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Government 2305
November 13, 2015
Illegal Immigration in America
In the acclaimed sonnet “The New Colossus” American poet Emma Lazarus writes,
“Give us your poor, you're tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” Engraved
within the inside of an icon of freedom, the Statue of Liberty, this statement has come to define
the country of the United States of America
...
Flocking to this country by
the thousands, immigrants past and present have journeyed to the land of the free in an attempt to
obtain a lifestyle based upon the United States’ concept of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness
...

As time has passed and millions of immigrants have ventured to the country, the
United States still maintains a welcoming attitude towards new immigrants
...
As a result, this new century has
given rise to another kind of immigrant: the illegal immigrant
...
Ignoring the laws set forth by the American government, these
immigrants enter the country and unnoticeably assimilate themselves into the culture of the
United States
...
Ultimately, as the United States’ government is
unable to fully enforce the policies of immigration, illegal immigration is further enhanced and
permitted, thereby creating more problems within the United States’ framework that threaten the
well being of the country and its people
...
Looking back in the time period of Ellis Island, there were only a
handful of policies and restrictions in regards to allowing immigrants into the country
...
According
to most information, the individuals who were denied entry to the United States and immediately
sent back to their homeland were those who were simply deemed criminals, anarchists, or
carriers of disease (Eyewitness History 1)
...
In essence, the goal to
protect the country and its people has not changed and still lives on within the contemporary

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policies
...
However, the process by which an individual can
become a legal resident is much more complicated than it has been in years prior
...
Any foreigner living within
the United States who does not possess such a legal document is considered an illegal immigrant,
and, by law, should be deported to his country of origin
...
With a much stricter system of entry and residency, many people argue
that today’s government has developed a very efficient and proactive policy of
immigration
...
Currently, the number of illegal immigrants in the United States
stands at an estimated 12 million and rising
...
Firstly, it is necessary to understand that there are two different types of illegal
immigrants
...
The other type of illegal
immigrant is an individual who simply illegally crosses the border and enters the country without
contacting the United States’ government in any way
...
However, the other type of illegal
immigrant is more difficult to track because the government is ignorant of their presence in the
country
...

Firstly, considered the third largest country in the world, the United States possesses many
borders and areas of entry into the country
...

Truthfully, with such large borders, there is simply no way to fully protect and prevent illegal
immigration entirely
...
In fact, according to Wayne Cornelius, the distinguished director of the Center
for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California at San Diego, out of the 1
...
Due to the many illegal immigrants who unnoticeably cross the borders, the
United States government is unable to enforce its immigration policies, such as distributing visas

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or deporting illegal immigrants, and is forced to permit these immigrants to live within the
country
...
Being a democratic nation, the
United States relies on its citizens to assist in the making and carrying out of laws and
policies
...
In this desire
for the support and ability to trust in its people, the government also needs the willingness of
citizens to aid in the process of detecting illegal immigrants
...
For example, when
an employer hires an illegal immigrant for nothing more than cheap labor, that employer is not
adhering to the policies set forth by law
...
Such disregard for the law only undermines the policies set forth by the
government and, ultimately, hinders the enforcement of said laws
...
From massive borders to
disobedient citizens, the United States government is hindered from enforcing their own policies
of immigration
...

One of the most significant problems caused by illegal immigration concerns the issue of
national security
...

As a result, thousands of illegal immigrants cross the border virtually undetected as
depicted in the adjacent image
...
However, these proponents of open borders neglect to recognize that as hundreds of illegal
immigrants cross the borders, the issue of terrorism and overall safety becomes a major concern
...
As these individuals
assimilate themselves into United States’ culture, the United States and its people are completely
unaware of their presence
...
With possible dangerous persons
living within the United States and its communities, the well being and overall safety of the
people of the United States is threatened
...
According to Heather Mac Donald, contributing editor for the New
York City Journal, illegal immigrants have revolutionized crime within the City of Angels, as
nearly ninety-five percent of all outstanding warrants for homicides target illegal immigrants
(1)
...
While the government is unable to fully control illegal immigration across the borders,
the safety of the United States and its people are at jeopardy
...

While the threat of crime and terrorism has increased due to this lack of enforcing
immigration policies, illegal immigration probably has its greatest impact on the United States’
economy
...
One of the
most controversial topics in regards to immigrants and the economy has to do with jobs and
wages
...
Ramanujan Nadadur, a Master’s student in Forced Migration at
Oxford, claims that “illegal immigrants are more willing than legal immigrants and native
workers to take jobs where high labor turnover and poor working conditions have become a part
of the labor process” (6)
...
However, the reality is that these immigrants are
taking American jobs and even displacing certain Americans and legal immigrants from rights
that they have legally earned
...
Each
year, thousands of undocumented workers come to the United States who would anything to
obtain any sort of job
...
Sure, this
concept sounds great in theory
...
According to
Steve Malanga, contributing editor of City Journal and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute,
studies show that these illegal immigrants significantly push down the wages of United States’
workers, potentially pushing some of these workers out of certain industries
...
In other words, as the illegal immigrants
accept United States’ labor jobs, they displace United States’ workers, and drive down the
average wages of the rest of the work force
...
The
illegal immigrant population within the United States has quite a negative affect on the tax
system as well
...
The reality is that there are many aliens who do pay taxes
...
It is impossible to deny that some of these illegal aliens are paying taxes
...
Thus, there is no way of accounting for all these illegal
immigrants and their taxes
...
Not only do a large majority of these immigrants bypass paying taxes, but they also cause
a huge increase in payments of the average taxpayer
...
As more of these poor
illegal aliens make their way across the border, the need for government-funded help and social
services, such as welfare, education, and Medicare, increases dramatically, along with the
amount of money that the average taxpayer must pay
...
For instance, in California, only an estimated fifty-six
percent of its undocumented immigrants pay taxes; therefore, these illegal aliens are costing the
average native-born family an extra $1,200 in federal and state taxes each year (Malanga 1)
...
Ultimately, with the
increasing number of illegal immigrants, the United States’ economy has suffered greatly
...

As the United States attempts to regulate illegal immigration by means of law, issues
within its own framework undermine and inhibit the overall enforcement of many immigration
policies
...
While it persists to maintain its
persona as the world’s melting pot, the United States must begin to rethink its attitude towards
illegal immigration, as its has proved to cause great harm to the United States’ economy,
security, and overall well-being
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Works Cited

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Cornelius, Wayne
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" Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 31
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Print
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"Open Borders and the Right to Immigration
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19 Mar
...

Web
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2009
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ebscohost
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"Immigration in the Early 1900's
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2000
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10 Oct
...

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com/snpim1
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"A Comprehensive Guide to Immigration
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org/images/File/factcheck/IPC%27s%20Guide%20to%2
0Immigration
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Jacoby, Tamar
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" National Review 37
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Mac Donald, Heather
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” City Journal (2004)
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The Manhattan Institute, 2004
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2 November 2009
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cityjournal
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html>
Malanga, Steve
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" City
Journal (2006)
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The Manhattan Institute, 2006
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10 Oct
...

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org/html/16_3_immigrants_economy
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Nadadur, Ramanujan
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" Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 35
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Title: Illegal Immigration in America
Description: It's about Illegal Immigration in America

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