Research Paper
Angelo State University

Capstone Seminar
Dr. James Phelps
May 5, 2016

The Immigration Crisis

Over the past 20 years immigration has become a hot topic in American culture. Since September 11, 2001, the concern for security at our nation’s borders is higher than ever. The threat of another attack lies imminent in the country’s mind. With the increase in concern for border security comes the issue of how to approach and handle the illegal immigration epidemic that is currently affecting the United States. We should first look back at the Roman Empire to give us a better understanding of the problems and solutions of immigration. There are astonishing similarities between the rise of the United States and power and the upsurge of Roman Republic. (Pagdan) These likenesses are not due to the specific character of both states, rather there is a common pattern in the development of every powerful state and the United States and Rome are examples of this pattern. The effects that immigration has on the United States are limitless. There have been endless debates over these effects since as early as the colonial times. The economic, fiscal and demographic effects are three major topics that tend to rule these debates. Regardless on someone’s political view of immigration, everyone should realize how it has and is shaping the United States today. The economic, fiscal and demographic effects are three major topics that tend to rule the debates on immigration and its laws. It is without a doubt that the United States was founded on immigration and its many contributions over the years. The dilemma that we face today brings into question if the laws and policies of the past are serving their intended purposes, if they are still beneficial to the country, and if there are new laws that need to be created to address some of the issues that have been created because illegal immigration. Even though actual numbers of illegal immigrants were not discussed because of inaccurate data; the issues concerning how did we get to this point; what are the impacts of illegal immigration on the countries social and economic systems. The solution to this dilemma should include, not just the enforcement, of the policies and laws established but, it should also make sure they are properly funded as well. The solution should contain initiatives that address those topics that negative effect the country as well as initiative that reward positive effects of illegal immigration; keeping in mind the countries national security and national interests in mind.
More than 3,000 violent acts committed between 1995 and 2002, supplemented by police records and community surveys, it found that the rate of violence among Mexican-Americans was significantly lower than among both non-Hispanic whites and blacks. Based on studies like these conducted, immigrants, both legal and illegal do not raise the rate of crime in the United States and native born Americans are five times more likely to be incarcerated than immigrants. (Miller) In a study released by the non-partisan research group The Public Policy Institute of California immigrants were ten times less likely to be incarcerated than native born Americans. Based on these views immigration is actually keeping the Unites States crime rates lower. Mexican-Americans face the dilemma of racism, every person with half of a brain knows that racial tensions are high in the United States, and this is not limited to Mexican-American or Mexican immigrants. Mexicans are working at places for a substandard rate, especially the immigrants who are illegal. With the illegal immigrant the employer does not have to pay them employees the same as everyone else because the labor laws do not apply to them, they are illegal workers. Not only do we have this problem in bordering states to other countries, but in labor work all over the country. The problem lies with both American people and immigrants, legal or illegal. When discussing the job market many of us Americans will not do the job because it is too hard of work, or the pay is not that great, but the immigrants are more than happy to do the work because they need the money. Mexican-Americans also suffer from some sort of environmental justice issues. Mexican-American constitute a large group of people that are impoverished and poorly educated, which in turn leads to living in areas that are less than more affluent Americans. Mexican-Americans have definitely been affected by affirmative action, but so has every other race in the United States. Affirmative action is good in theory, but the law in itself is a form of prejudice against better qualifies applicants at jobs and at colleges. Mexican-American and other minorities were also affected by banking practices and even just going to the supermarket. While were spending millions of dollars trying to keep illegal immigrants out of our country by putting up state of the art fences that don’t work and increasing “border security” that doesn’t seem to make a difference. Probably thousands of people are being murdered, raped and forced into prostitution and slavery in their attempt at getting into the United States. Since 1993, the amount of money spent each year by the federal government for border enforcement has more than quintupled according to the U.S customs and border patrol fiscal report of 2010 from $740 million to $3.8 billion most of which is being spent on the Mexican border. (Miller) Think of what our country could do for immigrants with $3.8 billion dollars. If we took all the money that we are wasting on increasing our Mexican border patrol and instead turned that helping people who have immigrated get a good education think of the difference that it could make. Many people argue that the newly Mexican emigrated people to this country are taking up jobs that could be taken by Americans in our shrinking job economy but the reality is that our economy continues to create opportunities for low-skilled workers while the pool of Americans willing to fill these jobs continues to shrink. Americans are becoming increasingly more focused on secondary education and depend less of the low-skilled jobs that our past generations were forced into taking decades ago. If it sounds to you like were forcing Mexican emigrated people to take the low-skilled jobs that we don’t want then you are thinking correctly. We too easily accept the party line that they only come to take jobs unwanted by those who pay the billions upon billions of dollars that it takes to support the millions of illegal immigrants residing within the United States. We allow our leaders to fail us time and time again while holding onto the false hope that we may one day be heard. Maybe someday we will have that voice. Maybe someday we will see the results we so desperately ask for with each and every local, state, and national election. Until then, we can rest assured that any illegal immigration from Mexico will directly facilitate the influx of illicit drugs, human cargo, and illegal weapons into the United States. (Bonczar)
We aren’t the only country that is has a large political debate when referring to immigration. In fact the very country that we’re trying to stop people from immigrating from has almost just as many illegal immigrants in its country, Mexico. According to the Mexico’s equivalent to the U.S Census Bureau, in the first six months of 2005 alone more than 120,000 people from Central America have been deported to their countries of origin. (Cohen) This is a significantly higher rate than in 2002, when for the entire year, only 130,000 people were deported. Sound familiar? It’s even been estimated that there are so many illegal immigrants in Russia that the Chinese may become the dominant ethnic group in Russia within the next twenty years. Russia, Mexico and the United States of America all share the same common underlying theme with illegal immigration; they are all spending too much government funded money on trying to keep out all these people instead of helping them get a proper education once they get to their country. Whether it is within our own country or somewhere halfway around the world everyone is ignoring what should be done with the millions of illegal immigrants that, instead of improving their lives, have become a part of a horrible system that is solely focused on sending them back to the country that they came from. Regardless of your political views it’s important to realize that the very country that you live in was founded upon immigrants who came from countries all over the world in search of a better life. The United States of America always has and will hopefully continue to be the “land of opportunity” to those who seek a better change in their life and it is my hope that we will support those who choose to find that opportunity in our country. One can see that limited immigration is good based on the good and bad results immigration has on the economical, fiscal, and demographic positions of the United States. The positive and negative effects that immigration in general and workers have on the economy cancel each other out. Many factors influence the United States fiscal situation, including age, causing the federal fiscal level to generally be positive, while the state level is normally negative. The fact that so many factors influence the fiscal situation proves that one can never determine whether immigration has a good or bad effect on the United States. The increase in population caused by immigration is also causing both good and bad problems in the United States, causing some people to feel threatened, while others feel a sense of togetherness. Without immigration the United States would not be what it is today. Almost everything in life has both good and bad qualities, but with a little regulation and control they can turn out to be positive. Immigration is one of those instances in life where with a little regulation immigration can be a great push towards a better future.
Any simple examination of the history of civilization will shed light on two of the most successful empires of all time The United States of America and The Ancient Roman Empire. These two impressive success stories are wonders of the world. However, as history shows us, no empire has lasted forever. When the citizens of ancient Rome gave more power to politicians, the Roman government grew to an alarming extent. In the act of promising their constituents hefty entitlements and luxuries, the Roman Empire met the same fate most socialist governments do failure. As America faces growing challenges in 2016, we should take note of the Roman failures. Ambitious politicians are promising us ideas that sound nice universal healthcare, a government run economy, and expansive welfare but their actions will bankrupt the treasury and stifle economic growth in the long run. When forced with decisions to cut spending, these demagogues will opt to cut our defense spending rather than our entitlements, scared to go back on their promises of milk and honey. Like the Romans before us, our military will be weakened, borders breached, and influence waned. History has taught us time and again that the expanding welfare state of a super power will ultimately lead to its demise.
The Roman Empires would compete with each other politically, militarily and socially. The east was richer, and therefore more powerful, than the west. For a long time, the east held the west up. But, when barbarian invasions became too strong the east gave up the west, and the barbarians took their chance to gain Roman lands. It seems to me that the best plan would have been to end the expansionism that made Rome so large sooner than even the invasion of Dacia. But, there are many different reasons the civilization fell, such as economic inflation, mass immigration, and religious tensions .which caused the fall of the Roman Empire. (Roman Catholics and Immigration)
Many believe that illegal immigration is reaching such levels that it threatens our national security, and perhaps even our national survival. Others believe that we should give legal status to those who already illegally in our country. We have already done this once, in 1986, and the result was that millions more, seeing that there was hope for eventual legal status, came here illegally, hoping for amnesty. We now have two and one half times more illegals in the country than we did in 1986. If we continue to do this eventually we will reach a point, if we haven't already, where there are so many aliens in the country that they will not adopt our culture, they will not learn our customs, and they will never become Americans. It has happened before. Just ask the Romans. Around the middle of 4th century AD, conditions outside the boundaries of the Roman Empire began to develop which caused increasing numbers of people who were not subjects of Rome to desire entry into the Empire. In 376, a tribe called the Visigoths living in Dacia petitioned for permission to move south of the Danube River and settle in the Empire. Just as there are many here who believe that both sides benefit from the employment of the illegal immigrants, there were actually those in Rome who thought there was some benefit to allowing the barbarians to come in. No one took account of the law of unexpected consequences. Despite their agreement to do so, the Visigoths did not disarm. Because they were armed and the Roman legions were away at the frontiers trying to keep out more barbarians, the Visigoths found they were free to begin looting and plundering. The Visigoths were not alone. Other barbarians, learning of the happy times the Visigoths were having, decided that they, too, would like to participate. The hordes continued to trickle in. Finally, in 407, the Rhine River froze over and thousands of Germanic tribesmen crossed the ice and poured into Gaul. This drew so many legions away from the defense of Rome that Alaric (370-410), the Visigoth King, was able to sack the Eternal City itself. This disaster prompted the legions to withdraw from Roman Britain , never to return. Britain, without the forces of law and order, descended into chaos. France and Spain, after a period of turmoil, became Germanic kingdoms only nominally allied with Rome. The barbarians entered the Roman Empire in order to seek better lives. The Romans thought their economy would benefit from having the Visigoths settle on farms. Aren't we being told that our illegals are doing jobs that Americans won't do and that our economy would suffer without low-cost labor? The Romans changed their laws to give the Visigoths legal status. Once the Visigoths had legal status, Ostrogoths, Alans, Burgundians, and Suevi wanted to enter the Empire and gain legal status also. Compare this with amnesty granted to illegals by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. Immediately after passage of IRCA, approximately 2.7 million illegal immigrants received green cards. Over the next 11 years another 1.3 million illegal immigrants were given green cards. An unintended consequence of IRCA was the fact that by the end of 1996 there were already another 5 million illegal immigrants here. They included many relatives of the 4 million who had been granted amnesty. It is estimated that there are between 12 and 20 million illegal aliens in the United States. Under proposals being considered by Congress, almost all of these will be given the opportunity to gain legal status and eventual citizenship. According to the Heritage Foundation, over the next 20 years perhaps as many as 50 million immigrants could gain legal status. These immigrants too will have relatives who will want to come to the United States and, just as before, many of these will come illegally. Thus, if these proposals are enacted into law, we can expect an unimaginable influx of illegal aliens. What effect will this have on the laws, the culture and the political structure of the United States? The influx of the Germanic tribes after 408 overwhelmed Roman law, smothered Roman culture, and caused the legions, for the most part, to be withdrawn to Italy. In order to solve the problem of illegal immigration the United States government needs to tighten restrictions on those who employ undocumented immigrants, increase border patrols, and apply more severe penalties for those in violation. Once the employers understand that employing illegal immigrant’s results in heavy penalties perhaps the calling for unethically cheap workers will cease. While current laws prohibiting the employment of non-citizens, or those granted permission by the government, exist the the government should impose penalties. If the monetary penalties were high enough, businesses would not want to risk saving a buck or two, to only have to pay a million in the long run. Employers who employ knowingly employ illegal immigrant manage to evade things such as basic humanity all in the interest of profit. America is quickly becoming an abomination, and the whole world is not too shy to say so. The United States government needs to step up and have these moral and ethical issues stopped before they taint the whole country. Current border patrol policies and documentation checks have holes in protocol that allow aliens to slip through the cracks, and into America unnoticed. Perhaps the US does not want to seem judgmental of every person entering the country, but without suspicion people are able to slide through. Unlike in other countries, the United States does not follow up with people that enter. Anyone can come through and the authorities simply do not follow up to make sure everyone that comes in goes out. (Bankston). The deployment teams either they need more people, or to disperse over a wider section. Too many people make it across the desert into southern US territory. With the stricter documentation requirements and heavier border controls in place, unwelcome illegal immigrants will be deterred. Actions speak louder than laws; America must authorize the heavier reinforcements against illegal immigration, not just say it shouldn’t happen. America promotes freedom and an escape from a lesser life. Each year people escape from terrible situations into America.
With the major poverty based in the immigration population, American citizens are paying for illegal immigrants to live among them. Only as the world’s economy takes a downturn, does immigration suddenly slow. The current policies seem like just a slap on the wrist. Deportation or jails are the only two viable options to cleanse America. Jail not only seems harsh for a person just trying to escape to a better life, but also uses more taxpayer dollars. Also, if the US would be more open to legalized immigration in the case of asylum more people could become true hardworking citizens and not be looked down upon. (Maddali) If the consequences for living in America illegally were stringent enough, less would try it. America can barely support itself in the current economy, much less another country’s population; therefore, illegal immigration laws need to tighten. Without the laws in place to at least slow the pour of illegal citizens, America will soon choke on its welcoming words and die a suffocating death. The US is founded upon the principle of immigration; legal immigration stimulates a nation and is the reason America is a wonderful melting pot where discrimination is muted. Illegal immigration, however, eats the resources hard working citizens work so hard to produce.
We are already at a point where there are so many illegal aliens in the United States that many feel no need to learn English or otherwise assimilate. However, if they are given legal status, they will become voters. In fact, some believe that a number of illegal aliens already vote in US elections. What will happen if so large a group of unassimilated alien voters remains within our borders? One hint as to what it might be like can be seen in France where there are housing developments into which law enforcement rarely, if ever, ventures. That is to say, there are parts of France which are no longer governed by French law. Is this our future? We are at a crisis point. Either effective action has to be taken now or we face disaster. Rational people recognize that the first step is to gain control of our borders. Next we must do something about the 10 to 12 million illegal aliens who are in the country. Immigration advocates point out it would be logistically impossible to deport this many aliens. However, these people are here to work. If existing laws against the employment of illegal aliens were enforced, the magnet of employment would disappear. Without the prospect of work many or most of the illegals would deport themselves. The presence of millions of people who have no regard for our culture, who speak little English, and whose loyalties lie elsewhere is not a recipe for a healthy country. The prospect of taking action to legalize millions of immigrants and attract tens of millions more illegal aliens is a recipe for national suicide. If that seems far-fetched, remember, the Romans thought it was safe to legalize hordes of immigrants. Look what it did for Rome. (Baker)

References
Pagden, Anthony. Peoples and Empires: A Short History of European Migration, Exploration, and Conquest, from Greece to the Present. New York: Modern Library, 2003. Print.
Stewart, David Wood. Immigration and Education: The Crisis and the Opportunities. New York: Lexington, 1993. Print
Cohen, Steven. "The Importance of Immigration." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
"Roman Catholics and Immigration in Nineteenth-Century America, The Nineteenth Century, Divining America: Religion in American History, National Humanities Center." Web. 05 Apr. 2016
Miller, Todd. Border Patrol Nation: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Homeland Security. San Francisco: City Lights, 2014. Print.
Baker, Simon. The Rise and Fall of an Empire. London: BBC (Random House), 2007. Print.
Bonczar, Thomas P., Beck, Allen J. (2007, March 17). Lifetime Likelihood of Going to Federal Prison. U.S. Department of Justice.
Bankston, R. (2007). New People in the New South: An Overview of Southern Immigration. Southern Cultures, Print.
Maddali, A. (2008). Sophia's choice problems faced by female asylum-seekers and their U.S.-citizen children, Feminist Studies