Illegal_Immigration

Almost all of us have relatives who, at one time or another, were immigrants who came to America seeking freedom, opportunity, and ultimately a better life. Many illegal immigrants leave their native countries because of the lack of jobs and poor living conditions, among other reasons, and come to America looking for the same dream like so many before them. They live illegally in America because many feel that bureaucratic red tape is holding them back from coming in legally and because the wages are usually far higher than those in their native countries. As of March 2009, the majority of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. came from Mexico (sixty percent) and other Latin American countries (twenty percent), while the remainder came from Asia (eleven percent), Europe and Canada (four percent), and Africa, and other countries (4 percent) (pewhispanic.org). There were an estimated 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in March 2009, with most living in California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois and New Jersey (pewhispanic.org). It is usually easy for them to get jobs doing manual labor for little pay from farmers or other employers who usually do not check their legal status. The employers may suspect that the aliens are here illegally, but they do not report them because they have hard-workers doing the jobs many Americans would not want to work, and for less money. The economy benefits because it helps keep the price of many goods and services low. Undocumented migrants also contribute to the economy by paying for goods, services, sales taxes, and real estate taxes, if they own property. "Every empirical study of illegals' economic impact demonstrates... undocumenteds actually contribute more to public coffers in taxes than they cost in social services. Moreover, undocumented immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy through their investments and consumption of goods and services; filling of millions of essential worker positions resulting in subsidiary job creation, increased productivity and lower costs of goods and services. (Lipman)” Immigrants also create cultural diversity. Many open restaurants and cook native cuisines which would be unavailable without them. Some open stores and sell goods imported from their native country. Just this has encouraged a huge cultural change in the United States. The Border Patrol tries to stop the illegal Mexican aliens from coming to the U.S. illegally, but law enforcement doesn’t have the time, money, and resources that would be required to effectively stop them from coming illegally. If they are caught and transported back to Mexico, they often just re-enter America illegally. Many American police don’t even bother trying anymore, so they often ignore it when they suspect an immigrant is here illegally. "I have listened to and understand the concerns of those who simply advocate sealing our borders and rounding up and deporting undocumented workers currently in residence here. But that's easier said than done... I have yet to hear a single proponent of this point of view offer one realistic proposal for locating, apprehending, and returning to their countries of origin over 11 million people. How do we do that' ...it would take 200,000 buses extending along a 1700 mile long line to deport 11 million people. That's assuming we had the resources to locate and apprehend all 11 million, or even half that number, which we don't have and, we all know, won't ever have. ” -John McCain Many Americans don’t mind immigrants coming to America to pursue a better life, just as long as they do it legally. While migrant workers enjoy a better life in the U.S., many Americans are the ones who pay the price. Most have little or no education, which leads them to work manual labor jobs. They often take jobs away from Americans, especially ones who also have little education, and work low-level jobs, although many aliens work low-paying, hard labor jobs that most Americans don’t want. Employers like to hire them since they are usually hard-working, because they don’t want to lose their job, and they are often willing to work for less than the average salary. "The economic impact of immigration on native workers varies with the worker's skill level and state of residence. In recent years, immigration to the United States has become increasingly dominated by low-skill immigrants from Latin America and Asia, and these immigrants tend to concentrate in just a few U.S. states. As a result, low-skill native workers in high-immigration states have been harmed the most by labor market competition from the new immigrants. Low-skill immigrants can also worsen a states fiscal balance sheet, as such immigrants earn low wages and therefore contribute less in tax revenues, and these families place relatively heavy demands on public services. The taxpayer burden of low-skill immigration will be felt most strongly by high-skill native workers in high immigration states with generous public assistance programs and progressive state income taxes. “(Trejo, 2006) As more immigrants come to the United States, Americans have to share their goods, services, and resources, sometimes having to compete for them. The increase in number of illegal migrants puts many Americans out of work, and lowers the average wage because of job competition. The majority of illegal migrant workers do not pay state and federal taxes, even though they use services and resources such as public roads, parks, libraries, medical, and housing services. "The economic and social consequences of illegal immigration... are staggering... Illegal aliens have cost billions of taxpayer-funded dollars for medical services... Immigration is a net drain on the economy; corporate interests reap the benefits of cheap labor, while taxpayers pay the infrastructural cost... $60 billion dollars are earned by illegal aliens in the U.S. each year. One of Mexico's largest revenue streams (after exports and oil sales) consists of money sent home by legal immigrants and illegal aliens working in the U.S... This is a massive transfer of wealth from America - essentially from America's displaced working poor - to Mexico.” Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform (CAIR) While their presence certainly benefits aspects of the economy with a supply of cheap labor, they also clearly place a heavy burden on many social services and resources, which may be a reason why so many Americans feel so compelled to do something about the issue. Some immigrants with low incomes cannot provide sufficiently for themselves and their families, so they resort to importing or selling drugs, or other criminal activity. Mexico is a huge grower and supplier of many of the drugs imported in the U.S., such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and prescription drugs. Mexican drug cartels and gangs, as well as normal citizens, realize the potential for profit, and are constantly smuggling drugs across the border, contributing to the drug problem in America. This causes many other related problems: supporting drug addicts’ problems and enabling deaths by overdose, getting new users addicted to the drugs, and taking money from the American economy and bringing it back to Mexico, among other problems. The U.S. spends over forty billion tax dollars a year to fight the war on drugs (drugpolicy.org), which its still losing. It has spent over one trillion dollars over the last forty years battling the war on drugs (foxnews.com). Many neighborhoods also notice an increased crime rate along with the arrival of more and more illegal immigrants. A dramatic increase in the number of illegals coming from Mexico in recent years has caused much concern. The U.S. attempted to slow them from crossing over illegally by increased security measures. They built a 1,951 mile fence along the U.S. - Mexico border in 2009, and increased border patrol security guards. Many aliens attempting to enter the U.S. avoid the fence, and instead cross over about fifty miles of desert, and enter through the Sonoran Desert and the Baboquivari Mountain in Arizona. The number of aliens who entered the U.S. illegally has been down recently, but many people suspect that it is because of the state of the American economy, and has nothing to do with the fence. The issue of illegal immigration needs to be dealt rationally and not emotionally. How can we stop them from coming over illegally' What should we do about the ones who are here' Should we just let them stay' Nobody seems to have any answers, in short, creating a sort of grey area on the whole issue. While immigration is a top concern of the federal government, there don’t seem to be many solutions, resulting in a situation that stays the same. 
 The lives of many Americans are enhanced by new jobs that are created by immigrants. Their valuable technical skills and cultural impact are an asset to the American economy and ultimately the American people. The benefits of immigration and the fostering of illegal immigrants far out way the negatives and shows the value of immigrants on their quest to pursue the ‘American Dream’ in our nation of immigrants.