Illegal Immigration Issues

In the United States, immigration policy decisions are capable of gaining or costing this country trillions of dollars. Political choices now could change the future of millions of lives. Choices opposing immigration could cost the U. S. countless jobs, including those of native U. S. citizens and naturalized immigrants. Consider how Texas, Connecticut, Florida, and North Dakota handle this controversial issue. First, consider how Texas, a state on the Mexico-U. S. order, deals with immigration issues. It is estimated that 1. 7 million unauthorized immigrants reside in the state of Texas. (CNN, 2010) The state is currently considering new laws to require all immigrants to have proof of citizenship on their person at all times. This would also allow law enforcement officers to arrest anyone appearing to be from another country (racial profiling) who do not carry citizenship papers with them. (The Huffington Post, 2010) Judging from local comments on the NBC Dallas-Fort Worth political news page, the overall view from citizens and politicians alike seems to be against immigration. NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, 2010) Now consider the immigration laws in Connecticut. In the city of New Haven, beginning in 2007, illegal immigrants were able to obtain ID cards from the local government. New Haven Illegal Immigration Issues 2 was the first United States city to offer this. (US Immigraton Support)Also in 2007, Connecticut became the eleventh state to offer illegal immigrants that graduate from high school eligibility to pay the in-state resident tuition to attend any of the state’s public colleges. Medina, 2007) This shows that the government in Connecticut seems to be fairly tolerant of illegal immigration and may be inclined to vote for immigration reform in support of increased immigration and naturalization. Next, look at immigration policies in Florida. Due to its proximity to the Caribbean and other Atlantic islands large numbers of immigrants, both legal and illegal, reside in the state. In late 2010 the Florida government proposed a law requiring law enforcement to check for valid citizenship on anyone thought to be an unauthorized immigrant when stopped for violation of another law. Liston, 2010) This shows that Florida’s government is becoming less passive on how it treats illegal immigration issues. Now, consider immigration in North Dakota. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services estimates that there are fewer than 2,500 illegal immigrants in the state. (StateMaster. com)North Dakota, therefore, may have a more open viewpoint on the subject. When making decisions on immigration, politicians should take into consideration how their decisions affect people’s lives. If large scale raids occur it can cause psychological trauma to the families of those arrested and deported.

Notice what one author has to say on the matter: Raids inevitably affect kids… Most of these kids are U. S. citizens and most are 10 and under. After a large-scale raid, community members scramble to find and rearrange care for the children… Some immigrant families hid in their homes and basements for Illegal Immigration Issues 3 days or weeks following the raids because they were afraid…[These] experiences induce emotional and psychological problems, and behavioral changes like changing sleep patterns, loss of appetite, and more aggressive behaviors.

In the most serious cases, they experience depression, separation anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts. (Casteneda, 2007) Another thing politicians should consider when voting upon immigration laws is the economy. According to the American Immigration Council if unauthorized immigrants were legalized it could result in the US Gross Domestic Product to increase by at least . 84 percent. This would also increasethe number of jobs available in the US. Mass deportation of illegal immigrants could result in the United States Gross Domestic Product being reduced by 1. 6 percent. Over ten years this would amount to a loss of $2. 6 trillion. The Center for American Progress estimates that over a five year timep the total cost of mass deportation would amount to $206 – 230 billion. (Immigration Policy Center and Center for American Progress, 2010) These choices also affect the workforce. If all immigrant dairy workers in the United States were removed, the U. S. economic output would be reduced by $22 billion, and 133,000 workers would lose their jobs, including legalized and native-born citizens. National Milk Producers Federation, 2009) It is evident that choices made within the next few years can shape the United States population, economy, and culture. If this key issue is not handled properly it could cost trillions of dollars, plunging the United States even deeper into debt. If politicians put aside their xenophobic, prejudice views and overly partisan stances and work together, this country could be Illegal Immigration Issues 4 pulled out of this deep recession and could become a strong, economically powerful force for peace.

References

1. Casteneda, R. (2007, December 6). Five Questions for Rosa Castaneda. Retrieved from http://www. urban. org/toolkit/fivequestions/RCastaneda. cfm CNN. (2010, February 10). Fewer unauthorized immigrants in U. S. in 2009, government says. News, Retrieved February 6, 2011, from http://articles. cnn. com/2010-0210/us/illegal. immigrants_1_unauthorized-population-unauthorized-immigrants-pewhipic-center-report? _s=PM:US
2. Liston, B. (2010, August 11). Florida AG proposes tougher illegal immigrant curbs. Reuters. Orlando. Retrieved from http://www. euters. com/article/2010/08/11/us-usa-immigrationflorida-idUSTRE67A2XS20100811
3. Medina, J. (2007, June 2). Bill to Reduce Tuition for Illegal Immigrants Passes in Connecticut. The New York Times. New York. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2007/06/02/nyregion/02conn. html? _r=1
4. National Milk Producers Federation. (2009). THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF IMMIGRATION ON U. S. DAIRY FARMS (Survey). Retrieved from http://www. nmpf. org/files/file/NMPF%20Immigration%20Survey%20Web. pdf
5. NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. (2010, April 28). Texas Rep Wants to Import AZ Immigration Law. NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. News, . Retrieved February 6, 2011, from http://www. nbcdfw. com/news/politics/Rep-Wants-AZ-Immigration-Law-in-Texas92305354. html
6. StateMaster. com. (n. d. ). Estimated number of Illegal Immigrants (most recent) by state. StateMaster. com. Retrieved February 6, 2011, from Illegal Immigration Issues 6 http://www. statemaster. com/graph/peo_est_num_of_ill_imm-people-estimated-numberillegal-immigrants#source The Huffington Post. (2010, November 10). Texas Immigration Law Under Proposal Would Resemble Arizona? s Hard-Line Approach. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2010/11/10/texas-immigration-law-wou_n_780933. html
7. US Immigraton Support. (n. d. ). Immigration to Connecticut. US Immigraton Support. Retrieved February 6, 2011, from http://www. usimmigrationsupport. org/connecticut. html
8. Marcus Hallett Digitally signed by Marcus Hallett DN: CN = Marcus Hallett, OU = Comodo Trust Network