Unwelcome Houseguests

Unwelcome Houseguests

The great country of America was founded by scores of immigrants fleeing from Europe. The colored hands of immigrants working in America have touched our great railroads, magnificent buildings, and even the food we eat. However, times have changed, and with this change comes a new responsibility for America to control its borders and the people who pass through them. Not only are illegal immigrants invading our land, but they are crying out for employment and federal aid rights. Giving illegal immigrants the rights to driver's licenses, social security benefits, and employment rights is not only unfair to lawful citizens; it is outright irresponsible. The immigration of illegal peoples, be it from South America, Europe, or Asia, into the United States has quickly become a growing problem.

Illegal immigrants do not, and should not, have the right to obtain driver's licenses. By even entertaining the idea of giving them driver's licenses, the public is making it seem as though it is okay to hop our borders and infest our country. Some activists argue that legally giving undocumented residents the right to drive will discourage them from carjacking and other crimes. However, the single most devastating act of terrorism on American soil could have been prevented by the denial of driver's licenses to illegals. Wodele writes, "...19 airline hijackers easily obtained driver's licenses to board planes that slammed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001" (2). Along with the potential danger, other dilemmas arise with the exponential arrival of unlawful peoples in our country.

One of the biggest problems with illegal immigrants inhabiting our land is the tremendous strain they put on our national budget. According to Human Events, "...households headed by illegal aliens used $10 billion more in government services than they paid in taxes in 2002" (22). Among the largest federal costs used by undocumented immigrants are "Medicaid ($2.5 billion); treatment for the uninsured ($2.2 billion); food assistance programs ($1.9 billion); the federal prison and court systems ($ 1.6 billion); and federal aid to schools ($1.4 billion)" (Human Events, 22). With our national debt already rapidly increasing due to the ongoing war on terrorism, any money spent towards illegal immigrants is anything but helpful to our already fragile economy.

However, illegals do help scratch the surface of the problems of the depleting funds of Medicare and Social Security by contributing with the little taxes they do pay. Approximately 43%, or $7 billion, of the federal taxes illegal immigrants pay go to Social Security and Medicare (Human Events, 22). Furthermore, it is reported that "although illegals create a net drain on the federal government, the average illegal household pays more than $4,200 a year in federal taxes, for a total of nearly $16 billion" (Human Events, 22). Nonetheless, the issue at hand is the fact that our national debt is at a greater risk of increasing due to the spending towards aid for unlawful citizens. In addition, it is becoming harder for American citizens of the lower and middle classes to find work due to the alarming rate at which illegal immigrants cross our borders.

As of 1994, immigration accounted for nearly 50 percent of the population growth in the United States. Ling-Ling writes, "Every year, about 1 million immigrants enter the United States legally, while an estimated 300,000 arrive and stay illegally" (73-74). The rate at which working age immigrants come into our country and battle with lawful citizens for available jobs is in high favor of the former. With the national job supply rapidly depleting due to outsourcing and downsizing, this added factor to the workforce makes an already competitive job search even more so for the average American. These were