One of the major concerns in American society that has sparked contentious political debates recently is illegal immigration. When someone enters a nation without authorization, this is known as undocumented immigration. (Kennedy 10). A individual like this is referred to as an unauthorized alien or an illegal immigrant. Illegal immigration is not a random occurrence; there are causes behind it. Unauthorized immigration is an issue because it has a negative impact on the American healthcare, economic, and educational systems. The immigration of people into the United States illegally negatively affects the livelihood of United States citizens hence a necessary call to action to prevent its steady rise and occurrence.
The illegal immigration does not just occur from nowhere but there are reasons behind it. Undocumented immigration is a problem of concern since it has dire consequences on the education, economic and the healthcare systems in the United States (Kennedy 11). The immigration of people into the United States illegally negatively affects the livelihood of United States citizens hence a necessary call to action to prevent its steady rise and occurrence.
The illegal aliens significantly affect the American healthcare system negatively
Most Illegal migrants come from countries with less developed healthcare and are characterized by endemic health problems. The influx of undocumented immigrants creates a public health risk (Gerking & John 75). Unlike legally admitted immigrants, undocumented aliens do not go through a medical screening yet most of them come from countries which have contagious diseases which have been nearly eradicated in the United States. According to Dr. Laurence Nickey, the infectious diseases which have been majorly eradicated in the United States are still evident in the borders (Gerking & John 82). Some diseases such as leprosy which was eliminated from the American societies and considered as diseases for the third world are still evident in the Mexican American border. The people who have come to the border from the interior of United States to explore business opportunities are therefore faced with the risk of contaminating such diseases since enough facilities such as medical care are not readily available. The problem is not only confined to the borders but also around the United States as immigrants have spread across the country in different sectors. The case of occurrence of Typhoid in Maryland in 1992 when a worker who was an illegal immigrant working at McDonald's transmitted the bacteria through food (Hanson & Antonio 1340). The rising number of immigrants also affects the cost of medical care. Since the illegal aliens do not go through the right process to be American citizens, they are not insured. Even those that are legally residing in the United States may be underinsured. The costs incurred in the medical care of the uninsured immigrants are charged on the taxpayers who are the American citizens hence straining the financial stability of the healthcare system. The costs of medical care for immigrants are staggering, for instance, Arizona estimates the costs to be $4 Billion a year (Hanson & Antonio 1340). It is, therefore, necessary to fix this challenge for the well-being of the US citizens as far as their health is concerned.
Illegal immigrants also pose a significant threat to the economy of United States
Due to the competition which is as a result of the influx of illegal immigrants in the workforce, the wages of the native low skilled workers have been greatly affected. According to economists, the wages of low skilled Native Americans such as high school dropouts are suppressed between 3 to 4% by the illegal immigrant workers (Gerking & John 80). The influx of illegal immigrants has also increased the costs of healthcare as well as the education system. As earlier stated, there is an influx of diseases as well as increased costs to cater for the illegal aliens who are uninsured. In reference to the education sector, more costs are encountered when dealing with children from illegal alien families since remedial assistance is necessary to improve their language skills. The economy is also strained due to the costs incurred in the detainment of the illegal immigrants. According to the data released by the Jessica Vaughan, the head of the Policy studies at the Center for Immigration notes that detention center house thousands of immigrants each day a problem that the Obama government tried to solve. The influx of undocumented aliens greatly affects per capita wealth. With such severe consequences on the economy of the nation, undocumented immigration, therefore, calls for serious action to solve the challenge.
Education as an essential sector of any country is significantly affected by the influx of undocumented immigrants. The children of the US citizens deserve the best education since they have contributed to its provision through the payment of tax (Thomas 391). Due to the increased number of children from the undocumented immigrant families schools have become crowded (Roberts 555). High population in schools gives the instructors a hard task to make sure that they deliver the curriculum goals. Immigrant students have also increased the cost of education which directly affects the taxpayers who are the American citizens. The increase in the costs is because Immigrant students require remedial for languages since English may not be their first language (Thomas 391). Teaching both native and non-native students in same classes may force instructors to slow down in their work to accommodate the non-native speakers. Such actions reduce the quality of the native education (Thomas 391). It is therefore important to address the challenge of illegal immigrants so that high-quality education is provided to the natives.
Solutions to the Problem
The problem of illegal immigrants greatly affects the United States citizens in different aspects of life. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt a specific course of actions towards solving this challenge. One of how illegal immigration can be curbed is by increasing the security in American borders. Most illegal immigrants in America today come from Mexico (Matthews et al. 35). This means that most illegal immigrants use the Mexican American border to get into the United States. Increasing security at the border will ensure that only legal immigrants enter the United States. Only a few immigrants are legal in the United States hence such an action will control the booming population of the illegal aliens. In recent years politicians have even suggested strict measures as far as United States border security is concerned (Orrenius 2). During his campaigns for the American presidency, Donald Trump also proposed the building of a tall wall at the Mexican American border noting that most illegal aliens from Mexico were the core of Americans major problems (Grunblatt 27). Despite the criticism from various corners of the country, the victory of Trump in the elections was a symbol how the citizens were agitated by this problem (Grunblatt 27). Developing a system where the work seeking immigrants can apply for biometric entry keys can also help in solving the problem of security posed by the illegal immigrants. Such an action may be so effective since it will not strain the businesses conducted by outsiders. Ideas such as those opined by Trump of erecting a wall may not be effective in solving the problem since it will also affect the commerce. Using security systems at the border where temporary work seeking personnel will apply for entry keys will not only solve the problem of illegal immigrants but will also be of benefit the economy of a country through creating a more prominent workforce.
The challenge of illegal aliens can also be solved through implementing strict laws on the same. Despite the fact that United States government has developed strict laws as afar as illegal aliens are concerned, the implementation has not been that good (Matthews et al. 36). According to the United States laws, one may be considered an illegal immigrant because of Illegal entry, Overstaying a visa and commits border crossing card violations. The laws of United States point out those crimes are punishable by law. However, people ignore such laws since they are rarely or partially implemented (Roberts 555). Developing some seriousness of convicting those that are discovered as illegal immigrants will instill fear among their peers and those who might think of entering the United States illegally.
Application of other versatile means of punishment to the violators of the immigration laws can also help solve the problem of illegal immigration. Actions such as deportation and immigrant detention are some of the ways to curb this problem (Neumann 715). Illegal migrants should be deported to their countries without negotiations who trials whatsoever. During his controversial campaigns, Trump had suggested that once in power, deportation of all people illegally living in the United States will be executed (Grunblatt 28). If such an action had been taken despite how rough it may look, the problem of illegal immigration could have been solved once and for all.
The final and one of the best ways to solve the problem of illegal migration is through legalization of the immigrants already in the United States. It is important to consider the fact that the existing immigrants are members of their communities who are peaceful ad work so hard to provide for their families (Matthews et al. 33). However, as part of the integration process, the government can subject these immigrants to fines, pay taxes and submit their background information as part of vetting. Such a step will be vital since no one will have a reason to hide hence the security of the American society will be far much better (Neumann 710). The demand for low skilled workers will be met since the immigrants will not be worried about workplace searches anymore.
In conclusion, illegal immigration has become an issue of heated discussion in the recent days. This fact was evident during the United States presidential campaigns where one of the main contenders, Donald Trump made controversial statements on the issue. The course of actions suggested by Trump led to heated discussions all over the world. The problem is a major challenge since it negatively affects the sectors of health and Education as well as negatively impacting the United States economy. However, if the sober course of actions is adopted, this challenge can be addressed. Some of the solutions to this challenge include tightening security in the American borders, implementing strict laws on immigration, adopting measures such as the deportation of illegal immigrants as well as immigrant detentions and legalizing the already existing immigrants. Such steps will help in the process of solving the challenge of illegal immigration which has been a significant concern to past Americans in the past years.
Works Cited
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