Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
There are millions of illegal immigrants living the U.S. today seeking better education,
better jobs, better government, and more opportunities. Illegal immigrants often enter the U.S.
and start a family but can have their parents deported back to their home countries if they are
caught, these parents often try to come back into the country again illegally to see their kids
who are safe because they were born in the U.S., and if caught again can spend years in jail. Do
illegal immigrants deserve jail time for trying to reunite with their families or find better
opportunities to have a greater life? Ethics in illegal immigration is a big issue in the U.S. and
the result of many factors. One factor is the moral views people have on illegal immigrants
In the article, Is Illegal Immigration Moral, by Victor Davis Hanson, National Review
Online (2010), the author explains four main ideas that debate the morality and the effects
illegal immigration has on America. Hanson explains the moral ramifications of a legal
immigrant who went through the lengthy and costly process of obtaining citizenship, was he
silly to follow the laws (1)? If it is deemed ethical to grant in-state tuition discounts to illegal-
immigrant students, is it equally ethical to charge three times as much for out-of-state,
financially needy American students (1). Hanson explains that illegal immigrants break the law
and often have to keep ignoring more laws, does this mean that American Citizens should also
Americans should let immigrants into the country instead of turning the cold shoulder.
Kavanaugh states the North American Free Trade Agreement is benefiting the most powerful
and technologically advanced, has threatened farmers and their communities in South America
who cannot compete with the heavily subsidized producers forcing many to flood into the U.S.
(3). Kavanaugh explains that many immigrants come to America to escape the harsh area they
came from. We should welcome immigrants instead of turn them away and face the fact that
we are not a nation of Judeo-Christian values but a nation with self-interested people hiding
In the article Why illegal immigrant is a slur, by Charles Garcia, CNN.com (2012), the
author explains the Arizona immigration case, now people in Arizona cannot use the words
illegal immigrants and illegal aliens unless quoting an outside source (1). Thomas Hrach
conducted a study of 122,000 news stories to see what words were being used to describe
people coming into the country without status, 89% of the time writers used the biased terms
illegal immigrant and illegal alien (2). New York Times editorial writer Lawrence Downes
says illegal is often a code word for racial and ethnic hatred. This case shows the different
view the U.S. has towards people coming into the U.S. without citizenship.
In the article Scholars Discuss Ethics of U.S. Immigration Reform, by Andrew Duncan,
law.virginia.edu (2007), the author explains that economic uncertainty and social
transformation have blurred Americas ideas about immigration and racial identity and have led
to moral issues about why America has certain duties to immigrants coming into the country
(1). The immigration debate tends to be very much focused on specific reforms, but when
issues of ethics or race are brought up, they often are brought up accidentally or in
embarrassing ways. Immigration is often viewed as negative for the economy and employment
because immigrants often work at lower wages and these are some debates concerning the
U.S. Immigration Policy will often hear (1). The U.S. does not want to deal with another
immigration issue similar to the Chinese or the Haitians, so the U.S. is trying to find the most
moral way to deal with the sudden influx of people coming into the country.
In the article Carroll: Ethics role in issue of illegal immigration, by Archie Carroll,
onlineathens.com (2007), the author states three ethics principles about illegal immigrants and
how they and their employers are unethical. The most important of the three principles Carroll
states is the one explaining how employers are fueling the immigration issue. He explains how
ethics are brought up when talking about illegal immigrants and how business ethics are often
brought up because the employers who hire these immigrants are one of the main reasons
behind the immigration problem (1). One thing is clear: The majority of American citizens think
the problem is critical. A Time magazine poll found that 63 percent of those surveyed think the
problem is extremely or very serious. If businesses do not start to become accountable for
hiring illegal immigrants then illegal immigration will continue to be a serious problem.
Ethics in illegal immigration is a big problem in the U.S. Many factors contribute to the
ethical problem in illegal immigration, the racial slurs used by many which affect legal as well as
illegal immigrants. If ethical views on illegal immigration is to be solved then people need to
1. Victor Davis Hanson. Is Illegal Immigration Moral. National Review Online. 26 November
2010. Web.
3. Garcia, Charles. Why illegal immigrant is a slur, CNN.com. 6 July 2012. Print.