Illegal Immigration into the United States

Illegal Immigration into the United States

One of the most controversial political issues is illegal immigration from Mexico. Somewhat overlooked until September 11, illegal immigration became a hot button issue after these events because of the easy access for terrorists to come into the United States. Illegal immigration into the United States is a problem that needs to be stopped, because it is unfair to both Americans and to the people of the country that they come from. The majority of the illegal immigrants in the US are from Mexico (Marek, 30). Roy Beck, a former journalist and frequent speaker on population and immigration issues, says “The national consensus is that the United States should be a post-mass immigration country that has included most leaders of business, religion, labor, academia, and social work.” (“Illegal Immigration”, 12) Illegal immigration from Mexico must be stopped, because the effects on both Mexico and the United States are mostly unfavorable.

First, there have already been many policies and ways of preventing illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. that could be strictly enforced now. Proposition 187 is an immigration law clamping down illegal aliens, used in California, the state with the most illegal immigrants. It doubled the number of border guards, made it harder for legal immigrants to bring their families over, not permitting as much political asylum and was harder on illegal aliens already here. (“Illegal Immigration”, 7) NAFTA hasn’t reduced as much illegal immigration as had been hoped, but it helped Mexico recover faster from its economic crisis in ’94-’95, which has stopped a larger flood of people, since most immigrants tend to come to the U.S. in times of Mexican economic depression. (Schrager, 1) The major reason Mexicans tend to illegally immigrate is to find jobs. A bill shown to the House, by California would let the employer enter a job applicant’s social security number over the phone to receive confirmation of a person’s citizenship. (“Illegal Immigration”, 20) That would work in conjunction with the need for proper documentation to be shown to employer for current verification of legal citizenship, limiting their job opportunities and then discouraging them from ever illegally immigrating. The Border Patrol is the most effective and widely used form of prevention. It is an agency of Immigration and Naturalization that is charged with detecting and preventing illegal passage to the U.S. between Mexico and America. U.S. vigilance on "the line" causes more delays, higher risks and raised costs for the "jumpers." More guards are forcing potential illegal aliens to lose money by causing them to hire "coyotes" to smuggle them, losing possible wages, and paying for food and lodging. Jorge Compos, a 22 year old who has been caught trying to immigrate illegally multiple times, exclaimed that, "There are migration officers on horses, on motorbikes, on foot, in Broncos. They’re everywhere." (Dobbs, 28)

Illegal immigration impacts Mexico in many negative ways by blemishing its economy and leaving Mexico without much needed technically skilled professionals. Illegal immigrants cost Mexico heavily in human capital decreasing the amount of the work force, keeping some Mexican communities in poverty. Overall, illegal immigration usually leads to family separation and larger social problems in Mexico. (Smith, 4) Mexico’s successful professionals tend not to stay in Mexico, doctors and multiple others are leaving the country to take lower paying jobs in the United States. (Dobbs, 5) Julio Cesar, a Mexican citizen comments on this situation saying, "I think Mexico needs people to stay and build up this country.”

But the most important reason, the United States takes on most of the shortfalls that illegal immigration causes having to deal with the abuse of social services by non-citizens, the taking of