Illegal Immigration the United States Term Paper

One potential resolution is a dual action step of tightening border control combined with reforming the process of becoming a citizen to allow easier access for immigrants to enter into the nation legally, rather than illegally. Tightening control of the nation's borders is crucial in the development of a more lenient immigrant processing solution. With "the major source of illegal immigration from illegal border crossings, and most of these immigrants are from Mexico," (Meese & Spaulding, 2006), the United States must curb this blatant illegal method of entering into the United States. With this risk minimized, it allows government officials to craft more available immigration procedures which would allow more immigrants to enter into the country legally. Leaving our borders wide open presents a dangerous threat to all citizens around the nation, "Secure borders, especially in a time of terrorist threat, are crucial to American national security," (Meese & Spaulding, 2004). Current potential legislation is looking to grant 9 to 10 million illegals amnesty, (CIRA, S. 2611). Since this mind set is already in planning, reforming the path to citizenship will encourage other potential immigrants to take the legal route to residing within the United States.

This evokes the other major problem, that of "the other source of illegal immigration from those individuals who stay in the United States after their non-immigrant visas expire," (Meese & Spaulding, 2004). Although providing a simpler and more reliable path to citizenship, current liberal legislation in planning stages could further drain the already strained economy. Federal reserves may also be strained with paying for this reform, as well as the accompanying stringer border enforcement. Although this would create more available jobs, it would also prove a costly task on the behalf of the government. Previous experiences with granting amnesty also show a large percentage of residents who commit fraud in order to receive that amnesty. In 1986, with the passing of the Hagel-Martinez bill, came a reported 2.6 fraudulent cases, (Camarota, 2006).

References

Camarota, Steven a. (2006). Amnesty under Hagel-Martinez: an estimate of how many will legalize if S. 2611 becomes law. Center for Immigration Studies. 19 June 2008. http://www.cis.org/articles/2006/back606.html

FAIR. (2003). Illegal Immigration is a crime. Federation for American Immigration

Reform. 18 June 2008. http://www.americanpatrol.com/REFERENCE/isacrime.html

Kennedy, John F. (1964). A nation of immigrants. Row Publishers.

Meese, Edward III & Spaulding, Matthew. (2004) the principles of immigration. 19

October 2004. The Heritage Foundation. 20 June 2008. http://www.heritage.org/Research/GovernmentReform/bg1807.cfm

Meese, Edward III & Spaulding, Matthew. (2006). Permanent principles and temporary workers. 1 March 2006. The Heritage Foundation. 18 June 2008. http://www.heritage.org/Research/GovernmentReform/bg1911.cfm

Rector, Robert. (2006). Amnesty and continued low skill immigration will substantially raise welfare costs and poverty. 12 May 2006. The Heritage Foundation. 18 June 2008. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Immigration/bg1936.cfm

U.S. Immigration. (2006). Costs of…