The Effects of Illegal Immigration For centuries people have come across the United States borders from foreign countries hoping for a better life, a life that is free from unruly dictators and poverty for them and their families. They wanted to live in the land of opportunity so that they can make something of themselves; this is why we have some of the major problems with illegal immigration. Arizona, California, and Texas border the United States to Mexico; these states are where we have the majority of illegal immigration.
Illegal immigration is the migration of foreign citizens into a country in circumstances where such people do not meet the legal requirements for migrating into that country. When someone enters a country illegally without the proper visa or other certifications, that is, when they are violating the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. “An average of 10,000 illegal aliens cross the border everyday – over 3 million per year. A third will be caught and many of them immediately will try again. About half of those remaining will become permanent U.S. residents (3,500 a day)” (CAIRCO Para. 2)
Illegal immigration affects taxpayers in Arizona alone vastly. In 2009 researchers at FAIR- the Federation for American Immigration Reform, stated that Arizona’s illegal immigrant population was costing the state over $2.7 billion every year. Arizona is one of the country’s most economically poor states; we have the highest population of people on unemployment. “Between 40 and 50 percent of wage loss among low-skilled Americans is due to the immigration of low –skilled workers. Some native workers lose not just wages but their jobs through immigrant competition. An estimated 1,880,000 American workers are displaced from their jobs every year by immigration.” (FAIR)
80 percent of cocaine and 50 percent of heroine in the United States is smuggled transversely through the margin by Mexican nationals. “Drug cartels
References: Huddle, Donald (October 1996).The Net costs of Immigration. Rice University Sustainable Development: The New American Dream. Roper/Starch, March 1996. Measuring the Fallout: The Cost of the IRCA Amnesty after 10 Years, Center for Immigrant Studies, May 1997. Gallaway, Lowell Ohio University Economist, USA Today, February 28, 1997 Haya El Nasser, “Schools Forced to Roam in Search of More Room.” USA Today August 18, 2000. Guzzardi, Joe. Illegal Aliens: The Health Cost Dimension. January 25, 2003 DeWeese, Tom. The Outrages of the Mexican Invasion, American Policy Center. February 23, 2007. www.fairus.org www.cis.org www.cairco.org