ILLEGAL IMMAGRATION
The problem with illegal
immigrants is not that they are here using our resources. The problem is that
they are using our resources without contributing anything. America as a
country was completely built on immigrants. There is nothing wrong with the idea
of immigration. The problem comes when people do it illegally. America's legal
immigrants provide our communities with new vision and fresh energy,
strengthening and enhancing our American culture and economy and securing our
nation's dominance in the global economy Illegal immigration, however, is an insult
to those who have legally immigrated. It has had a disastrous economic effect
on our country. They use our hospitals and our schools without paying taxes or
getting health insurance. Now for the surprise, we should continue to let them
use our hospitals and schools. That is not only the best option, it is the only
option if we are going to be the country we say we are. If we are to be that
shining city on a hill, we have to treat everyone as we would want to be
treated. That means providing health care when it is needed and education for
everyone.
The problem is that
illegal immigrants are taking from society without giving anything in return. In
Health care, education, and other areas of public service illegals aren’t
paying for these things, yet they are receiving them. The thing is, we either
have to stop them from coming in the first place, or we have to find a way to
have them contribute. Otherwise, our systems are going to go bankrupt due to
the people who are taking from it but not contributing to it.
This leaves two answers
that completely contradict each other. On the one hand, we should provide
health care and education for them because it is just the right thing to do.
You take the Hippocratic oath and an illegal immigrants comes to the emergency
room with his arm dangling; you give him some morphine and put it back in
place. As a teacher, you should teach that kid how to do algebra no matter who
he is or where he came from. On the other hand, this is still a problem that
needs to be addressed. It simply cannot continue to forever because we will run
out of money.
Hospitals are going
bankrupt because of this problem. Too many illegal immigrants are going to the
emergency room with the sniffles. As far as teachers go, we have more students
to teach and the same amount of money to go around. This means larger class
sizes and more teachers. However, there isn’t any extra money for those
teachers, so that means lower wages. Larger classes also mean a worse learning
environment for your children. So, now we are still talking about a less
educated society, only now it is everyone. So this is certainly a problem. Now
here is the solution.
The solution has nothing
to do with a fence or kicking them out; what we have to do is find a way that
forces them to contribute. This seems like a silly thing to say, but it isn’t
even that hard. Just make them pay for those things they are using now, and
they aren’t leeches anymore. They are now productive members of our society.
How do you accomplish all this? There are several simple things that can be
done. First off, it isn’t the immigrants that are cheating Uncle Sam, it is the
employers who hire them for the cheap labor. Start enforcing the laws we
already have and punish companies that pay illegal immigrants under the table.
This means that to find work, the person must be documented. It is as simple as
that. Another solution that would make things easy is the sales tax that my
friend mentioned. In Texas, there is no state income tax. This means that any
illegal immigrant here pays the same taxes as everyone else. If we did this
everywhere, illegal immigrants would no longer be a problem. They would
contribute just as much to the system as they take out.
The National Academy of
Sciences has estimated that the average immigrant without a high-school degree
will, over the course of his or her lifetime, impose a net cost, above and beyond
any taxes he or she pays, of nearly $100,000 on U.S. taxpayers; this cost does
not include the cost of educating the immigrant’s children. Based on that
figure, the estimated 11 million legal immigrants lacking a high-school diploma
and residing in the U.S. today, will cost taxpayers more than a half trillion
dollars over their lifetimes.
We should treat illegal
immigrants exactly the way we would want to be treated simply because it is the
right thing to do. The problem is that it isn’t possible to do that forever
without them contributing. The only ways to fix this are to make them leave,
stop them from coming, or to make them contribute the same as everyone else. If
you want to try both that’s fine, but it seems to me the simpler solution is to
let them come if they want, but make them contribute. I suspect if we do that,
all of a sudden it is less attractive to be an illegal immigrant. If we stop
allowing them to leech, we will only attract the people who really want to be
here. Those are the people we want here, and those are the people who will make
positive contributions to our society.
Sincerely,
Chris Frazier
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