What is so bad about illegal immigration?

Question

how does it affect americans?

Answer 1

Illegal immigration causes an enormous drain on public funds. The seminal study of the costs of immigration by the National Academy of Sciences found that the taxes paid by immigrants do not cover the cost of services received by them. We cannot provide high quality education, health care, and retirement security for our own people if we continue to bring in endless numbers of poor, unskilled immigrants.

Additionally, job competition by waves of illegal immigrants willing to work at substandard wages and working conditions depresses the wages of American workers, hitting hardest at minority workers and those without high school degrees. Ý

Illegal immigration also contributes to the dramatic population growth overwhelming communities across America--crowding school classrooms, consuming already limited affordable housing, and straining precious natural resources like water, energy, and forestland.

Answer 2

It lowers the earning wage for tax paying citizens of the working class. Increasing the supply of workers for few jobs drives wages down. Especially, where companies can cheat by not paying a minimum page and avoid taxes. When large groups of these illegals come to your community it changes the demographics. You are thus forced to learn their ways which by passes the slower legal assimilation process. Also, they don't have health insurance. So, when they get sick they just go to the emergency room. Because of the Hippocratic oath doctors cannot refuse to treat them. And the bill get passed on to the tax payer. So, you have the American business folks that proclaim their proud American patriotism passing the buck (taxes) and the illegals going for free health care passing the buck on to the citizens of this country. If you don't have illegals in your community you probably could care less about the problem. And the folks that go through the legal immigration process must go through hoops and a lot of frustration. It seems are system rewards the cheaters and illegal behavior while punishing the honest legal immigrants and honest citizens.

Answer 3

I think the way it can affect the United States is by over population. I think that is the only way. As it seems that people from all over the world want to live in the USA. Don't take me wrong, I don't judge people for wanting a better life or to succeed and do better financially wise or to have a better standard of life. I think the USA is a popular country now and therefore everybody seems to want to be a part of it. But I can understand how too many people in the same area will crowd up the place. It would be the same problem anywhere. Look at Mexico City for instance.

Answer 4

The real issue of illegal immigration and the large focus on Mexican illegal immigration is actually because of unfairness to other immigrants in parts of the world where they can not simply slip under a fence and enter America. It is easy enough for a Mexican to enter America that they would rather sneak in than follow the proper process. Meanwhile, Asians must follow the proper proceedure and wait for their time to come or pay sickening amounts of money to be smuggled into America only to work in sweatshops. America only allows so many immigrants a year because of economic strain, why would we allow more people in if we can not even provide those here with proper care? But more and more illegals puts greater and greater strain on our economy, and so we allow fewer legal immigrants in. This is not an issue of disliking foreigners, it is an issue of taking care of ones own. Everything must be kept in balance for America to stay strong.

Answer 5

Good question. The answer is complex, but I will give it a try. When answering any question involving economics, it is important to remember supply and demand. When you set the value of anything, from diamonds to workers, the more demand there is for that commodity, the more people are willing to apy for it. If the supply is low, and the demand high, prices rise. If the supply is high and demand low, the prices will be low.

In the case of employees, illegal immigrants flood the job market and take many unskilled and semi-skilled workers. This has the effect of raising supply, which drives down wages for those jobs. At the same time, since many of the illegals are poor, they place a great strain upon services like healthcare, EMS, police, soup kitchens, and other services for the poor. This has the effect of raising the demand for various things, which raises the costs of those things.

You get a double whammy. Lower wages for workers in unskilled and semiskilled positions, and higher prices for the working poor. Unchecked, this can have ripple effects throughout the economy.

Answer 6

Think of it this way....would you like for an illegal immigrate come into your country and take your job? Or get in the welfare system and get free medical, free food at your expense? An illegal will work for less than the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour and save his money and go back to Mexico and live like a king..Why doesn't he just stay over there instead of sneaking across the border?

Answer 7

well, the fact that it's illegal makes it automaticaly bad in a legal way. It harms legal americans because there are now more people in the country, which means more people for the government to take care of, and more people to compete with jobs.

i, however, don't personally feel that illegal immigration is all that heinous of a crime, especially if the immigrants are escaping persecution or something

Answer 8

Let's see.

I pay more taxes out of my paycheck in SS benefits. No other government entity takes more money from me. That money is supposed to be there to supplement me when I can not work anymore. Yet the government has now decided to give MY hard earned money to someone who is constantly breaking the law by just being here. The government has sanctioned the theft of my money from me. Politicians are as big of a thief as illegal immigrants are. And please tell me why an illegal should have any right to MY MONEY.

Answer 9

Sciencenut and kristycordeaux is right ! mexico is far worse on immigrants let alone on illegal immigrants yet they want different rules for their people and why should we take care of another country ? mexico is not a poor country they have enough resources to take care of their own but because of corruption we are asked to why should we foot the bill for corruption? will not that corruption to continue to grow and not more people want to escape in the future and for a people who really don't want to be Americans they only come here for jobs and want know part of becoming Americans i say no we should not support corruption and if we keep bailing them out , we have given like 7 previous amnesties and those were supposed to put a stop to it did it ? no and this puts a big strain on the American people we let people come we just want them to come legal

Answer 10

I think you should put this question to the Mexican government and to the Mexican people. They have some of the most RESTRICTIVE, PUNITIVE illegal immigration laws on the planet, far worse than the USA. Why would they have such laws? When you discover the answer, then you might understand the USA's problem as well.