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Illegal Immigration Research Paper

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Illegal Immigration Research Paper
Immigration in the United States is now becoming a larger problem than it once used to be. Currently roughly 8 million people are living in the U.S. without legal papers and each year approximately 200,000 illegal immigrants successfully cross the border. More than half of the illegal aliens are of Mexican origin. An illegal immigrant is a foreigner who has either illegally crossed an international political border, be it by land, water, or air, or a foreigner who has entered a country legally but then outstays his/her visa. In the United States at least, illegal immigrants traditionally have entered the country in search of wages higher than those achievable in their home countries. It is said that, “demand for low-skilled labor continues …show more content…
Despite the stated aggressive efforts, America’s border policy has failed to achieve its principal objective: to stem the flow of undocumented workers into the U.S. labor market (Griswold, 15 Oct 2002, pg. 2). The presence of so many undocumented workers represents a black market in labor, along with all of the negative effects that come with smuggling, using fraudulent documents, attempting wage distortions, having constant inefficiencies, and oftentimes the abuses that come with this issue as well. One outlook on this issue is as follows, “"These [undocumented workers] are wage thieves," said Phil Kent. "In fact, if you could wave a magic wand and all illegal immigrants were to disappear tomorrow, every poor person in America would get a raise in their wages"” (Bowman, 19 March 2006, pg. 1). It seems as though a little over a half of Americans polled are showing their adamancy, “…a recent public opinion survey shows 60 percent of Americans favor constructing a wall spanning the entire U.S.-Mexico border…” (Bowman, 19 March 2006, pg. 1). Congressman Tancredo is a strong proponent of an immigration reform bill that passed the House of Representatives in December. The "Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act" would extremely expand U.S. border enforcement, force employers to verify workers' citizenship, and make it a federal crime to provide assistance to undocumented aliens. Representative Steven J. Chabot recently issued a column, stating in it that, “Ending illegal immigration should be a top priority for our nation. Our porous borders cost American taxpayers billions of dollars every year and pose a real security threat” (Staff, 16 Jan 2006, pg. 1). Some people are so opposed to employers hiring illegal aliens that

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