Fix illegal immigration now

By Stephanie Bassett

October 22, 2008 | Immigration has been and will be one of the most neglected issues in the United States. Everyone knows of the growing problem, but no one knows how to solve it, so it will continue to be pushed to the back of everyone's minds so that other problems, such as the recession, can be solved. But just how serious a problem is immigration?

According to The Heritage Foundation, "Illegal immigration into the United States is massive in scale. More than 10 million undocumented aliens currently reside in the U.S., and that popula-tion is growing by 700,000 per year. On one hand, the presence of so many aliens is a powerful testament to the attractiveness of America. On the other hand, it is a sign of how dangerously open our borders are."

Immigrants come to America primarily for better jobs and to live the so called "American dream." However, by coming over illegally they are weakening our country and draining our legal and national security environment. The presence of millions of undocumented immigrants can create a cover for terrorists and criminals.

Not only is our security suffering, but so are our hospitals. Hospitals primarily on the west coast are going bankrupt because illegal immigrants stand in line at the emergency rooms and get medical attention, and then they don't pay their bills. Costs to American's health insurance plans and trips to the hospital are sky rocketing because hospitals can't afford to let us go cheaply anymore because the illegals are draining all the money out of the hospitals.

There are also other costs, such as guarding the borders. I have two brother-in-laws who are border patrol agents; they both complain that they have too much acreage to cover and not enough time to do so. There are just not enough border patrol agents and there is not enough money to completely close off the borders. Not only is the cost of securing the border unattainable, but the manpower behind it is also unattainable.

Another worry to U.S. residents or citizens is that illegal immigrants are stealing low paying jobs from American citizens who could be working at those jobs. They get the job over an American citizen because illegals are willing to work for less pay.

Others also argue that illegal immigrants are filling up our prisons and their families are living off welfare.

There are many arguments as to why illegal immigrants are a problem in our country. And I think they are a growing problem and something needs to be done about them. Maybe the process of becoming a resident and then a citizen needs to be cheaper and take less time.

My husband is an immigrant and we spent thousands of dollars and several years getting him to the point of a legal resident in the United States. It will take us much more time and much more money for him to become a citizen, so we have to wait until we have the money to afford such things. This could be part of the problem with the illegal immigrants. Maybe they just cannot afford the costs of becoming an American resident or an American citizen. Of course at the same time we don't want to make it extremely easy and affordable so anybody can do it, so there are issues with that as well.

There are others who argue we need the illegal immigrants because they help our economy. Whether low-skilled or high-skilled, immigrants boost national output, enhance specialization, and provide a net economic benefit. The 2005 Economic Report of the President (ERP) devotes an entire chap-ter to immigration and reports that "a comprehen-sive accounting of the benefits and costs of immigration shows the benefits of immigration exceed the costs.

The following are among the ERP's other related findings:
- Immigrant unemployment rates are lower than the national average in the U.S.
- Studies show that a 10 percent share increase of immigrant labor results in roughly a 1 percent reduction in native wages—a very minor effect.
- Most immigrant families have a positive net fis-cal impact on the U.S., adding $88,000 more in tax revenues than they consume in services.
- Social Security payroll taxes paid by improperly identified (undocumented) workers have led to a $463 billion funding surplus."

I have no problem with legal immigration into the United States. Legal immigrants help the economy and can benefit us all. They help globalization and I think that if they are happier here than they are in their own countries they should be free to live wherever they please. However, I do think something needs to be done about illegal immigration.

According to The Heritage Foundation, "The real problem with undocumented immi-grant workers is that flouting the law has become the norm, which makes the job of terrorists and drug traffickers infinitely easier. The economic costs of terrorism can be very high and very real, quite apart from the otherwise positive economic impact of immigration. In order to separate the good from the bad, there is no substitute for a nationwide system that identifies all foreign per-sons present within the U.S. It is not sufficient to identify visitors upon entry and exit; rather, all for-eign visitors must be quickly documented."

Immigration is a neglected issue in our country and something needs to be done before illegal immigration gets out of hand. Lowering the costs of becoming a resident, getting more border patrol agents that can cover less ground, companies getting incentives for not hiring any illegal immigrants, and not allowing illegal immigrants any type of government benefits could help. Getting rid of illegal immigrants could also help reduce terrorism and protect our country. It's an issue that will be difficult to fix at this point, but it would be worth it and it has to be done.

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