Persuasive Essay On Illegal Immigration

When this country was founded, it was to be a land of freedom, a land of opportunity, and most importantly, a land of “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”, as said in the Declaration of Independence. What happened? Since the founding of this country people from across the world have immigrated to the United States. As of 2006, the United States accepts more legal immigrants as permanent residents than all other countries in the world combined. So where is the problem you may ask? The problem is that immigrants coming to America are doing so illegally, whether by jumping the US-Mexico border and sneaking past authorities, or Overstaying a visa. These immigrants want what everyone else here wants: to be successful and lead a decent life, something they might not be able to do in their current country. The final question this raises is should we allow them to be a part of American society, or more specifically, should we let them have a free public education like the rest of us?
Yes, Illegal immigrants and their children should be allowed a free public education. In the Declaration of Independence, it claims that everyone has “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This
means that even those who came to the United States illegally have just as much right as the rest of us to have a free public education. Giving immigrants and education would benefit them personally in the long run. To many immigrants, the “pursuit of Happiness” means having enough money for a decent living. To get money, one needs a job, and today, most well-paying jobs require at least a high school education. Also, by educating immigrants about how today’s political system works, we can help them form valid political opinions so that they can have input in political conversations and even vote according to how they will benefit personally, if they get the chance. By educating these illegal immigrants, they are given chance to live fuller lives and possibly be very successful and well informed.
Besides benefitting Illegal immigrants personally, it also benefits them and the people around them socially. By putting these mainly Spanish-speaking immigrants into an English-speaking school, they are given a chance to utilize what they learn in ESOL class outside of that class. They can talk to people and start learning how to form sentences and learn to carry on conversations. This is a huge benefit because so much of this country uses English that it is essential to learn it. Another benefit that somewhat branches off the first is that, by using their English skills to communicate with new and different people, they could very well make friends and bonds that last a lifetime. School is probably the biggest contributor to making friends. Seeing them and spending years with them helps build a bond that could very well last forever. Every child needs these bonds, even if they are not legally registered as an American.
Lastly, the most important benefit of allowing illegal immigrants and their children a free public education can be summed up in two words: the future. Most people’s life plan involves getting into a good college, getting a well-paying job, etcetera, etcetera. And as Americans, it is our duty to do everything in our power to make sure that the people of this country get a good enough education so that they can be happy with their lives, regardless of their legality in this country. These last two aspects intertwine. Colleges today have increased their standards for acceptance nationwide. How can we expect illegal immigrants to get into a good college if they don’t get a strong elementary education first? And how can we expect them to pay for their college tuition if they can’t land a decent job? We can’t. In order to get a well-paying job, one needs a good education. In order to get a good education, one needs a well-paying job. Both of these things depend on giving illegal immigrants free education.
No, Illegal immigrants and their children should not be allowed a free public education.
There is a reason why they are called illegal immigrants. It literally means that they are not U.S. citizens. They are people that came to America, either by crossing the border or overstaying their visa, and have no real push or pull in society. First of all, being illegal, they have almost no rights. Considering this, if they get into any trouble with the law, they can be deported immediately. An illegal immigrant that could be taken out of the country at any time should not be allowed to take up the space of someone who is well rooted in society and has no risk of leaving spontaneously.
Secondly,
Besides the fact that they are not U.S. citizens, illegal immigrants also have a huge economic effect. For one thing, it costs way too much to pay for an illegal immigrant in public schools. According to research, “Excluding the additional costs for subsidized school feeding programs, the average cost of educating children, including the children of illegal aliens, in the nation's public schools is about $7,524 per child per year. For a K-12 education, that is almost $100,000 per child.” Considering our national deficit, America does not have the money in its budget to pay this much for someone who doesn’t legally belong to this country. Second, and probably one of the biggest concerns, illegal immigrants do not pay taxes. Essentially under the radar, an illegal immigrant that does not work for the government but rather a local business could avoid the government completely. Part of taxes goes to our public schools and their teachers. So why give illegal immigrants a public education if they don’t help pay for those giving it?
Lastly, illegal immigrants bring with them certain dangers. One major danger that illegal immigrants bring are gangs to the areas they move to. Not all, but many Latino youths become part of a gang to feel more accepted. However, many of these gangs promote violence within them as well as harm to others or vandalism of property. The last thing the schools trying to give these certain people an education is to have defaced property or damaged or stolen equipment. This leads to my next point that illegal immigration leads to increased amounts of crime. According to a recent poll by CBS, 78% believe that illegal immigration does increase the amount of crime. If this were to be true, we would be putting thousands of children in danger by letting violent people into our public schools. It becomes a time bomb waiting to explode. It is better to take precautions and not let illegal immigrants into our public school system.