Introduction
Immigration is normally used to refer to the movement of people from their home countries to a foreign country where they are non-citizens. Immigration can either be legal or illegal. Legally, immigration of people is sanctioned by the destination country’s governing authorities (LeMay 36). There are various issues associated with illegal migration of persons. One of the major issues in the United States of America is whether or not illegal immigrants should be entitled to social services such as food stamps, welfare, and medical care. This paper highlights some of the specific illegal immigration issues that touch on the country’s social welfare system.
Discussion
At the beginning of this discussion, it is important to analyze the mechanism behind the provision of social services in the USA as well as other countries that operate with more or less the same social welfare system. Social services normally are offered by governments with an aim of ensuring that every individual in the country has access to at least some of the most basic human needs. This, therefore, implies that a government has to incur various expenses in providing services such as food stamps, welfare services, and medical care (Camarota, 2). Allowing illegal immigrants to access such services means additional strain to the already existing resources that are meant for legal immigrants and citizens of the nation. In the USA, for instance, this should not be accepted as it diminished the capacity of the government to take care of legal immigrants (LeMay, 12). Governmental care to illegal immigrants will inadvertently result in a reduction in the quality of social services across the board (Camarota, 6).
In addition to the strain imposed on resources meant for the provision of social services, another impact of allowing illegal immigrants to access social services is high inflation rates to the tax-paying legal immigrants and the country’s citizens (Kenney, 66). In order to alleviate this problem that consumes existing resources, the government will, therefore, be compelled to restrain the influx of illegal immigrants (Kenney 6).
The fact that illegal immigrants encourage employers to seek cheap labor is reason enough for the USA government to put all possible measures that would discourage the influx of illegal immigrants. It should enforce more strict legal actions on illegal immigrants. Some employers find labor from illegal immigrants cheap in the sense that the employees are not normally taxed by the government. Due to their illegality, such employees do not meet requirements to seek life and other forms of insurance. As a result, employers find this convenient because they do not need to pay extra charges for keeping the employees. It is therefore important that governments implement all possible measures to reduce the rate at which illegal immigrants get into their countries.
In most occasions, illegal immigrants do not receive foreign aid. This is because they are not recognized by any systems within their ‘new found land’. This implies that such governments cater to all their needs, inconsiderate of the fact that they do not pay their taxes (Seminara, 17). It is therefore imperative that governments seal all the loopholes for illegal migration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, therefore, illegal immigrants should not be allowed access to social services such as food stamps, welfare, and medical care. Allowing illegal immigrants to access social services will inadvertently result in a strain in the existing resources, an increase in the tax burden, and subsequently a deteriorated economy.
Works Cited
Camarota, Sam. The High Cost of Cheap Labor. Centre for Immigration Studies, 2004. Web.
Kenney, Karen. Illegal Immigration. New York: ABDO, 2010. Print.
LeMay, Michael. Illegal Immigration: A Reference Handbook. New York: ABC-CLIO, 2007. Print.
Seminara, Dams. Legalizing illegal immigrants a bad idea. Chicago Tribune, 2008. Web.