Illegal Immigration in the United States - Assignment Example

Illegal Immigration in United s Illegal immigration is the action of foreign individuals violatingthe U.S immigration laws by entering the country without permission from the government authorities. The act involves crossing the border to the United States or either remaining in the country beyond the expiry date of a temporary visa. The immigrants either cross the border by foot or hide themselves in transportation media whose destinations are in the country. The social problem of illegal immigration emerged late in the 1980s in California when Mexicans started crossing the border illegally for various reasons but instead posed an economic problem to the U.S economy. Reports show that California has the largest population of illegal immigrants compared to other states. The act poses an economic threat since the immigrants demand goods and other services that affect the economic growth while receiving various government benefits. The immigrants also reduce the wages paid to lower income and the less educated workers with a reduction in employers companies that employ them (Hanson, p.14). The Dream Act is a proposal by the American Legislative introduced on 1st August 2001 in the Senate. The Act introduced in the Senate for several times but failed to pass and proposed a multi-phase for the undocumented immigrants in the United States granting conditional residency upon meeting further qualification (Durbin, p.22). The development and relief of Dream Act of 2005 amends the illegal immigration reform and authorizes the Homeland Security to cancel the removal and adjust to conditional permanent resident status. In the year 2005, Margaret Stock, a retired Colonel in the U.S pointed out the potential beneficiaries of the Dream Act more so in the military field. She opposed the deportation law of the young people claiming that it makes no sense. She instead proposed that the young men would be recruited in the military, and thus the nation security in the country would increase. The Act continued to attract support in 2007 when Senator Richard Durbin proposed that the immigrant students with great potential could be allowed to contribute to the society and the security. Jim Edgar, former Illinois Governor expressed his support towards the Dream Act claiming that a kind nation like the U.S should not turn their back on the young generation brought by their parents suggesting that they should join the colleges and finally qualify for a permanent citizenship (Durbin, p.15). In the recent years, the Act failed to pass in 2009 even though the Senator brought it down twice the first being in Pre-midterm election 2010 where it collapsed with a defense authorization bill while the second time in December the same year when it collapsed five votes short of passing. On May 11th 2011, the Senate Majority leader reintroduced the Dream Act in the Senate with some Republicans supporters who had proposed the bill in the past withholding their votes claiming that such a bill should not be passed without enforcing the immigration. In July, the California State granted the presenting the immigrant student access to privately owned colleges. June 15th, 2012, Barack Obama publicly announced that deportation of young undocumented individuals who match criteria would top in his administration. Many States have approved their own dream acts that have caused some people to believe incorrectly that the federal version passed. Washingtons Republican Senate would allow the State to give financial help to students who are illegally in the country. The Senate would provide $5 million to the state program covering tuition assistance for over 1100 students at the Universities. The Republicans who control the Senate had signaled they would not take the Dream Act, but they later accepted the bill. The Democratic-controlled State approved its version by a big difference on the first day of the 2014 session. Washington became the 17thState to pass the Dream Act version. The State allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at the Universities. Another Fifteen States have passed legislation while additional two, Rhode Island, Oklahoma extended in-state tuition to immigrants through State Boards of Regents. Although the Dream Act passed in some States, in New York it was the other way round. A measure to supply tuition support to children in the country collapsed in the New York Senate on Monday evening. The Act would benefit over 3000 public school graduates and made the State the fifth to offer such assistance but failed just two years shy of passage in a 30-29 Senate vote. All the 28 Republicans voted against the bill with two Republicans missing the vote. One of the big questions about the illegal immigrants that most people ask is where do they come from and who are they. A research conducted by Pew Hispanic Center, the highest majority of them in the U.S are from Latin America. About 60percent are from Mexico while another 20 percent are from other Latin American countries, most notably, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. More than a million illegal immigrants also come from Asia while hundreds of thousands come from Canada and Europe. In the 1980s, almost half of the nations illegal immigrants lived in California; today the states share is less than a quarter. The number of immigrants in several southeastern and Midwestern states has increased greatly. The other question concerning the immigrants is why do they come? There are many arguments concerning this particular issue but research shows that illegal immigrants invade the country primarily for personal and economic reasons. When they come, many of the U.S employers are always ready to hire them and the majority work (Hanson, p.20). Approximation suggests that at least 5 percent of the adult immigrants are in the workforce. Male immigrants have a high labor force participation rates than women with more than 90 percent in the workforce. Wage and employment levels in the country are much higher than their respective countries of origin. The other economic incentive is the lack of developed access to loans and credits in their homeland countries. For many families, migration to the U.S makes it possible to budget expensive purchases in their respective countries of origin (Haugen, p.52). Successful policies must also address the economic, logistics and humanitarian difficulties of attempting to identify and deport a large number of illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. Policies developed without an understanding of these factors will fail. At the moment, the expectations for inclusive federal immigration improvement do not seem right. The discussion about the issue continues to be shaped by a complicated set of priorities agendas and interests. Who would benefit from the Dream Act? There are an approximated 2.1 million undocumented young adults and children in the U.S who might be eligible for obtaining legal status under the Dream Act. For the majority of these people, U.S is the only home country they know and English as the only native language that they know as well. They graduate each year from primary or secondary schools and have the potential of becoming future nurse, doctors, entrepreneurs, and teachers but they are subjected to unique hurdles to achieving this dream in the United States. The Dream Act would grant all these people an opportunity for them to live to their potential and help the society and economy as well. Work Cited Durbin, Richard. The DREAM Act: Immigrant Access to Higher Education - Should Congress Pass the Development, Relief, and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM) Act? Bethesda, MD: Congressional Digest, 2010. Print. Haddal, Chad C. People Crossing Borders an Analysis of U.S. Border Protection Policies. Washington, D.C.?: Congressional Research Service, 2010. Print. Hanson, Gordon H. The Economic Logic of Illegal Immigration. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 2007. Print. Haugen, David M. Illegal Immigration. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven, 2011. Print. Orrenius, Pia M., and Madeline Zavodny. Beside the Golden Door: U.S. Immigration Reform in a New Era of Globalization. Washington, D.C.: AEI, 2010. Print. Read More