Illegal Immigration

Illegal Immigration

A story involving children who were once illegal immigrants came on the news one night while I was watching. The children had crossed the border with their parents when they were young, but they still remembered the experience. They were telling about the long process and the planning that was involved, and they told the reporters what it was like having to secretly cross into the United States. They spoke about how frightening the experience was and how they kept telling their mom that they just wanted to go back home. They said they easily came into the United States and never had an incident where they were almost caught. Their father had previously come across the border and acquired a house and job to provide for his family. Illegal immigrants come to the United States looking for a better way of life, but they present many problems to natural born citizens. Illegal immigrants in the United States take jobs away from citizens, benefit excessively from certain American advantages, and they should be subject tough penalties and better prevention methods by our government.

It is no secret that many companies hire illegal immigrant workers. Illegal immigrants not only take jobs away from American citizens, they push down wages for legal workers because they will work for cheaper salaries and fewer benefits. Employers know they can hire cheap labor and provide them with little to no benefits but still receive high production. Employers also know that an immigrant working for them illegally is less likely to complain about being overworked and underpaid for fear of being deported. In his book Midnight on the Line, Tim Gaynor states that it is common business practice to get the cheapest labor possible with maximum production (13). Therefore, it is virtually impossible for citizens to compete with thousands of illegals that are filling low-paying unskilled jobs (13). Unemployment is high right now in the United States, and unemployment will never disappear. There are millions of illegal immigrants in the United States, and whether unemployment is high or low, many jobs have been filled by illegals rather than natural born citizens.

The problem of illegal immigration also directly affects America's economy. Illegal immigration is a problem that causes a huge drain on public funds that harms American citizens and immigrants who are legally here. Illegal immigrants do not normally come to America alone. In his book Immigration, Robert Morrow says that many immigrants come to the United States illegally in order to give their newborn children citizenship and a chance for a better life (24). These immigrants use public services by sending their children to public schools, receiving fire and police protection, driving on roads and highways, and receiving public assistance. Many illegal families also pay less in taxes than they receive in government benefits. This generates a fiscal burden on native taxpayers. In his book American Immigration, Roger Daniels says that American families are transferring the money they pay in taxes directly to public services for these immigrants (28). Larger illegal families with low incomes require more of these expenditures, and they are a much bigger drain on public spending. These illegal families cause low income American citizen families to compete for increasingly limited funds, resources, and jobs.

Despite government efforts to regulate immigration, the United States population includes millions of illegal immigrants who choose to ignore the law and become U.S. residents without official permission. There are multiple policies and