Illegal Immigration in the United States

Illegal Immigration In The United States: A Controversial Debate Illegal immigration is an on-going issue, which is of much importance in the United States today. It has been overlooked for many years, however it has reached a point where it can no longer be ignored. Most of the illegal immigrants, 54% to be exact, come through the Mexican border. (Hayes 5) Since the early 1980’s, the number of illegal Mexican immigrants has risen at an incredible rate, causing the United States government to take action to create an even-handed solution that would be in the interest of both the illegal Mexicans and the citizens of the United States. This, however, has proven to be very difficult since it is still an issue today. The argument is that the illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American workers, hurting the economy, destroying American culture and the way of life, and are responsible for a big part of crimes and drug trafficking. On the other side of the spectrum, many people believe that the illegal immigrants are noble people who cross the border for a chance at a better life, that they do not harm the countries economy, and that they do not deface America’s culture. The different opinions about illegal immigration is the source of all of the chaos, which is yet to be resolved. The real issue at hand is to focus on creating a reasonable and justified solution to this controversial and pressing debate that has divided the nation into pro-immigration and anti-immigration beliefs. I have used many credible sources that have assisted me in writing this research paper. “Source Regions and Composition of Illegal Mexican Immigration to California”, is an international migration review written by Tim Dagodag. The article explains in full detail the regional problems and their relationship to illegal immigration from the Mexican border, it analyzes the regions from where the illegal immigrants came from and it scrutinizes the socio-economic aspect of the

Cited: Dagodag, Tim W. “Souce Regions and Composition of Illegal Mexican Immigration to California.” International Migration Review Vol. 9, No.4. JSTOR. Providence College Library, Providence RI. 2 October 2007 <http://www.links.jstor.org>. Frost, Natasha A. “Securing Borders And Saving Lives.” Editorial Inroduction Vol. 6 Number 2. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO host. Providence College Library, Providence, RI. 2 October 2007 <http://www.web.wbscohost.helin.uri.edu>. Hayes, Helene. U.S. Immigration Policy and the Undocumented. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publshing Group Inc., 2001. Massey, Douglas S. “Seeing Mexican Immigration Clearly.” Cato Unbound. 20 Aug. 2006. 6 Oct. 2007 <http://www.cato-unbound.org/2006/08/20/douglas-s-massey/seeing-mxican-immigration-clearly/>. Nevins, Joseph. Operation Gatekeeper. New York, NY: Routledge, 2002. Palerm, Juan V. Immigration: A Civil Rights Issue For The Americas. Ed. Susanne Jonas and Suzie Dod Thomas. Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources Inc., 1999.