Unseen Aspects of Illegal Migration - Essay Example

Unseen Aspects of Illegal Migration The number of illegal immigrants in the US has reached nearly 12 million, as Passelstates in Pew Hispanic Center. Presently, the records prove that 25% of all agricultural jobs are done by illegal immigrants. Similarly, ‘17% of office and house cleaning jobs, 14 % of construction jobs and 12 percent of food preparation jobs’ are done by illegal immigrants (Passel)’. Evidently, ensuring social services to illegal immigrants involves a number of socio-economic issues.

The first and foremost problem is that offering social services will attract more and more illegal immigrants into the nation, thus further weakening the already collapsed American employment sector. It is pointed out that every year 730,000 American workers get replaced by illegal immigrants, and this causes a loss of $ 4.3 billion a year. In the opinion of Buchanan, California- “the goose that laid golden eggs”- was killed by the federal government in the name of accommodating the unrestricted immigration.

Another argument that goes against offering social services to the illegal immigrants is that illegal immigration is a burden on the taxpayer. It is pointed out that the nation spends an amount of nearly 45 billion dollars every year on illegal immigrants. This involves education, emergency medical care, and incarceration of the arrested criminals. Moreover, as Camarota points out, it is alleged that those who have US-born children get welfare assistance in their name, and some make fake US identity documents and enjoy welfare schemes.

According to Camarota, the benefits enjoyed by illegal immigrants from the federal government far outweigh their contributions to the society; and the contribution from the illegal immigrants comes mainly in the form of payroll taxes, which is about $ 7 billion in a year. However, it is found that the benefits enjoyed by the illegal immigrants in the form of “Medicaid use, treatment for the uninsured, and participation in food assistance programs” amount to about 17.4 billion dollars (Camarota).

However, things turn upside down when one looks into the arguments put forward by Dwyer in ‘Illegal Immigrants, Health Care, and Social Responsibility’. According to Dwyer, though it is plausible to argue that the people who do not have the right to be in a country cannot expect benefits in that country, a sound ethical response should take into consideration the fact that most of these illegal immigrants engage in the kind of jobs that usually the citizens eschew. It is pointed out that these immigrants often do works for lower wages than the natives do, and a considerable proportion is strikingly uneducated.

In addition, he points out the fact that many are brought to the new country through coercion and deception and forced to engage in “activities ranging from prostitution” (Dwyer). Thus, the argument here is that the immigrants are not basically violators of law, but are humans who are in a new place to seek means for survival. So, viewing them through the scope of legality is evidently inhuman in nature. According to this class of thought, what is required is better ways of sealing the boundaries of the nation instead of putting the already crossed ones into misery.

Another argument that is put forward by the ones who support social services for the illegal immigrants is that the federal government and employers are benefiting heavily from the so-called illegal immigrants (“Federal government again”). According to them, the illegal immigrants offer cheap labor to the employers, and this is the reason that forces the federal government to think about offering amnesty. So, as far as the nation utilizes the services of the immigrants, it does have the responsibility to ensure services in return.

In total, it becomes evident that certainly, the immigrants are causing considerable economic burden on the taxpayers of the nation. In addition, ensuring social services to the illegal immigrants is like inviting more and more illegal immigrants to the nation. So, evidently, there is the need to improve the nation’s rules against illegal migration. In addition, there should be more security measures on the borders of the nation. Also, the ones who reach illegally should be caught and deported to the nation where they came from.

To sum up, letting the illegal immigrants to starve will only exacerbate crimes and social issues. Instead, what is required is a bi-faceted approach; stop further illegal immigration, and either rehabilitate or return the already immigrated. Works Cited Buchanan, Patrick J. “Who killed California?.” World Net Daily. (July 2003). Web. 09 July 2011. Camarota, Steven A. “Welfare use by immigrant households with children: A look at cash, Medicaid, housing, and food programs.” Center for Immigration Studies.

(April 2011). Web 09 July 2011 Camarota, Steven A. “The high cost of cheap labor: illegal immigration and the federal budget.” Center for Immigration Studies. (August 2004). Web. 09 July 2011 Dwyer, James. Illegal Immigrants, Health Care, and Social Responsibility: Disturbing and procuring Health Care Resources. Hasting Center Report, 2004. 34-41. Web 09 July 2011 “Federal government again dragging feet on illegal immigrants.” Times-Herald.com. (July 2011). Web. 09 July 2011< http://www.

times-herald.com/Opinion/Federal-government-again-dragging-feet-on-illegal-immigrants-1438100> Passel, Jeffrey S. “Size and characteristics of the unauthorized migrant population in the U.S: Estimates based on the March 2005 current population survey.” Pew Hispanic Center. (2006). Web. 09 July 2011