The united states of america essay

The United States of America is known for its wealth, freedom, and the “ American Dream,” the ability to achieve success through hard work. Many impoverished people living in other countries are of the belief that the U. S.

Is a land of opportunity-? a place in which to escape their own poverty and hopelessness. As a result, many choose to immigrate illegally. An example of this mindset is illustrated in the novel Monstrous, by Eyeless Tenor. Flora Ramirez, a character in the short story “ Felix Starts,” who aids illegal immigrants in America states, ‘ ‘ These were risky, secret dealings, but in times f doubt, Charm would tell me, ‘ if my homosexual priest cousin and his Mexican boxer boyfriend can make it in America, why can’t we? We were no different from them she said, or any other person in search of a good and honest life” (Tenor 59).

Surprisingly, many are willing to risk their lives and deportation, rather than staying in their own poverty-stricken communities. While the Golden State has clearly benefited from illegal immigration in various ways, the associated costs and negative side effects can’t be overlooked. The political climate on this topic is hotly controversial with many questions being posed: Should this unlawful activity continue to be condoned? Should law-abiding, tax-paying Californians continue to pay for the rising costs of immigration and be required to tolerate its negative implications on their society? More importantly, are we effectively and most humanely helping the impoverished immigrants? Is attracting them to our state and removing them from their loved ones, lifestyle and culture, genuinely in their best interest? No state has seen the boom and felt the effects of illegal immigration quite like California.

In the 1 sass, almost half the action’s illegal immigrants lived in California. (http://www. Epic. Org/content/ pubs/tissue/Al_711 Hajj. PDF) Today, the state has just 25% of the overall population but still has more than any other state, at an estimated 2. 6 million (http://www.

Epic. Org/content/pubs/tissue/Al_711 HAJJ . PDF).

The demographics of immigration have also changed over the years in California. For example, an earlier EPIC study showed that California experienced a substantial increase in family-based illegal immigration. In the late 1 ass’s, as a result of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, more than one lion illegal immigrant workers in the state were allowed to apply for legal permanent residence. (http://wry. Epic.

Org/content/pubs/tissue/ Al_711 Hajj. PDF). A similar proposition has been brought up recently, regarding granting amnesty for illegal immigrants. However, due to the extraordinary large number of illegal (2. 6 million), simply granting amnesty is a more complex conundrum. The main benefits of illegal immigration in California center around the development of the agribusiness which has over the decades become a booming industry. The labor for this sector largely moms from illegal aliens and it cannot be denied that this resource has been key to its success.

In addition, the undocumented worker population contributes to the overall California economic landscape. It has been estimated that if this entire group in California were removed, the state would lose $301. Billion in economic activity, decrease total employment by 17.

4%, and eliminate 3. 6 million jobs. (http://WV. Microscopically. Org/just-facts/ new-Americans-California). Given these statistics it is vital that no drastic action is taken to compromise the farming industry and economic indicators f our state.

While the benefits are significant, the costs and negative implications can’t be ignored. There are complex fiscal problems and moral and societal implications associated with illegal immigration. California, facing a budget deficit of $14.

Billion in 2010-2011, is hit with an estimated $21. 8 billion in annual expenditures on illegal aliens. (http://www”. Affair.

Org/ publications/the-fiscal-burden-of-illegal-immigration-on-u-s-taxpayers) Some of these expenses include welfare, medical care and education to children. According to a local news channel, a whopping $54 million in welfare aments are issued each month just in the city of Los Angels. These astronomical costs and inefficient use of taxpayer dollars is not something we as a State, can to afford to ignore.

(http:// Leganes’s. Cabala. Mom/201 3/09/16/undocumented-la-county-parents- Along with the money spent on welfare, the state of California is also burdened to cover healthcare costs for undocumented citizens who do not have insurance. One of the frequent costs to U. S.

Taxpayers is delivery of babies to illegal mothers. A California study put the number of these anchor baby deliveries in the state in 1 994 at 74, 987, at a cost of $21 5 million. Http://www. Affair. Org/issue/ illegal-immigration-and-public-health) While the state chooses to deliver these babies, someone has cover the costs, which ends up being the law-abiding taxpayers. And again it is the hardworking taxpayers who pick up the tab for the nearly $500 million that is spent on the overall healthcare costs Of illegal immigrants in California.

(http://legionaries. Sabbaticals. Com/201 3/09/16/ .

0) With numbers this high, and on the rise, it is especially important to fix and create different solutions to this complex problem. Another “ free” benefit illegal immigrants enjoy when they arrive on our soil is education for their children. The Federation for American Immigration Reform says taxpayers spend SSL 2 billion a year on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally.

Another $1 7 billion for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies. (http:// transcripts. CNN. Com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/Did.

01 . HTML) While educating these kids is the responsible thing to do and has advantages, there are downsides too. Is it just to inflict this enormous financial responsibility on working citizens when they were never given the choice? Similar to the fiscal encores, there are a variety of other moral societal costs included with illegal immigration. Some of these worries are identify theft, the spread of previously controlled diseases, and gang violence.

For instance, in the aforementioned story “ Felix Starts,” the main character, Felix, is forced to commit identity fraud. He says, “ l picked one up, took out the ID card inside. It was a driver’s license… Juan Arroyo Cruz was the name printed beside my face,” then Flora responds, “ A store clerk from L. A.

, killed one year ago. Know the parents” (Tenor 77). This real life scenario illustrates the lengths undocumented workers will go to conceal their illegal status and stay in our country. Additionally, disease control becomes a problem because unlike legal immigrants, illegal are not tested for bad health or disease before they cross our border. For example, Contrary to common belief, tuberculosis (TAB) has not been wiped out in the United States, mostly due to illegal migration.

A June, 2009 article in the New England Journal of Medicine noted that a majority (57. 8%) of all new cases of tuberculosis in the United States in 2007 were diagnosed in foreign-born persons. The TAB infection rate among reign-born persons was 9. 8 times as high as that among U.

S. -born persons. (http://www. Affair.

Org/issue/illegal-immigration-and-public-health) This worrisome statistic proves the health-related risks of allowing illegal aliens to enter into our country. Not only are citizens threatened with dangerous health concerns, their own healthcare costs are likely to rise with the contagious spreading of disease. Gang violence is yet another dark side effect of illegal immigration in our Golden State.

A recent study showed that an estimated 80 percent of California gang members were illegal aliens from Mexico and Central America. Http://www. Affair.

Org/site/Deserver/ This criminal activity poses a major hazard to the safety of our states residents, but especially to those in the gangs. Many of these individuals are displaced into our society and fall into a dangerous and criminal lifestyle that can lead to their own harm and even cost them their precious lives. While there are economic and agribusiness benefits to illegal immigration, the tremendous costs and dangers now outweigh those benefits. Illegal immigration stems from poverty, which is pervasive in third world countries like Mexico. The solution to eradicating poverty isn’t in transplanting the impoverished, it is helping them to bloom where they are planted.

One organization, who is making a significant difference is Kava, a non profit micro financing company. Kava provides loans to disadvantaged entrepreneurs in third world countries who do not have access to the funding they need to build or improve their small businesses. Kava connects individuals who can make small loans create better lives for themselves and others, Kava is a non-profit organization with a mission to enhance economic progress by connecting people to lenders to alleviate poverty. Http://move. Kava. Org/about) For example, the average person can lend the small amount of just $25, and collaboratively with other lenders make a significant difference.

An example of a Kava loan in action is shown through the story of Raymond, a 55 year old married man. He lives with his wife and 8 children, 2 boys and 6 girls, in the Department of Solo;, Guatemala. Raymond is a hard-working man. He comments that he farms green peas and broccoli a few meters from his house. He chose this activity because it is profitable and productive since there is high demand for this rotgut in his country. Through his labor he makes good revenues so he can support his family and the economy.

He has been working in this field for about 15 years. Many people often think that by simply allowing illegal aliens to come into California it is beneficial because of the cheap labor, however there are many associated costs, financial and otherwise, that many do not realize or consider. Also it rewards unlawful behavior, punishes law-abiding, tax-paying citizens and is arguably a less effective and humane way to solve the problem of extreme third-world poverty.