From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Illegal immigration refers to the migration of people across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destined country.
Illegal immigration is overwhelmingly upward, from a poorer to a richer country, and one measurable factor is the ‘push-pull’ incentive - the quality of life in the host country against the home country. But it is also noted that illegal immigrants tend not to be the poorest within their populations.
There are currently approximately 11.1 million illegal immigrants in the United States [1]
Causes
Push/Pull Factors
Illegal immigration occurs principally from countries with lower socio-economic circumstances to countries with higher socio-economic circumstances, where people are perceived to have greater economic opportunities and quality of life.[2]
When potential immigrants believe the probability and benefits of successfully migrating to the destination country are greater than the costs, illegal immigration becomes an option. The benefits taken into account include not only expected improvements in income and living conditions, but also expectations in relation to potential future residential permits,[3] where illegal immigrants are given a path to naturalization or citizenship.[4] The costs may include restrictions on living as an illegal immigrant in the destination country, leaving family and ways of life behind, and the probability of being detained and resulting sanctions.[5]
Terminology[edit source | editbeta]
Advocates of unrestricted or less restricted immigration policy prefer to use the term "undocumented immigrant" instead of "illegal immigrant" to refer to persons who stay in a country illegally. Likewise, those advocates and some others dislike the term "illegal alien," although the term "alien" is defined in the United States Immigration and Nationality Act. [6]
Economic models of illegal immigration[edit source | editbeta]