Running Head: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Illegal Immigration: The impacts, current solutions, and possible changes made in response. Clara I. Martinez University of Texas at El Paso

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION Abstract This paper examines the impact, current solutions, and what should the government do

pertaining to illegal immigration. There are multiple articles regarding illegal immigration in the US, immigrants that come all over the world for example, Mexico and China. The purpose for this essay is to show multiple perspectives on how people like and dislike the idea of having illegal immigrants in the US. 11 million is approximately the number of illegal immigrants and it has become an issue because they weaken the US national security and economy as well as other critical points. While the US doesnt have a concrete solution for illegal immigration they have proposed possible solutions that are pending. For this matter really all there is to do is wait and see what the government solution will be for the illegal immigrants.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION Illegal Immigration: The impacts, current solutions, and possible changes made in response This issue is one of the most talked about topics in the US; there are approximately 11

million illegal immigrants (adults/children) living in the US (Werman, 2013), that come from the leading countries like Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, the Philippines and China (Gusmano, 2012). Illegal immigration has been present in America for a long period, this essay will show how the US government, the legal citizens of the US, as well as the illegal immigrants have different ideas when it comes to the impact, currents solutions, and what should be done about illegal immigration. The US has tried to ease the broken system by a border fence, the DACA and much more. But the US has struggled to come to some sort of agreement to fix the broken system, and no solution has really been successful. Now the American citizens and the illegal immigrants are really just waiting on something to be done on behalf of the government such as they have mentioned the possible amnesty and DREAM Act. While some might argue that having immigrants harms the US, others might say it doesnt really hurt them at all. It started since the English settlers arrived in America 1607, and it wasnt until 1637 that they required a permission to host illegals (Garis & Winthrop, 2013). Illegal immigration became an issue because certain things such as the national security, economy, crime rate, job market were placed in a possible danger. An illegal immigrant is anyone that resides in a country that isnt their birthplace without the consent or document to live in that place. Nevertheless, people all over the world and along our borders have come to the US. Illegal immigrants come to America because of different reasons such as, by force because of their parents, for a better

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION opportunity such as work, or to get away from the violence of their country. Even if it means leaving loved ones behind or possibly risking their lives. First of all I will emphasize the positive/negative impact that is created by illegal immigration, such as on income, jobs and how they lead to higher crime rates. Hanson (2012) says that overall, immigration creates income for the US economy. According to Hanson

immigration generates extra income for the US economy, even as it pushes down wages for some workers it is achieved by increasing the supply of labor, which immigration raises productivity resources that are complementary to labor (2012). But not all might agree that immigration is something positive for the income of the US: If immigrants pay less in taxes than they receive in government benefits, then immigration generates a net fiscal burden on native taxpayersnative households would be making an income transfer to immigrant households. Paying for this fiscal transfer would require tax increases on natives, reductions in government benefits to natives, or increased borrowing from future generations (by issuing government debt). If immigrants are a net fiscal drain, the total impact of immigration on the United States would be positive only if the immigration surplus exceeded the fiscal transfer made to immigrants. For low-skilled immigration, whether legal or illegal, this does not appear to be the case. (Hanson, 2012). In other words since sometimes immigrants households are more numerous, have more children causes them to use more the public education, who earn lower incomes leading them to have lower tax payments and greater us of public assistance relative to the native population, the natives have to pay for what the immigrants dont. Next is that supporters of illegal immigration

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION say that the illegals are supposedly doing the jobs the Americans wont do, such as food preparation & farm workers (Confer, 2012). According to Bob Confer (2012), high unemployment is not only a result of stressed market factors, but it has also been created-and prolonged-by our illegal immigration problem. Not only that, but Americans cant find a job because companies are employing the illegals (Confer, 2012). It is also mentioned that illegal immigrants tend to lead to higher crime rates. Martin (2012) tell us that data show a clear pattern both nationwide and in the states with the largest estimated illegal alien populations of a

higher rate of incarceration of aliens To disprove the crime rates, Anderson (2012) says that it is a lie that the illegals lead to high crime rates, this is due to perception vs. statistics of the antiimmigrants, which I will refer to later. In addition, According to studies as the numbers of illegal immigrants were drawn by record, the rate of violent crimes in Phoenix and entire state fell, which was a steeper drop than in the overall US crime rate (Anderson, 2012). Based on these impacts the government has tried to solve the broken system of illegal immigration by creating a variety of solutions. The government has created and has in place a variety of solutions to fix this problem, theyve tried special programs, e.g., the Attrition Strategy and 287(g) Program, physical boundaries such as the border fence, and laws like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA), which in reality hasnt lowered illegal immigration by a lot. I will show you a graph of:

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION Total US Population Compared to Population of Immigrants in the Country Illegally.

As you can see in the year 2007 the number of illegal immigration was at its highest point with 11,780,000 in the US (US Department of Homeland Security, 2012). As the years have gone by it has decreased little by little for example a year after in 2008 the number of illegal immigrants went down to 11,600,000 a difference of 180,000 which is not a lot if you compare it to 11,000,000. It seems it is going down overall but even after the current solutions it still hasnt decreased the number of illegal immigrants in the US. According to the Congressional Budget Office et al. (2012). The attrition strategy is a state and local enforcement or effort to deny jobs to illegals, and still bases on Confer (2012) companies do hire people with an illegal status. Another popular effort is the 287(g) program where the local law enforcement are trained to become immigration agent which their priority is to keep up the immigration enforcement, unfortunately the law enforcement tend to abuse the power and uses it in the wrong way (Congressional Budget Office et al., 2012). A border fence went up to prevent them from crossing the border, but all it was is waste of billions of dollars because still that hasnt stopped them (Correa-Cabrera., Rojas-Arenoza., 2012). The border fence is located along the Mexican

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION border from Texas expanding all the way to California, and it was really inspired after the 9/11 terrorist attack in order to have a stronger security. The border fence hasnt worked because you still hear stories of people actually dying because they drowned in the river trying to cross or actually, seeing the border patrol trying to catch someone that crossed the fence. Another alternative is DACA it was created for those undocumented students that want to continue with education and get a job; all they have to do is apply trough the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, be 15 years of age or older, have come to the US under the age of 16 and have continuously resided in the US while attending school. But DACA has its limitations; it temporarily removes the chance of being deported and it gives you a temporary job permit for a

period of two years that may be renewed (Gonzalez, 2013). But in order to be considered to work at the time you apply for DACA you must also apply for an Employment Authorization Document. According to Gonzalez (2013) he mentions that students like Carla Chavarria are grateful that something like DACA appeared but that they need something bigger. The reason being is that DACA is criticized or isnt a permanent measure is due to the fact that it is not intended to grant legal status at any time. Since all of this has happened the government realizes also that something bigger needs to happen. The government has in plan an immigration reform bill known as an amnesty for the adults and the so called Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) for those undocumented students, but this two proposals faces roadblock in the House. Obama said in the following statement of immigration reform legislation or amnesty: What has become increasingly clear is that we can no longer wait to fix our broken immigration system, which Democrats and Republicans alike agree doesn't work. It's

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION unacceptable to have 11 million people in the United States who are living here illegally and outside of the system It must call for stronger border security measures, tougher penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants, and clearer rules for controlling future immigration. And it must require those who are here illegally to get right with the law, pay penalties and taxes, learn English, pass criminal background checks, and admit

responsibility before they are allowed to get in line and eventually earn citizenship The next critical step is to iron out the details of a bill (Obama, 2010). Yet, Obama and other members of the government are for an amnesty this legislation is stuck in the House. Grant (2013) mentions that some conservatives dont like the idea of how the illegals will be allowed to be legalized before the bills many security measures are in place. In addition, Stein (2013), says that the house stated that we shouldnt reward people who broke the law, they must prioritize and instead devote its time to end the budget crisis. Republican Charles Grassley of Iowa says that he doesnt want to make the same mistake like when he signed the Immigration Reform Bill of 1986 that legalized 3 million illegal immigrants, which failed to secure the nations border, for this time he wants to make sure it covers the Americas security (Grant, 2013). The government also faces and issue with the dreamers they dont want to leave them behind either, therefore they proposed the DREAM Act, but like the proposed amnesty it is also stuck in the House (Gonzalez, 2013). The DREAM Act will lead the students to eventually obtain permanent legal status and become eligible for U.S. citizenship if they go to college or serve in the U.S. military. Nonetheless, the government knows that something must be done to fix the broken immigration system which both the Republicans and Democrats agree on (Obama, 2010). All is left really is to wait in the next months to see the results, but all of this information given to us is affected by perception the use of numbers and media spectacles.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION Information and the idea of how people view illegal immigration is said to be manipulated by the use of number and media spectacles or perception vs. statistics. CorreaCabrera and Rojas-Arenoza (2012) mention that, US mass media give ample play to a considerable amount of misinformation and reactionary discourse (p.299). For example

undocumented immigration, drug trafficking and Middle Eastern terrorism are three separate and generally unrelated phenomena which they mention that these issues are presented as one intertwined problem, which in reality these ideas are not one intertwined problem making it inaccurate (Cabrera and Rojas-Arenoza 2012). Furthermore Cabrera and Rojas-Arenoza (2012) mention that the misuse of numbers which numbers are replaced with points of view and the media spectacle have been stirred up at present and particularly after the events of September 11. It affects the immigration policies because it only gives you their one sided story making it seem that immigrants whether illegal or legal are bad creating a fear among Americans, which only adds more pressure to the government (Cabrera and Rojas-Arenoza 2012).Because of this the US immigration policy has been affected overall, which are often released by anti-immigrant groups (Cabrera and Rojas-Arenoza 2012). They both propose that the issue with immigrants have to be seen using the appropriate use of numbers and the necessary quantitative analyses needed not just by perception (Cabrera and Rojas-Arenoza 2012).

Conclusion Basically regarding illegal immigration one must consider all the part that come with it the economic, social impact etc Whether if people are for or against illegal immigration the government understands that they cant leave this broken system unsolved any further. Really all

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION there is to do is wait to see what will happen with a possible change such as both the Immigration Reform Bill and DREAM Act. References

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Congressional Budget Office, Krikorian, M., Vaughan, J.M., Edwards, J.R., Friedman, A., & Gonzales, R.G. (2012). Are current policies regarding illegal immigrants working?. In N. Merino (Ed.), Illegal immigration (pp. 96-129). Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.

Correa-Cabrera, G., & Rojas-Arenaza, M. (2012). The mathematics of MexicoUS migration and US immigration policy. Policy Studies, 33(4), 297-312. doi:10.1080/01442872.2012.694187

Gonzalez, D. (2013, August 13). A year later, immigrants face DREAM Acts limits. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/13/a-year-later-immigrantsface-deferred-action-programs-limits/2651235/

Grant, D. (2013). Immigration reform bill clears Senate, but faces roadblock in House. Christian Science Monitor. p. N.PAG. Retrieved from http://0web.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/search/advanced?sid=016c76b6-08d6-4496-8c587f5a60f32a2a%40sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=108 Gusmano, Michael., (2012) Undocumented Immigrants in the United States: Demographics and Socioeconomic Status. Retrieved from http://www.undocumentedpatients.org/issuebrief/demographics-and-socioeconomicstatus/ Hanson, G. H., Vliet, E.L., Martin, J., Confer, B., Anderson, S., & Schumacher-Matos, E. (2012). Does illegal immigration harm US citizens?. In N. Merino (Ed.), Illegal immigration (pp. 64-94). Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.

Obama, B. H. (2010). Statement on Immigration Reform Legislation. Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1. Retrieved from http://0web.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/search/advanced?sid=016c76b6-08d6-4496-8c587f5a60f32a2a%40sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=108

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Saad, L., Swartz, Z., DeMint, J., Wilkinson, W., & Stock, M. (2012). How should the government respond to illegal immigration?. In N. Merino (Ed.), Illegal immigration (pp. 131-157). Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.

Stein, Dan., (2013). For House Democratic Leadership, Amnesty for Illegal Aliens Takes Precedence Over Restoring Government Operations. Retrieved from http://www.fairus.org/ US Department of Homeland and Security., (2012) Illegal Immigration, Population Estimates in the United States, 1969-2011. Retrieved from http://immigration.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000844#IV