Illegal immigration to the United States

Illegal immigration to the United States (Illegal+U.S. immigration) refers to the migration of people across the national borders of the United States, in violation of U.S. nationality law.

The terms illegal alien, illegal immigrant, undocumented alien, undocumented immigrant,, and undocumented worker, are common terms used to refer to long-term U.S. residents without either U.S. citizenship or visa. Terms using the designation of "illegal" or "alien" may carry a pejorative connotation when referring to certain groups of non-citizens.Template:Fn

Summary Information

Profile Summaries of Illegal Immigrants January 2006

Job Category	Illegal Immigrant	Native -1 8+ yr sch.	Average Native	# Illegal Immigrant	# Native 8+ yr sch.	# Average Native

Managerial / Self Employed	1.50%	5.9%	32.2%	108,000	758,000	33,810,000
Retail / Business	4.90%	15.2%	29.2%	352,800	1,952,700	30,660,000
Service Private	1.20%	1.0%	0.3%	86,400	128,500	315,000
Farm Mgr	1.60%	1.6%	1.1%	115,200	205,600	1,155,000
Service Retail	18.20%	20.3%	10.3%	1,310,400	2,607,900	10,815,000
Farming -2	17.50%	2.9%	1.0%	1,260,000	372,600	1,050,000
Production	22.0%	20.1%	11.9%	1,584,000	2,582,200	12,495,000
Construction	33.0%	33.1%	14.0%	2,376,000	4,252,400	14,700,000


Total # Working	7,200,000	12,847,000	108,000,000
Labor rate of Participation -3	82%	46.30%	66.30%
Unemployment Rate	7%	7%	4.10%

Education Profile -4

Less then 12 yr.	6,700,000	67.0%
High School	3,000,000	30.0%
College Graduate	300,000	3.0%

Country Profile			Sex/age Profile			Worker profile

Mexican	6,840,000	57%	men 18-39	5,300,000	43.7%	4,500,000	80%
Latin & Central Amer.	3,000,000	25%	women 18-39	3,495,146	29.1%	2,000,000	60%
Asia	1,080,000	9%	more than 40	1,281,553	10.7%	1,000,000	80%
Europe + Canada	720,000	6%	less than 18	2,040,000	17.0%	204,000	10%
Rest of World	480,000	4%	Born/yr.	300,000

Totals Jan 2006	12,100,000		Total Pop.	12,400,000	Total Working	7,500,000

Criminals Caught 2004	202,842
Criminals Deported 2004 -4	88,895
Caught and Released 2005	1,010,000+
Illegal Immigrants/year -6	1,500,000+
Voluntary returns/year	- 200,000+
Change of Status/year	- 600,000+

Net Rate of Increase/year -7	700,000+	Illegal Immigrants

Native Population that most closely matches Illegal immigrant population is workers that never graduated from high school.
Farm work is the only job category that illegal immigrants uniquely fill; but it does have a 30,000 H2-B visa program for it!
Rate of Participation is frction of population seeking work
Average Education of illegal immigrants may be less if the ~30% Central American's are included.
How many criminals turn around after deportation and return is unknown; but it is significant that ICE catchs more than they deport.
Estimated number may be low by several hundred thousand
Other estimates of net increase are over 850,000

Information Sources:

[1] Estimates of the Size and Characteristics of the Undocumented Population
[2]A Description of the Immigrant Population
[3] Labor Participation less than High School
[4] Economy Slowed, But Immigration Didn't
[5] Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2004
[6] The Labor Force Status of Short-Term Unauthorized Workers
[7] Labor Statistics

Methods used to enter the U.S. illegally

Visa violation

Approximately 40-60% of people entering illegally into the United States crossed a border without having a valid passport and visa inspected by an immigration officer at a Port of Entry (POE). [8][9] Methods of crossing the border without inspection include utilizing underground routes, hiding in vehicles, breaking through fences,hanging on to trains, or walking on foot (mostly using the cover of night).

Visa & BCC Overstayers
Country	Estimate [2004]

Mexico	300,000
Canada	100,000
India	25,000
Philippines	21,700
Poland	18,500
Colombia	18,100
South Korea	17,500
Guatemala	12,100
China	11,400
Honduras	11,300
El Salvador	10,700
Ecuador	10,400
Dominican Republic	10,300
Bahamas	9,600
Haiti	9,100
UnitedKingdom	8,600
Israel	8,000
Jamaica	7,500
China,PRC	7,100
Italy	6,100
Russia	5,800
France	5,400
Hong Kong	4,600
Trinidad and Tobago	3,900
Japan	3,700
Argentina	3,400
Peru	2,900
Ireland	2,800
Panama	2,200
Chile	2,100
Netherlands	2,100
SouthAfrica	2,100
Thailand	2,100
CostaRica	2,000
Singapore	1,900
Turkey	1,800
Venezuela	1,700
Portugal	1,500
Taiwan	1,500
Germany	1,300
Sweden	1,000
Brazil	900
Denmark	800
Switzerland	700
Australia	500
Belgium	400
Norway	400
New Zealand	300
Spain	300
NetherlandsAntilles	200
Austria	100
Finland	100

Total	683,500

_{Source: Pew Hispanic Data sheet[10] and [11] Office of Travel and Tourism Industries GAO estimates}

Visa overstayers and Border Crossing Card Violators

A visa overstayer is someone who has entered the United States legally and then overstayed his or her visa. An estimated average 40-60% of all illegal immigrants entered legally and overstayed the conditions of their visa or Border Crossing Card (BCC). The number of overstayers varies considerably from country to country depending on the ___location of the country and the political, social and economic conditions in a given country in a given time. The PEW Hispanic institute reported [12] that the INS had developed statistics that showed 3.2% of all Central and South America visas are overstayed, 1.7% of all Mexican visa holders violate their visas by overstaying and Europeans on average 0.5% overstay their visa. No data was listed for Asian countries or Canada.

PEW estimated that at least 18% of all illegal Mexican immigrants got here by overstaying their visa. This number would increase if it became more difficult to illegally cross the border. About 33% of all Central American illegal immigrants came by overstaying their visa with the rest traveling through Mexico to reach the border. At lest 95+% of all illegal South American, European, and Asians got here by overstaying their visa. An increasing number of these are now flying to Mexico and then crossing the border illegally by foot or car. The two main sources of illegal visa violators are Mexico and Canada which the the U.S. has a large amount of cross border traffic with. Other estimates done by the GAO show that the overstayers from Mexico alone in the year 2001 may exceed 2,000,000 /year. [13] The Bureau of Transportation Statistics [14] reported that in 2003 (the last year of available statistics) there were 79,000,000 and 245,000,000 border crossings between Canada and Mexico respectively and the US. The tourist bureau shows that there were less Mexicans (as reported by their government) doing all this traffic than their were Canadians (as reported by their government).[15] Mexico has roughly three times the population of Canada. The latest ICE statistics show that they captured 30,000 Brazilians after they crossed the U.S. Mexican border illegally for the first time in 2004.Other people enter from such places as Asia(13%), Africa(3%),and other latin American countries(22%)

Two of the terrorists behind the September 11, 2001 attacks were visa overstayers. The federal government historically has not checked up on visa holders once they are in the country. Visa overstayers tend to be more educated and be better off financially than those who crossed the border illegally. [16] One common means of visa overstaying is coming to the U.S. on a student visa and not going to school or not leaving the country after finishing school. [17]

From countries with no visa agreements

Immigrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, sometimes cross the borders illegally. Individuals from North Korea, Libya, Cuba, Syria, Sudan, and Iran are required to submit to strict questioning from U.S. officials before their applications are processed. Their applications take longer to process than those for visitors and immigrants from other countries. [18]

Often, these individuals enter from a land border using falsified documentation from a third country. For instance, Ahmed Ressam, a member of Al Qaeda, originally from Algeria, entered Canada with a falsified French passport. Once in Canada, he procured a false Canadian passport to enter the United States. In the case of Cuba, the U.S. offers political asylum to many Cubans, but they first must reach U.S. soil. [19]

Illegal immigration debate

Internal Matters of Debate

Working without legal sanction

One consequence of illegal immigration to the U.S. is that many undocumented workers seek and engage in work without legal sanction. In some cases, this is accomplished by entering the country legally with a visa, and then simply choosing not to leave upon expiration of the visa (as described above). In other cases people enter the country surreptitiously without ever obtaining a visa.

Increasing border security

Department of Homeland Security officials have stated that "...illegal immigration threatens our communities and our national security."[20] In fact, one of the main points of the illegal immigration controversy involves an increasing number of U.S. citizens calling for increased border security (with the main idea being to reduce illegal immigration). Some critics of border security suggest that their opponents are ignoring larger [insolvable] issues of wealth disparity, flaws in the immigration process, or other systematic issues which may have given rise to such a large influx of illegal immigrants, instead offering a band-aid solution.

The Cato Institute is among the critics who argue that increasing border security is counterproductive. The institute argues that increasing border security reduces the proportion of illegal immigrants caught at the border and increases the length of time illegal immigrants remain in the country. The proportion of immigrants apprehended at the border has been gone from 33% in 1980 to 5% in 2002. (ICE apprehended 1,241,089 illegal border crossers in 2004. To get 1,241,089 with a 5% catch rate would imply over 20,000,000 border crossers!) *[21] Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2004 Cato claims that the only significant change on illegal immigrants has been in length of stay due to the cost of returning. The probability of returning within twelve months has gone from around 45% in 1980 to between 25 and 30% from 1998-2002. Also, the average trip duration has gone from 1.7 years to 3.5 years. According to the Cato Institute, the only important change in security has been one of cost. The Border Patrol's budget has gone from $151 million in 1986 to $1.6 billion in 2002. This has caused the cost of aprehending an illegal immigrant to go from around $100 per arrest before 1986 to around $1700 in 2002.Center for Trade Policy Studies-Backfire at the Border

Financial Burden

A debate exists between whether or not illegal immigrants pay enough taxes to support the social services they use.

A study from Chapman University professor Francine Lipman states that illegal immigrants provide a net positive benefit to federal coffers, because of the tax law's treatment of those in the country illegally and those who are married to illegal immigrants. They are ineligible for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. [22]

However, several studies (discussed below) show that the amount of taxes illegal immigrants pay to the different forms of local, state, and federal governments does not compensate for the amount of public services they and their family receive. [23] This problem has affected several states; perhaps the greatest impact has been on California.[24]

A study in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons concluded that the burden of illegal immigrants on the health care system in the US has forced many hospitals to close due to unpaid bills. Between 1993 and 2003, 60 hospitals in California alone were forced to close, and many others had to reduce staff or implement other procedures which reduced the level of service they could provide. The article's author attributes these closings to illegal immigration. [25]

Children of illegal immigrants also present a serious burden on education systems. According to Federation for American Immigration Reform, California's education system spends $7.7 billion each year caring for the children of illegal immigrants. The study did not include property taxes paid, directly or indirectly, by illegal immigrants, nor did it estimate how many of the children were citizens. [26]

Advocates of illegal immigration claim that few such immigrants are eligible for welfare due to the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. In addition, illegal immigrants receive far less in terms of welfare than most citizens of the United States. However, the CIS claims that many illegal immigrants use the U.S. welfare program with false identification. [27]

Crime

The Center of Immigration Studies (CIS) has stated that many violent crimes in the United States are committed by illegal immigrants.[28]. Because of the immigration status of the criminals, law enforcement officials are often unable to accurately track and find many of them as they retreat back over the border where they are often untraceable and/or not extraditable.

A study by Dr. Deborah Schurman-Kauffin, director of the Violent Crimes Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, estimates that approximately one million sex crimes were committed by illegal immigrants in the period between 1999 and 2006. Of these, 70% of the victims were legal US residents. [29]

Language and culture

People with a different native language who fail to learn English may have communication problems with native English speakers. Many native English speakers are unhappy with the bilingualism embodied in such statements as "Press 1 for English" on voice mail systems. [30] However, it should be noted that the issue is not specific to illegal immigration.

External Dimensions of Debate

Criticism of the behavior of Mexico

The President of Mexico, Vicente Fox, has stated that remittances of Mexican nationals in the United States, both legal and illegal, total $12 billion, and are the biggest source of foreign income for Mexico. [31] Many commentators have pointed out the Mexican government enforces harsh rules over immigration to Mexico. Many critics of illegal immigration have alleged that there is hypocrisy by the Mexican government, which forbids any political activity by foreign nationals. [32] While most recent immigration laws passed in Mexico are a product of a policy agreement between Mexico and The United States of America. These laws were designed to stop the flow of Central and South America migrants before they got to the US Border with Mexico.

Significant Agents involved the Debate

President Bush's address on reforming immigration law

On May 15, 2006, in a nationally televised presidential address to the nation, President George W. Bush described his plan for reforming the nation's immigration laws. His plan consisted of five main points:

1. Border Security - The President said that he favored an eventual increase of 6000 border security agents by 2008. Border security would also include more training and technology available to border agents. During the training of the agents, up to 6000 members of the U.S. National Guard will be deployed along the 2000 mile long border of Mexico and the U.S., not to arrest undocumented immigrants, but "to provide support."

2. Temporary Guest Worker Program - The President said he supported a "temporary worker program that would create a legal path for foreign workers to enter our country in an orderly way, for a limited period of time" (See also: The H-1B Visa Program).

3. Stronger enforcement against employers - The President said that he supported the "need to hold employers to account for the workers they hire," adding that U.S. employers "often cannot verify the legal status of their employees, because of the widespread problem of document fraud."

4. Legal pathway for some illegal immigrants to stay - The President said that illegal immigrants "should not be given an automatic path to citizenship. This is amnesty, and I oppose it."

The President said that a general program of amnesty "would be unfair to those who are here lawfully and it would invite further waves of illegal immigration." On this point, President went on to describe his program:

I believe that illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty for breaking the law to pay their taxes to learn English and to work in a job for a number of years. People who meet these conditions should be able to apply for citizenship but approval would not be automatic, and they will have to wait in line behind those who played by the rules and followed the law. What I have just described is not amnesty it is a way for those who have broken the law to pay their debt to society, and demonstrate the character that makes a good citizen.

5. The American tradition of the melting pot - The President said that "the success of our country depends upon helping newcomers assimilate into our society, and embrace our common identity as Americans." The President also emphasized the need for all immigrants to read, write, and speak English proficiently.

[33]

Critical responses to Bush's speech and proposals

While some were pleased with President Bush's speech and proposed plan (U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (Republican, Illinois), for example) others on the political left and the political right expressed strong disapproval. This is a sampling of responses (as reported by CNN):

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Republican, California:

Bush is playing these word games about massive deportations again, which no one is advocating and does not do anything to further an honest debate . . . If they [illegal immigrants] are here illegally and you make them here legally, that is an amnesty.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, Democrat, Illinois:

We know where the House Republicans stand. They want to criminalize undocumented immigrants and the nurses, volunteers and people of faith who help them. The president told us tonight that he is for comprehensive reform: Now he must lead. The president has the power to call up the National Guard, but now he must summon the power to lead his own Republican forces in Congress to support a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform.

House Majority Leader John Boehner, Republican, Ohio:

House Republicans have responded to the concerns of the American people by passing a strong border-security bill that reflects our commitment to re-establishing basic respect for our immigration laws and sealing our border against illegal entry. If the Senate passes an immigration bill, I'm committed to working with [House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner] and House Republicans to ensure we make border security our first priority and meet our commitments to the American people.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, Republican, Colorado:

I hope to God that we do not, in fact, pass anything in the House that resembles anything that is coming out of the Senate or that they were even talking about. ... The card for employers -- great idea. All for it. Putting the troops on the border -- great idea. All for it. But what absolutely bugs me, when the president starts talking about this false dichotomy ... where it's either round up and deport 12 million people or give them amnesty -- no, no. There is another way to do it. And that is, in fact, to make sure that they can't get jobs and, through attrition, millions will go home.

Governor Bill Richardson, Democrat, New Mexico:

My big question as the New Mexico governor is, Of the 6,000, how many are coming to New Mexico? And they couldn't give me an answer on that. It seems this policy is being made on the fly, and that's what's discouraging.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican, California:

It remains unclear what impact only 6,000 National Guard troops will have on securing the Border . . . I am concerned asking National Guard troops to guard our nation's border is a Band-Aid Solution and not the permanent solution we need. One thing is clear -- we all agree we must secure our borders, and I commend the president for speaking so passionately about the need for comprehensive reform tonight.

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union:

Our government and people have long recognized that federal law enforcement officers are the best equipped and trained to deal with these kinds of civilian law enforcement needs. Soldiers are trained to kill the enemy, and they lack the training to conduct proper law enforcement. Furthermore, they lack training to respect and protect border community residents' civil liberties and safety. History has shown the dangers of using the military to engage in domestic law enforcement activities.

John Sweeny, President of the AFL-CIO:

Deploying the National Guard to the border does nothing to end the economic exploitation that is driving illegal immigration. Our laws must include uniform enforcement of workplace standards to ensure a more just and level playing field. We must reject outdated guest-worker programs that relegate all future immigrant workers to an indentured, second-class status with substandard wages and rights, and undermine standards for all. [34]

Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat, Vermont:

We asked them two years ago, why don't you fund the Border Patrol positions that the Congress has provided? You know what we got from Homeland Security for an answer? Nothing. Nothing at all.[35]

Illegal immigration debate in Congress

At the end of March 2006 a debate erupted over the prospect of new laws to make illegal immigration and assisting those crossing the border illegally felons, as well to build a proposed 700 mile long wall along the (approximately) 2,000 mile border with Mexico.

This has followed a much longer debate over the effect of high illegal immigration levels into the United States. Some issues in the illegal immigration debate include:^{[citation needed]}

lack of adequate agents to pursue visa overstayers;
lack of adequate agents to pursue illegals legally departed but still here—560,000;
lack of adequate agents to pursue blatant cases of illegal immigrant hiring;
lack of adequate agents to pursue identity theft;
lack of coordination between ICE/DHS and the Social Security agency—FDICA;
lack of coordination between ICE/DHS and the Internal Revenue Service;
lack of coordination between ICE/DHS and the local police forces;
lack of adequate agents to secure the border;
lack of adequate agents to reinstate internal immigration control;
lack of adequate agents and funding to find and deport all criminal aliens from all prisons;
lack of adequate agents to pursue wide spread document forgery;
illegal labor crowding out of native workers in several professions;
wage depression of all low skilled labor;
employment and unemployment of native unskilled labor;
impact on ecology and environmental degradation;
impacted schools diverting funds to teach English and other necessary skills;
hospitals (overuse of emergency rooms; patients who receive services but cannot or will not pay);
overcrowded highways and additional insurance costs due to illegal immigrants with no driver's licenses or automobile insurance;
disrespect for the law by illegals and their employers;
illegal immigrant involvement in the rising crime rate in general
illegal immigrant supported crimes of forging documents and identity theft;
public health concerns (i.e. possible infectious disease importation: tuberculosis and variant strains of the measles);
overcrowded federal, state and local prisons;
abuse of illegal workers in terms of lower than minimum wages and unsafe working conditions;
concern about wide spread corruption of public officials;
damage to private property (especially to those who live along the U.S.-Mexican border); and,
damage to U.S.-Mexico foreign relations (both political and economic).
impact of NAFTA

Senate action

On May 17 2006, the Senate passed a bill affecting the millions of illegal immigrants already in the United States, plus those intending to come in via Mexico. The bill proposed that a 370 mile triple-layered fence would be built along the Mexican border to slow down illegal border crossings in the future. However, illegal immigrants already in the country would be provided a way forward to stay and indeed gain citizenship. The new scheme would also provide up to 200,000 placements per year for guest workers.

President Bush made the following statement at a Washington gala and fundraising event for the national GOP:

The Republican Party needs to lead on the issue of immigration. The immigration system is not working and we need to do something about it now. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society and we don't have to choose between the two.[36]

On May 24 2006, the Senate moved to close the debate on immigration. The current bill creates a computerized system within the Social Security Administration for employers to check the legal status of their workers. [37] Employers would be required to submit data within three days of hire. The legislation also creates a process for current illegal aliens to become citizens. Meanwhile the President of Mexico, Vicente Fox, explained his opposition to the idea of a border wall while visiting Salt Lake City, Utah [38].

Grassroots political groups

Many organized political groups have begun to speak out on the issue of illegal immigration (and also legal immigration) resulting in a wide range of policy options under active consideration.

The immigration reduction movement seeks to reduce the levels of illegal immigration into the U.S. The Minuteman Project has been lobbying Congress for stronger enforcement of the border laws and is reported to be organizing private property owners along the U.S.-Mexican border for the purpose of building a fence to discourage illegal border crossings.

Other groups are organizing protests against the federal classification of illegal immigrant status as felons. These groups also demand various rights be established in law for undocumented workers to become permanent legal residents (with permission to work) or (eventually) a path for full U.S. citizenship. These groups have also organized large protests and rallies in many major urban centers in the U.S., including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Dallas. However, some have reported that the movement may have generated a significant backlash among those opposed to illegal immigration, which, according to a number of political polls, includes the majority of Americans. A recent Zogby poll found that 61% of Americans were less sympathetic to undocumented workers as a result of the protests. [39]

Documentation

Estimates of Origin into the United States

Africa & Other - 4%

0.4 Million

Europe & Canada - 6%

0.6 Million

Asia - 14%

1.6 Million

Other Latin America - 22%

2.5 Million

Mexico - 54%

5.9 Million ^{[citation needed]}

Visas and passports

Roughly 60% of the people classified as illegally immigrating are undocumented aliens and 40% are nonimmigrant overstayers. An "undocumented alien" is typically a foreign national that does not possess a valid passport and/or a valid U.S. visa. An "overstay" is typically a foreign national in possession of a tourist visa, which only permits that individual to visit the United States as a tourist, and strictly prohibits the individual from working in the United States. The maximum length of stay in the United States for an individual in possession of a tourist visa is normally six months. Other "overstays" include individuals with once-valid U.S. work visas or permanent resident (green cards) which have expired.

Crossing the border without a valid passport and U.S. visa is a misdemeanor for the first offense and a felony for subsequent violations. The first offense is punishable only by deportation, and in practice future offenses are only punishable by deportation and a ban on entering the U.S. legally in the future. Immigrants who are caught illegally trespassing U.S. territory are fingerprinted and immediately returned, unless they are a repeat offender, in which case they may be criminally prosecuted. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) made the hiring of an illegal alien an offense for the first time. H.R. 4437 would have made the first offense of crossing the border illegally a felony.

Unauthorized worker enforcement

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) made the hiring of an individual without documents an offense for the first time. Enforcement has been lax, but major businesses have often been found to use illegal immigrants. The act is somewhat redundant since the forging of government documents (fake immigration documents or providing falsified social security numbers) is already a felony, and for most companies such documents must be provided to the government in its tax filings. However, the government does not notify those whose identities have been stolen. However, the government does not notify those whose identities have been stolen for the falsified social security numbers, thus making it difficult to estimate the extent of the problem. [40]

Some major companies have been accused of hiring undocumented workers.

Tyson Foods was accused of actively importing illegal labor for its chicken packing plants, but a jury in Chattanooga, Tennessee resoundingly acquitted the company after evidence was presented that Tyson Foods went beyond mandated government requirements in demanding documentation for its employees.
Wal-Mart was convicted of using illegal sub contracted janitorial workers, though it claimed they were hired by a subcontractor without company knowledge or permission.
Philippe Kahn, who wanted to stay in the United States, created the successful computer software company Borland International without ever getting proper legal status.

Well known people

There have been occasional incidents where immigration status has been an issue in politics.

During his 2003 campaign for California governor, it was alleged that Arnold Schwarzenegger had violated his visa by working without a permit in the 1970s; he vehemently denied the charge and produced his documents.
Linda Chavez, Zoe Baird and Tom Tancredo are among those accused of hiring illegal aliens, the resulting scandals sometimes being dubbed "Nannygate". In Tancredo's case, a home contractor allegedly hired illegal aliens.

Criminal activity

Drug dealing

Some criminal elements illegally enter the United States, most notably narcotic-traffickers and members of the street gang MS-13. With a total member count of 10,000 in the U.S. and 50,000 worldwide, they have already forced other gangs into submission or absorbed their members. [41]

Fake IDs

Some immigrants engage in criminal activity like identity theft while Mohamed Atta al-Sayed and two of his co-conspirators had expired visas when they executed the September 11, 2001 attacks. All of the attackers had U.S. government issued documents and two of them were erroneously granted visa extensions after their deaths. The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States found that the government inadequately tracked those with expired tourist or student visas.

A controversial alternative to fake IDs and other illegal practices is the Matricula Consular ID being used in the U.S., which is issued by Mexican consulates. This document is accepted at financial institutions in many states of the union and, with an IRS Taxpayer Identification Number, allows illegal immigrants to open checking and saving accounts. This has benefited American companies and banks who profit from remmittances of migrants towards their place of origin, while allowing immigrants to save money and identify themselves.[42] The passage of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (a part of Public Law P.L. 109-13) prohibits States from issuing identification or driver's permit cards to anyone who cannot demonstrate that they are legally in the USA, taking full effect in 2008. Citizenship and/or immigration status is to be clearly denoted on these ID cards and they automatically expire on the expiration date of non-citizens' visas or other authorizing documentation. These IDs will be tied to online databases which will allow instant verification of the validity of these documents at low cost or no cost to the person seeking verification. As of 2006, the anticipated effect of this legislation is to make it increasingly difficult for illegal immigrants to use counterfeit documents to or to live and work illegally in the USA. However, at the same time, the REAL ID Act of 2005 effectively imposes a mandatory national ID for all US Citizens as well.

Legal issues

See also: Immigration to the United States

Legal and political status

Immigrants without proper legal status in the United States often have no valid identity cards or other official identification documents, they may have reduced or even no access to public health systems, proper housing, education and banks, which may result in the creation or expansion of an illegal underground economy to provide these services. In the U.S., however, hospitals (which are not allowed to ask the citizenship status of patients) have the obligation to provide care regardless of a patient's ability to pay. This has led to many hospitals running a deficit and being forced to close.[43] Also, free public education is extended to all children in the U.S. regardless of their citizen status. The matricula consular and passports are usually considered legal identification by many police agencies and governments.

Sweatshops

People smuggling may also be involuntary. Following the close of the legal international slave trade by the European nations and the United States in the early 19th century the illegal importation of slaves into America continued for decades, albeit at much reduced levels. More recently, a sweatshop in Los Angeles, California was discovered in 1995 to be staffed by 72 imprisoned Thai persons who had been smuggled in for the purpose^{[citation needed]}. Concerned for the workers' safety if they should be returned to Thailand, the federal government granted them legal residency with the right to work in the United States. In 1997, 57 deaf Mexicans were found to have been kidnapped and enslaved as panhandlers in New York City, these people were deported to Mexico after being placed under house arrest to secure their testimony for the trial^{[citation needed]}.

Human rights

The United States has laws requiring workers to have proper documentation, often intended to prevent the employment of illegal immigrants. However the penalties against employers are not always enforced consistently and fairly, which means that employers can easily use illegal labor. Agriculture, construction, domestic service, restaurants, resorts, and prostitution are the leading legal and illegal jobs that illegal workers are most likely to fill. For example, it is estimated that 80% of U.S. crop workers are without valid legal status^{[citation needed]}. Undocumented workers are especially popular with employers because they can violate minimum wage laws secure in the knowledge that illegal workers dare not report their employers to the police. Some members of the public react negatively to the presence of immigrants, whether legal or illegal, and such sentiments or fears are often exploited politically. When the authorities are overwhelmed in their efforts to stop immigration, they may issue periods of full amnesty, regularization, earned legalization or guest worker programs.

Amnesty acts

The 14th Amendment and immigration law

The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1866 with the original intention of providing citizenship (with accompanying civil rights and civil liberties) to former slaves after the Civil War. The amendment has been interpreted to provide citizenship to all children born in the U.S. under a legal doctrine referred to as jus soli (sometimes this is also called "Birthright Citizenship"). The U.S. government cannot deport a minor that is a U.S. citizen, however, the government may choose to deport his or her family members who lack status as legal residents.

Children of families with mixed immigration status are sometimes referred to as anchor babies because once the illegal immigrant family gives birth to the baby inside the U.S., the baby is said to "anchor" them to the U.S. However, many immigrant advocates regard the term to be pejorative, and prefer the term "Permanently Residing Under Color Of Law," or "PRUCOL." PRUCOL is a broadly-defined status which covers a variety of situations, including, but not limited to, those persons who are appealing for an adjustment of status as refugee, or persons who are awaiting hearings to decide status and final legal disposition of their case.

Historical events

Chinese experience

In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act had cut off nearly all Chinese immigration. The first laws creating a quota for immigrants were passed in the 1920s, in response to a sense that the country could no longer absorb large numbers of unskilled workers, despite pleas by big business that it wanted the new workers. Ngai (2003) shows that the new laws were the beginning of mass illegal immigration, because they created a new class of persons - illegal aliens - whose inclusion in the nation was at once a social reality and a legal impossibility. This contradiction challenged received notions of sovereignty and democracy in several ways. First, the increase in the number of illegal entries created a new emphasis on control of the nation's borders - especially the long Canadian border. Second, the application of the deportation laws gave rise to an oppositional political and legal discourse, which imagined "deserving" and "undeserving" illegal immigrants and, therefore, just and unjust deportations. These categories were constructed out of modern ideas about crime, sexual morality, the family, and race. In the 1930s federal deportation policy became the object of legal reform to allow for administrative discretion in deportation cases. Just as restriction and deportation "made" illegal aliens, administrative discretion "unmade" illegal aliens. Administrative law reform became an unlikely site where problems of national belonging and inclusion played out.

Quotas

The quota system was installed with the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 which was used to reduce the influx of East and Southern European immigrants who were coming to the country in large numbers from the turn of the century. This immigration was further reduced by the Immigration Act of 1924 which was structed to maintain the culture and ethnic balance of the United States.

There was never a quota for Jews, only for people from specific countries, but the number of Jewish applicants exceeded the quota for Germany, and the waiting list for these immigration spots grew enormously in the 1930s. The U.S. had nearly shut down immigration during the Great Depression of 1929. In 1929 there were 279,678 immigrants recorded and in 1933 there were only 23,068^{[citation needed]}. By 1939 recorded immigrants had crept back up to 82,998 but then the advent of World War II drove it down to 23,725 in 1943 increasing slowly to 38,119 by 1945^{[citation needed]}. After 1945 large numbers of European refugees were admitted under special laws, and in the 1960s and 1970s large numbers of Cuban and Vietnamese refugees^{[citation needed]}. Congress then passed the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965 which removed all nation-specific quotas, while retaining an overall quota, and included immigrants from Mexico and the Western Hemisphere for the first time. This dramatically changed the composition of the new arrivals from mostly European, to predominantly Latino and Asian.

In the U.S. the first laws requiring passports for American citizens and creating a quota for immigrants were passed around the turn of the 20th century, in response to increased Irish, Italian and Jewish immigration. A few years earlier the Chinese Exclusion Act had restricted Chinese immigration. The quota for Jews was 5,000 a year in the 1930s and 1940s, and the waiting list for these immigration spots grew enormously when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany.

References

United States

Barkan, Elliott R. "Return of the Nativists? California Public Opinion and Immigration in the 1980s and 1990s." Social Science History 2003 27(2): 229-283. in Project Muse
Borjas, G.J. "The economics of immigration," Journal of Economic Literature, v 32 (1994), pp. 1667-717
Cull, Nicholas J. and Carrasco, Davíd, ed. Alambrista and the US-Mexico Border: Film, Music, and Stories of Undocumented Immigrants U. of New Mexico Press, 2004. 225 pp.
Thomas J. Espenshade; "Unauthorized Immigration to the United States" Annual Review of Sociology. Volume: 21. 1995. pp 195+.
Flores, William V. "New Citizens, New Rights: Undocumented Immigrants and Latino Cultural Citizenship" Latin American Perspectives 2003 30(2): 87-100
Lisa Magaña, Straddling the Border: Immigration Policy and the INS (2003
Mohl, Raymond A. "Latinization in the Heart of Dixie: Hispanics in Late-twentieth-century Alabama" Alabama Review 2002 55(4): 243-274. Issn: 0002-4341
Ngai, Mae M. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America (2004),
Ngai, Mae M. "The Strange Career of the Illegal Alien: Immigration Restriction and Deportation Policy in the United States, 1921-1965" Law and History Review 2003 21(1): 69-107. Issn: 0738-2480 Fulltext in History Cooperative

Headline text

Visa Overstayers
Immigration reduction movement
Filibuster (military)
Immigration to the United States
Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965
H.R. 4437
Illegal emigration
2006 U.S. immigration reform protests
United States immigration debate
California Border Police Initiative
Free immigration
History of US immigration
Illegal immigration
Immigrant deaths along the United States Border
Migra
Lou Dobbs
Nativism
H-1B visa
MS-13 Violent gang of illegal immigrants estimated to have 8,000 to 10,000 members in the U.S.[44]
The Minuteman Project
Mexico
S2611
Xenophobia

Footnotes

Template:FnbThe terms "illegal alien(s)" and "illegal immigrant(s)" are commonly used to refer to those engaging in illegal immigration, which some people believe carry a negative or pejorative connotation. However, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol use illegal alien as their preferred term. Some individuals prefer the term undocumented alien, undocumented immigrant, or undocumented worker, though these have been based on "political correctness." When the term undocumented worker is used, it generally encompasses all people who enter without documents, including children, the elderly, and those who do not work. The term illegal immigrant is the preferred language of the AP Stylebook.