Illegal Immigration: Undocumented Immigrants

It is Time Attempting to escape poverty and violence, immigrants are obligated to leave everything behind in their country and embark for the United States illegally. Because of the relentless threats received from notorious gangs, many undocumented immigrants opt for illegal entrance as opposed to waiting in the “imaginary ‘immigration line’” for an immigration visa which “is already 4.4 million people long” (Santana, 2014). After being coerced to join a gang, my father was forced to hop on a daunting train called “La Bestia” from El Salvador to the U.S. I can attest that my father is a hardworking individual who has contributed to this nation. Avoiding any bias, I believe it is unethical and inhumane to send those who come to this nation

Undocumented immigrants play a significant role when it comes to taxes. According to an extensive study, around “8.1 million of 11.4 million undocumented immigrants who work paid more than $11.8 billion in state and local taxes in 2012” (Pianin, 2015). These figures, Eric Pianin explains, would tremendously increase “by $2.2 billion under comprehensive immigration reform” (2015). A great majority of undocumented immigrants are abiding by the law through their tax contributions and more workers would participate but fear being deported. Democratic President Barack Obama exercised his executive power to halt the deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants and fervently “promotes naturalization for those who qualify” (The White House, 2014). Democrats believe that if undocumented immigrants are given the opportunity to earn citizenship, this country’s economy will grow stronger. An extensive immigration reform, the White House explains, would require undocumented immigrants to “register and pass criminal and national security background checks” along with “paying their fair share of taxes” (2014). Earning citizenship will require a thorough process which will then suggest if the undocumented immigrant qualifies or does not qualify. While Democrats fight for immigration rights, Republicans are doing everything and anything they can in order to destroy the “American Dream” for undocumented

would benefit economically by approving an immigration reform. It is time to abandon the negative perceptions held towards undocumented immigrants. These individuals risked their lives to come to a county filled with copious opportunities. They did not intent to arrive here to be immediately labeled as “rapists” but to offer their families, specifically their children, an opportunity of a better tomorrow. An opportunity of an adequate education, for example, can land their children on a decent job with a higher salary which can allow them to live comfortably. Statistics uphold that undocumented immigrants are contributing to this nation by paying their taxes and the only obstacle that does not encourage more immigrants to participate is the fear of being deported. By creating a pathway to citizenship, more money would be collected from immigrants by requiring them to pay taxes. The notion that undocumented immigrants are taking American jobs has also been discredited by the data showing that foreign-born and native-born employees’ unemployment rates are insignificantly different by a fraction of a percentage. In addition, undocumented immigrants are generally the only ones who are willing to accept arduous jobs. The majority of undocumented immigrants are uneducated, but what they lack intellectually is made up by the long hours of hard work they are willing to endure. The economic boost that undocumented immigrants could offer would definitely make this nation