The Social and Economic Impact of Illegal Immigration - Term Paper Example

The Social and Economic Impact of Illegal Immigration Introduction Stories about penniless immigrants coming to the United s, working hard, overcoming hardships and converting an impoverished life into a prosperous one abound. As such, the country has always been one of the preferred destinations for people wanting to migrate to other countries in pursuit of greener pastures. In addition to earning a decent livelihood, family reunification and political turmoil in their home country are reasons why people leave their abode and immigrate to the U.S. The attractiveness of the U.S. acts as a gravitational force not only for the legal migrants but also for the illegal migrants. Definition of Illegal Immigration Illegal immigration, also known to as unauthorized or undocumented immigration refers to the passage and settlement of immigrants in a manner that contravenes the immigration rules and regulations of the destined country. Barry Chiswick, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago defined illegal immigration as follows; "By definition, illegal immigration arises from a divergence between whom the United States will accept as an immigrant and the desire of some foreign nationals to live and work in this country” (Procon 2007). Broadly speaking illegal immigration may take the form of undocumented/unauthorized entry, admission gained through fraudulent documents, extending the stay after the expiry of the temporary visas or crossing the border illegally. An estimated 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants live in the United States. In the last decade, on average, 5, 00, 000 new illegal immigrants made their way into the United States every year. The tally of total immigrant population in the United States touched 40 million in 2010, the highest in the history of the country. Approximately 66 percent of the unauthorized immigrants come into the United States by crossing the US-Mexico border; making Mexico the top illegal-immigrant-sending country. The rest of the one-third illegal immigrants reportedly continue to stay on in the country after the expiry of their temporary visas (Hanson 2009). Positive Impact of Illegal Immigration At one point of time, the phenomenon of illegal immigration served the national interests of United States Pretty well. The illegal immigrants are willing to take up jobs in labor-scarce regions and also have no problems in accepting jobs that native workers and legal migrants shun. The illegal immigrants hold anywhere between 12 to 15 million jobs or 8 percent of the jobs in the United States (Hanson 2009). For varied reasons the existence of unauthorized immigration is somewhat tolerated unofficially (Hanson 2009). These immigrants have contributed significantly to the U.S. economic growth. The U.S. has been able to compete with the low-wage forces of Asia and Latin America primarily due to illegal immigrants serving as low-cost work force in the country (Hopkins 2005). The illegal immigrant manpower has been used in agriculture, construction, cleaning and maintenance and other low-end jobs. The illegal immigrants have always responded to market conditions in a way that has appealed to the U.S. employers. The influx of illegal immigrants rises during periods of expansion and diminishes during periods of recession (Hanson 2009). The impact of the latest recession has been no different. Data suggests that the number of new illegal immigrants coming into the country has declined by close to 33 percent in the last two years. Likewise evidence also suggests that the number of illegal immigrants returning home has also more than doubled in the same period. Once the economy starts to recover, the illegal population is also likely to resume its growth (Hanson 2009). Negative Impact of Illegal Immigration Hitherto, reference has been made to the benefits that illegal immigration accords to the U.S. economy. However, Americas illegal aliens have hogged national attention mainly for negative reasons in the recent past. When seen in the light of the disadvantages that accrue to the economy because of the illegal immigration, the advantages appear miniscule. In the present day society, illegal immigration brings in its wake a number of ills as it abates the common national identity, restricts opportunities for upward mobility for the existing population, jeopardizes the security and sovereignty of the country and increases pressure on the resources meant for social programs. Last but not the least, illegal immigrations has adverse ramifications on the middle-class norms of behavior. The need of the hour is to put an end to this immigration before it cripples the country. The impact of illegal aliens is far reaching. The illegal immigration impacts the socio-political environment, population, labor standards and direct social welfare costs (Fogel 1977). Illegal immigration also has an adverse impact on the education system and the health care services of the country (PR Newswire 2010). The social and economic impact of illegal immigration is discussed below: Social Impact Poverty There exists a positive correlation between illegal immigration and poverty. On a national basis, the poverty rate of Illegal immigrants is estimated to be 23 percent. This rate is more than twice the 11.5 percent pan U.S. poverty rate of native U.S. citizens (Blondell 2008). The effect of immigration on poverty is more pronounced in states where the proportion of immigrants to total population is high. Close to 60 percent of all poor children in California, an immigration heavy state, are immigrants. The poverty rate of 29 percent amongst immigrant children is considerably higher than that of children born to resident parents (Green 2004). Employment Businesses, especially the small ones, take advantage of the susceptibility of the illegal residents. These businesses give the illegal aliens employment but tend to exploit them. Since such jobs are provided in stealth, they tend to understate the true job growth and payroll numbers. Illegal immigrants, on their part, tend maintain a low profile. This is done to conceal their identities not only for census purposes, but for tax purposes as well (Hanson 2009). Education In 2007, school going illegal immigrants accounted for 2.8 percent of the total school population. This proportion cost the federal budget an estimated $14 billion a year. If one includes the U.S. born, now-school age, children of illegal aliens the proportion of illegal immigrants in schools jumps up to 6.2 percent, which costs $36 billion to the government (Blondell 2008). Health Care System Illegal aliens have played an instrumental role and have abetted the current financial crisis that has made the U.S. health care system look fragile. Under the U.S. law it is mandatory for hospitals to treat and stabilize people who seek emergency care, irrespective of the immigration status. In some hospitals, two-thirds of total operating costs are made towards illegal immigrants and are thus uncompensated for. Such appropriation has the potency to threaten the entire health care system. A growing number of hospitals, especially along the southwest border, have had to cut back services, have closed down or are staring in the face of bankruptcy largely because of the uncompensated care to illegal aliens (Green 2004). The Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) approved the refund of money spent on emergency care of the illegal immigrants; however the program has never been funded (Green 2004). Emergency care for the illegal aliens also entails additional burden on the individuals. Each household with private-sector insurance had to shell out an extra nine hundred dollars by way of premiums to make up for the mandated health costs for the illegal aliens. It is thus apparent that illegal immigration and a welfare state cannot coexist (Blondell 2008). Diseases Illegal immigrants, by virtue of the fact that they hoodwink the authorities to gain entry into the United States, do not undergo health screening. There are reasons to believe that these people introduce infectious diseases in the country. Various contagious diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, cysticercosis and leprosy had been curtailed to a large extent in the United States. However, these diseases have begun to surface again especially in areas with high immigrant populations (Blondell 2008). Organized Crime One of the most terrible impacts of illegal immigrations is the rise of organized crime. The illegal immigrants, at the first instance, flout rules when they cross the border without permission or with the help of fraudulent documents. Overstaying a visa is, in no way, not an infringement of law. Additionally the illegal immigrants indulge in impersonation, use counterfeit or stolen social security numbers, carry falsified driver licenses and evade income taxes. The influx of illegal aliens has been associated with the formation of ethnic gangs and organized crime. Sociologists aver that subsequent generations of illegal immigrants are more likely to indulge in organized criminal activities (Blondell 2008). Impact on Federal Budget If all the ills associated with illegal immigration were to be quantified in items that appear in the federal budget, illegal immigrants would create a net fiscal deficit. In 2002, the illegal aliens reportedly led to a fiscal deficit of more than $10 billion. If an amnesty is added for illegal aliens, this figure would spike to nearly $29 billion (Camarota 2004). Conclusion The illegal immigration is a double edged sword. The influx of cheap illegal aliens gives the cost competitiveness, especially to the small scale labor intensive industry in the United States. At the same time, illegal immigration has far reaching adverse ramifications across the economic and social spectrum. These disadvantages far outweigh the benefits accorded by illegal immigration. These unfavorable implications of illegal immigration lead to a drain on the resources of the federal government. An extremely stringent policy of enforcement which results in complete elimination of illegal immigrants is likely to harm the low-skilled labor intensive industry, including farming, construction and low-end manufacturing industry in the United States. Thus a two pronged strategy is the need of the hour wherein along with the elimination of illegal immigration, the government also facilitates cheap labor inflow into the United States. Word Count: 1626 Works Cited Avila, Shawna. "Defining Perceptions of Immigrants and Immigration in the United States: Personal Values, Contact, and Demographics." Southern Adventist University, 2010. United States -- Tennessee: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. Blondell, Jerome. "Adverse Impacts of Massive and Illegal Immigration in the United States." The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies 33.3 (2008): 328-50. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. Daza, Jason. "Attitudes Toward Illegal Immigration: What the Public Believes, what the Government can Learn." The University of Texas at Arlington, 2007. United States -- Texas: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. Fogel, Walter. "Illegal Aliens: Economic Aspects and Public Policy Alternatives." The San Diego Law Review15.1 (1977): 63-. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 25 Nov. 2011.  Green, Alison, and Jack Martin. "Uncontrolled Immigration and the U.S. Health Care System." The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies 29.2 (2004): 225-41. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. Hopkins, Stella. "Positives, Negatives Affect Economy." McClatchy - Tribune Business News: 1. ABI/INFORM Complete. Aug 21 2005. Web. 25 Nov. 2011 .  Hanson, Gordon H. “The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States.” Migration Policy Institute. Dec 2009. pp 1-19. "Immigration Hostility Widespread in U.S. and 5 Largest European Countries." PR Newswire: n/a. ABI/INFORM Complete. Sep 10 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2011 . “The High Cost of Cheap Labor: Illegal Immigration and the Federal Budget.” cis.org. Camarota, Steven A. Aug 2004. Web. Nov 25.2011. “What is illegal immigration?” procon.org. 14 Feb. 2008. Web. 25 Nov 2008. < http://immigration.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000756> Read More