The subject of illegal immigration has been an on-going struggle in the United States for many years. It’s a fierce debate between political ideologies that continues today. When one thinks of the debate over illegal immigration, it’s easy to hear one voice; Donald Trump, our President. Many Americans do not agree with his choice of actions he has proposed and taken to stop illegal immigration. Mr. Trump is not the first United States President to propose efforts to stop illegal immigration, but he is certainly the first to take serious aggressive steps to address the issue.
We believe that there should be no exceptions that would allow persons to illegally migrate into the United States. The safety of our citizens and the security of our great nation should be first and foremost in our minds.
- Alien- An individual who is not a U.S. citizen or U.S. National
- U.S. National- An individual who owes his sole allegiance to the United States, including all U.S. citizens, and including some individuals who are not U.S. citizens.
- U.S. Citizen-
a. An individual born in the United States
b. An individual whose parent is a U.S. Citizen
c. A former alien who has been naturalized as a U.S. Citizen
d. An individual born in Puerto Rico
e. An individual born in Guam
f. An individual born in the U.S. Virgin Islands - Immigrant- An alien who has been granted the right by the USCIS to reside permanently in the United States and to work without restrictions in the United States. Also known as a lawful permanent resident.
- Nonimmigrant- An alien who has been granted the right to reside temporarily in the United States.
- Undocumented Alien- An alien who entered the United States illegally without the proper authorization and documents, or who entered the United States legally and has since violated the terms of his or her visa or overstayed the time limit.
The threat of terrorism, Criminal activity and Illegal Drug Smuggling is a major concern when it comes to illegal immigration into the United States. One act of terrorism that will never be forgotten is the terror attacks of 9/11. We’re sure many of you remember where you were and what you were doing when the horrific act happened. The attacks of 9/11 were not only attacks on buildings and the deaths of thousands but also an attack on our safety and the feel of being safe in our own Country.
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On September 11, 2001, four flights had been reported hijacked by flight attendants aboard the flights. Three of those four flights crashed into the Twin Towers and Pentagon.
An article called: 9/11 as a symbol of Terror: Responses and Actions, talks about the tragic attacks that left us breathless and at a loss for words. The authors, Mahmood and Majod discuss the fatalities that were associated with these crashes. “This incident resulted in the killing of nearly 3,000 people on American soil.” Mahmood. While the exact number is unknown and probably will always be unknown, Majod says the memorial of 9/11 attacks named “2,982 women, men ,and children.” I wonder how many of these lives could have been spared if we had vetted and followed up on the illegal immigrants that were in our Country.
In the last decade since the attacks, the U.S. immigration law and policy have changed. One major change of our policies included heightened security of those who are seeking asylum in our Country. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 that was done by illegals hijacking US planes in our country, the Department of Justice and congress have since made changes to our policies.
For an example, the Department of Justice issued a regulation regarding the detention of noncitizens for 48 hours or longer in the event of an emergency or any other circumstances that give rise of concern without giving any charges to the individuals. (Custody Procedures, 66 Fed. Reg. 48331 (Sept. 20, 2001). In an article written by the Office of the Inspector General called The September 22 Detainees: A Review of the Treatment of Aliens Held on Immigration Charges in Connection with the Investigation of the September 11 Attacks, had listed that, “they had detained 762 noncitizens with majority having been arrested under suspicion of having ties to the 9/11 acts.” (The September 22, n.d.) That was 762 noncitizens!
This is one major reason to ensure that the only immigrants that are in the U.S. are those that come here legally and can go through the extensive background checks to ensure that this NEVER happens again.
Since one of the requirements of legal entry into the United States is a health screening to ensure that no infectious diseases could potentially make a comeback, when illegal enter the country, there is no such screening and as a consequence, the United States has had an increase in diseases such as Tuberculosis, Aids, Leprosy, Malaria and Hepatitis.
In the Article, it talks about section 12 of the Immigration and Nationality Act which states, “ That admission was to be denied to immigrants infected with certain diseases especially those that were contagious such as Tuberculosis, Leprosy and mental illness.” (Price, P. 2015)
In his article, Price talks about the re-introduction of various diseases that were brought in to the U.S. by illegals that were not first medical examined.
“The White House formed a committee led by Al Gore-Committee on International Science, Engineering and Technology (CISET) which confirmed that indeed HIV/AIDS, other infectious and drug resistant TB had been introduced into the Country.” (Price 2015)
In the 1990’s, this was a major crisis concern as Price Points out in his article.
“The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in 1993 was able to link TB to immigration, with the highest infection rate being in California with 61% of the infected not being natives. By 1995 the numerical growth of those infected by TB rose by 55% between 1986 to 1995as the number if illegal immigrants increased in the country. In 2000 the CDC stated that majority of those infected were from the Philippines. Along the U.S. Mexican border, investigations revealed that out of 17,651 illegal immigrants apprehended at the border in 1999 in Texas about 49% of them had the TB bacteria. Furthermore, sixteen percent of immigrants from the Hispanic region had acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) infections.” (Price 2015)
If we are screening those who come into our country legally, why are we allowing illegal aliens to come in and roam free while potentially infecting our citizens especially our younger ones who have not been fully vaccinated?
Aside from the concerns of terrorism and disease, another major problem with illegal immigration is the concern of more drugs entering the U.S. In an Academic Journal called: Crossed Up at the Border, it is stated that in 1994, during a time that both legal and illegal immigration soared in the U.S., that Mexico became the source of 70-80% of the cocaine and marijuana that enter into the United States. (Virginia, 1998)
The correlation between both immigration and drug trafficking is high. The trade of illegal drugs is at an all-time high. The United States is one of the most lucrative markets for international drug traffickers. “Many diverse groups traffic and dispense illegal drugs in the United States. Criminal gangs operating in South America smuggle thousands of pounds of cocaine and heroin into the United States via a variety of entry points, including land routes through Mexico, offshore routes along Mexico’s east and west coasts, open-sea routes through the Caribbean Islands, and air routes” (Virginia 1998)
The Supreme Court case of Moncrieffe v. Holder, states: Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a noncitizen con¬victed of an “aggravated felony” is not only deportable, 8 U. S. C.§1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), but also ineligible for discretionary relief.” (Moncrieffe v. Holder, 2013) While this specific case held that small amounts meant for recreational use was not to fall under this category but that if the amounts are quantities of that with intention to sell or distribute fell under these guidelines.
Unfortunately, the goal of the Mexican cartels is on a much larger scale of distribution then for recreational use. In the article, Grillo states that “Selling in the United States for over one hundred dollars a gram, cocaine transformed Latin American Smugglers from Millionaires to billionaires.” (Grillo, 2013)
In his article, Grillo says that:
“In the United States, the solution could also mean a radical rethinking of drug policy to stop billions more dollars of drug money from falling into the hands of cartels and paying for more guns, hit men, and corruption in the decades to come.
Drug policy reform, which may mean the legalization of soft drugs such as marijuana and more focus on treatment rather than punishment of users of harder drugs such as heroin, will not make Mexico’s cartels completely disappear. As described earlier, they have also diversified to other heinous criminal activities from extortion to kidnapping. But U.S. drug policy reform could weaken cartels decisively so they will no longer overwhelm Mexican security forces. Instead of being a national security problem for Mexico like they are today, they could become a criminal problem, as the mafia and such groups are in the United States.” (Grillo, 2013)
Obviously there is a huge issue that started over a decade ago and has continued and only increased in its vigorous take over in the United States. By eliminating the amount of illegals here in the United States, we could start to control the issue of drugs entering and being distributed in the U.S.
From the threat of terrorism, disease and illegal drug smuggling, to the cost that illegal immigration adds to the American tax payers, to the sole fact that illegal immigration is just that, illegal; we’ve shown just why we should be concerned with and begin to eliminate the increase of illegal immigration into the U.S. As we’ve shown above, the impacts of illegal immigration are negative and harmful to the U.S. Allowing our citizens to feel safe in their own Country should be the first priority over illegal immigrants. If we condone illegal immigration by offering legal status to everyone who has come here illegally, we will forever be faced with this issue, we will be seen as a weak Country that can easily be overtaken and our safety and values will fall by the sidelines once again.
When we have far more immigrants here illegally then legally, we have a major problem, something has got to change and starting with eliminating illegal immigration into the United States is the best place to start.
