Illegal Immigration in the US - Research Paper Example

Illegal Immigration Running Head: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION Illegal Immigration Your School’s Illegal Immigration 2 INTRODUCTION The main body of law governing immigration to the United States is the United States Constitution, and the main source of immigration laws is the statutes enacted by Congress (Making, 2006).  Immigration laws have certainly resulted in a situation where many illegal immigrants live and work in the United States, but it is also an issue that has been blown out of proportion by the media and politicians. Illegal immigrants are a benefit to the US economy because they are hardworking individuals and do jobs most people will not.  Immigration laws have resulted in a situation where many illegal immigrants live and work in the United States, and the laws must be changed so that illegal aliens are either deported or legalized.  Immigration developed as a major factor in American politics during the late 19th century, due to the large scale of immigration, the new and more diverse origins of the immigrants, and the resulting social and economic tensions.  Thus, immigration, and the fear of immigration and immigrants, played a major role in American politics, and one that lasted long after the era of mass immigration came to an end.  Many controversies and concerns have been raised especially on illegal immigration within the United States.  Illegals work for lower wages, raise the taxes for American citizens due to healthcare and benefits, and even affect our childrens higher quality of education, healthcare and retirement security.  The United States is taking proper action in securing illegal immigration to a minimum by tightening border security and even considering building a wall to separate our countries borders. Illegal Immigration 3 BODY Legal immigration was the prime migration which formed the U.S. economy; unfortunately, illegal immigration has currently flooded the United States in a relative time period of our lives. Beginning 1980, there was a significant increase of immigrants in the U.S. increasing the supply of labor for low-skill jobs such as those in farms (Davidson, 2006). As seen in Figure 1.1 Illegal immigration patterns span across the entire United States not just a centralized location, however, it is significant to note the large number of illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. particularly the western and southern regions. Figure 1.2 clearly shows the geographical outline of the states, reflecting those that are most susceptible to illegal immigration. The issue on illegal immigration is important as it affects the different layers of society including the people living in it – both young and old. Figure 1.1 Figure 1.2 Illegal Immigration 4 One issue about illegal immigrants is the reduction in minimum wage. As years passed, the number of undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S. reached approximately 5 million by October of 1996 (Department of Homeland Security). According to Lee Cary (2006), these immigrants take the jobs that Americans will not do; in other words - the unwanted jobs - such as those in manufacturing, construction, farming, and hospitality. As such, this increase in number is said to be contributing to low wages. Due to the availability of cheap labor or low-paid workers, many Americans are displaced, eventually becoming jobless. One example is the case of unionized African-American janitors in Los Angeles who are paid an hourly rate of 12 dollars including benefits. With the birth of agencies supplying labor, the required minimum hourly rate decreased to $3.35. This led to the displacement of the African-American janitors, as they were replaced by Mexicans and El Salvadorans, most of whom remained jobless for a significant period of time (Cary, 2008). The existence of illegal immigrants who are willing to take on any work at any rate created a perception that hiring Americans are more expensive, resulting to mass hiring of non-American citizens for low-skilled jobs, leaving many Americans economically displaced. However, this could not be entirely true according to Adam Davidson a National Public Radio correspondent, illegal immigrants do not necessarily have a significant impact on wage rates because a great number of Americans looking for jobs do not compete directly with illegal immigrants; further stating that studies reveal that Americans only notice a small difference on their paychecks, whether or not illegal immigrants are present (2006). But Davidson admits that cutting the number of illegal immigrants is beneficial to American high school dropouts who would clearly have a $25 increase per week if there are no job competitions from illegal immigrants. It would seem that the existence of illegal immigrants do Americans Illegal Immigration 5 more harm than good. On the contrary, according to Patricia Cortes, an MIT researcher, illegal immigration helped realize the "real wages" of those who finished college, high school and those with some college studies by 0.71% and 0.59% respectively (DeSilver, 2006). In the field of hospitality, illegal immigrant workers help in closing the gap of jobs that are difficult to fill such as a housekeeping hotel job that pays between 6-7 dollars per hour which entails cleaning 16 guestrooms daily, and this is only one type of job that are not attractive to jobseekers as expressed by Dan Mount, a hotel management teacher at Penn State (DeSilver, 2006). The increase of illegal immigrant residing in the U.S. is allegedly causing the increase of taxes that American taxpayers are shouldering. As described by Edwin Rubenstein, a National Research Council reporter, illegal immigrants are poor; thus, they pay lesser taxes than Americans do (Wooldridge, 2008). Although, illegal immigrants also pay taxes, the amount of taxes they pay are significantly lower than the amount of services and benefits they receive from the U.S. government. Like healthcare benefits for instance; illegal immigrants in San Diego can avail of the communitys restricted Medi-Cal benefits, of which illegal immigrants consume 18.3 percent of the available services provided by different public health facilities, totaling 26,619,920 in 1991 (Lutton, 1992). This figure is consistent with the estimated amount of $1 billion, made by Los Angeles California county officials, on welfare costs in the 1990s (Izumi, 1992). In a study conducted by the National Research Council (Wooldridge, 2008) every immigrant household pays $10,664.00 for taxes but gets $13,326 in federal welfare, which means that each American spends $2,682 for every household owned by an immigrant. The Illegal Immigration 6 huge social welfare spending consumed by illegal immigrants adds to the growing concern on the issue of illegal immigration. If this spending pattern continues, then, the budget for education and healthcare will be most likely reduced. The downside of this is the effect that it will have on the educational system of government funded schools, especially the quality of education; which will be most visible on the quality of education received by American children. Based on the results released by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, 54 percent of school-respondents admit that they do accept undocumented students knowingly and consciously (Mangan, 2009). The result of this study resulted to an intense debate in numerous states like North Carolina where illegal immigrants are prevented from enrolling in community colleges beginning August, 2009 until the matter is unresolved. Come to think of it, if the federal government continues to spend so much on undocumented aliens, it will not have enough funds left to support its own people, which is detrimental to the growth and development of the nation’s economic growth and human welfare. Illegal Immigrant 8 On an alarming note, there are a significant number of cases on stolen social security. This act is largely accounted to illegal immigrants. One example is the social security number of Audra Schmierer, a San Francisco California resident, who complained that her social security number was used by 81 people in the 17 U.S. states (Fox News, 2006). Identity theft, involving stolen social security numbers by illegal immigrants arouses a grave concern among Americans. The mere fact that one can easily use someone else’s social security number, that person can take away the benefits that should be enjoyed by the other, leaving the latter in trouble or in debt; more than that, there is the question of national security. Based on statistics gathered by the INS and FBI 83% of warrants for murder in Phoenix are for illegal immigrants, 29% (630,000) convicted illegal immigrant felons fill the state and federal prisons costing taxpayers $1.6 billion annually, and more than 53% of all investigated burglary cases reported in California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Texas are pulled off by undocumented immigrants (Zakeet, 2006). To address the serious problem on crime by undocumented immigrants, the H.R. 150 was introduced by Representative Walter B. Jones. Known as the Illegal Alien Crime Reporting Act, U.S. states will be required to submit an in-depth statistical report on criminal activity committed by undocumented alien to the FBI. Consequently, federal agencies will be required to submit data to the FBI for publication (Joyce, 2009). In the effort of addressing these issues, three precautionary measures are suggested to counteract and resolve the problem; first, is to ask employers to always verify the social security number written by jobseekers in their job application forms; and a website is created to help inform, educate and assist people concerning social security number issues. Second, is tightening security at state borders to prevent and decrease the number of illegal immigrants. Illegal Immigrant 8 Third, the construction of high walls across borders to reinforce security and effectively keep illegal immigrants from crossing the border. Basically, the major point is securing the borders. Once borders’ security are tight and with high walls, there will be less, if not zero, illegal immigrants, thus, lesser crimes, no identity theft, and lesser public spending – all leading to a safe and good life for all legal U.S. residents. Apparently, by just focusing on the borders, the resolution that comes with it is similar to a domino effect as it addresses almost all illegal immigrant issues. Yet, one promising solution to the problem of illegal immigration is the Immigration Bill that President Barak Obama is supporting. This bill is designed to address the immigration concerns of the country particularly that of illegal immigrants, by creating a process that would bring 12 million illegal immigrants to a legal status (Preston, 2009). Once these illegal immigrants become legal U.S. residents, then, the issue on taxes, wages, particularly the problem on identity theft through the use of stolen social security numbers will be eliminated. However, this is not something that can be implemented in the near future as there are still many things that the President and the Congress needs to address, not to mention the long and meticulous process that the bill has to go through. As stated by several White House officials, energy proposals and health care will be given more priority (Preston, 2009). Plus, the diverse views on legalizing immigrants can add further delay to the implementation of the Immigration. Illegal Immigration 9 CONCLUSION Illegal immigration is a crime that victimizes the American population as it affects their way of life; thus, the issue should be given utmost attention and study. Otherwise, America will be drowned by the influx of people that do not form and contribute to the healthy development and growth of the nation.  By taking these precautionary measures, we will be able to control the illegal immigrant population in the United States; and in so doing, we are not only safeguarding our country’s economy, but our right to live a safe and secured life as well as ensuring a bright future for our children.   Clearly, the main concern at this point will be border security and control, as it is the gateway to the states.  The United States cannot keep paying for these illegal immigrants to be deported back to Mexico and other countries.  One illegal immigrant was deported seventeen times, which makes one think how much money did we spend on that one illegal immigrant?  While building a fence will not affect the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants that are already in the United States, the structure would significantly reduce the number of illegal immigrants, which could lead to lower crime rates committed by illegal aliens.  These measures may seem harsh but it is what is needed to address the current situation; and it would also prove to be cost effective and cheap in the long run. However, we must find a solution that benefits both countries, while protecting our own at any and all costs necessary. Illegal Immigration 10 BIBLIOGRAPHY Lee Cary (2008). "Illegal Immigration and Low Wage Labor." American Thinker. 6 February 2008. Retrieved: 14 April, 2009, from http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/02/illegal_immigration_and_low_wa.html Davidson, Adam (2006). "Q&A: Illegal Immigrants and the U.S. Economy." National Public Radio. 30 March 2006. Retrieved: 15 April 2009, from, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5312900 Department of Homeland Security. "Illegal Alien Resident Population." Retrieved: 15 April 2009, from, http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/illegal.pdf DeSilver, Drew (2006). "Low-paid Illegal Workforce has little Impact on Prices." Local News, The Seattle Times. 12 September 2006. Retrieved: 15 April 2009, from, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003265139_imprices19.html Lutton, Wayne (1992). "Study Illegal Immigrants Cost San Diego Millions." Revealing the Costs of Immigration. Social Contract Journal Issues. Volume 3, number 1. Izumi, Lance (1992)."What Are the Costs of Californias Porous Borders?" Revealing the Costs of Immigration. Social Contract Journal Issues. Volume 3, number 1. Illegal Immigration 11 Fox News (2006). "California Womans Social Security Stolen by Suspected Illegal Immigrants." Associated Press. 19, June 2006. Retrieved: 15 April 2009, from, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,199861,00.html. Preston, Julia (2009). "Obama to Push Immigration Bill as One Priority." The New York Times. 8 April 2009. Mangan, Katherine (2009)."Most Colleges Knowingly Admit Illegal Immigrants as Students, Survey Finds." Daily news reported by The Chronicle: March 17, 2009. Retrieved: 15 April 2009, from,http://chronicle.com/news/article/6139/most-colleges-knowingly-admit-illegal-immigrants-as-students-survey-finds Zakeet (2006). "New FBI Statistics on Crimes Committed by Illegal Aliens." INS/FBI Statistical Report on Undocumented Immigrants. 15 November 2006. Retrieved: 15 April 2009 from, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1738432/posts Joyce, Kathleen M. (2009). "Jones Introduces Illegal Alien Crime Reporting Act." 13 January 2009. Retrieved: 15 April 2009 from, http://jones.house.gov/text_release.cfm?id=762 Read More