Introduction
The United States of America are mainly inhabited by immigrants. Several millions of people came here during the past centuries to build a better future. However, as the laws for aliens become stricter each decade, the American society does not seem very excited about the newcomers. Illegal immigration is a serious issue that cannot be neglected as it creates an array of problems for both, the ‘host’ country and illegal immigrants themselves.
The Labor Market
There is a widespread opinion that illegal immigrants are taking away the jobs from Americans. People who do not share this idea claim that the threat is exaggerated, for the large part of foreigners crossing the border illegally does not have any proper education, and there is usually a language barrier that makes the process of finding a job very challenging. Besides, they offer a thought that a local citizen should possess low skills to lose a job to an illegal worker. However, the opposite opinion mentions locals who have only the high school level of education. They are most likely to be competing with foreigners on the labor market. Camarota states in his research article that if illegal immigrants were forced to leave the country, “there would be an ample supply of idle workers to replace them, particularly workers who have relatively little education” (3). This way, the issue of unemployment among the local citizens could be solved as well.
Exploitation and Working Conditions
Illegal immigrants are exposed to various dangers on the job market. While legal workers are protected by law, people without the required documents are often subject to such things as low wages, possibilities of not receiving money for a completed task or being fired anytime. Usually, it is the case of small businesses run by one person, who hires cheap labor force to cut costs. Sometimes these workers are employed by larger companies, which require them to provide a social security number. David Bacon mentions in his book that “the Social Security Administration writes to thousands of businesses every year, listing the names of millions of people whose numbers don’t jibe with those on file” (4). Left without any financing, immigrants tend to commit crimes and other actions to support their living, which makes the issue even more pressuring.
Social Services
It is common among illegal immigrants to bring their whole family to the country after finding a job. Usually, only one person from such family earns money, meaning the rest rely on him or her. The absence of documents creates problems not only at work. Children of these people cannot attend school and become a potential group of unemployed young people who engage in crime. The lack of education restricts them from getting a high paid job in the future. Another problem lies in healthcare which is not accessible without insurance. Considering the living conditions of places where immigrants usually dwell, it is evident that the possibility of getting sick is higher than the average. All these realities raise a question of whether it is a smart choice to live without documents rather than returning to the home country and be equal to most of the society.
Conclusion
The covered issues support the idea that illegal immigration is destructive for both sides. Efforts should be put into solving this problem on all levels, including the government and businesses. Creating the conditions, where all participants of the process will have real documents, will benefit all the community by helping to tackle unemployment, crime, and social services issues.
Works Cited
Bacon, David. Illegal People. Beacon Press, 2008.
Camarota, Steven A. “Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants and the Employment Picture for Less-Educated Americans.” Center for Immigration Studies, 2013, Web.