Illegal Immigrants
 The
United States is known as a land of opportunities and freedom. As such, the U.S.
has become a nation of
immigrants. Many individuals, often
from poor economic or political situations, immigrate to America with hopes and
dreams of a better life and a fresh start. Sometimes immigrants come to the
United States alone, leaving loved ones behind in their home country. Others
times entire families or groups of friends may emigrate to the U.S. together. The journey to the United States can be expensive and sometimes
even deadly.
Crossing the border into the U.S. may mean having to walk days through the
Arizona desert or
taking a dangerous trip on a crowded boat that is not seaworthy. Reaching the
U.S. can be done alone, but many use the services of a human smuggler. The
smugglers, often referred to as "coyotes," usually make a living out of guiding illegal immigrants into the
United States. In some cases, the more an immigrant is able to pay, the safer
their journey will be. For example, a human smuggler may be working together with a
corrupt U.S. Border Patrol agent. In exchange for a fee, the border patrol agent
may help facilitate entry into the United States. By paying extra money they may be able to get through
the border checkpoint effortlessly. However, numerous checkpoints set up along
American highways remain along the way. Many illegal immigrants will not be
successful in their first attempt to get into the U.S. but they generally do not become
discouraged easily. According to USCIS reports some
individuals make numerous attempts to get into the United States illegally,
before they are successful. Many immigrants make numerous attempts to
cross the border into the United States, as they remain determined to live and work in the
country. There are some that die in their attempt
to reach the U.S. but many are willing to take this risk. Advanced technology and
increased border patrol agents on both U.S. land and sea borders have made it
increasingly difficult to illegally enter the country.
An illegal immigrant who has recently
arrived to the United States often faces many difficult transitions and
obstacles. Although employment wages are generally higher in the United States,
the cost of living is also higher. As such, multiple families may live under the same roof.
In addition, it is not uncommon for new immigrants to live with family already
residing in the United States. Finding a job may also prove to be difficult for
undocumented immigrants. Employers face strict penalties if they knowingly hire
an illegal immigrant, and therefore may refuse to hire someone who can not prove
their employment eligibility. Many illegal immigrants also face language barriers.
Generally, however, immigrants are able to find jobs. They might take jobs that
pay minimum wage, but this still offers an improvement compared to what
they made in their homeland. Many new immigrants to the U.S. also work two jobs
in order to support themselves and also send money to their family in their
native country. Some come with the
intention of staying in the United States permanently while others are intend to
reside in the U.S. only temporarily. If an immigrant has a child while in the
United States, they are eligible to become an
American citizen. Sometimes, this
proves to be an incentive for pregnant women, who intend to move to the United
States so that their children can have American citizenship. It is estimated that three million children who are
born
in the U.S. have at least one parent who is in the country illegally, and at
least one in every ten American families has at least one family member who is a
current illegal immigrant.
Undocumented immigrants face many barriers when seeking employment. In addition
to the language and cultural barriers that sometimes exist, immigrants face the
risk of immigration raids, which have been increasing across the nation. The U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE), which is a branch of the USCIS, has been more aggressive in going after illegal immigrants
residing in the country. There are nearly 100 fugitive operation
teams across the U.S. whose main purpose is to detain illegal immigrants.
ICE officials may sometimes show up at homes to search for individuals who have ignored
deportation orders or have committed crimes.
Immigration officials have also conducted raids at
workplaces suspected of employing illegal immigrants. The priority of the ICE
fugitive operation teams is to go after criminals and fugitives, but they often
encounter other illegal immigrants in the process. In these situations the ICE
agents enforce immigration law. As a result many immigrants who may not have
been the original target end up being detained because they fall under the
classification of immigration violators. Some argue that ICE goes too far and
that agents sometimes disguise themselves to catch more illegal immigrants. They
argue that their tactics lead to racial profiling and that many families are
being torn apart as a result of aggressive immigration enforcement. ICE defends its actions by
saying that they are only enforcing the law and going after individuals who are
not law-abiding. ICE maintains they adhere to guidelines such as not entering a household without
consent. Also, they point out that individuals have the right to due process and
may fight their deportation in court. However, only a small
percentage actually succeed in reversing deportation orders. Nonetheless, many speculate that undocumented immigrants can live their entire
lives in the United States without being detected, provided they avoid any legal
troubles. It is estimated that over 11 million undocumented immigrants are
currently living in the United States.
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