The Impact of Illegal Immigration on the US
Caution – Immigrants Crossing
Without a doubt illegal immigration is one of the biggest problems the US has faced in recent history. Until just a few years ago virtually nothing had been done about the millions of people coming over the border from Mexico. Once on US soil phony I.D.’s and jobs were easy to come by. The government was well aware of it and did nothing for decades. Why? – Cheap fruit? Loyal janitors? Surely the past governments could see a problem brewing. Obviously they missed that one. Now the problem is so big and out of control that no one really has a good solution.
Illegal immigration has contributed substantially to the bankruptcy of several states with heavy illegal populations. The baffling thing about the situation is the selective law enforcement. In many situations when a person who has no proper ID and is stopped for a minor infraction and is obviously from a foreign country (cannot speak English) they are let go after being briefly detained. Often they are arrested later for a more serious crime.
In San Francisco there was the case of the illegal immigrant who was arrested for a minor offense. He was released on bail and committed a triple murder that same day. Why wasn’t this person taken immediately to a detention facility and deported when he was initially arrested? The taxpayers paid for a trial and put him in jail for about the next 50 years at roughly $20K a year. By the way, San Francisco is a self designated ‘sanctuary’ city where illegal immigrants are not scrutinized, are free to operate as they wish and are even encouraged to migrate there.
On the other hand a born and raised US citizen is subject to being prosecuted to the full extent of the law for minor traffic offenses. Those who pay taxes, are educated, have insurance, and have never been in jail or even been convicted of a misdemeanor are not happy that they don’t get to select the laws they must obey. It is little wonder that many US citizens feel they only exist to contribute to the government’s tax coffers. It creates resentment when it is obvious that their tax dollars are supporting illegal people that shouldn’t be on US soil in the first place. When they voice opposition to this financing of illegal immigration they are labeled a racist, insensitive to the poor or mean spirited.
There are really no accurate figures on how many illegal people are in the US. You see numbers of anywhere from 12 to 35 million. To be objective and to not lump all illegal immigrants into one category it would be fair to say the vast majority are law abiding (except for being in the country illegally) and just want a better life.
They contribute to the economy by consuming goods and services. They wouldn’t come to the US if there weren’t jobs. Of course the big justification is that they do all of the jobs no one else will do. In a way it helps the employer who pays them low and doesn’t report them to the IRS. By employing illegal aliens the employer reduces his expenses like health care and unemployment insurance. The employer usually gets a dedicated person to do a menial job by someone who actually values it instead of resents it. But by dodging employment laws the employer becomes an outlaw also.
That has been true but what about now that the economy is down? Maybe a seasonal work program where the immigrants come to work and then return home would be a good idea. This would have to be based on trust that the illegal immigrant would return home out of season. That would be very difficult to enforce.
Perhaps the solution lies in a program where illegal immigrants who can prove they have been in the country a certain amount of time, have paid taxes, speak English and not committed crimes could become citizens. At the same time a crack down on the drug cartels and other illicit activity should be enforced. Stiffer penalties for employers who give work to illegal immigrants would halt a lot of them coming.
Then you have people like Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona. You may know him as the hardnosed Sheriff who makes his incarcerated personnel know they are in jail not in a luxury hotel. They sleep in tents in the hot Arizona desert. When they complained he told them that US Marines sleep like this and they didn’t commit any crimes. His prisoners sued in federal court and won the right to have cable TV in jail. The sheriff responded by limiting it to the weather channel and Disney cartoons. He has aggressively gone after the flood of illegal visitors from Mexico. When his officers see what are obvious illegal immigrants he stops them and asks for ID. If they can’t produce it they are detained. If it is proven they are illegal they are sent back to their home country pronto.
Now the Obama Administration is attempting to curtail Sheriff Arpaio’s aggressive policies. The Obama staff has caved into political posturing and the same old, racial profiling argument of the ACLU. They use the Constitution when it’s convenient to allow the flood to continue. President Obama’s attorney general’s office has issued an order to the Sheriff to stop detaining people to check for citizenship. The Sheriff has cited States Rights. He refused the federal order and said that he will take them back to Mexico in his own car if he has to. This issue is currently in the courts. Hmmm, Obama says you can’t stop someone just inside the Arizona/Mexico border fence in the middle of a desert to investigate suspicious activity. However it’s ok to put up a road block and stop me to see if I’m drunk. Many see this as a political maneuver to gain favor with Hispanic voters.
Now, more than ever, the illegal immigration situation is in transition. Many illegals are returning to Mexico because of limited job prospects. Others are turning to crime and staying in the US. Now that jobs are scarce US citizens are eyeballing jobs that illegal Mexicans have. This is creating resentment and the cry of foul is getting louder. In these hard times the federal and state funds going to illegals are under more scrutiny. The fact that illegals have contributed to state bankruptcies and continue to receive welfare has some Americans outraged.
Something effective needs to be done to lessen the negative impact of illegal immigration and it needs to be done soon. What is being done now is too little too late.
Many Americans are fearful that the US is being ruined by lack of control of immigration and cite it as one of the major reasons they want to flee. Are you one of them or do you think immigration, legal or otherwise is beneficial to the American social structure and economy? Please let us have your comments.
The bottom line is they are ILLEGAL Mr. Eloy Rodriguez, do you understand this simple concept? I say kick these illegals out NOW!!!! Do you suppose I as an American citizen can just mosey on down to Mexico and pull the same Bulls**t? Do you suppose Mexico will give me free health care, food stamps, housing, and not kick my ass out of their country? What the hell is wrong with folks like you Mr. Eloy Rodriguez, what kind of moron does not understand the meaning of ILLEGAL? My wife came in the legal way, and she is Hispanic, and absolutely despises these illegals who soil her race and name. ILLEGAL IS ILLEGAL, GET IT?!
Illegal immigration is actually among the greatest threats to our national security. I’m not only speaking of threats to our personal safety from people who might wish to do harm to innocent citizens. The state of affairs in California exemplifies this fact with great clarity. As California is inundated each day with new undocumented aliens, the taxes they levy against us are usury to the point that they have become a major contributor to the state’s current bankrupt status.
And please, forget that tired argument, “they’re doing jobs Americans won’t do”. It’s not true. newspaper routes, restaurants, gas stations, construction site workers, picking fruit and veg in the field, and the list goes on. These all used called “Youth” jobs, these were the jobs I did as a teenager. These are the jobs that give our kids a work ethic. And if you haven’t taken notice lately, our kids are a mess. They have no work ethic.
Illegal immigrants have caused the closure of many public hospitals, children of people who not supposed to be in the country overload our public schools to the point the educational performance of our legally registered students has fallen below the level of many third-world countries. That is just pitiful.
But the fact is, those same folks who want to mandate my tax dollars be used to fix the problems illegal immigrants create. Moreover, even if I were wrong and illegal immigrants were not a burden on our economy, and actually did yield an economic benefit to our society, I would still choose not to fund their existence. WHY? it’s simple.
1) Most of the undocumented workers that enter the United States are taken advantage of, often forced to live in sub-standard conditions that I as an expatriate would not lower myself. Why should they be forced to do so? Are they less worthy than any of us? I think not. 2) There are thousands upon thousands of would-be immigrants that have chosen to come in the front door, legally, unlike the criminals who came through an open window without our knowledge. No cuts.
I submit that if we were to put it to a referendum, Americans would overwhelmingly vote to send everyone of them back where they came from, rather than see their taxes rise to a rate of more than 50% as in socialist countries.
What the illegal alien advocates like MALDEF (Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund) and La Raza (the Race) won’t tell you is, their mission is to repopulate and take back the southwestern United States for Mexico. Don’t believe me, it’s on their website.
NO, I SAY NO! I refuse to participate, I refuse to allow it.
I say we cut ALL services to people who do not possess a verifiable social security number, and the children of those illegals born in this country, to include medical care (with the exception of life-saving emergency care), public education, bank accounts, housing, and of course employment. We must eliminate all of their reasons for being here.
We give illegal aliens a 60-amnesty period to report themselves for repatriation to their home countries, and their employers 90-days to review their employee records and report any ambiguities that may exist.
The Illegal aliens who comply will be repatriated to their home countries without prejudice (which will allow them to reapply for a visa to return legally), and a parting gift of $500 so they aren’t broke when they get home. Those who chose not to comply will be apprehended, bio-metrically identified, and permanently blacklisted from reentering the United States.
Employers who comply within the prescribed time period will not face any penalties whatsoever. Those who do not comply will face a minimum of 1-year in federal prison, and a $50,000 fine per incident. I am certain that will produce the desired effect.
Hey, to all you detractors, if you don’t love the country our founding fathers created for us, JUST LEAVE IT! DON’T RUIN IT.
you missed your calling, you shoulda ran a concentration camp.
I can tell you have never sufferd true hardship.
Believe me you would succumb to those injustices and much more if you needed.
Maybe you dont see the betterment of your own social status as important since you look at the pauper through your heated or air conditioned window.
just some food for thaught.
P.S.
dont forget our founding fathers build this great nation of ours on stolen soil.
Excellent article. My grandfather tried his very best to assimilate as an American when he arrived, even to changing his last name. Of course, from hard to pronounce Greek that was probably necessary. It would probably be possible to solve the illegal problem with a partial return to the past. In the 50′s as I recall you could hire Mexicans for primarily agricultural labor. The US Immigration Service actually had offices in Mexico and did the hiring. Wages, etc went through them. That could be combined today with the way the federal government lets contracts on federal reservations, in that they require you pay prevailing wages for the area. Just add 10 per cent above prevailing wage to stop cheating. In leiu of social security withholding here, pay it into the workers home country program. Those who truly wish to join us and not just come here for a job, could apply legally.
I too enjoyed the article and Steve Parker’s comments. When I think of my mother’s grandfather who legally immigrated from Germany, he never learned much English. He was a cowboy and the cows didn’t care what language he spoke was the argument he made. But his grandchildren and great grandchildren spoke no German, so he missed out on a lot. I used to live near the Mexican border and in a nearby border town the election poll workers were barred by a court order from challenging the identity of those who arrived to vote. They frequently had more people arrive to vote than were on the local voter roles, of course several dozen with the same name and address voting but they could do nothing. Interesting how a predominantly republican county turned out so many more democrat votes in precincts than there were voters on the roles. The lines of people crossing into the US to vote and then return to Mexico were almost as disgusting as the lines of school children crossing to go to American schools because they really live with aunt Martha in the US. How can political-correctness be so correct when it is so clearly wrong?
I’m not for the open border policy we seem to have in this country, but I’m also not for articles filled with truisms and middle aged anger at a world passing you by. What I hear in this article is a Glenn Beck wannabe who can’t quite find a voice, or a reference, for his statements.
Here is the ugly truth about illegal immigration that you can’t seem to understand, but everyone in Washington does: a goods and services based society, such as ourselves, RELIES ON SLAVE LABOR. Its the sad truth