The Solution to the Problem of Illegal Immigration in the United States

While illegal immigrants can be considered credible and dependable because of the benefits they bring to the US, it is critical to understand the unintended consequences that translate into tangible problems such as increased competition for the few unskilled job opportunities, increased pressure on the economy by using free social services such as healthcare, and so on. Foreign citizens who acquire legal admittance to the US and stay in the country for more than the allowed period, as well as those who enter the country without the permission of the government, violate the US immigration laws, and hence they are termed illegal immigrants as explains, which is a serious problem in the US apparently (Garrett 6) . According to Krogstad and Passel (2014), the number of illegal immigrants has been steadily rising in America since the WWI and the WWII onset (23). Nevertheless, for the first time in history, the 2015 data on unauthorized immigrants were reported to have declined, compared to the 2009 figures following the recession crisis. Moreover, immigrants from other regions the world over exceeded about their Mexican counterparts, a shift in statistics that was atypical. While in 2009 there were 11.3 million illegal immigrants in the US, in 2015, this number had dropped to 11 million people. Even though this figure would later rise to 11.3 million in 2016, the difference has not been considered as significant by Krogstad and Passel (2014), considering that the research was done utilizing a small sample size characterized with a relatively huge margin of error (19). Mexicans had dominated a clear majority for the past decade and beyond among the American illegal migrants, however, in 2016, illegal immigrants of Mexican origin were approximated at 50 percent of the population, have declined in number from 6.4 million to 5.6 million in 2009 and 2015 respectfully (Krogstad and Passel 16). Illinois, New York, California, New Jersey and Florida are the states with the majority of illegal migrants, accounting for 59 percent of the total. Nevertheless, it is not only imperative to outline that between 2009 and 2014 the number of illegal immigrants decreased in Kansas, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, South Carolina, California as well as Nevada, and also vital to note these reductions are alleged to the reduced number of unauthorized Mexican immigrants. As opposed to the small number (41 percent) of immigrants who had lived in America for more than ten years by 2005, the figure had risen significantly to a wobbling 66 percent by 2014. Nevertheless, those who have lived in the country illegally for less than five years are declining in number steadily, having been estimated at barely 14 percent in 2014 (Krogstad and Passel 17). The best solution to the problem is that Illegal immigrants do not need to be accepted to be in America illegally, rather, they ought to be guided, admonished, and advised on the need to entering the country legally, which attracts many benefits; including better compensation, not below the minimum wage, and access to social services like healthcare, education, and social security.
The other reason why illegal immigrants should be allowed to continue working in America and earn a living is that of natural understanding, considering that both the historical and present circumstances create room and compel illegal immigrants to be what they are perceived to be like; unauthorized immigrants. The American government imported cheap labor from Mexico following the aftermath of both the first and the Second World War. Five years after the culmination of the Second World War, an amnesty was extended to five thousand Mexicans by the American government to live in the US (Stimpson, Wilson, and Su 1317). This created room and enthusiasm for many immigrants to flow into the country and resistance was overcome by immigrants entering the US illegally. Currently, many immigrants in America work hard to send their meager earnings to their loved ones back in their home countries, which makes a significant change in the lives of their siblings. Their peers as well are tempted to sneak into America and get such opportunities and end destitute lives characterized by abject poverty. Indeed, even American citizens can as well imagine and realize that in similar situations, where neighbors and friends go to a foreign land full of opportunities and work hard to change lives back home, one would not resist the temptation of him or her maneuvering to get there and work hard to get the hero status in their motherland, as was argued out by one of the Mexican illegal immigrant interviewed (Peri and Sparber 55) . Provided their act of being in the country illegally is the only core crime, a victimless act that hurts nobody or takes away a life of any American citizen but working hard to earn a living; then unauthorized immigrants are ethically justified to seek better lives by earning more than what they probably could in their respective home countries. After all, America is referred to as The Melting Pot, meaning a home for immigrants and constructive diversity (Fitzgerald, Curtis, and Corliss 478). On the contrary, even though the hard working person who struggles to make a living has a place in America, it does not make it any lesser crime, to compel anybody to imagine that illegal immigration is then an inconsequential irresponsibility under the American law.
Most illegal immigrants in America can be beneficial considering the hardworking efforts they deliver in performing essential tasks that do not require a skilled workforce. Indeed, as opposed to all preceding generations, the contemporary American communities have embraced a culture of paying people to clean their houses, mow lawns, while paying for essential services cheaply and embracing diversity in culture, a desire and need which has been made valid by immigrants who are willing to deliver such services at affordable prices (Park 169). Furthermore, most Americans in the twenty-first century do not like the idea of doing unskilled jobs like babysitting, washing and cleaning houses or even tending crops on farms. If hiring illegal immigrants would happen, then their employers will be forced to pay more, not less than the federal minimum wage at least plus other pertinent services. As opposed to this, illegal immigrants are able and willing to do these jobs at relatively lower cost, hence their vital importance in the American society, as they contribute to building the economy. On the other hand, a study by Park (2006) confirmed that illegal immigrants have been very helpful by offering to do jobs that Americans can do but they are not willing to tender their services because of the working conditions including payment rates. However, an argument that Americans cannot do certain jobs in entirety is misleading, because in reality there is no task Americans cannot perform, rather, perhaps it has more to do with the attached benefits and the aesthetic values than the capacity to deliver (Peri and Sparber 136). A good example is that currently, many Americans across all races are doing jobs like working in the sewers, cleaning the septic tanks, as well as working in the sanitation industries together with the legal migrants. Furthermore, the illegal immigrants ought to be given the amnesty of staying in the country, based on their hard work as they put efforts toward making both theirs and the Americans’ lives better (Stimpson, Wilson, and Su 1317). Indeed, provided the working conditions continue to be decent and the country still needs a more unskilled workforce, unauthorized immigrants should be considered objectively in the American society, and be embraced to feel welcome in contributing to building America.
Focusing On the Problem Currently and the Related Quotes
Illegal immigrants have diverted the American social justice and homeland security efforts and expenditure to their focus at the expense of the law-abiding Americans, following the escalating criminal activities they perpetuate. Approximately 60 percent of cocaine in California is smuggled by illegal immigrants, and the mounting homicides in Arizona are attributed to the Mexican illegal immigrants. Many American dollars are lost to incarcerate criminal immigrants, most of whom belong to the Salvadoran gang across 28 states. Currently, the crime rate in the American border cities has escalated, most of which are related to drug abuse. It is testified that there are tens of horrific scenarios reported daily; with the police and the criminal gangs engaging in perpetual shootings in American border cities. “Illegal immigration is a crisis for our country. It is an open door for drugs, criminals, and potential terrorists to enter our country. It is straining our economy, adding costs to our judicial, healthcare, and education systems“ (Meyer 25). Killings and kidnapping are heinous crimes on the rise. Nevertheless, the unauthorized immigrants are reported to be committing these injustices against their illegal immigrant counterparts, whose presence in the country is compromised both under the law and the social, ethical standing. However, it should be understood that if this trend gets out of hand and the drug barons begin to kidnap and kill American citizens, the situation could be dire across the social domain.
Social security, healthcare, and education are social services in America offered and sustained by the taxpayer, hence illegal immigrants who utilize but do not pay tax for these services hurt the US economy as an eventuality. The increased number of immigrants now estimated at 12.3 million people, is benefiting from these services at the expensive of the American citizenry. In 1992 for instance, five states alone accounted for 80 percent expenditure on the illegal immigrants, which is the taxpayers’ funds. The federal, local, and state costs were approximated at $2.9 billion in the very year in the states of Illinois, New York, California, Texas, and Florida. The economic burden has since escalated to $10 billion by the year 2002 and doubled further in the last financial year as confirms LeMay. "We must fix our broken immigration system. That means stopping illegal immigration. And it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. Just like we have for centuries" (2007). Arizona reported four times more the cost of hospital expenditure in five medical facilities in 2013 compared to the 1982 cost estimated at the expense of $4.4 million. Colorado admits six illegal immigrant children in public school daily, valued at the cost of $600 per every admission, whereas Washington DC has 1,380 children of the illegal immigrants that have put significant pressure on the state`s economy. It is estimated by Meyer (2010) that for the following two decades, the American taxpayer will lose $345 billion if illegal immigrants of Mexican origin alone are allowed to access social services. The most economic burden comes in when illegal immigrants give birth to children in America, and those children are automatically American citizens to benefit from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children with their parents as the guardians, hence benefiting from the social services illegally.
On the contrary, it is true that illegal immigrants take away job opportunities from American citizens, but it is not realistic to argue that Americans cannot do unskilled jobs. It is correct that most Americans are unwilling to do jobs at relatively small benefits, unlike the immigrants. Indeed, if unauthorized immigrants are not allowed inside of the country, then the only option will be Americans to do these jobs, and the employers will be obliged to pay not below the minimum wage, hence creating more jobs for American citizens. “Besides taking jobs from American workers, illegal immigration creates huge economic burdens on our health care system, our education system, our criminal justice system, our environment, our infrastructure and our public safety” (LeMay 134). Illegal immigrants frequently cost the employment opportunities not only for the Americans who do not offer skilled labor but also for the legal immigrants who do casual jobs. A good example is in the 1980s, whereby the Mexican legal migrants were unionized and were earning $4.00 in every single hour. When the illegal immigrants began to enter the country in large numbers, they offered cheap labor in the tomato farms in California, a situation that led to the loss of jobs for the legal immigrants who had been registered by the American workers` unions, as they agreed to work at $3.55 per hour. The skilled legal immigrants were forced outside of the tomato farms in California as an eventuality (LeMay 66). Unfortunately, the inception of cheap labor from illegal immigrants is significantly hurting the jobless Americans. Most American citizens cannot compete with the illegal laborers in the unskilled jobs like gatekeeping, janitors, restaurant attendants, security guards, farm workers, construction sites, taxi drivers, as well as child caring. Even though those who support illegal immigration in the US argue that America is a capitalist country wherein competition is a fair experience toward making it in life, it is critical to consider that Americans have unfair competition, because it could be logical only if the immigrants entered legally into the US, argues (Garrett 4).
The Solution and Evaluation of the Solution to the Problem
Because of the many circumstantial challenges, illegal immigration has brought in the American society, together with the multiple benefits realized across decades, it is critical to consider that this issue needs to be solved in a just, rational, and impartial manner for all parties involved to enjoy their positions. Illegal immigrants do not need to be accepted to be in America illegally, rather, they ought to be guided, admonished, and advised on the need to entering the country legally, which attracts many benefits; including better compensation, not below the minimum wage and access to social services like healthcare, education, and social security. However, if this strategy fails, then the American government can as well compel the home countries of the unauthorized immigrants in the US to pay for their needs abroad so that the American law abiding citizens are not overburdened unfairly in tax payments. On the other hand, rather than severely punishing the foreign governments in a controversial and contentious issue like immigration, which could compromise American foreign policy, perhaps it could be better to reinforce the border patrol and security at airports to tame the illegal immigrants who sneak into the country. Ideally, a negotiation can be reached between the government and the American employers that they hire Americans and pay them fairly, not below the minimum wage even in the unskilled labor segment, or else hire the illegal immigrants and be judged in the court of law. This would help in reducing injustices against immigrants who are paid lower than what they deserve, tame the unauthorized immigrants who enter the country primarily to secure jobs, while creating opportunities for both the legal migrants and the American citizens in the unskilled labor segment. On one hand, legalized immigrants will get better pay and would later benefit from the social services whose tax they will then have contributed to, while the Americans will continue to have able and willing workers in large numbers, as both the American citizens and the legalized immigrants will not be burdened to pay tax for illegal immigrants, which then becomes an objective solution to the challenge.
Conclusion
Foreign citizens who acquire legal admittance to the US and stay in the country for more than the allowed period, as well as those who enter the country without the permission of the government, violate the US immigration laws, and hence they are termed illegal immigrants as explains, which is a serious problem in the US apparently. While the illegal immigrants could be considered as both credible and dependable because of the benefits they bring to the US, on the contrary, it is critical to comprehend the unintended consequences that translate into tangible problems like increased competition for the limited unskilled job opportunities, increased pressure on the economy by using free social services which include healthcare, social security, and education and the growing crime rate perpetuated by unauthorized immigrants in the country. Illegal immigrants have diverted the American social justice and homeland security efforts and expenditure to their focus at the expense of the law-abiding Americans, following the escalating criminal activities they perpetuate. Social security, healthcare, and education are social services in America offered and sustained by the taxpayer, hence illegal immigrants who utilize but do not pay tax for these services hurt the US economy as an eventuality. On the contrary, it is true that illegal immigrants take away job opportunities from American citizens, but it is not realistic to argue that Americans cannot do unskilled jobs. It is correct that most Americans are unwilling to do jobs at relatively small benefits, unlike the immigrants. The best solution to the problem is that Illegal immigrants do not need to be accepted to be in America illegally, rather, they ought to be guided, admonished, and advised on the need to entering the country legally, which attracts many benefits; including better compensation, not below the minimum wage, and access to social services like healthcare, education, and social security.


Works Cited
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Stimpson, Jim P., Fernando A. Wilson, and Dejun Su. “Unauthorized Immigrants Spend Less than Other Immigrants and Us Natives on Health Care.” Health Affairs 32, no. 7 (2013): 1313–18. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0113.