How Does Illegal Immigration Affect Our Country?

Abstract

America is a country built on the backbones of immigrants. Unfortunately, to preserve this tradition, individuals have been allowed to circumvent the immigration system and slither through our borders. The majority of these individuals are seeking a better way of life; all of them are not. Regardless of the reason, these individuals are in this country illegally. Few subjects are so fraught with misinformation and lack of information, complexity and paradox, political interest and governmental neglect, social concern and human callousness, careful economic analysis and fiscal incertitude as the issue of illegal immigration. As a result, most Americans have overlooked factors of illegal immigration that has encompassed potential for national concern. This paper delves into the dark side of illegal immigration and its impact on national security, crime, the economy, the political structure, and the lack of cultural assimilation. It concludes with a review of the President's proposed way ahead and offers a strategic-level integrated approach to the problem.

According to the Illegal Alien Immigration Glossary, "a foreign national who has entered the United States without legal permission" is what an illegal immigrant is defined as. Illegal immigration has become an increasingly greater problem in today's society. There are many problems which develop in society as a direct result of increasing illegal immigration rates including, but not limited to, overpopulation, rising crime rates, and unemployment. The United States, with such close proximity to Mexico, has not been immune to this epidemic. To counteract, the US must now control the flow of illegal immigrants into America in order to provide more opportunities for Americans. Several aspects of society in which illegal immigration affects our country include: decreasing law enforcement, higher taxation for the American people, forced cultural acceptance, drug trafficking, free health care for illegal immigrants, and increased unemployment for Americans.

First, there is the issue of Rule of Law. In its early foundation, the United States was built based on culture and rules brought by our ancestors as they emigrated from their home country in search of a better life. As our foundation grew, America has become a country founded on the basis of the Rule of Law. Illegal immigrants violate the rule of law the minute they step over the border, and initiate their voyage on their immoral path. When they go unrestrained and without punishment, they begin thinking that it is permissible to break the law. Identity theft, use of fraudulent social security numbers and green cards, tax evasion and driving without a license represent some of the misdemeanors that are engaged in on a routine basis by illegal immigrants merely to sustain their means of survival and conceal their illegal status. Other crimes also include felonies such as theft, burglaries, homicide and drug trafficking. The murder statistics alone are overwhelming, "In Los Angeles, over 95% of arrest warrants issued for the crime of murder are for illegal aliens. At least 83% of arrest warrants for murder in Phoenix are for illegal aliens. The number climbs to 86% for Albuquerque. The most wanted lists for each of these cities is comprised of at least 75% illegal aliens" (Russell, 2007). There is however another enemy that the US Border patrol fights every day, along with the day to day capture of illegal border crossers, and that is the raging war against drug trafficking. Is it not bad enough that besides fighting the drug wars within our own boarder, the US has to fight what Illegal Immigrants bring in so freely to our children that we try to protect them from on a daily basis. " Since the Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats launched quietly in September 2009 with coordinated training, intelligence-sharing and patrols, the program has resulted in the arrest of 270,000 illegal border crossers, the seizure of 1.6 million pounds of marijuana and the recovery of $13 million in cash in the border's Tucson Sector" (Wagner, 2011).

Illegal immigrants fail to follow our nation's laws from the moment they cross the border into the country. The expectation that they will continue to follow any additional laws or pay applicable fines is non-existent. While our government is increasing border security with our taxpayer dollars, more taxpayer dollars are being spent on free government programs to support the increasing number of people relying on these programs to survive. With the increasing number of illegal immigrants, more resources are set aside for government programs and not enough resources are available for programs that our legal citizens truly need. The government's solution to progress funding for all government programs is to increase taxes on legal citizens as well as insurance costs to compensate for goodwill care that tend to the medical needs of illegal immigrants seeking medical care in emergency rooms. American people can no longer bear the weight of the shortcomings of our neighboring countries. As a result, many hospitals are closing, schools are cutting back drastically, and taxes are steadily rising. Between the 1880s to the 1900s, when our ancestors came to the United States to discover the land of opportunity, they all came with a personal pride in their own heritage and were only able to speak their native languages. To properly assimilate, through determination and hard work, they had to learn to speak the English language and overcome hardships in order to become productive, proud members of society. This assimilation became necessary in order to communicate and they soon took pride in learning the English language. They were also able to remain proud of their own heritage by practicing their native tongue at home and among friends in their neighborhood. Although the United States is a melting pot based on diversity, most illegal immigrants refuse to assimilate because they have no need to do so. With so many different venues catering to their wishes and needs, there is very little incentive for them to fully assimilate. Like our ancestors from centuries ago, continuing to practice ones culture is respectable. However, forcing culture onto others while in their country illegally is an offensive act.

The impact of illegal immigration on our public healthcare system has been habitually overlooked. While