During the last few of years, there is no question that the issue of illegal immigration has reached a peak in publicity. From the Arizona laws that came out last year to the constant media coverage, our nation’s border is looking more and more like a war-zone than an American controlled area. Although there are many different topics included in this issue, I believe that jobs, economic strain, and crime are among the three most important topics. Stopping illegal aliens from entering this country is the first step in bringing this country back from depression and asserting itself once again as the greatest nation in the world.
There are many different opinions on illegal aliens steeling jobs away from Americans. However, it only takes a few minutes of research to conclude that illegal immigrants truly are taking jobs away from Americans that are unemployed. According to Ron Scherer who wrote Immigration debate crux: jobs impact - Experts weigh how illegal workers affect US employment “One challenge in performing any calculations is agreeing on the number of undocumented workers. Only estimates exist, and they range from 9 million to 20 million.” Even if you look at the lower end of the estimates, 9 million Americans could be employed instead of illegal aliens, who by the way don’t pay any tax when they receive pay. I can understand why the illegal immigrants are here, however, it is up to America to be a little selfish and protect American citizens before we worry about other country’s citizens.
It is no secret that economically America has fallen into a downward spiral from just a few years ago. When you add illegal immigration into the equation, it causes addition strain on the economy that truly should not even be a factor. The Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform (CAIR) states that “An estimated 1,880,000 American workers are displaced from their jobs every year by immigration; the cost for providing welfare and assistance to these Americans is over $15 billion a year.” It may not seem like much when the nation’s debt is in the trillions of dollars but when you start adding up these little fees, they grow into much larger sums of money that help explain why we are so far in debt.
In addition to the 15 billion dollars of welfare illegal immigrants put on America’s tab, they also put hospitals and other medic services out of business. The Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform also states that, “Illegal aliens have cost billions of taxpayer-funded dollars for medical services. Dozens of hospitals in Texas, New Mexico Arizona, and California, have been forced to close or face bankruptcy because of federally-mandated programs requiring free emergency room services to illegal aliens.” This is the type of material that should be talked about on the news so people can understand why illegal immigration is slowly killing this country.
Speaking of killing, illegal aliens account for a large majority of crimes in this country. These crimes are anywhere from drug dealing to murder to simple robbery. Regardless of the severity of the crime, it is a problem that justice officers should not have to deal with. To put it in perspective, “Federal investigators believe that as much as 2.2 million kilograms of cocaine and 11.6 kilograms of marijuana were smuggled into the United States via the Mexican border in 2005” Said John W. Pope Civitas Institute. As if drugs aren’t bad enough, the aliens are responsible for a large majority of human trafficking cases throughout the country. This again causes the country money as the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform pointed out “Taxpayers pay half-a-billion dollars per year incarcerating illegal alien criminals.”
As you can tell illegal immigration is truly more than a problem. It directly impacts this country in almost every negative way possible. Personally, I cannot understand why people have a tendency to turn their heads the other way when it comes to this issue. If the news would list some of the facts that I have just listened I truly believe that more people will take the initiative and do their part to keep illegal Immigrants out of our country.
Works Cited
Elbel, Fred. "Economic Costs of Mass Immigration (legal and Illegal Immigration)." CAIR - Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. <http://www.cairco.org/econ/econ.html>.
"Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Jobs." The Dark Side Of Illegal Immigration: Facts, Figures and Data Show A Disturbing Truth. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. <http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_jobs.html>.
Taylor , Dr. Jameson. "Illegal Immigration: Drugs, Gangs and Crime." John W. Pope Civitas Institute. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. <http://www.jwpcivitasinstitute.org/media/publication-archive/perspective/illegal-immigration-drugs-gangs-and-crime>.
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