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Robin Johnson
Professor Chiquita Boyd
ENG 111
20 November 2014
Illegal Immigration
Illegal immigrants are persons who enter the United States of America legally but then
overstay the terms of their temporary visa, or persons that enter the US undocumented.
Immigration has been an issue for America for centuries. It can be dated back to the seventeenth
century when the Europeans came to the New World in search of a better life. This great nation
called America has been a safe haven for centuries for people of different nationalities and
cultures that flee here looking for a safety and prosperity. Since then America has been invaded
with not just immigrants, but illegal immigrants. Our boarders are penetrated every year by some
300,000 illegal aliens. The issues of illegal immigration are, it poses safety concerns, fairness
between citizens and illegal immigrants, and it causes further stress to an already
devastated economy.
America is a land that flows with milk and honey and yes we are the land of the free
and the home of the brave. That alone is enough to attract anyone seeking a better way of life.
When you look at third world countries and their lack of jobs, food, housing, and equality of life,
it really does not leave much room to questioning why immigrants are flocking to our country.
The problem with this is immigrants are so desperate to the point that waiting to get proper
documents to become legal citizens is not feasible to them. Fathers looking at their hungry
family is not really concerned with the legal red tape he must go through to get his documents.

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This sets up undocumented immigrants getting past our patrolled boards coming into our country
which now makes them illegal immigrants. Some come not knowing how to speak English and
not having a trade that would allow them to sustain themselves. This puts them in a bad situation.
Now, they are in a place where they see plenty of food, jobs, clothes, and houses but they can not
possess it because they do not have proper documents. Thus they commit crimes to get what they
need causing safety issues to citizens and documented immigrants.
An estimated 2 percent of the population consists of illegal immigrants. Crimes
associated with illegal immigration include the crimes committed by illegal immigrants, the
smuggling of illegal immigrants, manufacturing and selling fraudulent documents, bribing public
officials, and preying on illegal immigrant. (William F. McDonald, National Institute of Justice
Journal Issue: 232 , June 1997).
Local and State law enforcement agencies often cooperated with Federal immigration
officials even after the Immigration Act of 1891 established complete and definite Federal
control over immigration. Passage of the Violent Crime Control and law Enforcement Act of
1994 created unprecedented levels of Federal resources for controlling illegal immigration and
crimes committed by and against illegal immigrants. (McDonald 1997)
Breaching boarders is also the perfect way terrorist comes in our country. Avoiding background
checks and criminal records check. We must do more in the way of making our boarders more
secure in effort of keeping out illegals.
Being a citizen of the United States of America is an honor and a privilege. However
these rights are not free, they come with a price. Those prices come in different forms. One form
is we must pay taxes. Every citizen has to pay taxes in one way or another. When immigrants

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come in to our country under the radar and undocumented they escape this. Many breach our
boarder to come live with family and dont want to seek citizenship so they can elude the
financial aspect of it all. We all must do our part in making sure that that laws are being observed
and followed so that there will be a sense of fairness among all people. It is not fair for Native
Americans or Immigrants to carry the financial burden of illegal immigrants by supporting them.
Americas debt has climaxed. We are spending more money on a failed boarder patrols.
Political giants are banging their heads together to come up with an effective way to manage
aliens and Americas boarder. But this is to no avail, we are still being over whelmed with illegal
immigrants. This is putting a terrible strain on Americas already exhausted economy.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a conservative advocacy group that
favors tighter immigration laws, argues illegal aliens cost U.S. taxpayers more than $100 billion
each year.
Jack Martin, director of special projects for FAIR, says the group is still working on its
estimate, but believes undocumented workers leave taxpayers with a fat bill, considering that the
government spends money on the workers, and they almost never pay income taxes.
"The study of the fiscal effects of illegal immigration clearly demonstrates that it is a burden on
the American taxpayer," says Martin. More forceful implementation of immigration laws could
save each U.S. household "in the neighborhood of a couple of thousand dollars a year." (Dalia
Fahmy, ABC News, May 2010)

Cost estimates usually only measure the fiscal cost, which weighs government spending
(such as on public schools, medical care, incarceration and unemployment benefits) against
government income (from income, property and sales taxes.) All those interviewed for this story

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said they can only make rough estimates, since it's almost impossible to gather accurate data
about illegal residents. (Jack Martin)

Martin argues that more than half of the country's illegal immigrants work in the "underground
economy," meaning that they are paid cash under the table, without paying any kind of taxes.
(Martin 2010) This type of action is stressing an already devastated economy. America can no
long accept this and expect our economy to ever rebound!

Illegal immigration is a real problem that America faces. Immigrants are welcome in our
country, however aliens are not. I can certainly understand desiring a better way of life for
oneself and ones family. There are certain criteria and documents that must be attained before
you can be considered a citizen. America must create and exercise stricter laws that will welcome
documented immigrants and swiftly deport illegal immigrants! This process is there to ensure it
America maintain safety for its citizens, there is fairness between citizens and illegal immigrants,
and minimal stress is added to an already devastated economy.