(see comment at end of article)

Living ‘the dream’ illegally
Published September 3rd, 2007 in International

A closer look at the States’ growing population and the increased attention to illegal immigration

ALEXANDRA HOWARD
CORD INTERNATIONAL

A multi-faceted issue that engages the very essence of the term free country, illegal immigration continues to make headlines as politicians exchange blows in the fight for the preservation of sovereignty in America. Indeed, while the United States is a country founded on the immigration policies of its forefathers, the estimated 11 million illegal aliens currently residing in the country have compounded an issue that both threatens and takes advantage of what constitutes America itself: a land that guarantees life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The logic behind a recent court ruling on illegal immigration is as follows: while unauthorized entry into the United States is illegal, being in the country after having entered illegally is not illegal, so therefore there is no crime. To this one may reply, why are remunerations being offered to those who are not entitled? Simply put, the initial perpetration should be reason enough to call a spade, a spade.

A highly convoluted matter, it is above all else one of politics, perhaps yet another case of political repute being put ahead of a nation’s future. In reality, both Republicans and Democrats have failed to appease the concerned minds of the American populous. In fact, what makes such people attracted to the U.S. are a series of benefits proposed by liberal politicians: free healthcare, voting rights, welfare benefits, amnesty and eventual citizenship. With the Democrats constructing their political platforms with these rights in mind, it is no wonder that illegal aliens have begun to openly voice their demands.

Yet the hypocrisy involved in the demand to open their borders hails from both ends of the political spectrum: for Democrats, it’s a plight to garner votes (legal or not), while for Republicans, it ties to the business community as well as the prospect of cheap labour apparently trump all concerns of legality. In truth, non-Americans living in the country illegally are being catered to instead of being managed in accordance with the laws of the country. The futile bipartisan support of the recently proposed immigration bill that grants virtual amnesty is indeed no surprise.
Despite efforts to gain support of the legislation, a plan which would ultimately provide a trajectory for legal status in the U.S. for an estimated 12-20 million illegal aliens, the American Senate proposition is favored by only 22% of the American population. The provisional visa that the bill guarantees, along with more Border Patrol agents, more cameras and other technologies, is not enough to satisfy citizens who are concerned with the toll that illegal immigration is taking on their native country, and for good reason.

In effect, illegal immigration profoundly affects the U.S. on both an economic and social level. Notably, since Mexican immigrants have much less education than the average U.S. worker, they increase the supply of less-skilled labor, driving down the wages of the worst paid Americans.

Due to their nature of being undocumented, however, the government and private industries struggle to compose solid numbers; nonetheless, illegal aliens negatively impact the standard of living in areas such as health care, employment rates, GDP, and education.

Moreover, not only do these non-Americans destabilize an already meager healthcare system at the expense of taxpayers, but are also the culprits of what has been termed an “Illegal Alien Crime Waveâ€