Illegal Immigration

Illegal Immigration and the Effects on America

I think that illegal immigrants that are in the United States without the proper paperwork should be deported even if they committed no crime, because they are a burden on the communities in which they live in. Even if it is from a minor infraction like disturbing the peace or a major infraction, like murder or rape. I am talking about the illegal immigrants that are crossing the United States-Mexico border and the ones that are being smuggled into this country illegally.

Personally, I am not against illegal immigration as long as they are trying to become American citizens the legal way. The problem I do have with illegal immigration is that aside from it being a drain on public funds like welfare and education, it brings along crime. Police officers are not even allowed to ask a person about their citizenship status when they are arrested because of all the laws that protect illegal immigrants in the United States.

If you break the law, depart or be deported. Illegal aliens kill more US citizens each year than the war in Iraq has killed in four years. In Will the government stop illegal immigration, or will the people be forced to do it?, it states that:

Apologists for illegal immigration like to paint it as a victimless crime. But in fact, illegal immigration causes substantial harm to American citizens and legal immigrants, particularly those in the most vulnerable sectors of our population--the poor, minorities, and children. Additionally, job competition by waves of illegal immigrants willing to work at substandard wages and working conditions depresses the wages of American workers, hitting hardest at minority workers and those without high school degrees. Illegal immigration also contributes to the dramatic population growth overwhelming communities across America--crowding school classrooms, consuming already limited affordable housing, and straining precious natural resources like water, energy, and forestland. Taxpayers are being forced to pay for the free health care, education, and other welfare programs being given to illegal aliens; Those tax dollars could be given back to U.S. taxpayers or used to keep our borders secure; They may be here illegally, but they sure know how to "work the system" to collect "free" medical care, "free" education, "free" food, Section 8 housing vouchers and other housing assistance, and hundreds of other social services. It costs citizens additional hundreds of billions of tax dollars at every level: local, state, and federal. It gobbles up billions of our charitable contributions. And much of that money ends up siphoned out of our economy and into offshore accounts. Illegal aliens, over half of whom work "under the table" with neither job nor income reported (nor taxed), are not counted as employed or unemployed. But some of those day-labor and off-the-books "job-lets" would be "real" jobs - available to American citizen job-seekers - if employment regulations were enforced. Illegal aliens can get away with tax evasion, etc., which citizens cannot. (2007)

This is ridiculous and we (Americans) need to do something about it. America already has enough of a crime issue on its hands from the Americans that are already here. When illegal immigrants come into the country and commit crimes like murder, drunk driving with fatalities, theft, and sex related crimes; it makes more of a burden for our law authorities to handle the increase on these issues. Nearly 1 million sex crimes are committed by illegals in the United States per year. Every day, an illegal immigrant murders 12 Americans. Uninsured drunk illegal immigrants kill another 13 Americans and eight American children are victims of a sex crime committed by an illegal immigrant each day (Moose, 2007). In Deaths and Urgency on Immigration (2007), it was found that two teenage girls died in a senseless traffic accident in Virginia Beach last week. An illegal immigrant who police said had been drinking ran a red light and killed them. He had been convicted of three prior alcohol-related offenses, yet had not been deported. In Deaths and Urgency on Immigration, it was also stated that, in light of the events that took place “Virginia has set up two task forces on the matter: a Commission on Immigration to look at the costs and benefits of immigration, legal and illegal, including the impact on the state's economy, health care, education and law enforcement; and a State Crime Commission panel to look specifically at the impact on the criminal justice system” (2007, p.1).

What that means is that the communities have to spend more money to staff more law authorities, when the money can be used for helping people that actually need it. “$3 million a day is spent to incarcerate illegal immigrants. Thirty percent of all federal prison inmates are illegal immigrants” (Moose, 2007, p. 5A). We can use the money that we are wasting for the extra manpower on education, helping the homeless and needy, fixing the communities, and many other issues to make the communities better for the people that already live here.

It is hard for law enforcement authorities to do their job with illegal immigrants because of the laws that are protecting them. It is ridiculous that they cannot ask ones citizenship status when they apprehend an illegal immigrant. They should be allowed to ask about the illegal immigrants citizenship for any crime that is committed. Since they cannot do that, the majority of illegals will commit another crime and the chances of it being a more severe offense is high.

Cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Austin, San Diego, and Houston have "sanctuary" programs in place that handcuff law enforcement groups from arresting illegal immigrants. Under such programs, illegal immigrants must first commit a crime before they are arrestedвЂ"even though their status as illegal aliens is reason enough to report them to immigration officials. Many in the law enforcement community believe illegal immigrants, some of whom return to the United States after being deported and subsequently contribute to gang activities, are afforded too many protections. Although the immediate removal of illegal immigrants already deported after committing crimes would arguably serve a benefit, sanctuary programs prevent law enforcement officials from taking immediate preemptive action.

Meanwhile, although U.S. law enforcement is having no appreciable effect on the size of the flow, we are making it more and more necessary for migrants to avail themselves of "professional" help-effectively spurring the growth of a vicious criminal underworld. More and more migrants pay smugglers