Why dont immigrants immigrate legally? It is more a law issue than a money issue? Why not do it the legal way?

Question

I'm writing a paper responding to the governor's opinion and to make a policy of my own i first need to know why people dont immigrate the legal way

Answer 1

My experience as an immigrant:
1) wait can sometimes take months or years if you do it legally
2) When attempting to do it legally, INS staff are/can be incredibly cruel and insensitive
3) there are a limited number of crossing locals for doing it legally.... for us, the nearest was 3-4 days horseback ride
4) much easier to simply cross where you can
5) the costs can be prohibitively high... an attorney from your country can take all of your savings and property just to walk you thru the process
6) Legal crossing points are often hundreds of miles from the work-site you are going to, crossing at the work-site area just across the borders is much easier. Also, the longer you're en-route... the higher your chances of getting robbed, raped, killed, injured, etc.; ergo, you take the shortest route!

Finally, the trip is extremely perilous... many die along the way from anything from a snake-bite to dehydration, to being murdered by "coyoteros" (people who help you across illegally for huge sums of money) for not paying up as promised. We functioned as "coyoteros" for many years; however, our fee was only $10-20 per person since our goal was not to make money, but to bring people we knew over.

There are numerous other reasons, but these were ours when we crossed illegally, yes, 35 years ago. today, I'm legal, have earned a Ph.D in clinical psych, and contribute to society.

Good question by the way!

Answer 2

Because of the law issue, it becomes a money issue and a time issue. The three are closely related, but I'll see if I can educate you a bit from an earlier question.

The main reason is because illegal immigrants don't have the money. This not only applies for illegal Mexican immigrants, but also illegal immigrants from other nations, including Asia.

If they enter the US on tourist visas, then they're required to provide some personal information that could be used to track them down when the visas expire. If they enter without a record that's documented in US bureaucratic agencies, then it's much harder to find them or prove where they're from. For example, an illegal immigrant from Argentina could easily be mistaken for an illegal immigrant from Mexico by an inexperienced law/border enforcement official; thus, if the immigrant were deported back to Mexico (the mistaken country of origin) as opposed to all the way back to Argentina, it's much easier for that immigrant to try again later.

Also, money for a bus or a plane ticket typically requires funds up front to buy it, which many of these illegal immigrants don't have available on hand (perhaps a strong reason that they're willing to risk their lives over this). However, there are lots of people and groups (the term in Latin America is a "coyote") that help illegals in their journey by arranging transportation and/or accommodation along the way.

Of course, this is a huge fee (remember where I said that the illegals usually don't have a lot of money). Naturally, the immigrant, once smuggled into the new country, will owe an enormous financial debt to the coyote (often an organized crime syndicate), which can motivate them to find employment anywhere they can get it. Sound familiar? It usually takes years, sometimes decades to pay off the debt, depending on how far they've come and what they can find.

Under that pressure of paying off a debt (that can be extracted with the murder of a family member if payments are not made), who has time to also save up for regular living expenses (especially in California), an education, health care, and all the other benefits that Americans take for granted?

It might make you consider how awful life is in their nation of origin if most of them can't even afford to enjoy some of the basic freedoms for which they risked their everything to come to the US in the first place.

Answer 3

Because immigration quotas and the paper process are time consuming and require years of waiting The system is broken and no one in the Federal Government wants to address it.
The quota system is based on equalizing the immigration numbers from the entire world and does not favor our neighbor to the south.
Therefore the Mexican and Central Americans who want the work here, but don't want the hassle or expense of the immigration system simply pay a coyote few hundred dollars and are transported here and dumped off. Now that we have 12 million illegals here already, who know their way around and speak the native language it becomes easier and easier to learn where to get jobs and where to milk the US System for money, health care, food stamps, welfare, etc.
Since they work for low wages, yet buy American goods, and rent from American landlords, these industries that get profits off of them have formed a very powerful lobby that has a huge influence on our elected officials. It is a huge growth industry that has few penalties and pretty decent rewards as long as the government does not enforce its own laws. The light at the border is green. So why would they stop?

Answer 4

for a few reasosns, people choose to immigrate illegally. your'e right about the money issue, but even if it was free to come here, things wouldn't change because those laws happen to be very strict and complicated. not anyone can come here for many reasons. some of the obvious reasons include past criminal records. another is the background check on the refugee to see whther or not this guy is more than likely to work in america and not do something else.

so you see, those laws is what keeps many people in their homes, and central americans, since theyre close to our border, take advantage and cross illegally. most come to work, and dont cause any trouble, but the fact that theyre doing that is wrong.

by the way, i am hispanic.

Answer 5

I have worked with these people, in construction, which seems to be the only trade they understand. It takes a lot of effort to learn to speak English, and a lot of money...over $8,000. Therefore, the easiest path is to swim across the Rio Grande, get on a bus and go to the major cities. One of them told me that when he and his brother got here, they had no money. They got off the bus they were riding and went to "Hispanic ville." They went door to door, and asked if they could live there. They found a willing compadre, and BINGO...they had a place to live.

These people are broke. They come from societies where the majority of the population is poor. They do not have enough money to remodel their homes. They have many bambinos and they have little or no education. They can not go through the "legal" channel's because of this.

Answer 6

1. The system is complicated and takes forever, making it harder for the majority of immigrants, who are poor and illiterate.
2. They are scared they will be sent back home.
3. They believe they will not be allowed to enter.
4. For some, they are concerned a past criminal history might prevent them from entering.

Answer 7

It takes a lot of time and is a complicated process, and many immigrants are too desperate to wait. It is also easy to get away with, since employers don't report them because it's cheap labor. They normally don't get caught until they commit a crime. There are no real deterrents.

Answer 8

There's a difference between immigrants and illegal aliens. It takes a lot of time and paper work, and sometimes they are not elligible. So people take the easy way.

SOmetimes, dire conditions force them, too

Answer 9

I have to agree that I think it's more about time than anything else. It takes so long to get it done legally that they can't afford to wait that long.

Answer 10

These Illegal Mexicans know Bush loves them.
Bush doesn't care if (45 million) came across.
.....(He would like it even better).
Bush loves Mexico and the Mexicans.
Bush grew up with a Mexican nanny.