Illegal Immigrant Population of the United States

As of 2018, according to FactCheck.org there are 12.5 million illegal immigrants living in the US. Immigration is not bad for a country if the country can support the people. Diversity lets us experience different cultures and be more open to different views. However, the problem with immigration is illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is a tough problem because finding the right solution for it can be so hard. Dealing with immigration is hard because you want to help the people who need help, but you also want to look out after your own country and its security, as well as privacy.

There are three reasonable solutions to illegal immigration. First building a wall could slow down illegal immigration. Secondly, increasing the number of people that can get green cards will slow down immigration and boost our economy due to number of immigration that will be coming here legally. Lastly, if we repeal the birthright citizenship that guarantees American citizenship to anyone born in the US, then illegal immigration would slow down as well.

The first way to deal with illegal immigration is building a wall. As crazy as that sounds, that will help with illegal immigration. Due to Trumps policies, in 2017 border crossing fell to the lowest level since 1971. It is a proven fact that having a wall keeps people out and provides security for the country. There are numerous examples in history when walls have worked. For example, the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 to separate East and West Berlin, whether it was right or wrong is for another discussion. According to Westley Parker, writer for American Renaissance, “”Between 1945 and 1961, over 3.5 million East Germans walked across the unguarded border¦the wall and the rampart? cut defections more than 90 percent.”” The wall cut immigration to only 185 people per year. Another example is the border wall between Israel and Egypt. The wall was constructed in order to keep out terrorists and African immigrants. In 2012, 10,445 illegal immigrants crossed into Israel. However after the construction, the number dropped to 43 people. Immigration decreased by 99.4 percent. Last example where border walls work is the border wall between Hungary, Serbia, and Croatia.

It was build to stop migrants from North Africa and the Middle East entering the country. During the month of October on any particular day there would be around 7,000 migrants coming in. After the border wall was completed, that number dropped to less than 1,000. After the wall was upgraded not too long after it was completed that number dropped all the way to zero. Looking at all of these examples, the wall on the Southern border between US and Mexico will work as it has in other countries with walls around their border. However, those that oppose the wall often bring up the cost of it. No doubt that the wall will cost our country huge amounts of money. It is estimated that the wall will cost around 21.6 billion dollars according to Department of Homeland Security. However, looking at how much of the tax paying money went towards health care including medicare, medicaid, and CHIP that is not much at all. According to Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 26% or around 1 trillion dollars of a fiscal year 2016 went towards health care. If we cut the spending on health care by just a little bit, I believe we would be able to build the wall with no problem. Another solution is cutting the budget that goes to NASA for a year. NASA’s budget for 2018 was around 20 billion dollars. The wall would cost around 21.6, so that is only around 1.6 billion dollars that we would have to make up. As seen, the money towards the wall could be gathered with out a problem. America would just have to make the border wall their top priority. The wall would be beneficial due to the many benefits that would come from reducing illegal immigration.

Not only will building a wall will reduce illegal immigration, as well as increasing the number of people that can get green cards. Most of the people that enter this country could be eligible for family-based green cards. Green cards allow immigrants to live and work in the US for a certain amount of time, before they have to renew it. According to the Department of Homeland Security, 1.05 million were granted residency in 2016. That is roughly 328 immigrants for every 100,000 people living in the US. The US could increase the number, which is exactly what Trump is planning on doing. According to The Economic Times, Trump is planning on increasing the number of people that will get green cards by 45% annually. Once this goes in affect, the US government will need to speed up the process of getting green cards. According to Visa Guide, the family based green cards take up from 1 to 10 years to get. It all depends on the wait time and how many have entered annually that year. In most cases, immigrants are not willing to wait 10 years to get a family based green card, so they cross illegally instead of doing it legally. Even good people who are eligible for green cards would not be willing to wait that long if their family needs help immediately, so they cross illegally. The wait is the main issue for illegal crossings. If the US increases the number of people that are eligible for green cards, then the border crossings would decrease. For others, their issue is the expenses of getting green cards, which is about $1490. For some that is expensive so they are not able to get green cards, simply because they cant pay it. Obviously not everyone would be eligible for green cards. People would need to undergo a background check to make sure the US is getting the best citizens. Those who are eligible would boost our economy and be contributing members of society.

Lastly, not only will building a wall and increasing the number of people that are eligible for green cards will reduce illegal immigration, but as well as getting rid of birth right citizenship. As of right now the US offers birthright citizenship, meaning that if you are born in the US you are automatically a citizen of the country, no matter the status of your parents. However, the 14th Amendment which this myth of birthright citizenship comes from does not offer birth right citizenship. The advocates of birthright citizenship miss the second part of the Amendment which says, “”subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”” Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that birthright citizenship is guaranteed. If the 14th Amendment did offer birthright citizenship, the native Americans would have been citizens way earlier than 1924. Congress simply would not have seen the need to pass this act if the 14th amendment was offering birthright citizenship. Since the US offers birth right citizenship, it entices illegal immigrants to come into the US and have children so their children could enjoy all the benefits of the US citizens. The children of illegal immigrants should not be offered citizenship due to the fact that their parents came here illegally. Birthright citizenship is destroying our economy. It makes taxpayers responsible for the children of illegal aliens. According to a report by Center for Immigration Studies, children of illegal immigrants cost the taxpayers 2.4 billion dollars last year. If the US ends birthright citizenship, it will slow down immigration. The US is only one of the few countries that does offer birthright citizenship, and in return it has one of the largest percentages of illegal immigration. Hans Von Spakovsky, contributor for Fox News, said, “”Universal birthright citizenship attracts illegal immigration. By granting immediate citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, regardless of the legal status of the parents, we reward and encourage illegal and exploitative immigration”” The US should absolutely back away from immediate citizenship. If the US does, then it wouldn’t positively influence illegal immigration. In fact, illegal immigration would decrease.

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