Category: Illegal Immigration

When asked what I considered the most critical political issue in America, immediately I thought: immigration, specifically illegal immigration. It’s been a hot topic for a while, but more so recently because President Trump has been pushing for immigration reform, deportation, and the building of a wall that will divide the border between the United States and Mexico. Our Commander in Chief has ruffled quite a few feathers and is not swayed by people’s negative connotation when he mentions such things as the wall and deportation.

The conservatives argue that illegal immigration is bringing crime, drugs, decreased job availability, the possibility of letting terrorists into our country and that they’re causing our hospitals and schools to be overwhelmed. They also say that it’s hurting our economy because of the cost we incur. According to an article written by the Immigration Reform Law Institute: “Illegal immigration to the U.S. costs federal, state and local taxpayers a staggering net cost of $116 billion a year – an increase of some $16 billion compared to previous estimates” (IRLI Staff 2017). The liberals argue that many immigrants are just trying to get away from a bad life and make more money to provide for families. Arguments are furthered by the fact that they think it’s unfair to deport people who have been here long enough to make a life here, especially children who had no say in the matter and have known nothing but life in America. People are enraged that families are being torn apart at the border when they become detained. Liberals also say that we need immigrants to keep our economy going. So many different arguments, and honestly, all are valid concerns.

It really is a tricky situation and I honestly have a hard time taking a side with this one. I’m not savvy enough when it comes to political matters to say how I think things should go. I have ideas but I’m well aware there may be a flaw in my logic due to details or sides I’m ignorant to. However, I do think that people should come here legally, no question. But, I understand that a lot of those that do come here illegally are doing it out of desperate measures. It isn’t easy, nor is it a quick process to go through, not to mention the cost would be more than some could afford. I’m actually friends with a handful of people who did go through the process, so I was able to pick their brains on what they thought. It was unanimous that they thought it was an arduous process that was confusing at times. They all agreed it could get pricey but were lucky enough to be able to afford it, and one even hired a lawyer to ensure that they were doing everything correctly. But after hearing them talk about the process they had to go through I can see how it would be daunting. So, is it the process that needs to be fixed? It might be worth redoing some things and basically just simplifying it. There are so many different avenues people can do right now, from the immigration process to dozens of visa categories, lotteries, etc. It’s all too much and it’s no wonder people get confused and overwhelmed with it all. They should just cut it down to a few channels, a lot fewer visa options, and make it a merit-based system. I also think there should be a lot more emphasis on letting people in who will bring something to help our economy, mainly in the form of skillset. Oddly enough, Canada seems to have a handle on its immigration. It might behoove us to take note and try to implement some of what they do. In regards to the Canadian system: “As soon as they demonstrate their benefit to this country and pass whatever background checks are needed, they would be admitted. This would not exclude other types of immigrants but would prioritize those most beneficial. Given the xenophobia now sweeping the rest of the West, Canadians’ openness might seem bizarrely magnanimous. In fact, it’s a reasonable attitude rooted in the national interest. Canada’s foreign-born population is more educated than that any other country on earth. Immigrants to Canada work harder, create more businesses, and typically use fewer welfare dollars than do their native-born compatriots” (Tepperman, 2017, as cited in Berlin, 2018). All these ideas take out the difficulty of the process but it still doesn’t really help the issue of those still coming here illegally (mainly from South America). I’m not going to lie, I think building a wall might help with a big chunk of it, though not entirely as people will always find a way. But it might help cut down on crime, drugs, and human trafficking in the meantime till a better solution is found.

As I mentioned previously, it seems like most that come here illegally are doing so out of desperation. Some think that the dangers of crossing the border illegally outweigh the dangers they face if they stay. Maybe we should be looking at Mexico from a humanitarian standpoint and try to help them figure out how to deal with their own corruption problems. Here’s where my ignorance makes me hesitant to even say things like this as I really don’t know how foreign politics work. We’re technically allies with our southern neighbors so why not focus on lending a hand to get their country in a state where people can flourish economically? Maybe if we work together to get rid of the crime that comes from there it would eliminate a big chunk of the problem. As for the undocumented immigrants who are already here: they could give all of them automatic citizenship if they can pass all the background checks and citizenship tests. Of course, they should have to pay any back taxes should they owe any. Anyone who doesn’t pass the background checks or tests will have to be deported. If they had children while in the United States they can decide if they should stay or go back with them. If they had them prior to coming here, but the children resided in the United States for a certain amount of time, let’s say 7 years or more, then they should also have the option of whether they want them to stay or not. If they don’t have family or friends willing to take care of them then they just go back with the member being deported. It may be harsh, but these people know the risks, that what they’re doing is illegal, and that it’s a gamble on their family’s lives. If they didn’t want to suffer the consequences then they shouldn’t have played the game. After granting automatic citizenship to those currently here, the new immigration process, strict border security, humanitarian efforts to South America, etc., will start to go into effect. Anyone that is caught trying to sneak through the border will have to be detained and sent back the other way. For those being detained at the border: I do not agree with tearing the families apart and separating the children from their parents. If the children did happen to be unaccompanied when they were found that is one thing, but they should not force families apart. Another article stated that: “If they truly want to stop illegal immigration, some good places to start would be: expanding the number of ICE officers, pushing back on sanctuary cities, expediting deportations, and increasing the efficiency and number of immigration courts. These measures, coupled with improved and cost-effective border security, would go a long way to solving our illegal immigration problem (Inserra 2018).

It isn’t just one thing that we can change and it will magically make it all better. It’s going to take collaboration with different departments, working with those who hire employees to discourage the use of illegals in their workplace, border security, humanitarian efforts to try and fix the problems in South America, changing the current immigration process, figuring out a better way to find those who have overstayed their visa’s, etc., if we expect to have any sort of impact. However, it’s apparent that many things need to change. Immigrants in America can have an extremely positive effect on our economy. “Immigrants are also entrepreneurs who create jobs. Given that the average immigrant-owned business hires 11 employees, these businesses would account for between 3.7 million and 5.2 million jobs in the formal economy” (UnidosUS, year unknown). We just need to figure out how to make all of them legal.

Historical Context of Immigration in America

Imagine being a guest at someone’s house. How would you feel if you were asked to leave by another guest? Chances are you would probably think the other guest had no authority to ask you to leave, especially considering they are only guests themselves. The country now referred to as the United States of America is a place where people have migrated for over 400 centuries. Let’s go back to the 1600s when the first immigrants arrived in what is now the United States. Prior to the 1600s, there was already a large group of people living in America; most people referred to them as Indigenous People or Native Americans. The Native Americans had been living in America for centuries before the British arrived. The Native people had a very good sense of community. They lived in tribes and were able to sustain their communities by growing their own food and hunting. They also built teepees for shelter, which is a tent-like structures usually made with poles and cloth. It is safe to say that the native people had a rather functional society even before the arrival of the first immigrants. The relationship between the British migrants and the native people did not start off the best, but eventually, things got better, and migration became normal in America. Many different groups of people have come to America for a better life, including the British, German, Irish  to name a few. Today it seems as though Europeans have forgotten that they too were once immigrants and now for some reason they have decided that they want to prohibit other migrants from coming to America. There has even been a title placed on people who choose to freely migrate to America; they are being called illegal or undocumented immigrants. It is important for everyone to remember that the average American was once an illegal immigrant of this country, and since that is true, we must be willing to welcome with open arms anyone who chooses to come to America. Undocumented immigrants should be allowed to stay in the United States because immigrants make the economy better, help diversify America, deserve to live in a prosperous and safe society, and have come to know America as their only real home.

Economic Contributions of Immigrants

The first reason immigrants should stay in America is because immigrants play a substantial role in bettering the American economy. According to Edward Schumacher-Matos, writer of the article, How Illegal Immigrants Are Helping Social Security, America’s Social Security system received $240 billion in taxes paid by undocumented immigrants. These figures represented 10 percent of America’s total trust assets. According to the article, “The social security actuaries estimate that two-thirds of unauthorized immigrant workers, or 5.6 million people, were paid into the system in 2007” (Schumacher-Matos). The article also stated that if it had not been for the surplus of money paid to the Internal Revenue Service by undocumented immigrants, then America would have experienced a shortage of funding and would not have been able to make tax payouts in 2009. This article is proof that undocumented immigrants do not hurt the American economy, but instead help it. In actuality, Americans would have been at a disadvantage had it not been for immigrant workers. In 2009 the American tax system would have experienced a massive deficit if it had not been for the additional $240 billion in taxes paid to the Internal Revenue Service by undocumented immigrants. The American economy benefits greatly from the contributions of immigrant workers and should consider immigrants to be an asset here in America.

Cultural Diversity and Immigration

Secondly, migrants should be welcomed in the United States because they help promote diversity. Cultural diversity is a very important part of what makes America great. According to Joe McCarthy, writer of the Global Citizen article Five Ways Immigration Actually Enhances a Countries Culture, “Immigrants expand culture by introducing new ideas and customs. Nowhere is this clearer than in the United States, where hundreds of different ethnic groups live in harmony under the banner of the American flag building a collective culture” (McCarthy). The article also mentions how immigration makes the world more connected. According to the article, “The world becomes more interconnected each year as people share cultures, engage global commerce, and develop friendships with people from different backgrounds. As people move across borders and participate in new countries, progress is spread, and the world becomes more open” (McCarthy). America is a mixing pot of different cultures. People that live in America have the ability to collaborate with people from all over the world, sharing ideas, recipes, and customs. The collaboration helps to give insight into the culture of others and helps to bring people from different walks of life closer together. Immigration is responsible for introducing cultural diversity, which plays a major role in unifying people all over the world.

Seeking a Better Life: The Immigrant’s Journey

Another reason immigrants should be able to maintain residence in the States is that they are trying to build a better life for themselves and their families. Many countries are experiencing poverty and gang violence at an astonishing rate which makes citizens feel as though they cannot bear to stay in their countries any longer. According to the article, Desperate Journeys by Scholastic Incorporated, many people from Central America are risking their lives to flee the poverty in their countries. The article gives a detailed account of a man from Guatemala named Juarez, who is a father of three young children. Juarez was a businessman but the poverty levels in his country made it impossible for him to make a profit. Juarez looked for work outside his business, but when he realized there were absolutely no jobs available, he decided to travel to America in hopes of finding work and making money to send back to his wife and children. Many people like Juarez decide to travel over 1,200 miles through the desert in hopes of making a better life for themselves. (Scholastic Incorporated) The article Desperate Journey gives readers insight into just how serious poverty is: “Indeed, extreme hardship is all most people in the area have ever known. More than 75% of the region’s population is poor. Many earn little to nothing for the coffee, corn, beans, and other agricultural products they grow, and small farmers are unable to pay their bills. Nearly 70% of the children under age five suffer from chronic malnutrition” (Scholastic Incorporated). This article gives insight into the risk immigrants are willing to take simply so they can earn an honest living and provide for their families. Immigrants are so selfless that they are willing to risk their own lives and freedom in an effort to feed their children. Not only do immigrants migrate to the United States to find work and flee poverty, but they also come to escape violence. The article Fleeing for Our Lives, published by Amnesty International talks about the dangers that citizens of many different Central American countries face. According to the article, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, which make up what is called the Triangle of Central America, are considered to be the most dangerous places to live in the entire world. Women and children from Central America are susceptible to becoming victims of rape, kidnapping, torture, or even murder. Children in Central American countries are running from things that no child should ever have to worry about. On a daily basis, young children are constantly trying to avoid gang recruitment, and escape exploitation from prostitution and human trafficking. The United States government is completely aware of the crisis happening in central America, and although asylum programs are available, only 3.7% of asylum cases are approved (Amnesty International). With such low approval rates for asylum of individuals trying to flee the violence in their countries, one should understand why victims might be willing to flee to America even if they must do so illegally. Poverty and Violence are devastating factors that immigrants are facing in their home country. Circumstances such as these are very important to consider and should without a doubt be a reason to welcome migrants. All people deserve to be able to live knowing that they will have their basic needs, such as food and safety met no matter where they are from.

America as the Only True Home for Many Immigrants

The final reason immigrants should not be forced out of the US is because many immigrants see America as their only true home. The Washington Post published an article written by a Mexican news anchor named Leon Krauze called, For these immigrants, there’s no other ‘home’ to go back to, The article was written in an effort to help people understand the challenges immigrants face when they are forced to return to countries they can barely call home. The article talks about a woman named Mayra who came to the United States from Mexico in search of a better life for herself. Mayra had been living in the States for over a decade, and during her time in America had given birth to two little girls. Mayra had been pulled over in Utah during a traffic stop for driving with broken headlights while running an errand with her sickly daughter. During the traffic stop, it was discovered that Mayra was an undocumented immigrant, and she was immediately detained and scheduled for deportation. Mayra begged for mercy in hopes that she would be given some type of compassion as she was a single mother of two American-born children, but Mayra received no sympathy and was deported without her two children. Mayra was sent back to Mexico where she was unwelcomed by her family. To make matters worse Mayra found out her children had been put up for adoption in America. Mayra attempted to re-enter the United States and regain custody of her children on several occasions but failed at each attempt (Krauze).

Cases such as Mayra’s are truly heartbreaking but the devastation does not end there. The article also talks about children who are brought to America as small children, often time with no knowledge of their home countries whatsoever; these children are called “Dreamers”. According to the article, “The place of their birth is not even a memory, all trace of it lost to the hazy wirings of early childhood. Most dreamers have never gone back to the countries they left as small children because returning to the United States afterward without proper papers would have been impossible. Most of what they know comes from their parents’ recollections” (Krauze). Many immigrants face a heartbreaking reality on a daily basis. They face the risk of being deported to a country that they cannot truly consider to be their home. Some immigrants are even forced to leave the country they call home without their children and loved ones. Imagine someone living somewhere for most of their life, building a family, making friends, starting a career, and all of a sudden, they are forced to leave the life they built behind to go live in a country they know nothing about. Many immigrants are forced to live in fear that on any given day for any given reason they could be detained and sent away from the only home they know.

There are some people who believe that immigrants who come to America without official documentation should not be allowed to stay here and should be subject to deportation. These individuals might even believe that immigrants pose a threat to the economy, disrupt American culture, or cause violence, which are completely understandable points of view. However, evidence shows that immigration not only improves the economy significantly since immigrants also pay into the American tax system but there is also evidence that shows how immigrants have actually saved the economy from a major deficit. Also, there is no need for individuals who oppose immigration to worry about immigrants disrupting American culture because immigrants absolutely love America and what it stands for, which is why they put in so much effort to relocate here. Immigrants even go out of their way to learn English, which is easily one of the hardest languages to learn. Lastly, immigrants often come to America to flee the violence in their home countries, so the chances of them playing a role in any violent acts here in America are slim to none since violence is what they worked so hard to get away from.

There are several reasons why people decide to migrate to America and should be able to stay. Immigrants are great assets in America and have a large impact on growing the economy. Immigrants are also very beneficial because they help make America one of the most diverse countries in the world, which has so many cultural advantages. Furthermore, Immigrants should also be allowed to stay in the United States because oftentimes they are fleeing impoverished nations and looking for a place where they can raise their families in a safe environment. The final reason immigrants should be allowed to remain in America is because most immigrants have come to know America as their only real home.

It is important that all Americans remember that at one point or another we too were illegal immigrants. I also believe that as members of the human race it is our sole responsibility to take care of one another regardless of our race or origin. As humans we must all stick together and remember if our brothers and sisters need us, we must be there to help them because when they hurt, we should be able to feel their pain and put in our best effort to come to their rescue whenever we can. It is important to remember that although America is flourishing today, that might not be true tomorrow. Thus if we are in a position to lend a helping hand, we must do so, because we never know when we might need someone else to return the favor.

Work Cited

1. ‘DESPERATE JOURNEYS: Fleeing poverty and violence, Central Americans are risking everything to get to the U.S. Now American officials are increasing efforts to warn them not to come.’ Junior Scholastic/Current Events, 10 Dec. 2018, p. 8+. Gale General OneFile, https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.pgcc.edu/apps/doc/A565512093/ITOF?u=pgcc_main&sid=ITOF&xid=ed139209. Accessed 17 Nov. 2019.
2. “Fleeing for Our Lives: Central American Migrant Crisis.” Amnesty International USA, 29 July 2019, www.amnestyusa.org/fleeing-for-our-lives-central-american-migrant-crisis/.
3. Krauze, León. For these Immigrants, there’s no Other ‘Home’ to Go Back to What Happens when Kids Who are all but American have to Leave? WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post, Washington, 2016. ProQuest, https://ezproxy.pgcc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.pgcc.edu/docview/1842795151?accountid=13315
4. McCarthy, Joe. “5 Ways Immigration Actually Enhances a Country’s Culture.” Global Citizen, 2018, www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/how-immigrants-benefit-society-trump/.
5. Schumacher-Matos, Edward. ‘Taxes Paid by Illegal Immigrants Help Social Security.’ Illegal Immigration, edited by Noël Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2012. Current Controversies. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.pgcc.edu/apps/doc/EJ3010499249/OVIC?u=pgcc_main&sid=OVIC&xid=5ef00858. Accessed 17 Nov. 2019. Originally published as ‘How Illegal Immigrants Are Helping Social Security,’ Washington Post, 3 Sept. 2010.

Migration is when people move from one place to another to work or live. International migration involves moving from one’s country to another. The world of today many people migrate due to different reasons: some migrate seeking better opportunities and education, while others flee their countries because of the crisis imposed by disasters or poverty. There is an excellent correlation between migration and security of any country, and this has led to the securitization of immigration and border policies by some states. Movement and national security have long been linked even before 9/11 and the emergence of the global terror threat (Walters, 2010, p.218). The global action to securitize immigration shows that terrorism’s link to migration and the perception is widespread. There are many security threats posed by transhumance, but there is no direct proof that it causes terrorism.

The correlation of immigration and security dates back during the Second World War when Germany citizens living in Britain were interned, and in the 1980s, when Kurdish and Algerians were linked to terrorist acts in Western Europe. The process of taking security precautions in any migration instance has heightened in the recent past due to the ongoing globalization. Globalization has reduced the world into a village where people, information or ideas can flow seamlessly. The societies and economies are now closer than before, and this poses another threat which emanates from the negative side of globalization (Walters, 2010, p.218). Since the world is always at risk, many nations are in constant fear which is prompted by the numerous security threats and civil wars. The countries get entangled in a situation where they have to recruit and let people into their countries, but at the same time worry about the security threat these people pose.

After the September 11th act of terrorism in the United States, European countries were on alert, and they all began to institute measures that assisted in migrant control. There is an assumption that due to globalization, the United States allowed in people with ill intention without the government’s knowledge. The United States and other nations came up with their border control policies that would help screen out those without any plan. These include surveillance and screening of the migrants. In the European Union, the law enforcers started using migrant control policies to control terrorism (Waever & Buzan, 1993, p.1). At some point, the Union used the system used for monitoring and gathering information from migrants as a tool of counter-terrorism. The action furthers the belief that immigration is increasingly becoming a security threat to European societies.

The narrative of perceiving migration as the source of all the terror-related act is wrong and has no evidence to support it. The labelling has also prompted most of these nations to come up with restrictive policies that lockout or drive the migrants to the wrong hands of human traffickers. The strategies have also been used to justify the dentation, deportation or even greater surveillance on the migrants by the relevant authorities. Even though any country’s national security should prioritize terrorism, there is a need for not using the presumption that terrorism mainly results in terrorism. Despite all this perspective, migration still raises security concerns, and the issues majorly come from illegal migrants.

Irregular migration undermines the exercise of state sovereignty. Every state has the right to control anything that passes through its border points. Every country has instituted policies and measures that are used at the border points to manage the process of admitting the migrants. In most cases, this is violated by the migrants and human traffickers who use loopholes at the crossing point to enter the state of their interest. The act is always treated as a criminal act by the affected nation since it’s a threat to national security. The illegal migration in most cases results from the presence of constant civil wars and extreme poverty. The affected migrants are always forced to use unlawful means so that they can secure what they perceive as a better life.

In Europe, a country like Italy has been facing waves of illegal migrants from North Africa fleeing from their countries because of poverty and constant political instabilities. The receiving states have different policies in case of such eventuality. In most cases, the migrants are arrested and deported back to their respective countries. They usually are charged with possession of undocumented citizens, and also using illegal border points to enter into the state illicitly. The action of migrating to another country without the knowledge of the receiving country poses a significant security threat, and every nation has a right to put in places policies and measures that will control the flow of migrants into their state.

Irregular migration is a threat to law and order of a nation. The smuggling and trafficking human into another state can be viewed as a national security threat. In the first place, the action undermines the existing policies that are put in place to control migration. Human smugglers and traffickers are not only associated with migrants alone, but in most cases, they also bring in illegal goods and even guns and other prohibited commodities. The issue poses a severe economic problem which can easily translate to a security threat. The smugglers might also smuggle in terrorist whose intention is to harm the receiving state. The states are always on a high alert when dealing with such a problem since it has a long-term negative impact on the nation.

The smugglers always have associates who they do business with within the host countries. The associates are organized criminal gangs who might be dealing with illegal goods, drugs or even guns. The groups pose a direct threat to law and order in the affected state. If not handled with swiftness, the gangs and smugglers frequently cause immense damage to the nation ranging from murder, violence, and addiction if drugs are involved. An example is what happened in the United States following the illegal smuggling in of cocaine from Latin American countries through the Mexico border. Many criminal gangs emerged, and the result was a lot of death related cases and addiction to a large percentage of youths. In such cases, the states should prioritize the threat and use applicable means to control this kind of migration.

The other security problem posed by migration is lack of social cohesion on the section of the population with migrants. The threat happens when the segment of the community receives a lot of migrants with the same social components, such as race, ethnicity or religion affiliation. Over time the native population might be outgrown by the migrants in terms of people; this will lead to a shift of the domestic political balance within that population (Weiner, 1992, p.1). The migrants will be more powerful, and they will champion for their interests through politics since they have the numbers. The migrants might also shift the conception of national identity and the beliefs of the sociopolitical of the affected community.

Mass migration can result in the above factors and pose a threat to national security. In most cases, this shift is always illegitimate and always result in conflict among the two societies that are trying to integrate into each other. In some scenario, the situation culminates in the influence on the receiving state’s policies by the diaspora community. The community might want to see the migrant community integrated into the new population without causing problems to the natives, which is not always the case. Eventually, the receiving country will experience conflict from the diaspora communities. An excellent example is what happened in Italy, when the Europe Union blame Italy on how it was handling the migrants from Africa and on its move to shut out the migrants. Mass migration will always pose a threat to the receiving state, especially when the migrants share the same ethnicity or religion.

Migration has long been linked to terrorism, especially after the terror act of 9/11 in the United States. The proposition prompted many states under the European Union and other countries globally to implement policies that would help fight the activity. It also heightens the belief that migration is the root cause of all the terrorist acts that have happened in Europe and America. There is no evidence to support the presumption and most strict measures being used to control migration, but rather some of them are political.

Even if there is no evidence to support the link between migration and terrorism, there are security threats that are posed by movement. Irregular migration of migrants violets the receiving country right to control who to enter and who not to enter their country, this is against the law, and most likely the migrants might be subjected to punitive measures. The other threat posed is human trafficking and smuggling of other illegal commodities that might cause a security threat to the receiving country. Also, migration poses a considerable security threat when there is no social cohesion between the two communities occupying the area affected by immigration. When there is no social cohesion, civil clashes might erupt.

Did you know that the number of immigrants in the United States exceeded forty-three million in 2016? This is 13.5 percent of the population in America (Amadeo). Of the forty-three million, around eleven million immigrants are undocumented, which means they are immigrants who entered the country while violating government immigration laws. Does it seem plausible that millions of people are somehow entering into the United States under unfair and immoral circumstances? Illegal immigration into America can be prevented because the United States government can improve their methods of security, immigrants can cooperate with government methods, and the public can be better educated on the topic of immigration.

Illegal immigration into America can be suppressed by the United States because the United States government can better guarantee methods of safety and security. It was originally introduced to America by Donald Trump at the beginning of his presidential campaign in 2016 that a wall should be built on the southern United States border to keep illegal immigrants from easily crossing the border without being seen or documented by government officials. Because of the mass amount of undocumented immigrants into the United States, Donald Trump has called for a national emergency. However, according to Fox News Channel, there is a lack of federal funding for the wall because of many challenging lawsuits against President Trump’s claims. The wall that Donald Trump was planning to build at the beginning of his presidency, and still is pushing for, is estimated to cost eight billion dollars of federal funds. A physical wall would be a great way of keeping illegal immigrants from entering the United States, however other precautions need to be taken to prevent undocumented immigrants from getting access into America. According to Ryan James Girdusky, “No wall or fence alone will stop immigrants from crossing our southern border in large numbers”. The reason for this is the many loopholes that are contained within the United States asylum laws. Asylum laws are defined as the protection granted by a nation to someone who has left their native country as a political refugee. The United States law requires the government to allow anyone who shows up at the border to apply for asylum. However, these laws have allowed many immigrants into the country to fraudulently claim asylum to avoid immediately being deported by government officials. Although Donald Trump has pushed for asylum laws to be enforced, the Supreme Court continues to reject the claims of a national emergency. It is estimated that each asylum claim that is put before the federal immigration court takes an average of 578 days for a decision to be reached on a request for asylum. Because of this huge court backlog, more than 809,000 immigrants are waiting for their asylum claims to be heard in immigration court (Girdusky). For an immigrant’s claim for asylum to be granted, the asylee has to show true fear for their life. In retrospect, it is very hard to quickly define what true fear is. Overall, the requirements to be granted asylum are very vague and unhelpful to quickly decide whether an individual should be granted asylum or not. These asylum laws need to enforced and simplified to allow for a simpler, but more efficient way of getting into the United States legally. The government should be focused on making America a safer and more functional place for people of all races and ethnicities to live in. Enforcing asylum laws and government fundings for a wall are some of the best ways for this to happen.

Another reason why illegal immigration into America can be stopped is because immigrants coming into our country can be more cooperate with the government and their methods. To process an immigrant for asylum, government officials have to perform a credible fear interview and decide whether the person should be claimed asylum. After asylum is claimed, the immigrants are moved to detention centers for twenty days before given a court date and released from the centers. Unlike the name suggested, the detention centers are similar to a college dorm room or a small home for multiple families or individuals to inhabit for the short 20-day period. Once the immigrant is given a court date to furthermore process their wish to become an American citizen, the immigrant is supposed to return to said court, but few return. According to the Fox News Channel, approximately 600,000 people disappeared before their asylum hearings between 2003 and 2015. The processing of an immigrant is a tedious task, and since there are so many of them waiting to get processed, they tend to take things into their own hands. Many news stories tell of families attempting to cross the Rio Grande River to get across the border into America. Some of these people are women who are pregnant, and according to United States law, any person that is born on American soil is considered a United States citizen. Another problem is the government’s tendency to provide governmental help like food stamps, free health care, and WIC. WIC provides free food for all these people. All of these government programs are very helpful, but also cause people to become completely dependent on the government instead of getting a job to help provide for their own families or themselves. How some immigrants are taking advantage of the situation to find easier but unfair ways of entering the United States could be a better topic of discussion than everything wrong with how the government officials are handling immigration into the United States.

In addition to reasons why illegal immigration can be prevented in the United States, the public can better be educated on the topic of immigration to help prevent illegal immigration. It is very hard to get the full story on problems that happen in the United States government because of the many uneducated news reporters and corrupt information sources. The media tends to demonetize or over exaggerate situations in a way that leaves the public oblivious to the real problem at hand. This problem carries on into everyday American citizens who are oblivious to the true story happening because they have not experienced it first hand or been correctly educated on the topic of immigration. Nowadays, the topic of immigration has become taboo to speak about among Americans. The problem of this ignorance results in most people ‘picking sides’ before having knowledge of the whole story. Choosing a certain side to be on is dangerous because this causes others to not listen to each other who have a differing opinion. This results in internal conflict, which is seen within the United States government today. Abraham Lincoln once said: “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. Lincoln’s words were a statement to describe to state of the country when falling into the Civil War. However, the words still reign true in America’s situation in the present day. America cannot be divided under two sides because the United States can easily fall into another civil war. All Americans need to work together to address the situation, and come together to end it. Although illegal immigration is a touchy subject for American citizens to talk about, this should not stop people from being fully educated on the topic of illegal immigration and working together to address the problems at hand.

Those who disagree may say that illegal immigration should not be prevented because illegal immigrants are helping the US economy by paying American taxes and taking jobs American citizens don’t want to take. However, this can be proven false with United States laws and records of what is happening on the southern United States border. If an illegal immigrant comes into America and are undocumented, they do not have a social security number, but if they are documented and fully go through to processing system, they are given a social security number along with citizenship. However, to get a job in America, a social security number is needed. This results in a vast number of undocumented immigrants to create a fake social security number. This is why there are so many stolen social security numbers. As every working American knows, when the check is given to the working American, a percentage is taken out of the check due to federal taxes. According to Hunter Hallman, some illegal immigrants find a way to pay federal taxes even without a social security number, but refugee asylum seekers and green card holders can get a social security, but if you’re undocumented you cannot get a social security number.

Illegal immigration can be prevented because illegal immigrants are damaging the economy of the countries that they are leaving and leaving their own detrimental footprint in the United States also. The United States cannot have one disproportional group coming in to the United States to the detriment of the society of as whole. The group cannot come into the country and take more than they give. Imagine you are sitting in your own home, watching your favorite movie and drinking your favorite drink. Suddenly, you hear pounding on the door and are worried about what the banging may be. The door slams open and a large group of people come running into your home. The group of people start to take things from your refrigerator, lying down on your coach, and falling asleep on your bed, and take the television remote from your hands and change the channel to something else that you had no intention of watching. You don’t know who these people are, but they are completely taking advantage of your home and what it has to offer. The group of people decide to stay at your house for a couple weeks. However, they do not pay rent, and overall don’t think of the consequences that their actions cause. Now think of the person in their home as the citizens of any country, whether it is in America or any other country, and the people who barge into the home are undocumented immigrants. In reality, citizens of any country shouldn’t have to worry about people not following simple rules, or given double standards that they must follow by others do not. Rules are set in place by people to make life less chaotic and equal. A good fix to the problem of illegal immigration is to be fair and honest in a way that results in a simple process to become a legal citizen of the United States. The United States should be focused on making life better, not harder, for all people.

Works Cited

1. Amadeo, K. “Immigration Pros and Cons”. The Balance. 2019, https://www.thebalance.com/how-immigration-impacts-the-economy-4125413, Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.
2. Pandolfo, C. “Mark Levin Makes the Immigration Argument Every Elected Republican Should Repeat”. Conservative Review. 2019, https://www.conservativereview.com/news/mark-levin-makes-immigration-argument-ever-elected-republican-repeat/ Accessed 24 Feb. 2019.
3. Ryan, G. “A border Wall Isn’t Enough – Asylum Laws Must Be Stricter to Cut Illegal Immigration” . Fox News. 2019, https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/a-border-wall-isnt-enough-asylum-laws-must-be-stricte-to-cut-illegal-immigration Accessed 23 Feb. 2019.
4. Federallawenforcement.org. “What Is ICE| What Is Immigration and Customs Enforcement| Requirements for Federal Law Enforcement Jobs”. Federal Law Enforcement. 2019, https://www.federallawenforcement.org/ice/what-is-ice/ Accessed 24 Feb. 2019.
5. Oxfamamerica.org. (2019). “What’s Really Going on at the US Southern Border?”. Oxfam. 2019, https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/whats-really-going-on-at-the-us-mexico-souhern-border/ Accessed 22 Feb. 2019.

Illegal immigration has been an issue that the United State has been dealing since the early 1800s. In recent years, there has been a surge in the amount of attention that illegal immigration is receiving in the media. This attention is mainly because of the massive increase of Hispanic immigrants crossing the border illegally and disobeying U.S. laws. Another contributing factor is that President Trump is aiming to build a higher border wall between the United State and Mexico border. Many illegal immigrants come to the U.S. to flee danger in their native country or to find work to better their lives. Illegal immigrants face the fear of being deported every day. In November of 2014, President Barack Obama proclaimed a program of ‘deferral action’, which allow illegal immigrants to legally stay and work in the United States.

The process of becoming a U.S. citizen is very difficult and the selection process is very severe, especially come the person come to the country illegally. In order to become a citizen, the undocumented immigrant must have a clean criminal record, learn to speak English, file federal income tax for their time in the United States, pay a penalty fine, and register with the Department of Homeland Security. If the undocumented immigrants pass all of these tests, they are granted a green card after about eight years and must wait another five years to apply for citizenship. This entire process could take up to 15 years, but it is worth it to families who fear the fate of deportation back to their dangerous native country.

Families and individuals are willing to take huge risks in order to come to America for a better life. Immigrants are willing to wait these 15 years to become a citizen knowing that with this citizenship, their lives will be changed. I think that the media and different political debates take away from the simplicity of this issue. There are so many different cases of illegal immigrants that we begin to focus only on the bad stories and not the good. There are so many different cases and stories of illegal immigration that our society begins to resort to believing the myths that the media and other people spread instead of taking the time to understand the entire topic.

There are many different myths about illegal immigrants in our society, but the ones that seem to come up the most are that they take away potential jobs for American citizens, don’t want to learn English and U.S. customs, and don’t pay taxes. The first myth that I am going to address is the idea that immigrants have a negative impact on our economy and take away potential jobs for Americans. This is untrue in many ways. It is true that immigrants come to America in search of work, but the jobs that these immigrants are taking are low-skilled jobs that most Americans aren’t willing to do anyway. Most immigrants do not have the higher education that is needed to work most jobs in America and end up filling the jobs that involve intensive labor skills that U.S. born citizens refuse to do. Also, in 2000-2004, “there was a positive correlation between the increase in the foreign-born population and the employment of native-born workers in 27 states and the District of Columbia”, according to a study done by the Pew Hispanic Cener. This information shows that immigrants are not only helping our economy by doing jobs that U.S. citizens fail to do, but also helping native citizens find jobs and earn higher wages. This is just one example of how distorted our society’s view is of the impact of illegal immigrants on our country.

Another myth is that immigrants don’t want to learn to speak or write English or learn about our country’s customs. This in itself is a stereotype that some U.S. citizens believe is true about immigrants. In reality, this statement is very misleading. Most immigrants understand that in order to succeed in the United State, they must learn to speak English, and succeeding in the United State and becoming a contributing member of society is their first priority. There has been a drastic increase in the amount of first-generation English-speaking immigrants, and even more in second-generation immigrants. Immigrant families understand the urgency to learn English and assimilate into the U.S. culture, so they put a huge emphasis on educating their children. “The proportion of both Asian and Latino immigrants, who speak English exclusively rises from 10% in the first generation to 29% in the second and 94% in the third” (ACLU).

Another false statement that often comes up when talking about illegal immigrants is the idea that they bring crime into our cities. This stereotype has definitely affected how these immigrants are viewed in our society. U.S. citizens think that because some immigrants are low-income, uneducated people they are automatically guilty of a crime. Also, our society tries to group all immigrants together and alienate them as we have done in the past. In the media these immigrants are portrayed as a problem for our society, so we automatically associate them with danger. I think we need to step back and look at the facts before placing these awful stereotypes on immigrants. While people born abroad make up about 35% of California’s adult population, they account for only about 17% of the adult prison population, the report by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) showed. This fact shows that our country’s crimes are more often coming from U.S. citizens than from immigrants, proving all stereotypes of immigrants wrong. Another statistic that proves this myth wrong is that U.S.-born men ages 18-39 are five times more likely to be incarcerated than are their foreign-born peers. Obviously, there are exceptions to this, but that is not a reason to assume all immigrants are dangerous, just like we don’t assume all U.S. citizens are criminals because of the people in prison. These stereotypes can have huge, detrimental impacts on the successes of immigrants in the U.S., and I believe that we need to get rid of them in order to give immigrants a fighting chance in U.S. society.

The final, but I believe is the most popular myth, is the myth that illegal immigrants aren’t contributing to our society by not paying taxes. U.S. citizens believe that because the illegal immigrants aren’t documented they are flying under the radar and using hospital care and public schools without paying for them in taxes. To be completely honest, this myth has been so widely spread that I too believed it was true. In fact, this myth has recently been proven wrong and is actually the complete opposite. Immigrants pay billions of dollars in taxes for benefits that they will never receive. According to the 2015 Economic Report of the President, more than half of all undocumented immigrants are believed to be working ‘on the books’ and contribute to the tax rolls, but are ineligible for almost all federal public assistance programs and most major federal-state programs. I used to believe that illegal immigrants didn’t pay any taxes and just lived off of the U.S. citizen taxpayers. It has also been proven that illegal immigrants make up a major percentage of the billions of dollars paid into the Social Security system. Three-quarters of undocumented immigrants who use a fake Social Security number actually pay payroll taxes, and “the suspense file is growing by more than $50 billion a year, generating $6 to 7 billion in Social Security tax revenue and about $1.5 billion in Medicare taxes” (ACLU). If I had been educated with statistics like these when hearing about the surge in illegal immigration, my outlook on this political issue would have been a lot different. More U.S. citizens need to take the time to understand what illegal immigrants are actually doing for our society instead of resorting to false stereotypes.

I hope that with the illegal immigration reform bill our country will soon rid the stereotypes of all immigrants. This bill has the ability to put an end to the horrible deportation stories that illegal immigrants have been facing lately. Families are being split apart because children who are a part of illegal immigrant families that were born in America are considered American citizens. Their parents, on the other hand, are not. I understand that these deportation laws need to be followed in every circumstance, but it doesn’t seem fair to split up families because of it. Also, children that were brought over illegally and grew up in America are now being deported to countries that are considered unsafe and poverty-stricken. I am so relieved that our government is working on a bill to grant citizenship to over 11 million immigrants if it means that all of this pain will come to an end. Our country is supposedly known as a ‘melting pot’ and that we welcome all ethnicities with open arms, but our actions and stereotypes are portraying otherwise. In ‘’A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America’, Takaki stated: “The study of diversity is essential for understanding how and why America became what Walt Whitman called a ‘teeming nation of nations’”. The bill allows these undocumented immigrants to gain citizenship the loudest voices in our society, such as the media and political figures, will help to show our country everything that these new citizens have to offer. At the beginning of the term, we focused on what it is to be American, and I believe that these hard-working immigrants, either illegal or not, are portraying all of the qualities that I consider to be ‘American’.

Works Cited

1. Takaki, Ronald T.A. ‘A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America’. Boston: Little, Brown &, 1993.
2. ‘The Rights of Immigrants – ACLU Position Paper’. American Civil Liberties Union, http://aclu.org/other/rights-immigrants-aclu-position-paper
3. ‘Myths and Facts About Immigrants and Immigration’. Anti-Defamation League, http://adl.org/resources/fact-sheets/myths-and-facts-about-immigrants-and-immigration
4. Bennett, Brian. ‘Senators Agree on Path to Legal Status for Illegal Immigrants’. Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2018, http://articles.latimes.com/2018/feb/11/nation/la-na-immigration-hurdles-20130311
5. Flagg, Anna. ‘The Myth of the Criminal Immigrant’. The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Mar. 2018, http://nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/30/upshot/crime-immigration-myth.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=E8278CCA48B7167C939DBCA0DBB1925B&gwt=pay

Deportation is a word that most think of Mexicans when they hear it, but deportation includes Asians, Africans, and many more. Deportation is a huge problem in the United States. During Obama’s run as president, over five million people were deported. Now President Trump is trying to deport all immigrants. Even if his numbers are low compared to Obama’s, it is not because he is not trying. Immigrants should not be deported because immigrants are mostly workers, families are being separated, and costs for deportation are extremely high. Immigrants are people too, they should not be treated any differently because of their ethnicity, religion, or skin color.

Deportation is not easy, it costs money, a lot of money. President Trump has asked for 7.5 billion dollars to expand immigration enforcement and deportation system. That sounds ridiculously high, right? The average estimated cost for deporting a single immigrant ranges from eight thousand to 23 thousand dollars. Is it really worth it? Some people may say it is. Some people have the belief that immigrants should be taken back to their country. What they do not know is that this country would break if they deport all these people. Mass deportation, which is estimated to take five years, would end up costing two hundred eighty-five billion dollars. This country would end up broke. According to the US Debt Clock, the United States is over 20 trillion dollars in debt. Imagine if the United States pays dollar after dollar just to deport immigrants. Will this turn into another Great Depression?

Criminals. Criminals are what immigrants are called, but they are not, most all immigrants are workers. Immigrants are hardworking, self-starters. They seek gainful employment to support their families and themselves. Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean last year were an estimated 63 billion dollars. These remittances grew faster than the United States economy as a whole. Households, textile apparel and leather, and agriculture are the top three jobs for immigrants. Immigrants may not have the best jobs, but they work hard at them to be able to live that amazing life that is talked about. They may be sore, but they try their hardest to succeed.

Immigrants have families. When something happens to one family member, it affects everyone. How do you think it is for a child to lose their mother or father? Well, it happens, and Lucia H. and her family have experienced it, and it has destroyed them. Lucia was deported, she has two sons, a five and a fourteen-year-old, on a phone call with her youngest son, her son told her he would not eat until she came home. This child stopped eating and had to be hospitalized because of it. His father had to leave his job to be able to take care of his son, but another tragedy struck: the eldest son had a breakdown and now has to go to therapy. This family has been destroyed because of the loss of one parent. Half a million children have experienced apprehension, detention, or deportation of a parent between 2011 to 2013. From 2009 to 2013, 4.1 million US citizen children under 18 lived with at least one immigrant parent. While 5.9 million children lived with an undocumented family member. Millions of kids were affected, imagine if all immigrants were deported. Kids are affected by mental illnesses too, such as depression, anxiety, and severe psychological problems. PTSD symptoms were also significantly higher for children who had at least one detained or deported parent. Children suffer the consequences when their parents are deported. It is not fair to hurt children because you may not like the way they are. They did not choose where they were born and what skin color they have, it is not right to punish them because of it.

Immigrants should not be deported because they are so beneficial to this country. They work jobs others will not, they make this country diverse, and they even boost the earnings for American workers. Now, is not trying to round up over 11 million people just foolish. Families are being destroyed because of people who believe immigrants are less than them. The cost of mass deportation is insane. It would just put this country in even more debt. Immigrants are hardworking people, and other people are ruining their lives because they are not as good as others, now that is just selfish. These ‘immigrants’ come to the United States because of necessity, hope for a better life, and to give their children the opportunities they did not receive. We should stop discriminating and start accepting.

Works Cited

1. Camarota, Steven A. “Deportation vs. the Cost of Letting Illegal Immigrants Stay”. CIS.org, Center for Immigrant Studies, 3 Aug. 2017, http://cis.org/Report/Deportation-vs-Cost-Letting-Illegal-Immigrants-Stay
2. Chishti, Muzaffar, et al. “The Obama Record on Deportations: Deporter in Chief or Not?”. Migrationpolicy.org, Migration Policy Institute, 22 Mar. 2017, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/obama-record-deportations-deporter-chief-or-not
3. Dickerson, Caitlin, and Ron Nixon. “Trump Administration Considers Separating Families to Combat Illegal Immigration”. The New York Times, 21 Dec. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/12/21/us/trump-immigrant-families-separate.html
4. Lind, Dara. “Fewer Immigrants Are Being Deported under Trump than under Obama”. Vox, 10 Aug. 2017, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/10/16119910/trump-deportations-obama
5. Meyers, Jim. “16 Reasons Donald Trump Is Not Wrong on Immigration”. Newsmax Inc., 8 July 2015, www.newsmax.com/thewire/donald-trump-immigration-reasons-not-wrong/2015/07/08/id/654086/
6. Rogers, Tim. “11.3 Million Reasons Why Trump Is Wrong about Immigration”. Splinternews.com, 11 Aug. 2015, http://splinternews.com/11-3-million-reasons-why-trump-is-wrong-about-immigration-1793849885
7. “The Deported| Immigrants Uprooted from the Country They Call Home”. Human Rights Watch, 6 Dec. 2017, www.hrw.org/report/2017/12/05/deported/immigrants-uprooted-country-they-call-home

The way in which the population of Texas is changing is by increasing and is likely to become a predominantly Hispanic state, as it once was. This is because Anglo-Texans became few in number in the 21st century, and the ‘Baby Boom’, depicted mostly by Caucasians, is nearing its end. The Hispanic population is younger and commonly known to have vast families. Younger and commonly known to have a vast number of family members, which plays a large part in why Texas has more Hispanics than any other state in the U.S.

Possible political implications of the changing population in Texas could include a policy for direct family support planning, liberating abortion restrictions, and having an openness for immigration. Implementing direct family policies will enable proper care for immigrants. Liberating abortion policies may help to control rapid population growth, but will likely have a negative view from the public.

Dan Patrick, the Houston state senator, views undocumented immigration (illegal immigration) as an ‘invasion’ and says immigrants usurer in ‘Third-World diseases’. And though this may be true, I don’t necessarily agree with him. He uses this point as a reason to send them back to their place of origin. When in all actuality, the U.S. has the equipment and expertise to execute a cure for these diseases, the immigrants would be more than willing to do any amount of work to pay for the money to take on the task. On another note, Julian Castro sees illegal immigration as a problem that needs to be taken care of in a way that will offer opportunities and hospitality for undocumented immigrants.

But there are also benefits. Immigrants that can contribute to those of higher authority in the legal system bring an increase in revenue and job opportunities worldwide, which, according to researchers, would come out to be both $832 billion in revenue for the economy and pay $109 billion in taxes over the course of a decade. Additionally, immigrants that qualify for legal status would add roughly 121 thousand more jobs yearly. The results and estimations of the economic impact immigrants that meet the criteria for legal status are mine when compared to the impact the undocumented immigrants would have on the economy. Within a decade, the U.S. GDP would have an exponential increase of $1.4 trillion, $184 billion in taxes, and add an additional 203 thousand jobs year-round. One of the predominant drawbacks of illegal immigration is that immigrants take jobs by doing them for less pay compared to the typical employee. This is good for businesses, having hard workers who are willing to be paid less but works against those more qualified for a job. This is one of the president’s cases and points for the deportation of immigrants.

I believe that a compromise on immigration is possible. That the options for immigration are not limited just to deportation and amnesty. With thorough thought and consideration of the courses of action that can be taken to remedy immigration, another option will be up for debate. Considering Texas is the common ground in which most immigrants go, Texas should have a significant role in the immigration policy. Votes and what has to be said about immigration from Texas should be taken into more consideration as opposed to any other state in Texas.

Is it a wise idea to remove all illegal immigrants from our country? How would you feel if you were a child who is sent to a new country that you barely know of? When we, as the United States, think about illegal Immigrants, we think about the words undocumented, unauthorized, And foreigners. According to Google, an estimated half a million Illegal immigrants enter the United States annually. The way these individuals are treated is a major issue of social inequality. As a country, we need to prevent the cruelty of such innocents.

Up to 30 million illegal immigrants have so far been prohibited from staying in the United States. Such immigrants are treated unfairly in which are not allowed to seek work, college, or even health plans. Studies show that sixty-five legal workers are being displaced due to every hundred illegal immigrants who immigrate to the United States for their jobs. As more people continue to be displaced, more Undocumented immigrants are coming to the United States. This results in illegal employment due to joblessness.

Governments are behaving strictly through immigration laws, which ensures that those who are illegal in the country are often punished harshly more than they deserve. Because more people are not allowed to immigrate through the country, it leads to an increase in the number of illegal immigrants. For instance, Jose Vargas, a kid who was compelled to immigrate illegally by his family, failed to obtain a driver’s license at the age of 16 and figured that his green card is fake. His parent’s actions, unfortunately, encourages Vargas to do illegal activities, such as making photocopied health cards.

Action must be taken to prevent such unfair treatment from happening, and treating undocumented individuals as they deserve. In order to achieve this goal, we must donate to the charity “National Immigration Law Center” which treats individuals fairly and humanely regardless of their race, gender, or economic status. Words must be spread to friends and families in order to solve this unfairness. Children are being treated severely due to their parent’s actions, such as making fake passports. It is unfair to the children compared to adults as they both became illegal immigrants. I believe it is better for children to give up on the Dream Act, which is federal legislation that legalized the status of undocumented youth in order to spare them. This will provide rights for children to work and live in their new home country. Yet, adults would be treated as usual and will Receive the donated money from the charity we provided. This is a major issue that is involved in every country, especially in multicultural countries.

In conclusion, illegal immigration is severely handled in America, and it is a serious social injustice concern that is our responsibility to stop. Immigrants are banned from America and treated unfairly, which is very necessary to contribute to charity in order to help those individuals. As a country develops an immigrant community, allowing several countries around the world to increase immigration and impact the world’s population, environment, politics, and more. Although the number of immigrant families will not alter. However, Migrant families need to benefit from our help in order to save their lives from having hardships in their home country.

With DACA on the Trump Administration’s chopping block, the need for a permanent law to protect Dreamers is at an all-time high. The Dream and Promise Act of 2019 is the Democratic answer to this issue. While the bill has successfully passed the House it soon will face a Republican-controlled Senate where, to make the Dream Act and Promise Act of 2019 into law, the Democrats will need every Democratic and Independent vote as well the vote of at least four Republicans. If DACA is repealed before is a law passed, then over one million immigrants, many of whom have lived in America most of their lives, will be at high risk of deportation. Before I further advance the idea that there must be some kind of law passed to permanently protect the resident status of DACA recipients, I would like to start by clarifying that anytime I mention the Dream Act, I am referring to the most recent iteration of the bill, The Dream and Promise Act of 2019. As defined by the Dream Act, a “Dreamer” is an “alien” that “has been continuously physically present in the United States since the date that is 4 years before the enactment of this Act… and was younger than 18 years of age on the date on which the alien entered the United States.” The main goal of the Dream Act is to create a conditional permanent resident status for up to eight years for Dreamers, that would protect them from deportation while they either work or go to school legally in the U.S.

The Dream Act is a gateway to even more illegal immigration to the United States. The Dream Act encourages undocumented immigration and even rewards it. *Protecting dreamers and encouraging undocumented immigration takes educational and job opportunities away from current American citizens*. A look at past immigration reform in the US shows a vast increase in illegal immigration after the reform policy was enacted. The 1986 Amnesty legislation granted citizenship to three million illegal immigrants. Instead of the intended effect of trying to put a stop to illegal immigration, this act only spurned an increased rate of illegal immigration, which resulted in over 8.5 million immigrants coming to the U.S. from 1990 to 2007. A large part of this increase and a continuing problem with granting citizenship to immigrants is the effect of chain migration. Chain migration, otherwise known as family reunification, happens when one green card holder or legal U.S. citizen sponsors an immediate family member for immigration to the United States. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that about 65% of new legal immigrants to the United States are due to family-sponsored green-cards. Since 1990 more immigrants have come into the U.S. than ever before in our history with an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants currently living in the States. With this dramatic increase in illegal immigration comes a higher crime rate, economic turmoil, and political unrest. The good news for Dreamers as far as the concern for chain migration is that because they are young many of them don’t have any contact or relationship with family from outside of the country. However, chain migration remains a valid concern with the Dream Act because it also seeks to grant extended amnesty to immigrants under the protection of the DED (Deferred Enforced Departure) and TPS (Temporary Protected Status) acts. By extending these protections, if the Dream Act is passed, it will be subject to the slippery slope effect where, in the passage of the Dream Act, it would be harder to end and limit these DED and TPS commitments in the future.

In addition to chain migration, another major issue with passing the Dream Act is the financial burden that the U.S. would inherit. Fiscally, granting amnesty to illegal immigrants is a huge burden on the US. According to the Heritage Foundation, if amnesty was granted to every illegal immigrant household, American taxpayers would have to cover an estimated $100-160 billion dollar yearly deficit created by unlawful immigrant households receiving government aid. Granted, the Dream Act isn’t giving amnesty to every illegal household in the U.S.; however, the Dreamers, DED, and TPS recipients total over one million immigrants*. The same research found that unlawful immigrants “never once generated a fiscal surplus,” and that’s before factoring in the cost of amnesty. *That means that no illegal immigrant, even the ones who pay taxes, covers their governmental cost of living, which is to say that for every illegal immigrant there is in America, there is another taxpayer needed to cover their cost of living.

The Heritage Foundation estimates that the cost of illegal immigrants is $100-160 billion dollars per year. Several Fortune 100 companies filed a petition against the removal of DACA claiming “that terminating DACA could wipe $460.3 billion from the GDP over the next decade and reduce tax revenue by $90 billion.” Pitting these two statistics against each other, it seems likely that the negative deficit spending on illegal immigrants primarily comes from the older illegal immigrants as well as the youngest ones. According to Pew Research, 99% of DACA recipients are between the ages of sixteen and 36, demonstrating that almost all the illegal immigrants the Dream Act is attempting to grant amnesty to are either already productive members of society, or are soon to be. One Dreamer, a Harvard grad named Enrique Ramirez, rebutted the conservative fiscal argument by claiming that “there’s been so much money invested in [him] by this country, wouldn’t even a conservative person want [him] to contribute” to his community and the American economy. Ramirez raises a valid point for us to consider why would we deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are all either studying, working, or serving in the military after we have already invested in them? We have already made this giant investment in the Dreamers, so why would America deport these hard-working individuals now right before the investment is beginning to come to fruition with this cohort positively contributing to America’s GDP?

One argument for the passage of the Dream Act is that deporting Dreamers is inhumane. However, anti-immigration groups claim that the actual cruel act is perpetrated by the parents who subject their children to the risks of immigration. Not upholding the law acts as an encouragement of law-breaking and a reward for those who succeed in breaking the law. The Center for Immigration Studies found that many Dreamers go on to commit crimes such as Social Security and tax fraud, falsification of records, as well as various other crimes. As long as they are not convicted of any of these crimes, they are still eligible for legal status.

Everyone has seen the problems that are going on at the border at present. Children are being taken from their families without any warning. In the morning their parents drop them off at school and by the time they go home, their parents are nowhere to be found. Illegal immigration is a major issue at the moment, but the bad parts of it are what is the saddest to even hear about. Immigrants come to this country so they can have a better life, although some people do come and cause problems, most people come to do good things. Immigration in the past didn’t seem to be as strict at the border as it is now with a wall being built. The border has had a dramatic change since President Donald Trump took office but the change between the present time and the past is significant.

Going back to 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act granted immigrant visas to certain people so they could enter the United States legally. A lot has changed from 1965 to now, such as different presidents with different ideas of how border control should handle illegals from crossing. “It eliminates race and sex discrimination as a bar to immigration revises the national origins quota system, and introduces a system of selected immigration by giving preference to skilled aliens whose services are urgently needed and to relatives of U.S. citizens and aliens” (Timeline 1). Jumping years ahead, the DREAM Act was introduced, “The legislation proposes a path to citizenship for undocumented alien students who were brought to America as minors” (Timeline 1). This act allowed younger immigrants an opportunity to have a better life, they were illegal without a choice since they were brought by their parents and not alone. Times have changed but ways to live the American Dream are created also with the creation of DACA.

“In 2005, a plan was proposed in the House of Representatives calling for the construction of a reinforced fence along the entire United States-Mexico border, which would also include a 100-yard border zone on the United States’ side of the border” (Brandys, Roy R., et al 134). Along with the 2005 plan to construct a fence along the border, came the Secure Fence Act of 2006 signed by President Bush. He stated ‘This bill will help protect the American people. This bill will make our borders more secure. It is an important step toward immigration reform” (Brandys, Roy R., et al 134). The fence came with stricter border control and security to better handle the amount of people crossing the border illegally. Current president Donald Trump also began plans to reinforce border control when he took office, following his promises from his presidential election to ‘Make America Great Again’. There is negative feedback to his plans to build the costly wall he has planned such as “California has already indicated that it plans to sue the Trump administration over the wall” (Brandys, Roy R., et al 163).

Along with the border patrol comes family separation and the negative impact it causes. Illegal border crossings are strongly prohibited therefore President Trump at present time does what he feels is right to keep the number of illegal immigrants in the United States low. “In June, the President issues an Executive Order halting some family separations. In July, the Administration begins reunifying families by an order by a Federal judge” (Timeline 1). The family separation policy has negative reactions due to the amount of people being deported who have children who are Americans. “For every two adult undocumented immigrants that are deported from the U.S., one citizen-child is affected. With roughly 1.3 million adults deported in the past decade, the number of citizen-children is staggering” (Zayas 1). There is a large number of children born to immigrants in the United States, and when those parents are deported it can have an impact on those children’s mental health. In the past 10 years, more than a million immigrants have been deported, following the statistics of every 2 adults and 1 child, about half a million children are affected.

Illegal immigration has made drastic changes over the years with each president who has taken office signing different acts. From DACA and the DREAM Act to the wall and deportation, it seems hard to follow whether the United States is against immigration. The DREAM Act and DACA help those who came to the United States when they were young and had no say in whether they chose to come or not. It allows those immigrants to continue a better education and be able to work. The building of the wall and deportation are the main points when thinking about illegal immigration. The fence along the border has been talked about for years, it was an idea in the past and continues to be planned. With the changes from past years to current years being unexpected, the future of illegal immigration seems uncertain.

Work Cited

1. Zayas, Luis H., Ph.D. ‘Protecting Citizen-Children Safeguards our Common Future.’ Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, vol. 21, no. 3, 2010, pp. 809-14. ProQuest, https://ezp.tccd.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.tccd.edu/docview/746780249?accountid=7079. Web. October 15, 2019
2. “Immigration Timeline: 1952 to Present.” Congressional Digest, vol. 97, no. 7, Sept. 2018, p. 3. EBSCOhost, ezp.tccd.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=131324387&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Web. October 1, 2019
3. Brandys, Roy R., et al. “United States-Mexico Border Wall: The Past, the Present and What May Come.” Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Journal, vol. 53, no. 1, Spring 2018, pp. 131–162. EBSCOhost, ezp.tccd.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=132139936&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Web. October 1, 2019