"ILLEGAL" IMMIGRATION INTO THE UNITED STATES
Millions of people have illegally entered and now currently reside in the United States. Most of these "illegals" are poor and uneducated. A very high percentage are criminals. Meanwhile, millions of law-abiding and educated people from countries around the world patiently wait for years to gain entry into America, legally.
Illegally entering this country is against the law. Millions of "illegals" have obtained and are using fraudulent social security numbers. This is a felony, for which an American citizen would expect prison time and a substantial fine, but for which an "illegal" immigrant would be exempt under the proposed "comprehensive" Senate Immigration Bill.
The mainstream media, politicians looking for votes and employers who hire "illegals" for their cheap labor have perpetuated a "lie" which is now accepted as fact by a majority of the American public. Sadly, it is a "lie" that is regularly repeated by President Bush. That "lie" is: "Illegal" immigrants, with their hard work and cheap labor rates, contribute more to American society than they take." That is a lie. It is simply not true.
The cost to the law-abiding American taxpayer to educate the children of "illegals", provide health care for the "illegal" and his family, provide welfare for the "illegal" immigrant family and incarcerate the "illegals" who now make up 20% of the population of Federal prisons, far exceeds the savings to society for the goods and services provided by "illegals".
It costs an average $8000 per year to educate a child. Mexican immigrants average 3.5 children per household.* The birthrate among Hispanics is the highest of any major ethnic group in the country. Many "illegals" pay NO taxes while others pay very little taxes. Few pay enough taxes to educate even one of their many children. That cost is borne by Americans who pay taxes to educate their own children as well as the children of the "illegals".
Our hospital emergency rooms are overflowing with "illegals" who do not pay for their medical care. Parkland Hospital in Dallas reported that 70 percent of the women who gave birth there in the first three months of 2006 were "illegal" immigrants. According to a recent survey this year, the typical patient at Parkland is a 25 year old "illegal" Hispanic female having her second child at taxpayer's expense.** That cost is borne by American citizens who pay for their own health insurance as well as higher taxes to pay for the medical care for the "illegals".
A Mexican immigrant family is 50% more likely to be on welfare than a native-born American citizen. 14.8% of native American households receive some form of welfare benefits, while 30.9% of Mexican immigrant households receive welfare benefits.*** Even though "illegals" are barred from using welfare programs, "illegals" often make use of such programs, mainly by receiving benefits on behalf of their native-born children.
Not only do Mexican immigrants use welfare programs at higher rates than native Americans, their use of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is also substantially higher than that of American citizens. Only 13.1% of American citizen households receive the EITC benefits while 49.2% of Mexican immigrant households receive the benefit. With an annual cost of $32 billion, the EITC is the nation's largest means-tested cash assistance program for workers with low incomes. Persons receiving the EITC pay no federal income tax and instead receive cash assistance from the government based on their earnings and family size. This program encourages larger families, since more children mean higher benefits. Because of the larger family size of the Mexican immigrant, their average payment is much higher than the native American who receives the EITC benefit.
The top four major cities in crime per capita are Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and San Antonio.......all cities with high percentages of "illegal" immigrants. According to the Department of Justice, one in five prisoners in our Federal prisons are "illegal". The cost to incarcerate these prisoners averages tens of thousands of dollars per prisoner per year. That cost is borne by Americans who are victims of the "illegal's" crimes.
The "five to ten cents" savings on a head of lettuce, picked by an "illegal", is quickly offset and exceeded by all of the costs to society, listed above, that can be attributed to the "illegal".
This is NOT an immigration problem. This is an "illegal" immigration problem. Do not let anyone convince you that myself and others like me are against immigrants. The vast majority of citizens of America, including myself, are immigrants or ancestors of immigrants who "legally" entered the country and "legally" earned their citizenship.
I am Irish. My ancestors entered "legally" thru Ellis Island and like many Mexicans today, took low paying and menial jobs. The "legal" Irish immigrants eventually worked hard, played by the rules and entered the mainstream of American life. John Kennedy, a descendant of Irish immigrants, became President. But unlike the "illegal" Mexican, the Irish immigrants obeyed our laws by "legally" entering our country and "legally" earning their citizenship.
The only groups that benefit from "illegal" immigration are the "illegals" themselves, the employers who profit from the "illegal's" cheap labor and the politicans who pander for their votes. Their gains are at the expense of the law-abiding American citizen who pays his taxes and at the expense of his children, who will be saddled in the future with higher and higher taxes to support the social services required by this new and growing "welfare" class of tens of milllions of uneducated and poor "illegals".
If "illegal" immigration is not quickly and thoroughly contained, the damage to our nation will soon become irreversible. "A DEFINITIVE IMMIGRATION BILL FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", that proposes a common-sense policy to fairly and justly address the issue of "illegal" immigration, is described below.
President Bush and others who do not favor and do not intend to aggressively enforce our borders or our laws have set up a straw man, as they keep telling us that "we simply cannot deport twelve million people". No reasonable proponent of controlling our borders has suggested that.
The proposed bill does not require mass deportation of "illegal" immigrants. 'Illegals" who voluntarily identify themselves will be allowed to continue working in this country for a minimum of two years, unless they have a criminal background or do not provide proof of employment.
In fact, they can continue to apply for successive work visas, as long as they obey our laws and maintain employment.
However, if they wish to become citizens.......before they can apply for citizenship, they must first return to their native country and prove their ability to speak, read and write English. Children of non-citizens will no longer automatically become citizens, unless at least one of their parents is a citizen at the time of their birth.
Read "A DEFINITIVE IMMIGRATION BILL FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" carefully and e-mail me at editor@dallascrime.com with your comments.
Calie Stephens
Calie Stephens - Editor of dallascrime.com
* CLICK HERE for CIS stats on birthrates among different ethnic groups
** CLICK HERE to read Dalllas Morning News article on illegals at Parkland
***CLICK HERE for CIS stats on welfare demographics
CLICK HERE to read Manhattan Institute article in the City Journal by Heather McDonald on the high birthrates out of wedlock among Hispanics....three times greater than whites and Asians and one and a half times greater than blacks
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