Immigration__Huddled_Masses

Keep Your Masses! Sincerely, America Brendan Burrow ENGL 111 - OMH Professor Skok Ivy Tech Community College February 21, 2011 Keep Your Masses! Sincerely, America At the time the Statute of Liberty was dedicated in 1886, the sentiment regarding immigration to the United States was expressed in its inscription: “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”(Lazarus, 1883) Since its inception, the United States has welcomed millions of people, many in dire need, from all over the world. In the mid-19th century, families suffering from the potato famine in Ireland fled their homes and traveled across the Atlantic to relocate in this country. By 1850, the Irish made up a quarter of the populations in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. (Laxton, 1997) The trend has continued. In more recent history, from 2000 to 2005, nearly eight million immigrants made this land their home. (El Nasser, H. USA Today, 2005) Almost half this number entered illegally. (Conrey, B. The Washington Times, 2005) Although the idea of extending open arms to those searching for a better life is heartwarming, the negative effects of such rampant illegal immigration are detrimental to the United States and its natural-born citizens. Some of the many impacts of illegal immigration can be easily identified by examining the current health care system and associated costs, crime levels, and the billions of tax dollars dedicated to this issue. Despite almost every American having a strong opinion on illegal immigration, most seem to spend more time spouting political rhetoric than formulating realistic solutions to this undeniable problem. It is critical for our society to focus on ways to protect Americans from the three aforementioned drawbacks of illegal immigration by implementing more stringent requirements to obtain medical care, tightening the reins on criminal activity, and seriously considering building a formidable wall along our southern border. Illegal immigration only recently entered the general healthcare debate, but has taken on a life of its own as one of the hotly discussed issues across the nation. Quite simply, illegal immigration is hurting Americans’ healthcare coverage. First, public insurance, often unavailable to citizens and paid for with their tax dollars, is generously extended to illegal immigrants. (Camarota, S. 2004). Second, hospitals’ operating costs are disproportionately consumed by uncompensated care for illegal immigrants, resulting in higher insurance premiums for the privately insured due to cost-shifting among third-party payers. (FAIR, The Sinking Lifeboat, February 2004) Lastly, citizens’ access to emergency medical care is decreasing due to illegal immigrants’ reliance on emergency departments for general, non-emergency, medical attention. (FoxNews.com, 2005) While this country’s superior medical facilities are a source of pride for Americans, and all humans deserve treatment, illegal immigration is a clear drain on our healthcare system. Less than six months into Barack Obama’s presidency, America began slipping into the biggest economic descent since 1929, due to sub-prime mortgage defaults. Many of these loans were given to low income families- including a great deal of undocumented, illegal immigrants, and as a consequence, many aspects of modern life came screeching to a disconcerting halt. One of the industries trying to stay ahead of the fallout was the health care insurance companies. According to The Commonwealth Fund, a private health care watch program, premiums increased 119% from 1998-2008and reached record levels in September of 2009, thus coinciding with the increasing level of default loans and people becoming dispossessed. The myth here is illegal immigrants were at fault and yet still contributing to the worsening of the health care system by not using health care effectively and spending too much of the taxpayers money in health care claims. The fact is, health insurance companies use procedures of identification that deny anyone who does not have a social security number or proof of citizenship. Also, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, $21 billion of taxpayer’s money was spent on Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which is historically typical. A deficit has existed due to the recession and it will eventually level out once the “normal” economy has regained. There is light at the end of the tunnel yet! The Senate and House of Representatives are constantly bringing new legislation to the Capitol looking for recovery efforts and more efficient means of distributing health care to those who deserve it and to minimize those who receive it unjustly. (Edwards, J. NumbersUSA.com, 2009) If you take the average person off the street, they would likely be hard-pressed to tell you their honest position on immigration. It is such a controversial subject that few Americans can even differentiate the word immigration without first attaching an “illegal” in front of it. There exists legitimate concern on both sides of the political fence as well as in nearly every facet of American demographics today. Public opinion has spread to acrimonious banter and very commonly, myths concerning illegal immigration. Ignoring the misinformation of news pundits leaning to either side of the aisle, crime escalations in urban neighborhoods seem to be an ever increasing worry to those who vote for change in the immigration reform debate. Though many possible solutions exist about these issues (as there are hundreds of factors to calculate), only a few are reasonable, or even possible. There are a disproportionately high percentage of illegal immigrants who are illegal immigrants. Another drawback are the increased costs of incarceration. Finally, there is an underreporting of crime by both American criminals against illegal immigrants, because they know they will not or cannot report the crime for fear of deportation, and it is difficult to track down immigrants with no paperwork, a history of using aliases and no biotechnic information. The system is melting and politicians in this country need to engage in formal and unbiased discussion regarding this difficult subject. An initial approach would be to finish the wall along the southern border of Arizona, a project President George W. Bush initiated after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. The wall, over 350 miles long, would not cover the entire border of Mexico, but mainly the hot spots of illegal activity and attempted border crossing. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 was initiated and never completed. If the governement can spend the money that has already be issued to them for this project, illegal immigration will not cease, but dramatically decrease, according to the Department of Homeland Security. In conclusion, illegal immigration is a growing concern with the vast majority of the voting public. The United States government, as they are the only ones who can change it, need to decide how to get this country in a path of righteousness for all parties involved and make immigration synonymous with prosperity and freedom, not degradation and corruption. References Lazarus, Emma. “The New Colossus,” 1883. Laxton, Edward. The Famine Ships: The Irish Exodus to America, 1846-51. Bloomsbury, 1997. “Study: Immigration grows, reaching record numbers.” USAToday.com. December 12, 2005. “Immigration surge called ‘highest ever’.” Washington Times. December 12, 2005. Camarota, Steven A. The High Cost of Cheap Labor: Illegal Immigration and the Federal Budget. Center for Immigration Studies: August 2004. Federation for American Immigration Reform. The Sinking Lifeboat: Uncontrolled Immigration & the U.S. Healthcare System. FAIR: February 2004, p 5. “L.A. Emergency Rooms Full of Illegal Immigrants,” FOXNews.com. March 18, 2005. Illegal Aliens & the Senate Healthcare Bill -- Better Than the House's, But Still Filled With Loopholes, James Edwards, Saturday, November 21, 2009