Illegal Immigration in the United States of America - Essay Example

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED S OF AMERICA The term immigration can be defined as the act of movement of people across national borders of foreign nations for either partial or permanent settlement. Immigration takes place due to a number of reasons including civil, economic, poverty, natural disaster, political and family reunification among many others (Dudley, 2003).1 Illegal immigration has been defined variedly with respect to the situation or circumstances under which the act occurred. Thus, immigration can be referred to the process of crossing over borders into another country without the consent or legal authority from the relevant immigration authorities of that particular country. Alternatively, immigration can also be referred to instances where an individual who was previously granted a legal entry into a country stays longer than the stipulated time that he/she was allowed. Illegal immigration may also occur when the immigrants goes against the laws that they were admitted with into that particular country this maybe through the acts of engaging in illegal activities or any other action that contravenes the immigration laws of that nation. (LeMay, 2007).2 Most advanced economies nations are often faced with the problem of illegal immigration into their borders some of the immigrants end up in illegal activities like drug peddling or even terrorist attacks which negatively impact the homeland security of those specific nations. Moreover, it is also common place for these countries to receive visitors from other countries who come on visitation purposes but in the long run end up staying longer that they were legally granted thus turning out to be illegal immigrants. USA is known to be a destination for smuggling of human beings especially through the border with Mexico whereby people from as far as Latin America utilizes that route to gain access to the country with the hope of a better life owing to the stable economic condition that America has enjoyed for a considerable period of time. The issue of immigration has been so rife given the increased numbers of illegal immigration that take place across the borders annually and the federal government has to spend a considerable amount of the taxpayers money to arrest prosecute and even deport those immigrants to their respective countries of origin (Kenney, 2008).3 Illegal immigrants who cross into the territory of the United States if America are often undocumented people thus are regarded as stateless since they do not conform to any particular governing body. In essence, they are not governed by any particular governing body which is recognized by the constitution as having being authorized to exercise that constitutional mandate to that group of people. Thus if any of these people break the laws of the land that govern the citizens of America and other documented aliens they are not subjected to the jurisdiction of that law since they have not duly conformed to it by taking an oath to abide by it hence making it their supreme law which they are supposed to follow and defend at all times (LeMay, 2007).4 That notwithstanding, those people cannot prosecute the citizens of America in a court of law for any wrong doing that has been occasioned against them; this is because they do not have any right in that land since the constitution caters for only the citizens and any other aliens who are legally documented by the federal department of immigration. Hence the illegal immigrants are often prone to human rights abuses and other acts that are wrongfully done against since they cannot hold their perpetrators accountable since they are regarded as stateless since they are not recognized as part of the citizens of that country (Kenney, 2008).5 The constitution of USA states that all of its citizens and any other group that has been legally granted permanent or partial residence in America have the right to enjoy social services from the government including a right to education and health care services. The people who are catered by this initiative have the right to receive medical services at all medical facilities that are run by the governments and also can school through the entire school curriculum in government institution without any restrictions whatsoever. However, this does not apply to undocumented people since they are not recognized as part of the citizens hence whenever they want to get access to these services they are forced to pay more money to receive them. The government has a health care initiative plan that seeks to provide affordable medical services to its citizens however this initiative only covers citizens and legally registered aliens and excludes illegal immigrants since the constitution does not recognize them. Thus illegal immigrants suffers a lot in the pretext of being stateless since they cannot enjoy a lot of benefits that other ordinary citizens enjoy just because they are not registered and thus regarded stateless (Dudley, 2003).6 America is the second largest democracy in the world after India and thus the constitution provides for the people of America to be ruled in such a manner that the views of each person are listened to and in the event of policy making the majority will always have their say while the opinions of the minority should also be respected. Hence, the people have the right to view their opinion in any issue that touches on their rights or which its impact will be felt by the entire population. This is normally done through public consultation whenever the government wants to get the views of the citizens and also through voting when certain choices have to be made for instance electing leaders or amending contentious sections of the constitution. Since illegal immigrants are regarded to be stateless people, they do not enjoy the right of their views to be heard or make any input to issues affecting the citizens. That notwithstanding they are not entitled the democratic right of choosing the leaders of the nation through a general election thus they will just lay back and let the citizens and the legally registered aliens to choose for them leaders. Their votes are null and void since they will not influence anything as they in the first place do not have the right to vote and choose leaders for the citizens of America. It is against the law and thus they are bound to punishment if caught trying to vote since it is illegal for non-citizens to participate in electing leaders for the citizens of America (Kenney, 2008).7 Essentially when the economic condition of America deteriorates, and inflation sets in the cost of living becomes very high and thus unsustainable for the citizens. During this period, the government will come up with economic solutions that will try to cushion its citizens from the adverse effects that are associated with economic tantrums. This is achieved through the introduction of tax breaks for the citizens whenever they are buying essential commodities this however does not cover the illegal immigrants since they are not documented and thus cannot enjoy the tax breaks as their counterparts do. That notwithstanding illegal immigrants are not issued with work permits and thus they are not supposed to compete for job opportunities with the citizens (LeMay, 2007).8 Normally they are offered employment opportunities for the odd jobs which the regular citizens are not interested in since they do not have any other option they readily take them up. But whenever the economy slumps and companies want to lay off employees they are the ones who are first targeted before the rest of the citizens can face the cut. It is prudent to note that illegal immigrants despite the fact that the government has knowledge of their existence in America it has stepped up efforts to make their lives miserable by terming and subjecting them to treatment deciphered for stateless people in order to coerce them to get back to their countries of origin. Illegal immigrants from Mexico account to approximately 53% of the total immigrant’s population as per the report released early last year by the Hispanic center for immigration. Despite the surging number of illegal immigration through the Mexican border concern has been raised of the violent manner in which organized criminal gangs are using that border to smuggle human beings into America for the purposes of committing crime and running the illegal business of drug peddling. However, intelligence reports indicate that those groups are aided by senior officer in the government who are also beneficiaries of the revenues from the sale of narcotics in the nation (Dudley, 2003).9 Since the numbers of illegal immigrants have been surging over the years, the government of America has embarked on a costly endeavor to ensure it deports back all the stateless people within its boundaries to their countries of origin. Despite taking a huge junk of the taxpayer’s money the government views it as a modest step to ensure it only accommodate people who it is accountable of in case of anything and for the purposes of proper strategic planning of the nation. Forceful deportation of illegal immigrants is not a new phenomenon in America since for the past fifteen years the government has been deporting illegal immigrants who are busted back to their countries and even charging others in the court of law for illegal stay in the country and trespassing of national boundaries illegally. Since most of the illegal aliens came to USA hoping for a better life, they are freely conducting their daily activities but always in fear since they can be deported back to their countries anytime. This makes them live in fear and without peace of mind since they think of starting a new life again back at home, and it seems impossible. They do not enjoy the peace of mind and coexistence that the citizens enjoy since they are not relaxed as they are expecting the worst to happen sooner or later (LeMay, 2007).10 The question that abounds would then be what motivates such a vast number of migrations then? In unraveling answers to this, it is noteworthy analyzing the various underpinning factors that lead to escalated rates on illegal immigration in the U.S., especially from Mexico. The first reason would obviously be because of the proximity of the two countries geographically (Levy, 2010).11 In this regard, Mexico borders the United States of America from the North. Recently a controversy came up with was received with mixed reaction by top government officials in the US government that the Mexican government released a report that indicated that the remittances made by the Mexican immigrants living in America far outweighed their local production and mining sector. This was received with bad faith by the American government given the fact that the majority of those immigrants are illegally occupying America. With this discovery came the incentives for willing citizens en route to the United States of America (LeMay, 2007).12 Further, it is alleged that inductions are offered on safe illegal migration by the state and there even was a documented text on the subject although the Mexican authorities were quick to dispute supporting the illegal transit but rather enlightened on the safety of the persons involved. It detailed on where to get health care and education for their children among other adaptive strategies. They even went ahead to start issuing consular identification documents to its people who were living in America, which are used for official identification whenever they sought services from banks and other firms that would normally demand them. With such a huge state involvement, it becomes vivid why the Mexican statistics are constantly increasing at abnormal rates (Dudley, 2003).13 The second reason for the ever increasing rates of illegal crossing of border into America from other countries is the pressure by groups advocating for special interests of their members who keep pushing for their recognition as citizens (LeMay, 2007). These are normally people who gained unlawful entry into the country and after staying for a given time with some even extending their genealogies and further complicating the situation by raising children born in the United States legally from illegally settled parents which often brings controversy on their citizenship status. The supreme constitution of America does state that any person who is born in American soil is an American by birth and therefore entitled to rights and privileges which come with it. Efforts to deport such persons have always been thwarted by civil groups opposed to it (Kenney, 2008).14 One such group is an Irish lobby group that categorically stated there was to be no deportation of illegal immigrants and instead asked the government to grant them legal citizenship status. Looking at the rigid positions taken by all the lobby groups it is evident that no rational reason from the government would sway their demand as they represent the interests of the targeted groups and as such serve to encourage future migrations into the country making it hard to completely sever links with similar cases in future (Barbour, 2004).15 Illegal immigration in the United States has a myriad of effects. For instance, the social costs and benefits due to illegal immigration are far much higher than the income or value generated by the immigrants. This was unearthed after justifications by several lobby groups pushing for the conferment of full citizenship status to the immigrants by states. It was based on some initial reports that they contributed a lot more to the economy than the expenses incurred on them (Dudley, 2003). A later research showed that the reverse was actually true, meaning the government was actually incurring additional costs that could have been diverted to other programs in the current expenditure as opposed to recurrent expenses it was forced to offset. This has been as a result of many of them taking up jobs which are least desired by the native and legally emigrated citizens who would have stood a better chance at selected well-paying ventures that generate higher wages and salaries. Their low financial capabilities also directly and indirectly affect their children’s performance in schools as most are netted in the chain of searching for the extra coin to make ends meet as was revealed by research. The students’ performance however took a better turn as the family’s income improved (Miller, 2007).16 The devastating impact they pose to the environment in the course of their movement. Depending on the course they take, they are most likely to throw the trash they have aimlessly in the surroundings that pose a threat to the already fragile heavily polluted environment. According to research up to eight pounds of garbage trash are left behind especially by lone travelers in the desert in a span of at most three days. Going by the large numbers of illegal immigrations it is, therefore, an alarming noting the rate at which the environment risks degradation. All these demonstrate that illegal immigration might not be after all a problem among the countries involved but instead a global problem because we all share the ecosystem and poor waste management is a major contributor of the degradation (LeMay, 2007). In addition, there is the problem of alienation, which results from the shock encounters of different cultures occasioned by their contact. Concern from various circles has been on the rise that the immigrating Mexicans pose a threat of dividing the United States culturally particularly the anti-English speaking north, central and the Catholic Hispanic Southwest together with those staying in the Eastern zone. This division, however small, goes a long way in determining a lot of policy decisions affecting the group and the country at large as they are likely to gang up against state moves that they feel victimize them and such intolerance will most likely hamper implementation of policy decisions of the country (Dudley, 2003).17 Moreover, the prevalence of illegal immigration poses a threat as a cultivator of social evils that come with it. These include; prostitution, forced labor, which is seen as modern slavery. In this regard, women and young girls are the most vulnerable. Most of them are taken innocently with job promises in the United States of America from countries like Russia, China, and India among others. Upon arrival, defenseless as they are, they end up being forced into private house workers, hands in factories and majority as prostitutes who sleep with over four hundred men for the smugglers to recoup their expenses and generate some considerable revenue. Inhumane as it seems, it is a vice perpetrated and as it is against the values and principles enshrined in the American constitution (Levy, 2010).18 Also concerning the relatively settled immigrants though unlawful, the government should initiate a program to see what can be tapped from them in an effort to offset the huge costs incurred in sustaining them within the country (LeMay, 2007). This can be accomplished by of setting a ceiling for the expected revenue to be generated per head, failure to which a person loses their relevance to the country and have to leave at will. This will make a contribution to the country’s GDP while reducing the costs incurred by the government. However, its success will largely depend upon the government’s ability to counter further illegal migrations into the country as it will only manage those already within (Levy, 2010). Therefore, from the foregoing discussion it can be noted that indeed the problem of illegal immigration is real and costly and there is thus a need to collectively curb it to reduce the dangers it poses to the individuals and the country they illegally immigrate to at large (LeMay, 2007).19 Despite pressure mounting from different sector on the fate of illegal immigrants in the US to be forcefully deported back to their countries of origin it can be argued as much as the illegal immigrants pose a threat to American citizens in terms of job competition they contribute much to the overall GDP of the country at the same time giving labor force to steer the economy from recession. A research conducted by the Hispanic center for immigration recently indicated that illegal immigrants from 52% of the population of the state of California thus is indeed a substantial sect of the entire population whom if forcefully deported would negatively impact the economy and other civic ramifications in the state.The immigrants in California contribute approximately $650 billion dollars in revenues to the state accounting to about 32% of the total GDP. The administration of President Obama is undergoing pressure from the Democrats to initiate policies that will safeguard the welfare of the immigrants since a most of the illegal immigrants have been living in America for a so long others more than ten years thus it would against their civil rights to be set apart from their siblings and even the social communities in which they have called for many years (LeMay, 2007).20 References Barbour, William. Illegal immigration. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Dudley, William. Illegal immigration. San Diego [Calif.]: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Kenney, Karen Latchana. Illegal immigration. Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub. Co, 2008. Last Modified December 3, 2014, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=395145 LeMay, Michael C. Illegal immigration: a reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2007. Levy, Janey. Illegal immigration and amnesty: open borders and national security. New York: Rosen Pub, 2010. Miller, Debra A. Illegal immigration. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Read More