Illegal Immigration in Arizona

How much longer will Arizona have to suffer from illegal immigration? Peter Katel wrote that “While illegal immigrants only make up about 5 percent of the U.S. work force, critics of the nation's immigration policies say illegal immigrants take Americans' jobs, threaten national security and even change the nation's culture by refusing to assimilate” (Katel par. 1). We will look at how Arizona is dealing with illegal immigration. Even though illegal immigration is not a major issue in most states, Arizona is dealing with more crime, overcrowding, and additional cost.

One important example of why illegal immigration is an issue in Arizona is the increased crime rate. Arizona’s crime rate has increased with all the troubles that come along with illegal immigration. We recently had an Arizona rancher murdered on his ranch by suspected illegal immigrants. We also have illegal immigrants buying stolen identities from cyber-criminals. These individuals print out new, fake social security numbers and photo identifications for the illegal immigrants. In some cases these identification cards are stolen and the names changed. Arizona also deals with human trafficking across the borders. This is also tied into the drug smuggling. They create tunnels to sneak drugs and people across the borders undetected. Terrorism is also a major concern for securing our borders since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Overcrowding is another example of how illegal immigration is hurting Arizona. Arizona deals with inaccurate census reports and finds that our schools have too many children and not enough teachers. Many of these children learn English as their second language. We also deal with the same situations at our hospitals. Emergency rooms a...

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..., free up valuable resources by managing the population, and reduce state cost with immigration laws. Arizona is not alone in the battle of illegal immigration. Texas and California also deal with illegal immigration but Arizona is the only state to pass a new immigration law. Arizona is leading the way to fight illegal immigration and provide a safe environment for Arizona citizens. Many states are considering adding Arizona’s new immigration law also. What needs to happen before people see this issue as a real threat?

Works Cited

Katel, Peter. "Illegal Immigration." CQ Researcher 15.17 (2005): 393-420. CQ Researcher. Web. 5 July 2010.

Greenblatt, Alan. "Immigration Debate." CQ Researcher 18.5 (2008): 97-120. CQ Researcher. Web. 5 July 2010.

Jost, Kenneth. "Cracking Down on Immigration." CQ Researcher 5.5 (1995): 97-120. CQ Researcher. Web. 5 July 2010.