Experts estimate that there are about eleven million illegal immigrants living in America today and about seven million hold jobs (Barbour 16). With all the undocumented people living in America, a citizen may wonder how this affects the country. Illegal immigration has many negative effects on America’s economy, education, and public safety, but by identifying the flaws in the countries immigration policy can assist to find a solution. The most obvious, but controversial topic of illegal immigration is the cost. “Illegal immigrants cost American taxpayers $113 billion annually. Broken down, the direct cost to the federal government is about $29 billion, while the states pick up the remaining share of about $84 billion” (Kirkwood 19). The
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Many undocumented immigrants that slip across the border are criminals leaving Americans the burden to pay for incarceration. “The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), a federal program that reimburses state and local governments for the costs of incarcerating immigrants. In 2000 the SCAAP paid for 600 million incarceration days” (Barbour 56). Another common issue that affects public safety is illegal alien gangs. Illegal immigrants join gangs for many different reasons. One key reason is because they came to America seeking stability and financial security, but when that is not always found, they turn to gangs. Gangs offer order and economic security making them easy to gravitate towards when someone is stuck without a lot of options. Illegal immigrant gangs pose a threat to safety and cause the crime rate to go up (Barbour 55). Illegal immigration has a damaging effect on the United States of America’s public safety and something must be …show more content…
The major impacts are on America’s economy, education, and public safety. Illegal immigration is a snowball effect issue because if it affects one thing, such as the economy, then it affects another, such as education. Americans need to care and advocate to public officials that this serious issue before it spins even more out of control. If the United States turns a blind eye, then America will keep digging into debt instead of prosperity because they have to take care of illegal
Many undocumented immigrants that slip across the border are criminals leaving Americans the burden to pay for incarceration. “The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), a federal program that reimburses state and local governments for the costs of incarcerating immigrants. In 2000 the SCAAP paid for 600 million incarceration days” (Barbour 56). Another common issue that affects public safety is illegal alien gangs. Illegal immigrants join gangs for many different reasons. One key reason is because they came to America seeking stability and financial security, but when that is not always found, they turn to gangs. Gangs offer order and economic security making them easy to gravitate towards when someone is stuck without a lot of options. Illegal immigrant gangs pose a threat to safety and cause the crime rate to go up (Barbour 55). Illegal immigration has a damaging effect on the United States of America’s public safety and something must be …show more content…
The major impacts are on America’s economy, education, and public safety. Illegal immigration is a snowball effect issue because if it affects one thing, such as the economy, then it affects another, such as education. Americans need to care and advocate to public officials that this serious issue before it spins even more out of control. If the United States turns a blind eye, then America will keep digging into debt instead of prosperity because they have to take care of illegal