, such as poor families and the elderly. Illegal immigrants are not eligible for any assistance regarding healthcare, and therefore cannot get federal subsidies to buy health insurance or shop for coverage. However, nonprofit groups are beginning to see through this, and are offering medical care to illegal immigrants. While I firmly believe that everyone deserves medical treatment to recover from injuries or illnesses, this is another major reason as to why the cost of
Immigrants have done many accomplishments for the U. S and are a critical piece of the puzzle. Immigrants have come to the United States to build a better live for themselves but, in the process have done much more. The topic of immigration is debatable one. Many Americans agree that immigrants are essential to the economy. However, several individuals would disagree. Eric A Ruark and Matthew Graham argue, ‘“Regardless of views about the overall economic effect of immigration, almost all economists agree that poor native workers bear the brunt of its negative consequences” (par.12). Ruark and Graham state that many may have different views on how immigrants have impacted the U. S economy but, most don’t see that natives have to take the negative hit economically. Immigrants are taking away what natives are supposed to be benefiting from, millions of jobs are being taken away from natives by immigrants resulting in a profit for immigrants and nothing for the natives also when it comes to healthcare immigrants inability to pay for medical attention is causing hospitals and emergency rooms to shut down due to the lack of profit and not being able to afford to stay open, which affects the natives who work in these hospitals and ER’s and who go in for medical care. Ruark and Graham fail to realize that immigrants do not come to the U. S to take away what so many have built for themselves
There will always be this controversy over things that cannot be proven; as always there are many opinions about healthcare. The biggest debate lies in the question if healthcare is considered a right or a privilege? If health care was a universal right, health care would not be the number one cause of bankruptcy. In the United States statistics, data, and experience shows health Care is offered to us as a privilege.