Illegal_Immigration

Illegal Immigration John Kerry, a respected Senator, once said: “I believe America’s best days are ahead of us because I believe that the future belongs to freedom, not to fear.” Our country is the land of dreams. It is a place for hope. But more than that, our country is a free country. But is it really a free country if illegal immigrants can’t come into America without a chance to make their own lives and our country better' Is that fair' I don’t think so. I think that illegal immigrants should be given a chance to become contributing members of society. My opponents say that illegal immigrants create a drain on public services. Actually, studies dating back to 1982 show that illegal immigrants actually pay higher rates of taxes and use very low rates of public services. Also, among about 2100 illegal immigrants surveyed, just 4 percent said that they had used food stamps during their last trip to the U.S.A., and only 3 percent said that they had been in receipt of government welfare payments. Even though all illegal immigrants are legally entitled to the right to send their children to public U.S. schools, only about 10 percent reported actually doing so. Furthermore, illegal immigrants are entitled to receive emergency medical care anywhere in the U.S.A., however about 25 percent said that they had made use of a hospital during their last trip. (Massey) Illegal immigrants do not abuse public services. Imagine the hardworking immigrants who want to do better but are thwarted at every step! Another argument put forth by my opponents is that, the reason illegal immigrants should be deported or killed is because they break laws in trying to get away from the police. Well, maybe the police are to blame as well. That is evident from a short story of injustice. This happened in April 1996. It started with a freeway chase lasting 80-miles and was over when a truck containing 21 illegal immigrants came to a stop. News helicopters that were hovering above the incident filmed the driver and passengers of the truck being clubbed with nightsticks by two sheriff’s deputies. Immigration and civil rights groups held protests. Really, they were quite lucky they were just clubbed. The police didn’t even warn the Mexicans in Spanish to cooperate; instead the officers just beat them with their nightsticks. Protests immediately followed. Was this like the Rodney King incident in Los Angeles' It was Déjà vu all over again. Even the White House showed concern. (Huspek) Now tell me, is this what America is all about' I don’t think so, I think that the police behavior was lousy! My opponents may say that illegal immigrants should be killed, but what does that portray the land of dreams as' Why should they be killed just for trying to have a better life' Isn’t every man guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' Apparently not! My opponents might say that illegal immigrants may not always come to America in search of a better life, but what other reasons would they come to America' All in all, illegal immigrants should be given a chance to make their lives better, and more importantly, a chance to make America better. Why should we deport illegal immigrants when they could live and possibly be great contributing American citizens' It has been proven that they do not abuse public services, and even though they may break laws on occasion as do many citizens of this country. In conclusion, let us all revisit what this great land stands for, and ask ourselves the question, what do we as citizens gain by depriving other people a chance for a better life'