Why the Federal Government Can't End Illegal Immigration in the US - Essay Example

The paper “Why the Federal Government Can't End Illegal Immigration in the US" is a fascinating example of an essay on social science. Illegal immigration into the US has been going on for decades, without any serious actions being taken by the government. There is resentment among people of a certain community who object to the presence of illegal immigrants living on their land, especially towards Mexicans, the fact that these immigrants end up being profitable for the U.S. government and power-hungry employers, is the reason why not much has been done about the situation. No matter how much opposition the poor immigrants face, at the end of the day, their desperation forces them to perform jobs that most Americans would not apply for. Plus, the undocumented immigrants end up being lucrative, as the government is able to extract more taxes, and the employers can hire these people at low salaries (Why the Federal Government Can't End Illegal Immigration).

Now the question arises whether Congress should take some major action against this practice of illegal immigration or it should let this matter slide. It is true that illegal immigrants are a slight burden on the U.S. economy, as they do not pay income tax, but do send their children to school and use other government services. Also, when employers hire these immigrants, they pay them less money, which leads to the wages of low or unskilled workers going down, thus, creating problems for the unskilled American labor. But even after these minor glitches, the American economy is believed to benefit from these undocumented immigrants, with the effect on the whole economy being a slight net positive (Q&A: Illegal Immigrants and the U.S. Economy, 2006).

Therefore, illegal immigrants are not much of a burden on the American economy, but, instead, the economy benefits from the people who illegally cross the border, on a small scale. So the thought of stopping this influx of illegal immigrants sounds rather harsh because sending them back means forcing them to return to their painful life, a life from which they just want to escape. The highest number of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. is from Mexico. No one wants to leave their homeland until they are forced to by the existing tough situations. According to the World Bank, 53% of Mexico’s population is living under poverty and over 40% is unemployed, with no government unemployment benefits. Furthermore, there are no welfare benefits for the deprived and starving families (Why the Federal Government Can't End Illegal Immigration). Therefore, forcing such people to return to their miserable and anguished life from the one which offers them hope and sustenance seems very severe and vindictive.

The fact that illegal immigrants make up roughly 4% of the U.S. population (Number of illegal immigrants in U.S. declining, 2010) shows that they should not be much of a burden on the society as a whole. Their inability to pay income tax makes up for the profit that the government and employers earn by hiring these people. Thus, sending them back to their miserable lives is not such a good idea. Though, a major influx of immigrants into America should definitely be prevented.