The Issue of Illegal Immigration into America - Research Paper Example

18 June Immigration Introduction The issue of illegal immigration elicits strong reactions and controversies in America. There are a lot of half-truths, heated debates, political interests, human rights issues and the national security of the country (Haines & Roseblaum 1). Illegal immigrants include people who entered America without inspection or proper documents. “The unauthorized resident immigrant population includes all the foreign born non citizens without legal residency, the unauthorized immigrant population estimates were 10.79 million people as of January 2010 (Hoefer et al 1).” America’s southern neighbor Mexico contributed the biggest share of immigration in the recent past. Recently, debates on immigration have focused on the American South due to its border with Mexico where Latino immigrants get a passage into America. The political division has not helped to bridge the political opinions of opposition sides. In this assignment, I argue that despite the ongoing heated political debates, illegal immigration ought to be granted American citizenship. Illegal Immigrants and Citizenship Historically, the American nation has been known to be a haven for immigrants to the extent that it is now a European descendant’s majority. Prior to the September 11, 2011 attacks on America by foreign nationals, there was little talk of racial profiling at airports. Entry to America became difficult for all immigrants with additional security checks instituted for fear of attacks, therefore, the ensuing debate on illegal immigration (Wise 26). Security is paramount for the stability of the American nation. Nevertheless, racial profiling is an infringement on the civil rights of human beings since it focuses on certain ethnic groups. The impact of European descended Americans in shaping America’s course cannot be disputed. However, the argument that America ought to be identified with regards to being “white” is flawed (Wise 32). America is a melting pot with people from diverse cultures, religion and ethnic backgrounds. The contribution of the multiplicity of people cannot be ignored. Granting of citizenship to illegal immigrants would be a humane act devoid of racial overtones. National security depends less on the number of illegal immigrants. This is because foreign nationals and terrorists do not have to be American residents to commit crimes. The rigorous security checks instituted mean that it is harder for foreign terrorists to gain citizenship. With proper checks in place, illegal immigrants are granted citizenship if there is reasonable belief that they pose no security threat. In addition, security can be compromised by lone ‘wolf’ terrorists born and bred in America without foreign help. Illegal immigrants work albeit for low wages, and they contribute taxation revenue to the federal government. Citizenship would avail the opportunity to work without the fear of deportation or arrests. Participation in the economic activities without fear of other reprisals ensures that they achieve the American dream. The fear of deportation makes the illegal immigrants accept unusually low wages for jobs normally shunned by Americans. The low wages for unskilled labor causes the illegal immigrants to live impoverished lives and suffer economic hardships. Regulating the flow of illegal immigrant is a hard task while self deportation is not a viable option due to the cost involved (Castaneda and Massey 7). The most viable option left open is that of legalization, this is supported by the idea that more and more illegal immigrants from Mexico obtain citizenship through naturalization while the net immigration flow has declined than earlier times. According to the Harvard journal on legislation, “The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2010 (DREAM ACT)” was a culmination of failure in instituting laws to deal with illegal immigrants especially the younger generation. In the journal, the authors point out that denial of citizenship to illegal immigrants should not be borne by the young people. The argument posits that minors ought not to be punished for their parent’s actions since the decision to cross borders illegally, rests on the shoulders of the parents. The DREAM act targets students who are illegal immigrants in their quest for citizenship, the students must be in an institution of higher learning and needed to gain a high school diploma. Additionally, citizenship would adhere to other conditions like lack of criminality or for health issues (“The Development, Relief, and Education” 629). Another argument in favor of granting citizenship is that illegal immigrants also contribute to rise in the aggregate demand of the economy. They consume and contribute positively to the economic growth; despite the lack of statistics on the spending habits of illegal immigrants, the consumption contribution of illegals could be as high as $450 billion (Carter et al 2004) as quoted in (Nadadur 1045). Similarly, illegal immigrants spend a larger portion of their wages in America. Skilled immigrants contribute enormously to America where they started approximately 25 % of business in the tech and engineering sector and generating revenue worth $ 52 million in 2006 (Wadhwa et al 2). The United States of America supports the premise of equality and justice where freedom is an inalienable right for all. It would be inhumane not to grant illegal immigrants freedom; unnecessary security checks and detentions are morally indefensible. A lack of sympathy for the plight of illegal aliens would be tantamount to aloofness among the American citizens. In his white House address on June 15th, President Obama supported the DREAM act when he said “Now these are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they are friends with our kids, pledge allegiance to our flag. They are Americans in their minds, in every single way, but one: on paper… put yourself in their shoes” (“Transcript of Obama’s Speech” 2). Illegal immigrants come to America with the hope of a better future; this could be due to economic, political or social factors. The capability of individuals to gain better education and economic freedom are far much greater in America. Because of the better economic opportunities available in America, there is economic empowerment for dependents of illegal immigrants in their countries of origin. Conclusion In conclusion, the debate on amnesty to illegal immigration cannot be wished away from the public scene because of the mass media, political utterances, court decisions or civil rights actions. It is, thus, crucial to tackle the issue with due care to avoid separating families through deportation. In addition, the economic contributions of illegal aliens should be taken into account when making laws on immigration. Lastly, amnesty ought not to be available to every illegal immigrant, proper background checks on health status and criminal records. Works Cited Castaneda, Jorge and Douglas Massey. “Do it yourself immigration reform.” New York Times 1 June 2012. Print. Haines, David and Karen Rosenblum. Illegal immigration in America: a reference Handbook. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. Print. Hoefer, Michael, Nancy Rytina and Bryan Baker. Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing In the United States: US Department Of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics Policy Directorate, 2010. Print. Nadadur, Ramanujan. Illegal Immigration: A Positive Economic Contribution To The United Sates, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, (2009) Volume: 35, Issue: 6, 1037- 1052. Print. “Transcript of Obama’s Speech on Immigration Policy.” New York Times 15, June 2012. Print. “The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act”. Harvard Journal on Legislation Recent development, 48(2) 2011: 623-655. Print. Wadhwa, Vivek et al. “America’s Loss Is the World’s Gain: America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Part IV.” Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, 2009:1-20. Print. Wise, Tim. “Illegal Immigration Does Not Threaten America.” Illegal Immigration. Margaret Haerens. New York: Thomas Gale, 2006: 27-32. Print. Read More