Illegal Immigration

As populations rise across the world, the key challenge faced by human populations is the increasing need for migrating into other countries to seek socio-economic growth. Immigration was a common aspect in the traditional times. For instance, America could only access sufficient socio- economic growth through the involvement of immigrants from other countries. In the present times however, the excessive population growth has led to pressure on resources. People no longer find ready opportunities as they could in the past. This has made the country to close doors to immigrants (Rubio 50), a factor that has led the country to experience the problem of illegal immigration into the country. Illegal immigration is a problem to a country as it results in hampered functioning of the country in context. In this realm, illegal immigration is described as the act of getting into a country without authorization. Most of the illegal immigrants violate some of the legal entry requirements (Ngai 43).

Various factors have been associated with causing illegal immigration. The greatest cause of the problem is often mentioned as the approximation of the benefits versus the risks associated with living as illegal immigrants. According to research, movement from developing countries to developed nations comes with the promise of better opportunities. In addition to this, immigrants are also attracted with the advancements in technology which make the developed countries to have several opportunities for unskilled labor. The illegal immigrants come in to the countries to fill the undesired opportunities for the unskilled.

Trade liberalization can also increase the chances for illegal immigration in the country. Through trade opportunities built on entering trade liberalizing agreements, the immigrants can be accessed to work in industries such as agriculture where some employees are pushed away from the local countries (Kanstroom 39). Need for family unification is another factor that contributes to the increase in the number of illegal immigrants as people from other countries come in to join their families.

Overpopulation also leads to illegal immigration. This is because the aspect of overpopulation mainly affects the underdeveloped countries. As a result, people move from the underdeveloped countries to the developed countries as they are considered to have the greatest opportunities. As people do so, they do not consider authorization. Apart from this, wars, repression and conflicts can also force people to illegally migrate into other countries. For the war torn areas, the citizens move in a bid to save their lives regardless of the legal implications of their movements. Other people also move to other countries in order to seek higher education. This is done through student visas. This group of people becomes illegal immigrants by failing to return to their countries after completing their studies (Scott 18).

Addressing the issue of illegal immigration has been done through various means over the years. Initially, when the rate of Asian immigration to the US was high, illegal immigration legislation was formed to restrict people of Asian descent from migrating into the US. This helped to reduce the rate of illegal immigration greatly. Through the years, the legislations have been changed so that illegal immigration prevention was to be politically founded. This involved denial of entry to individuals of communist backgrounds. Later, congress prohibited denial of entry based on political ideologies or beliefs of individuals (Rubio 52). Although congress has made efforts to reduce illegal immigration, it has failed severally in this through lack of collaboration with the federal government as it thwarts the efforts of the government to reduce illegal immigration.

Works Cited

Kanstroom, Daniel. Deportation nation: Outsiders in American history. New York: Harvard University Press, 2010. Print.

Ngai, Mae. Impossible subjects: Illegal aliens and the making of modern America. Princeton: University Press, 2005. Print.

Rubio, Angelica. Undocumented, not illegal: beyond the rhetoric of immigration coverage. NACLA Report on the Americas, 44.6 (2011): 50-52. Print.

Scott, Peter. Capital flight fuels illegal immigration. National Catholic Reporter, 42.30 (2006): 18. Print.

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