The Cold Reality about Illegal Immigration to the United States of America

Heriberto Vargas Hernandez

The topic of how to prevent illegal immigration to the United States of America has been a very controversial issue in the U.S. since I can remember, and I have been alive for two decades.  Most of the illegal immigrants in this country are from Mexico, about 59 percent of the total undocumented people in the U.S. are Mexicans [1]. There are illegal immigrants from other countries, but the vast majorities belong to Latin American Countries.  There are many reasons that force people from other countries to come to the United States of America illegally, and some of these include bad economies and corruption in their native countries.  In Latin American countries, especially in Mexico, if people do not hold at least a middle class status, then there will be no real chance of economic and social advancement because the government will not allow them to do so with the implementation of fraudulent laws and regulations.  The majority of illegal immigrants from Mexico did not choose to come to the USA illegally, they were forced to, and this seems to be something that most “Americans” have ignored for their own benefit or failed to understand.

 

Once people from Mexico make the difficult decision to risk their lives in hopes for a better future and cross the US-Mexico border illegally they are faced with many harsh realities here in the U.S.  It is estimated that about 11.9 million people are living in the United States as illegal immigrants, and during the past decade it was estimated that an average of 500,000 people were entering the U.S. illegally per year [2].  Out of all the illegal immigrants, about two thirds enter the U.S. by the US-Mexico border, and the remaining 30 to 40 percent enter on some type of temporary visa and once these become expired they stay here [2].The harshest reality that illegals have to deal with is discrimination which groups Mexicans into several stereotypes due to the fact that there are labeled as “illegal immigrants.” The two most damaging stereotypes that “Americans” have given to Mexican illegal immigrants include being lazy and uneducated.

 

 Illegal immigrants in the U.S. go through very difficult times to find jobs, so they have to take jobs that will often exploit them for cheap labor.  Of course, several U.S. industries benefit greatly from the fact that all of these illegal immigrants have to take low-skilled level jobs.  These low-skilled and low-paying jobs are mainly in the restaurant, hospital, construction, landscaping, agribusiness, and meat-packaging industries [3].  I, myself, having done an internship for a large meat-packaging company, which name I cannot mention, in the U.S. saw some of the working conditions and treatment which illegal immigrants have to endure. In addition, many here in the U.S. often say that illegal immigrants here are taking jobs away from “Americans,” but the reality is that the types of jobs that illegal immigrants do are those jobs that “Americans” are not willing to do for the same dollar amount that is paid to illegals[4].  In addition, some say that illegal immigrants do not contribute greatly to the U.S. economy because they do not pay taxes, but this is just another excuse used by “Americans,” which include the elite and powerful politicians, to justify the fact that they do not want to legalize illegal immigrants by passing an immigration reform.   The following image depicts Hispanic/Latino immigrants asking for an immigration reform.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“We are not Illegal Aliens, We are Human Beings”

 

 

 

 

                Many illegal immigrants and “Dreamers” here in the U.S. have been pushing to have an immigration reform passed here in the U.S.  And, it has been a very controversial topic during this Barack Obama administration, because the immigration reform has been proposed but it has not gone anywhere.  Instead, some of the U.S. representatives have focused their attention on deciding whether to attack the country of Syria, and on trying to prevent a government shutdown, which already happened [1].  In my personal opinion, I believe that the U.S. will keep delaying the immigration reform because the U.S. government does not want to pass it, and it will not pass it at least not in my lifetime.  In the larger scheme of “politics” the U.S. benefits more from having illegal immigrants in the country then from not having any at all, and let’s face it the economy of this country would collapsed without the contributions of illegal immigrants, just try to really imagine a day without an illegal immigrant and relatives of illegal immigrants, whether legal or illegal, here in the U.S.  It would be a thousand times worse than what was depicted in the movie “A day without a Mexican” directed by Sergio Arau.

 

Reference Links:

1.      http://www.policymic.com/articles/62757/illegal-immigration-debate-continues-to-discredit-hispanics

2.      http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/hanson-dec09.pdf

3.      http://www.nationalreview.com/article/347534/illegal-immigration-who-benefits

4.      http://www.infowars.com/18-facts-prove-illegal-immigration-is-absolute-nightmare-for-u-s-economy/