The Burden Illegal Immigration has on American Society

I. Introduction

     A. (Intro) Do you desire a nation of crime and hardship for you and your loved ones? Did you know that the closer you live to the Mexican-American border, the more vulnerable you become to corruption due to the illegal immigrants that cross the border in numbers everyday? On the border states of America, this problem has been occuring at an exponential rate and dealt with on a national level. Even though the American government has attempted to resolve the problem, the issue still remains and continues to grow.

     B. (Thesis) America was founded on immigrants but today the influx of illegal immigrants has put stress on the economy by increasing the load on the taxpayer, taking jobs from American citizens, and causing menacing crime; the government needs to take stronger action against illegal immigration so as to avoid the burden on it civilians. 

II. History

     A. America founding - Why does America inhabit such a variety and races and ethnicities? What made it this way? Hasia Diner: Tens of millions of immigrants over four centuries have made the     United States what it is today. They came to make new lives and livelihoods in the New World; their hard work benefited themselves and their new home country 

     B. Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago - Did we initially take something away from the Mexicans? Is it their land that we stole and are now keeping them off of?  Tom Gray: This treaty, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the war between the United States and Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including parts of present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, to the United States

     C. Why Mexicans seek life in America - Why do the illegal immigrants desire life in America? Why don't they like their home? What is the difference between the two countries?  (Mexican Public): Facing a variety of national problems -- crime, drugs, corruption, a troubled economy -- Mexicans overwhelmingly are dissatisfied with the direction of their country. With drug-related violence affecting much of Mexico, large majorities describe crime (81%) and illegal drugs (73%) as very big problems, and Mexicans overwhelmingly endorse President Felipe Calderón's tough stance against drug traffickers. Most believe life is better in the United States. Close to six-in-ten (57%) say that people who move from Mexico enjoy a better life in the U.S., up from 51% in 2007. And the vast majority of those who are in regular contact with friends and relatives living in the U.S. say those friends and relatives have largely achieved their goals.

^^^^Samuel I. Del Villar: "The current structure of the Mexican-United States economic relations strictly limits the possibility of Mexico's offering to the majority of it's people the option of development."

III. Oppisition

     A. Taxes

          1. Wall - Is the wall necessary? How badly does it burden us? Alan Fernald: The amount of money spent to build a fence could more constructively be used to purchase additional sensor systems and to hire more personnel.

          2. General - Mary Fitzgerald: A report that found that illegal immigrants in the United States cost the federal government more than $10 billion a year. "Households headed by illegal aliens imposed more than $26.3 billion in costs on the federal government in 2002 and paid only $16 billion in taxes, creating a net fiscal deficit of $10.4 billion, or $2,700 per illegal household," said Steven A. Camarota, author of the study. James R. Edwards: "Make no mistake: Immigration imposes significant costs on the native-born. These costs pile up at the federal, state and local level. They range from education to welfare to medicare to criminal justice and beyond. For almost one-third of the states, these costs are measured in the billions of dollars."

          3. Illegal mother/legal child - Why do the illegal immigrant women who have "anchor babies" recieve "free" treatment? Where does the money to pay for their medical care come from?  Marg Baker: A recent patient survey indicated that 70 percent of the women who gave birth at Parkland in the first three months of 2006 were illegal immigrants. That's 11,200 anchor babies born every year just in Dallas.  According to the article, the hospital spent $70.7 million delivering 15,938 babies in 2004 but managed to end up with almost $8 million dollars in surplus funding.  Medicaid kicked in $34.5 million, DallasCounty taxpayerskicked in $31.3 million and the feds tossed in another $9.5 million.

     B. Work Force - Are they taking our jobs? Could the illegal immigrants possibly be a main reason for our failing economy/unemployment rates?  Tulika Nair: Estimates also suggest that cities that have the most inflow of illegal immigrants have an unemployment rate that is twice the rate as in other cities, have a crime rate that is 40% higher, and have 40% more people under the poverty line.

     C. Crime

          1. Drug trafficking - John C. McKay: While steadily spreading south into Central America, Mexican cartels are establishing large marijuana farms on public and private lands in the United States;

          2. Gangs

          3. Human smuggling

          4. Identity theft

               ^^^^ Jameson Taylor: Paramilitary groups trading fire with U.S. agents. Kidnappings and murders of U.S. citizens. Members of al-Qaida, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations infiltrating the border on a routine basis. We are not talking about Iraq – but Texas. One of the clearest indicators the United States has lost control of its southwest border is the ease with which thousands of tons of drugs and millions of illegal aliens are crossing the U.S. border on an annual basis. This open borders policy has opened the door to more than just cheap labor. The presence of millions of undocumented persons in our country has provided a perfect cover for various forms of criminal activity, ranging from drug trafficking to prostitution to identity theft. Federal investigators believe that as much as 2.2 million kilograms of cocaine and 11.6 kilograms of marijuana were smuggled into the United States via the Mexican border in 2005.

               ^^^^^ American Patrol Reference: Under Title 8 Section 1325 of the U.S. Code, "Improper Entry by Alien," any citizen of any country other than the United States who:

• Enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers; or
• Eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers; or
• Attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact;

          has committed a federal crime.

     D. Arizona Laws

          1. Is the law in Arizona the right thing to do? Isn't it possible that that is just how extreme it NEEDS to be in order to protect American citizens from illegal immigrant corruption? ARGUE AGAINST THIS - Randal C. Archibold: The law, which proponents and critics alike said was the broadest and strictest immigration measure in generations, would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. Opponents have called it an open invitation for harassment and discrimination against Hispanics regardless of their citizenship status.

     E. Government Action - Solobodan Djajic: Efforts to counter illegal immigration into the US have been increasing steadily following the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The act itself sought to reduce illegal immigration with the aid of three instruments: employer sanctions, increased controls along the border and a legalization program designed to meet the existing demand for agricultural labor in geographic locations which are in the proximity of Mexico, the principle source of clandestine foreign labor.

IV. Advocate

     A. Inhumane -Is is inhumane what the border patrol does in order to protect our borders? Should we be "nicer" to the illegal immigrants who we are obligated to deport? (300,000): More than 300,000 men, women and children are detained by US immigration authorities each year.[7] They include asylum seekers, torture survivors, victims of human trafficking, longtime lawful permanent residents, and the parents of US citizen children. The use of detention as a tool to combat unauthorized migration falls short of international human rights law, which contains a clear presumption against detention. Everyone has the right to liberty, freedom of movement, and the right not to be arbitrarily detained.

     B. Morality - Shouldn't we just allow them so they can live a better life? Wouldn't that be our moral obligation? Jeff Diamant: Yesterday, Princeton Borough and Princeton Township became the state’s third and fourth municipalities where residents can obtain community identification cards that will be accepted at many local agencies and establishments even if the residents are in the United States illegally. Cristobal Mendoza: "Transmigrants take actions, make decisions, feel concerns and develop identities within social networks that connect them to two or more societies simultaneously."

V. Final Analysis

VI. Conclusion