Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the act of crossing national borders in violation of national immigration laws. The people who commit such acts are known as illegal aliens or illegal immigrants or undocumented workers. Many countries have seen a rise in the illegal immigrant population.[1] However, with increased pressure from the economic systems, and the use of "the immigrant issue" as a political ploy, illegal immigration has become a serious issue in many industrialized countries around the world.
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[edit] Statistics
[edit] United States
The largest population of illegal immigrants in the United States are Mexican nationals who seek to escape the poverty and violence taking over Mexico. According to a 2005 report by the Pew Hispanic Center, there are about 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States; 56% of them were from Mexico, and 22% came from other Latin American countries. They made up only around 5% of the civilian labor force in the US but much larger in occupational jobs such as farming, food preparation, or janitorial work.[2] With the US population 307 million, the percentage of illegal immigrants in the US is just over 2%.
[edit] United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, there are around 300,000-500,000 illegal immigrants.[3] With the population of 62 million, the percentage of illegal immigrants is just under 1% at around 0.78%.
In 2011, Ireland and the United Kingdom agreed to a deal to share Visa information and biometrics in order to cut down on immigration.
[edit] France
By far, the largest percentage of illegal immigrants in France are from the Maghreb[4]. Due to France's visa waiver programs, most illegal immigrants enter the country legally, and simply do not leave at the appointed time. This has lead to a call from the Right, such as Front National to review the open waiver program.
France estimates roughly 300,000-500,000 illegal immigrants, making the illegal immigrant population roughly .08% of the 65 million population.
[edit] Conservative views
American conservatives often fear of an "invasion" of immigrants who plan to screw over good ol' white American culture. For example, Pat Buchanan wrote a book titled State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America. That book has been condemned as racist.[5][6] Contributing to the racist sentiment that non-whites commit most crime, conservatives publish propaganda associating illegal immigrants with a crime wave. Michelle Malkin (herself the daughter of immigrants)[7] wrote a book tited Invasion: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists Criminals & Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores. Libertarian magazine Reason criticized the book's premise as flawed.[8]
Famously, a 2004 episode of South Park summarized right-wing sentiment about illegal immigrants and unemployment: "They took our jobs! Dey took are jerbs! Derka derp!"[9]
Interestingly, the US religious right supports immigration reform out of compassion for the immigrants.[10] Jason L. Riley, a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board, defends "open borders" from a libertarian standpoint.[11]
[edit] Laws
[edit] US Federal laws regarding illegal immigration
Title 8, Section 1325 of the US Code makes illegal immigration (the action of crossing the border without authorization, rather than mere illegal presence) a misdemeanor (first offense) subjecting such immigrant to six months in prison, a fine, or both for the first offense. The prison sentence is two years per subsequent offense.[12][13]
According to the Constitution of the United States, immigration is the right of the Federal Government to control, and not the purview of individual states. However, since the Republican party and conservatives in general have turned "illegals" into the new gays (i.e., the "Oh my god, the sky is falling", scapegoat) many states have gotten into the business of regulating illegal immigration.
[edit] Depriving rights of undocumented immigrants
In 1994, voters in California by a 59%-41% margin passed Proposition 187, also known as the "Save Our State Initiative", which sought to cut off all taxpayer-funded social services (including health care and public education) from illegal immigrants. Proposition 187 also allowed police to investigate the citizenship of anyone suspected of being in California illegally and to contact the State Attorney General and federal Immigration and Naturalization Services if true.[14] Three days after Election Day, a judge issued a restraining order against Proposition 187, and in 1998 a federal judge ruled Proposition 187 unconstitutional.[15][16]
In 2005, US Senator James Sensenbrenner (Republican of Wisconsin) sponsored House Resolution 4437, the Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, that sought to secure the Mexico/US border, detain illegal aliens in federal prisons, and require employers to verify employees' legal status electronically. Those who knowingly assisted illegal immigrants in coming to America would be imprisoned. That bill passed in the House with most Republicans supporting and Democrats opposign, led to much protest in May 2006, and the bill failed in the Senate.
In 2010, Arizona passed Senate Bill 1070, or the "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act" that allowed police to question and arrest anyone they suspect of being an undocumented immigrant.
[edit] Attempts at immigration reform
In 2007, US President George W. Bush expressed strong support for S. 1348, or the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, which sought to secure the US/Mexico border while providing a path to citizenship to those undocumented immigrants already in the US. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat of Nevada) sponsored the bill, and Senators Ted Kennedy (Democrat of Massachusetts), John McCain (Republican of Arizona), John Kyl (Republican of Arizona), and Lindsey Graham (Republican of South Carolina) supported the bill too. There would be two new classes of visa: the Z visa for everyone living in the US without a valid visa, and the Y visa as a "guest worker" program. Z visa holders would be allowed to stay in the US for the rest of their lives and get a Social Security number. For a Permanent Resident Card (green card), the Z visa holder would have to pay a $2,000 fine and back taxes. Five years after getting a green card, the immigrant could being the process of becoming a US citizen. The original bill was abandoned in the Senate, but Bush helped the Senate bring back the bill as S. 1639. S. 1639 ultimately failed.
[edit] See also
- Debate:On Illegal Immigration
- Essay:On Illegal Immigrants
- Myths and facts about immigration to the United States
- Know Nothing Party
[edit] External links
- No One Is Illegal: A Canadian activist group that works on behalf of undocumented migrants.
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ This statement should be qualified with the fact that detailed identification and tracking of illegal immigrants has only been possible in most countries for the last 20-40 years. It is uncontested that the majority of people who came to the US, for example, in the first part of the 20th century were largely illegal. It was also an irrelevant issue at the time.
- ↑ "The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S." Pew Hispanic Center: March 7, 2006.
- ↑ Casciani, Dominic. "An illegal immigration amnesty?" BBC News: June 14, 2006.
- ↑ This information is largely taken from [1]
- ↑ "Pat Buchanan: In His Own Words: On Immigration and Ethnicity." Anti-Defamation League.
- ↑ Zaitchik, Alexander. "Hawking Racism." Intelligence Report: Winter 2006. Southern Poverty Law Center.
- ↑ Nahm, H.Y. "Michelle Malkin: The Radical Right's Asian Pitbull." Goldsea Asian American.
- ↑ Young, Cathy. "Guilty by Association." Reason: March 2003.
- ↑ http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/104259
- ↑ Brayton, Ed. "Agreeing With Religious Right Leaders. Almost." Dispatches from the Culture Wars: May 17, 2010.
- ↑ Riley, Jason L. Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders: Six Common Arguments Against Immigration and Why They Are Wrong. New York: Penguin, 2008.
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ Martis, Nancy H. "#187 Illegal Aliens. Ineligibility for public services. Verification and Reporting." California Voter Foundation: 1994.
- ↑ "CA's Anti-Immigrant Proposition 187 is Voided, Ending State's Five-Year Battle with ACLU, Rights Groups." ACLU (press release): July 29, 1999.
- ↑ "Most Of California's Prop. 187 Ruled Unconstitutional." CNN: March 19, 1998.