Illegal Immigration in Usa

Illegal immigration is an increasing crisis that needs to be stopped. According to the Centers for Immigration Studies, the illegal immigrant population in the United States in 2015 ranges from 10.9 million to 15.7 million. The increasing number of illegal immigrants poses as a threat to Americans safety, quality of life, and economy, therefore as a nation, the United States must implement stronger laws against illegal immigration and enforce our borders.

One of the main concerns of illegal immigration is that it endangers the national security due to the unchecked population that are continuously flowing across the United States borders. In a study conducted by Heather Macdonald, a Manhattan Institute scholar investigating California's illegal alien population, it was discovered that around 95 percent of all homicide warrants and 65 percent of felony warrants in Los Angeles belong to illegals. In southern California, 60 percent of gang members, who participate in assaults, drug distribution, robberies, extortion, and drive-by assassinations are illegal immigrants. People crossing the borders illegally are not required to go through screening, whereas the people who cross the border legally will go through lengthy background checks that will ensure that those who enter the States will come with good intentions. With the current growth of crime rates, it is imperative that borders are fully enforced to prevent people from illegally entering the country. Furthermore, as stated by The Federation for American Immigration, “Adult illegal aliens represented 3.1 percent of the total adult population of the country in 2003. By comparison, the illegal alien prison population represented a bit more than 4.54 percent of the overall prison population” (Martin). To clarify, there is a higher percentage of illegal immigrants in jail than that of legal immigrants in jail which demonstrates that illegal immigrants seem to be incarcerated more often than legal citizens, and thus negatively impact communities. In addition, the system for immigrants to apply for citizenship is faulty. Tim Kane writes in an article about how “...we have been making it really easy for law breakers to sneak in the back door of our country and we have been making it really hard for law abiding people to get in the front door”. The process for immigrants to legally get into the States is very lengthy and in addition, very strict. Only a few are allowed to cross the border out of those who have waited for years. On the other hand, those who cross the border illegally, can lay under the radar and in some cases, even bring drugs and crime along with them. Those who go through the legal process are screened, therefore, criminals and drug traffickers are less likely to make it across the border.

Another area of concern would be the competition for jobs between legal citizens in poverty with lower education and illegal immigrants. To display, an article written by Micheal Greenstone states asserts that, “A historic number of Americans have lost their jobs and lost their homes due to foreclosure because of illegal immigration. Less desirable jobs that Americans would take to provide for their families are either held by illegal immigrants or the flood of illegals have depreciated wages so low that an American cannot make ends meet working in those lost jobs” (Greenstone). In other words, illegal immigrants not only limit job opportunities, they also cut down wages. This is caused by the fact that illegal immigrants are usually paid less than their legal counterparts, this leads to exploitation and ultimately lowers wages and working conditions for everyone. Companies who only hire legal workers are forced to compete with companies that undercut prices by hiring illegal workers. In a study, Robert Rector stated “...that unlawful immigration appears to depress the wages of low-skilled U.S. -born and lawful immigrant workers by 10 percent, or $2,300 per year” The need for jobs in the United States by illegal immigrants has given companies an opportunity to hire cheap labor in bad working conditions. This causes the competition for jobs to become harder, as illegal immigrants have an advantage due to the fact that they are more willing to work for less and in any condition. Also, Adam Davidson, a journalist for the New York Times, stated that “Labor economists have concluded that undocumented workers have lowered the wages of U.S. adults without a high-school diploma - 25 million of them - by anywhere between 0.4 to 7.4 percent” To put it differently, since illegal immigrants usually come here without an education, they are forced to take jobs that don’t require a high-school diploma. The flood of illegal immigrants will all be targeting jobs that don't require a good education which will drive out the legal citizens who need those jobs. Their willingness to work for less will make companies inclined to lower wages so they can compete with the companies that will hire illegal immigrants. “Unlawful immigration also probably drives many of our labor force entirely. Unlawful immigration thus makes it harder for the least advantaged U.S. citizen to share in the American dream. This is wrong; public policy should support the interests of those who have a right to be here, not those who have broken our laws” (Rector). Illegal immigrants come here looking for anything to provide for their family, they will accept lower wages and bad working conditions because those are better choices than what they had in the places they came from. Companies that hire illegal immigrants can use the advantage of cheap labor to lower the price of their products which in turn makes it harder for companies that do not hire them to compete with companies who do. They are forced to either go bankrupt or lower wages of their employees which will either make employees lose their jobs because they cannot support their families, or they will be forced to have a lower quality of life. “And, of course, when unlawful immigrants live in a community, they use roads, parks, sewers, police, and fire protection; these services must expand to cover the added population or there will be “congestion” effects that lead to a decline in service quality” (Rector). The last reason which is virtually unknown to the public is census based. When the government decides to gives resources to cities and states, the census for that region plays a huge role