The Problems of Illegal Immigration

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Engraved in the Statue of Liberty are these words: “Give me your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door”(Cooper). When the United States was created, it encouraged people of all backgrounds to immigrate. America is known as “a land of hope and opportunity”. Today, immigrating legally to the United States is a life experience that few are fortunate to experience. Many are forced to immigrate illegally. The United States has created many precautions to stop people from immigrating to the United States, but thousands of people still continue to move to the US illegally. As a result, millions of dollars are spent from tax payers’ money on illegal immigrants. While illegal immigration is beneficial to the United States, it comes with costs and therefore has become an issue that has grown out of control.

The amount of illegal residents that now reside in the United States has grown rapidly over the last few years. Two million illegal immigrants have entered the United States since 2000 and there are a reported 10 million illegal immigrants living in the United States today. There are those who believe that illegals are a burden to the United States’ society. Many believe that illegal immigrants take necessary tax payers’ money. “Illegal immigration costs U.S. taxpayers about $113 billion a year at the federal, state and local level. The bulk of the costs — some $84 billion — are absorbed by state and local governments.”(Fiscal Burden). Legal US citizens are angered that people come to the United States and “leech off” of the economy without paying taxes.

In opposition is the belief that illegal immigrants are not only beneficial to the United States, but necessary. “Contrary to most popular conceptions, most experts say illegals are probably not a net drain on the economy” (Nadadur). In fact, illegals do more good than otherwise known. As well, illegal immigrants continue to keep the economy running by working at a minimum wage and doing a majority of the work that otherwise would not want to be done. Immigrating illegally is a risk of a person’s life, but, at times, retreating to the United States is sometimes a last option In turn, if we did not have illegal immigrants working in the US, the United States might not be as accomplished as it is today.

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