Illegal Immigration Assignment, Essay Example

Illegal immigration is a growing concern in our country. Even the government is asking, should they stay or should they go? It is my opinion that the illegal immigrants should stay. It is a fact that immigrants are still crossing the border even as we are trying to beef up Homeland Security. Yet, there is always going to be people coming across the border. It is quick and easy money for people that help the illegal immigrants over here. Even when the illegal immigrants are deported they find a way back in a matter of months. If there is not a solution to keep them out, then we should take advantage of them being here.

According to ImmigrationCounters.com, there are 22,427,238 illegal immigrants in the United States. They are making money at jobs where they are paid in cash and do not pay taxes in most cases. If there was a system to allow all of these illegal immigrants to stay in the country and set them up in the system for paying taxes the government would benefit. Perhaps the government could even get out of dept. There is the argument that there aren’t enough jobs to go around. The citizens of the United States are suffering due to the unemployment rate. I don’t think that allowing the illegal immigrants to work and pay taxes would affect the unemployment rate. The difference is these people are willing to do the jobs most of us do not want. Any job in the United States pays twice as much as jobs in third world countries. We need to ask ourselves how many people apply for unemployment benefits when they really don’t want to work.

The United States spends even more for illegal immigrants to receive medical care. According to USA Today, in 2006 Texas alone spent 1.6 billion for medical care for illegal immigrants.  This is a side effect of illegal immigrants being unable to purchase medical insurance. On most insurance applications it specifies that the applicant must be legal and be able to prove it with evidence. If we were to legalize these immigrants then they would be able to purchase their own medical insurance and quit depending on the government to pay their medical bills. This would boost the economy since they would be paying for medical insurance and be able to pay for their prescriptions and hospital bills rather than depend on the government. In the same aspect, illegal immigrants are unable to pay into Social Security. We are facing a crisis right now since many of our baby boomer generation are beginning to draw on these benefits. If we were to create a system where illegal immigrants were able to pay into some of these programs then right now that would help our country pay out to this current generation that is receiving the benefits.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center in 2008, there were 60% of illegal immigrants that were uninsured. Some states are trying to ban the types of care they will provide for illegal immigrants. I don’t think cutting their care is humane. They have suffered enough risking their lives to even come into the country.

The United States population is based on people coming to the United States. Most of them have a dream of owning a home and working for a living. They want their kids to grow up and be able to go to college and live the American dream. What has changed since the days of Ellis and Angel Island?  Every one of us has ancestors that immigrated here.  I can understand if the illegal immigrant has committed a crime and needs to be deported. This was one of the first immigration laws put into place back in 1891 according to the rapid immigration website.

The amount of money the United States uses to detain and deport illegal immigrants is a reason alone to go ahead and allow them to live here. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, there are 300,000 illegal immigrants detained each year in the United States. In the detention centers these illegal immigrants are fed, clothed, and receive medical attention not to mention the free ride to their home country. The government funds these detention centers and pays a staff to run the detention centers. Most of these immigrants did not break the law. They risked their lives to get here only to have their dreams taken away from them. They are locked up like a criminal when their crime was wanting something better for them or their families. They do not need to be treated like criminals, but with respect. Why don’t we try to place them into a job and find them housing and get them started on their way to grasping their American dream.

I think that many of the illegal immigrants that come here are not allowed to reach their full potential. They are held back because of the laws that have been put into place to keep them out of the country. Many of them come to the United States and they learn the English language but are unable to get a higher education. According to the Hispanic Business website, many colleges will not admit a student that is not authorized to be in the country illegally. These people could be so much more if they were just given a chance. If they were given this chance then they would be able to make more money and we all know the more money you make the more taxes you pay. They need to feel like they are an asset to the country rather than a burden. They need to be allowed to pursue the dreams they came in search of in the United States. There are many children that were brought here as babies and were allowed to attend public school, but they cannot receive financial aid to attend college. If the college allows them to attend then they have to pay a higher tuition the same as those attending as out-of –state students. They are not given a fair chance to reach their goals as other students that they attended school with all of their lives.

I think the United States should think about how this country began. They should think about how every one of us has ancestors that immigrated here at one time? We should allow these illegal immigrants to come to the United States and pursue their dreams and be successful.

Sources

Unlisted. “Hispanics, Health Insurance and Health Care Access.” Pew Hispanic Center. 15 Oct. 2009. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. <http://pewhispanic.org/>.

unlisted, “Rapid Immigration,”. 10/18/09 <http://www.rapidimmigration.com/usa/1_eng_immigration_history.html>.

unlisted, “Medical Care in Immigrant Detention”. ACLU. 10/18/09 <http://www.aclu.org/immigrants/detention/>.

unlisted, “U.S. Colleges Say Illegal Immigrants Should Be Eligible for More Financial Assistance”. US HispanicBusiness.10/18/09<http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/politics/2009/4/21/us_colleges_say_illegal_immigrants_should.htm>.

unlisted, “Rising health care costs put focus on illegal immigrants”. USA Today. 10/18/09 <10/18/09>.