Illegal Immigration

Illegal Immigration Action

One of the most controversial topics today in politics is what to do about illegal immigration in the United States. Should we consider all of the illegal immigrants already here felons? Should we let them stay and give them full citizenship rights? These are all important questions when the subject of illegal immigration is brought up. In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act made it illegal for employers to knowingly hire undocumented workers and imposed fines of up to $11,000 for each violation. Recently, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill, entitled H.R. 4437 (The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005). Just recently, due to massive overpopulation, the problem of illegal immigration is really starting to be taken seriously in our nation's capital. There is one thing that all sides of the debate agree on: that America needs to get tougher about controlling our country's borders. Up to 12 million people are living illegally in the United States today. This number is growing rapidly and is quickly overpopulating our own backyards. For these reasons, I believe that we should back this Act and should hope that the Senate will also agree.

Act H.R. 4437 would take many drastic measures in trying to slow down illegal immigration. Some of the main points of this Act include building a 700 mile wall/fence along the U.S./Mexican border, take custody of illegal aliens detained by local authorities in hopes of eliminating catch and release, and also enforcing more strict laws on employers of who employ illegal immigrants. In the past weeks, there has been much debate over what to do with the illegal immigrants that are already in the country. There are already revisions underway and I agree with what they are trying to do. These revisions will hopefully divide those here illegally into three groups. Those been here for five or more years, those been here two-five years, and those been here less than two years. Those that have been here less than two years will be the only people that will have to leave the country. I do believe that illegal immigrants do contribute to the economy in some ways, like doing many of the jobs that most citizens will not do.

My opponents would counter by saying that Immigrants helped build this country and that immigrants come to America for a better life and end up investing their money here, buying houses, and opening businesses that help the economy. When addressing the fact that there are roughly 12 million illegal immigrants here and this Act could quite possibly make them all felons, many wonder where we are going to put all of these felons. Our prisons are already overpopulated and adding millions more is completely out of the question. Also, many people opposing this Act believe that if we got rid of all of the illegal immigrants that our society would quickly fall into an economic depression. They believe that they are such a vital part of our economy that we could not afford to deport them.

I agree that our country cannot afford to consider all 12 million of the immigrants here illegally felons. One of the many reasons why we have so many illegal immigrants in the country is partly due to the fact that the number of immigration investigators in the U.S. fell from 240 in 1999 to just 65 in 2004, according to the Government Accountability Office. And the majority of these workers were focused on airports and nuclear power plants due to the 9/11 attacks. These places are probably the last places an illegal immigrant would go to look for a job. In 2005 alone, the government had issued just three notices to companies for employing illegal immigrants. This number is down from 178 notices in 2000. Many employers who employ illegal immigrants aren't worried about the government because the penalties given are usually so small that they are merely the cost of doing business.

A second reason why I feel like this Act is a great idea is because the strain on social services from the illegal immigrants is tremendous. Public schools probably bear the brunt of this. The majority of the children of undocumented immigrants need to take a class in school to teach them English-as-a-second-language, while their parents are paying little to no taxes. Why is it the responsibility of American citizens to put the children of illegal immigrants through school? They only way that they are helping me is putting some of the food I eat on the shelves in the grocery store or making sure my dishes are clean in restaurants. Also, hospitals write off the cost of medical services for undocumented immigrants. It is absolutely bogus that they illegally come here, don't pay taxes, don't pay for hospital fees, and expect food stamps and for us to teach their children English. Illegal immigrants are also taking away jobs from people without high school degrees. A poll taken from an article