Illegal Immigration

Illegal Immigration One of the most controversial political issues of today is that of illegal immigrants from Mexico. Immigration has been the source of a lot of controversial discussions in past years due in large part to the attacks on September 11th. Illegal immigration into the United States is a problem that should be stopped, or hardly saying reformed as it is unfair to Americans and to the people of the country from which they illegally immigrated. It is thought that the majority of illegal aliens residing in the U.S. are Mexicans. Illegal immigration from Mexico must be stopped by means of different policies and other methods of prevention, because the effects on both Mexico and the United States are predominately unfavorable. There are multiple policies and means of preventing illegal immigrants from entering the United States. Immigration laws are what we say “the hard hand of the justice” to prevent illegal immigration. An example of an immigration law was the Proposition 187, it introduced in California in 1994 to deny illegal immigrants social services, health care, and public education. A number of people and organizations were involved in bringing it to the voters. Dana R. is claimed as the author, and the California Coalition for Immigration Reform calls itself the co-author. It was introduced by the Republican assemblyman Dick Mountjoy, as the “Save Our State” initiative. When trying to make a judgement on the question of whether the united states should eliminate illegal immigration, there must be a close view of the principal findings, facts, costs, benefits and the laws made by the illegal Immigration issue.

Overview

Immigration, emigration, and migration are three terms we should understand before getting any further. As defined in the Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2004, “immigration is the movement of people into another nation with the intention of residing there permanently; emigration is the movement of people permanently leaving a nation, and migration is the movement of people, especially of whole groups, from one place, region, or country to another, particularly with the intention of making permanent settlement in a new location.” Illegal immigration then, is getting into another country without the necessary (legally) documentation to do it.

But, why does it occur, where are the people coming from? Immigration occurs because of two main factors, these are jobs and relatives. People might leave their country because of wars and poverty. The United States has one of the most open borders in the world, taking in around 700,000 immigrants a year. Can you imagine an increase in your income seven to ten times by making a dangerous illegal journey to another land? Would the trip be worth it? Should family be taken along? These are common opportunities and challenges faced by Illegal Immigrants coming into the United States. Why they come, how they come, and what they do once they arrive are common issues these immigrants must deal with in order to reap the rewards of what they believe to be a better life. United States does not have a complete open border, however, and regulates who can come, from where, and in what numbers. Although the United States attempts to controls who enters the nation, thousands of people a year from all over the world break U.S. immigration laws and enter illegally. The INS estimates that over five million illegal immigrants live in the United States. Illegal immigrants travel to the Uniteds States by sea, land, or air. Sea travel is especially dangerous, but traveling by land also involves danger. Many illegal immigrants from Mexico, for example, drown in the Rio Grande River while trying to cross into Texas, others found death when triying to cross the All American Channel to reach their freedom into the United States. Those crossing the rural areas of California and Arizona face treacherous mountaisn and deserts. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, in 1998, 145 illegal migrants died from dehydration in these desolate areas. In San Diego County, some immigrants die in fires resulted by their own campfires. Some illegal immigrants stole the passports of legal migrants and try to use them as their own. Immigration officers are rarely fooled by this actions because of all the trainning they have. Immigrants which obtained their illegal entrance to the United States easily can find work and a place to live, but hteir lives are rarely free from worry about being caught and sent home, or deported. Immigrants are pushed from their own countries by economic difficulties and political issues and pulled toward America by the possibility of economic opportunities and political and religious freedom. People from all over the world want to immigrate to America and they are forced to go throught insane traveling conditions which not everyone can survive. What’s the cost for the immigrants?