The Costs Versus the Benefits of Illegal Immigration Essays

The Costs Versus the Benefits of Illegal Immigration Essays The Costs Versus the Benefits of Illegal Immigration Paper The Costs Versus the Benefits of Illegal Immigration Paper The Cost versus the Benefits of Illegal Immigration Every year thousands of people choose to leave their home country and come to the United States to start a new life. They dream of freedom and endless possibilities that they would never have in their home countries. Unfortunately, there are those who chose to disregard the law and come to this country illegally. It is estimated that there are 20 million illegal immigrants in the U. S. today. Illegal immigration affects our country in many ways. The cost of illegal immigration effects many aspects of our economy. One way in which our economy is affected is when an illegal immigrant is injured or sick and must go to the hospital. They often do not have the money to pay the bill, and the hospitals do not have a way to bill the patient as they are here illegally and either move often or give false information. The hospitals cannot refuse treatment, so this means that we, the taxpayers, must take on the burden of paying for those costs. Another affect illegal immigration has on our economy is the fact that migrant workers will work for less than minimum wage. This makes fewer jobs available for legal entry level citizens, which puts a huge strain on our economy. There is also the issue of securing our borders to keep illegal immigrants out. One of the newest resolutions to this issue is building a fence, which will cost a lot of money to build, maintain and defend. Another cost of illegal immigration is the cost of innocent American lives taken by illegal immigrants who drive without insurance or a license, and those affected by the gangs that have come out of Mexico, such as the Mexican Mafia and MS-13. One might ask, â€Å"Are there any benefits to illegal immigration? † Well, it depends on who you talk to. According to some groups, there are some pros to illegal immigration. Some think that it helps to keep the economy moving by filling low-wage jobs that many Americans do not want; it creates a bigger pool of customers for a variety of goods and services; farmers are able to plant and harvest their crops less expensively; millions of illegal’s rent properties in depressed areas where renters are hard to find. There are also those who say that illegal’s contribute to social security funds, which often go unclaimed; contribute to mortgage loan profits, open bank accounts that yield interest and dividends to bankers and purchase real estate and generate commissions for agents and brokers. (Garibaldi) In general, illegal immigrants coming from Mexico, South and Central America are trying to make money and help support their families here and abroad. Many of them are fleeing oppression, unemployment and poverty. Again, it truly depends on who you talk to in order to find any benefits to illegal immigration. From what I have been able to find, there are very few sources that include benefits of illegal immigration to the United States. There are, however, many benefits of illegal immigration for Mexico. Unfortunately, that does not do the U. S. any good. It seems to me that the negative effects far outweigh the positive effects. Many studies have been done which document the fact that illegal immigrants are a major burden on local communities. FAIR estimates that current local annual costs of illegal immigration for educating the children in public schools and providing medical services in emergency rooms and prisons amounts to approximately $36 billion. It is estimated that the yearly fiscal costs in 2010 will increase by nearly 70% to $61. 5 billion for those same program areas, and by an additional 73% by 2020. Studies done in 2004 and 2005 examining the fiscal costs of illegal immigration in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida show that the annual net costs were $8. 8 billion ($1,183 per household), $1. 3 billion ($717 per household), $3. 73 billion ($725 per household), and $. 91 billion ($315 per household) respectively. (Fairus. org) FAIR claims that illegal immigration is a key factor influencing the number of people without healthcare in the U. S. and the reason for the fiscal crisis burdening public healthcare systems. (Immigration issues) A recent study claims that one in every four people in the United State s is an immigrant. Nearly half of the immigrants living in the U. S. either have no insurance or it is provided to them at the taxpayers’ expense. As much as two-thirds of operating costs for some hospitals are for uncompensated care for sick or injured illegal aliens. This increase in uncompensated care has forces some hospitals to reduce staff, increase rates, eliminate services and shut down certain areas such as maternity wards and trauma centers. In the last ten years, legal and illegal immigrants and their children who arrived in the U. S. between 1994 and 1998 account for 59% of the growth of the uninsured population. In California, legislators are debating a government fix for the California health care market. Largely because of government policies, regulations and mandates, the cost of hiring a legal employee in California far exceeds the cost of hiring the same employees in Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and Washington. The tax burden on California businesses far exceeds the burdens on businesses in those same states, and despite its abundant energy resources, California pays more for energy than any other state except Hawaii. So how can businesses survive in this kind of environment? Some move out of state, while others choose a different route. Some pay employees under the table, some hire illegal aliens and participate in an underground economy. Theses underground economies, or black markets, exist in response to avoid government costs and regulations. These underground economies are not fair to legitimate business people and can have many bad side effects, such as the cost illegal immigration inflicts on the public education system, hospital emergency rooms and prisons. (Healthcare Reform and Illegal Immigration) The net annual cost of immigration has been estimated at between $67 and $87 billion a year. The National Academy of Sciences found that the net fiscal drain on American taxpayers is between $166 and $226 a year per native household. Economic Costs) Many issues arise when a company, large or small chooses to hire an illegal immigrant over an American citizen. In the end, nobody truly benefits. For awhile, the company may benefit because their operating costs will be lower. However, when they are eventually caught, the resulting fines and the loss of business due to being shut down will quickly overturn the amount s aved by hiring the illegal. This also has a negative effect on the American citizen who now must rely on welfare because the illegal immigrant took the only job available. More and more people have to rely on welfare which puts even more of a burden on all taxpayers. Between 40 and 50 percent of wage-loss among low-skilled Americans is due to the in-migration of low-skilled workers. Many American workers lose their jobs through unfair competition. An estimated 1,880,000 American workers are displaced from their jobs every year by immigration and the cost for providing welfare and assistance to these Americans is over $15 billion a year FAIR research. (Economic Costs) Many wonder if a border fence is a good solution to keeping illegal immigrants out of the U. S. It has been the topic of many debates around the country. There are many people on both sides of the issue. According to many north and south of the fence, it is working. Since about only one fifth of the fence is complete, those who planned to cross where the fence is now can simply go elsewhere. U. S. officials have vowed to complete nearly 400 of the 700 miles of the fence by the end of 2008. The big question is how much this the fence going to cost? The House Appropriations Committee estimates that the fence will cost around $9 million per mile, for a total cost of approximately $6. billion. However, the House Homeland Security committee estimates that the fence will cost about $2 to $4 billion. Some say the fence could cost upwards of $50 billion to build. There is also the issue of maintaining the fence. It is estimated that maintaining the fence could cost nearly $70 million per mile over its 25 year life span. Will the benefits of the fence outweigh the costs associated wi th building the fence? It all depends on who you ask. Some say the fence is pointless if it does not cut deep enough into the ground since the discovery of more and more tunnels linking the U. S. and Mexico. Some critics joke that if the fence is 10 feet tall, illegal immigrants would find shovels that are 11 feet tall. Others feel that we have to do whatever it takes to protect our borders and keep illegal immigrants out. It is not a violation of the law to leave the scene of an accident in Mexico as it is in the United States. It should not be surprising that Mexicans driving in the U. S. , especially those here illegally and driving without a license or insurance are more likely to flee from the scene of a car accident than a U. S. driver. (Fairus. rg) There are ten states that do not require ‘lawful proof of presence’ for an applicant to obtain a drivers license. In these ten states, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin, 14. 4% of traffic fatalities are caused be non licensed drivers, compared to the national average of 13. 6%. The top ten states containing the highest population of illegal immigrants are California, Texas, New York, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey and Colorado. In these states, 14. 6% of fatalities from car accidents are caused by unlicensed drivers. The percentage of hit-and-run drivers is higher in these states as well. Some say that illegal immigration is a ‘victimless crime’. Consider this: Over 25% of today’s prison population consists of illegal aliens. Violent crime and drug possession and distribution are prevalent among illegal immigrants. In Los Angeles, 95% of about 1500 outstanding warrants for homicides are for illegal aliens. About 67% of the 17,000 outstanding fugitive felony warrants are for illegal aliens. There are currently over 400,000 unaccounted for illegal alien criminals with outstanding deportation orders, of which at least 25% are hard core criminals. There are 80,000 to 100,000 illegal’s who have been convicted of serious crimes that are walking the streets. Some studies say they will commit on average 13 serious crimes per offender. At least 4. 5 million pounds of cocaine is smuggled across the southern border every year. Illegal immigrants commit anywhere from 700,000 to 1,289,000 or more crimes in a given year. Approximately 2,158 murders are committed by illegal immigrants each year. Illegal sexual predators commit an estimated 130,900 sex crimes every year. There are approximately 240,000 illegal sex offenders throughout the United States, who will commit an average of 8 sex crimes before being caught. Nearly 63% of these sex offenders have been deported on another offense prior to committing the sex crime. Only 2% of illegal sex offenders had no history of criminal behavior. Though nobody knows just how big, the sex slave problem is enormous. The horribly brutal gang MS-13 has over 15,000 members and is in at least 33 states. Given these facts, how could illegal immigration possibly be considered a ‘victimless crime’? (usillegalaliens. om) It would take a much longer than this paper allows to cover all of the possible costs of illegal immigration. From what I could find, the costs far outweigh the benefits of this issue. Illegal immigration cannot be ignored- something must be done. It is not fair to the immigrants who chose to follow the law and come to this country legally so that they may become true American citizens a nd live â€Å"The American Dream. † Without immigrants, the United States of America would not be what it is today. We are all from somewhere else, and while the laws were different when many of our ancestors came here, the law is the law and must be followed. Today’s lawmakers are on their way to funding a solution. The fence is a good place to start. That cannot work without extensive immigration reform. There cannot be sanctuary cities. If someone wants to come to this country to make a better life for themselves and their families, they must follow the law, become legal citizens, learn about our country and learn to speak English. Illegal immigration is a crime and is not acceptable. The United States and it’s citizens simply cannot afford it. Economic Costs. The American Resistance. 6 April 2008 theamericanresistance. om/issues/economic_costs. html. Editorials. 12 July 2007. MySanAntonio. com. 6 April 2008 mysanantonio. com/opinion/editorials/stories/MYSA071307. 01O. tunnel1ed. 27514e8. html. Fairus. org. 6 April 2008 fairus. org/. Garibaldi, Mario. 8 MAY 2006. Searchwarp. com. 6 April 2008 http://searchwarp. com/swa61485. htm. Healthcare Reform and Illegal Immigration. 14 June 2007. Ventura County Republican Part y. 6 April 2008 vcrcc. org/press/index. cfm/ID/131. htm. Immigration issues. 2008. About. com. 6 April 2008 http://immigration. about. om/cs/economicslabor/i/ImmHealthCCosts_2. htm. Priestap, Kim. Dont Tell the Pro-Illegal Immigration Crowd: The Border Fence is Working. 5 November 2007. Wizbangblog. com. 6 April 2008 http://wizbangblog. com/content/2007/11/05/dont-tell-the-proillegal-immigration-crowd-the-border-fence-is-working. php. usillegalaliens. com. 6 April 2008 usillegalaliens. com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_crime_summary. html. Viqueira, Mike. First Read- The cost of that border dence. 26 October 2006. MSNBC. MSN. COM. 6 April 2008 http://firstread. msnbc. msn. com/archive/2006/10/26/8879. aspx.