A warning sign at the international boundary between the United States and Canada in Point Roberts, Washington

Illegal immigration to the United States refers to the act of foreign nationals voluntarily residing in the United States in violation of U.S. immigration and nationality law. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a bureau of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is the primary federal agency tasked with enforcing the Immigration and Nationality Act of the United States of America. Several news editors and reporters say that illegal immigration to the United States is not a crime, but a civil infraction.^[1][2] Punishment can include fines^[3], imprisonment^[3], and deportation depending on the violation^[3]. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (3,072 × 2,304 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (3,072 × 2,304 pixels, file size: 1. ... A geopolitical oddity, Point Roberts is a small unincorporated community in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. ... For the capital city of the United States, see Washington, D.C.. For other uses, see Washington (disambiguation). ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is a bureau in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ... DHS redirects here. ... The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952 (Also known as the McCarran-Walter Act) restricted immigration into the U.S. and is codified under Title 8 of the United States Code. ...

Entering the United States illegally is a criminal and civil offense. Smuggling another human into the country is also a crime. ^[4]. Failure to voluntarily leave within the designated time frame incurs a civil offense. If one enters the country legally yet does not leave when directed it is considered a civil court matter and not a criminal court matter^{[5] [6]}.

Definition

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)* USCIS is not an enforcement agency. They do not enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act. They are a service oriented agency only. US ICE, USBP, and CBP enforce the INA*, the primary federal agency tasked with enforcing the Immigration and Nationality Act, defines an "alien" as "any person not a citizen or national of the United States"^[7] The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the primary body of federal immigration law in the United States, also defines the term "alien" as “any person not a citizen or national of the United States.”^[8] The U.S. Department of State defines an "alien" as "a foreign national who is not a United States citizen"^[9] The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952 (Also known as the McCarran-Walter Act) restricted immigration into the U.S. and is codified under Title 8 of the United States Code. ...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service defines an immigrant as "an alien admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident".^[10] The Immigration and Nationality Act defines the term “immigrant” to mean every alien not falling within a set of “classes of nonimmigrant aliens” spelled out in detail by the act, for example: diplomatic personnel, students residing within the US to attend school, athletes attending athletic events, ship and aircraft crew members; and others residing or staying within the United States on a temporary basis. The Act classifies aliens remaining within the US on a permanent basis as immigrants without regards to an individual’s legal status. The U.S. Department of State does not define "immigrant". The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952 (Also known as the McCarran-Walter Act) restricted immigration into the U.S. and is codified under Title 8 of the United States Code. ...

Legality

Immigrants are classified as illegal for one of three reasons: entering without authorization or inspection, staying beyond the authorized period after legal entry, or violating the terms of legal entry.^[11]

Under Paragraph (a), Title 8, Section 1325 of the U.S. Code,^[12] "Improper Entry By Alien", any citizen of any country other than the United States who

• Enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers; or
• Eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers; or
• Attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact;

has violated criminal and civil law and can be fined and imprisoned for up to 6 months. Repeat offenses can bring up to two years in prison. In addition, persons apprehended while attempting to enter the United States illegally after committing previous crimes in the United States are indictable for the attempt to illegally re-enter the country.^[13]Additional civil fines may be imposed at the discretion of immigration judges, but civil fines do not negate the criminal sanctions or nature of the offense^[14].

In addition a person apprehended attempting to enter the United States without permission by immigration officers receives a civil penalty of;

• At least $50 but no more than $250.
• Twice the amount on the first charge for repeated civil offenses.

Additional civil offenses include:

• Marriage Fraud that is penalized by no more than 5 years in prison and or $250,000.
• Immigration-related entrepreneurship fraud, which can be fined and also penalized for no more than 5 years in prison.^[15]

Unofficial definitions

The Associated Press Stylebook, the primary style and usage guide for most newspapers and newsmagazines in the United States, recommends using "illegal immigrant" rather than "illegal alien" or "undocumented worker"^[16]. According to Voice of America's^[17], a weekly analysis of American English from the official international radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government, "The most common term by far, though, at least as reflected in the news media, is illegal immigrants" in reference to people who are in the United States without following immigration laws.^[18] AP Stylebook, 2004 edition The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, usually called the AP Stylebook, is the primary style and usage guide for most newspapers and newsmagazines in the United States. ... An Identity Standards Manual page—for the graphic design branch of corporate identity design and branding. ... A newsmagazine, sometimes called news magazine, is a usually weekly magazine featuring articles on current events. ... Voice of America logo Voice of America (VOA), is the official external radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. ... For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... The U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789 by a constitutional convention, sets down the basic framework of American government in its seven articles. ... News media satellite up-link trucks and photojournalists gathered outside the Prudential Financial headquarters in Newark, New Jersey in August, 2004 following the announcement of evidence of a terrorist threat to it and to buildings in New York City. ... Nationality law is the branch of a countrys legal system wherein legislation, custom and court precendent combine to define the ways in which that countrys nationality and citizenship are transmitted, acquired or lost. ...

At the 1994 Unity convention, the four minority journalism groups – the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists , the Asian American Journalists Association and the Native American Journalists Association – issued a joint statement on the term illegal aliens: "Except in direct quotations, do not use the phrase illegal alien or the word alien, in copy or in headlines, to refer to citizens of a foreign country who have come to the U.S. with no documents to show that they are legally entitled to visit, work or live here. Such terms are considered pejorative not only by those to whom they are applied but by many people of the same ethnic and national backgrounds who are in the U.S. legally."^[19][20] Press releases from these minority journalism groups in 2006 reaffirmed this position and recommended using "undocumented immigrant" and avoid the term "illegal" as a label^[21][22][23]. The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), was founded in 1975 by 44 men and women in Washington, D.C. Headquartered at the University of Maryland, College Park and with 3300 members, it is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation. ... The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to the advancement of Hispanic journalists in the United States. ... The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) was founded in 1981 by several Asian American journalists who felt a need to support greater participation by Asian Americans in the news media. ...

General profile of illegal immigrants

• "A high proportion of illegal immigrants are sojourners: they come to the United Stated for several years but eventually return to their home country." ^[24]

• Most illegal immigrants live in families where the adults are undocumented, but the children are U.S.-born. As of June, 2005, an estimated 13.9 million people -- including 4.7 million children -- live in families in which the head of household or the spouse is an unauthorized immigrant.^[25]

• Illegal immigrants continue to outpace the number of legal immigrants -- a trend that's held steady since the 1990s. While the undocumented continue to concentrate in places with existing large communities of Hispanics, they are also increasingly settling throughout the rest of the country.^[26]

• Illegal immigrants arriving in recent years tend to have more education than those who've been in the country a decade or more. A quarter have at least some college education. Nonetheless, undocumented immigrants as a group are less educated than other sections of the U.S. population: 49 percent haven't completed high school, compared with 9 percent of native-born Americans and 25 percent of legal immigrants.^[27]

• Illegal immigrants can be found working in many sectors of the U.S. economy. According to National Public Radio, about 3 percent work in agriculture; 33 percent have jobs in service industries; and substantial numbers can be found in construction and related occupations (16 percent) and in production, installation and repair (17 percent).^[28] According to USA Today, about 4 percent work in farming; 21 percent have jobs in service industries; and substantial numbers can be found in construction and related occupations (19 percent) and in production, installation and repair (15 percent), with 12% in sales, 10% in management, and 8% in transportation. ^[29]

• Illegal immigrants have lower incomes than both legal immigrants and native-born Americans, but earnings do increase somewhat the longer an individual is in the country.^[30]

Breakdown by state

As of 2006^[31], California had 2,830,000 illegal aliens, or 25% of the total.
Texas had 1,640,000 illegal aliens, or 14% of the total.
Florida had 980,000 illegal aliens, or 8% of the total.
Illinois had 550,000 illegal aliens, or 5% of the total.
New York had 540,000 illegal aliens, or 5% of the total.
Other top ten states for highest percentage of illegal aliens include; Arizona, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Washington.

History

Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Pub. ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The REAL ID Act of 2005 requires people entering federal buildings, boarding airplanes or opening bank accounts to present identification that has met certain security and authentication standards. ...

Present-day countries of origin

In March of 2006 the Pew Hispanic Center (PHC) estimated the undocumented population ranged from 11.5 to 12 million individuals^[54], a number supported by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO)^[55]. Using data from March of 2004, PHC estimated^[56] The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the USA and the world. ... General Accounting Office headquarters, Washington, D.C. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the non-partisan audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of Congress, and an agency in the Legislative Branch of the United States Government. ...

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security^[57], the countries of origin for the largest numbers of illegal immigrants are as follows:

For 2005

28% 9% 28% 133% 21%

For 2006^[58]

40% 19% 48% 75% 125%

The Urban Institute, a research group in Washington, D.C., estimates "between 65,000 and 75,000 undocumented Canadians currently live in the United States." ^[59]

Modes of entry

It is estimated that as of 2006 there were between 11.5 and 12 million undocumented immigrants in the US. Their mode of illegal entry into the country is believed to break down as follows: ^[60]

A border crossing card is a card that allows non-immigrants "to commute back and forth each week from Canada and Mexico". ^[61]

Visa overstay

A traveler is considered a "visa overstay" once he or she remains in the United States after the time of admission has expired. The time of admission varies greatly from traveler to traveler depending on what visa class into which they were admitted. Visa overstays tend to be somewhat more educated and better off financially than those who crossed the border illegally.^[62]

To help track visa overstayer the US-VISIT (United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology) program collects and retains biographic, travel, and biometric information, such as photographs and fingerprints, of foreign nationals seeking entry into the United States. It also requires electronic readable passports containing this information. US-VISIT (United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology) is a U.S. immigration and border management system. ...

Visa overstays mostly enter with tourist or business visas^[63]

Percent of Illegal Immigrants who are Visa Overstayers

Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Fraudulent marriage

People have long used sham marriages as a way to enter the United States.^[66] One of the most prominent cases was that of Nada Nadim Prouty, a Lebanese immigrant who gained entry into the US as a student, but then married fraudulently to stay in the country, and even became a US citizen and went on to become an employee of the FBI and the CIA, before pleading guilty to conspiracy. ^{[67] [68]} Engaging in a bogus marriage went hi-tech with the case of a Russian woman and an American man arranging a marriage over the Internet. ^[69] Nada Nadim Prouty is a former CIA officer of Muslim Syrian-Lebanese origin who was recruited into the CIA from the FBI and convicted of improperly using FBI computers for obtaining sensitive information about both herself and her family. ... Look up conspiracy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Border crossing

Each year, an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 illegal immigrants try to make the 15 to 30-mile (48 km) hike through the wilderness to reach cities in the United States. "That works out to a city the size of Baton Rouge, La., living in the park without a sewage system, without garbage collection, without a grid of dedicated roads or sidewalks. They move where they want in four-wheel-drive cars, ATVs, motorcycles, bicycles and their own feet."^[70]

The unfenced rural mountainous and desert border between Arizona and Mexico has become a major entrance area for illegal immigration to the United States, due in part to the increased difficulty of crossing illegally into California.^{[citation needed]} Often, the people that choose to sneak across the border employ expert criminal assistance - smugglers who promise a safe passage into the United States. ^[71] These smugglers are called "coyotes" and are paid thousands of dollars per person they assist in crossing the border.^[72]

The tightening of border enforcement has disrupted the traditional circular movement of many migrant workers from Mexico by increasing the costs and risks of crossing the border, thereby reducing their rate of return migration to Mexico. The difficulty and expense of the journey has prompted many migrant workers to stay in the United States longer or indefinitely. ^[73]

Entry by sea ports

In 1993, 283 Chinese immigrants attempted entry into the United States via a sea vessel. Ten of them arrived dead. ^{[74] [75]}

Dangers

There are significant dangers associated with illegal immigration including potential death. Since the implementation of Operation Gatekeeper immigrants have chose more dangerous routes to get into the country.^[76] Most deaths are due to dehydration caused by the intense heats of the Arizona desert and the treacherous desert roads. In 2005 the death toll was over 450 a year. ^[77] Deaths also occur while resisting arrest. According to the US Border Agency, there were 987 assaults on US Boder Agents in 2008 and there were a total of 12 people killed by agents in 2007 and 2008.^[78]

Slavery

Indian, Russian, Thai, and Chinese women have been reported brought to the United States under false pretenses to be then used as sex slaves. “As many as 50,000 people are illicitly trafficked into the United States annually, according to a 1999 CIA study. Once here, they're forced to work as prostitutes, sweatshop laborers, farmhands, and servants in private homes.” US authorities call it “a modern form of slavery.” ^{[79] [80]}

Prostitution

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women has reported scores of cases where women were forced to prostitute themselves. “Trafficking in women plagues the United States as much as it does underdeveloped nations. Organized prostitution networks have migrated from metropolitan areas to small cities and suburbs. Women trafficked to the United States have been forced to have sex with 400-500 men to pay off $40,000 in debt for their passage.” ^[81] At least 45 thousand Central American children attempt to illegally immigrate to the United States every year and many of them finish in brothels as sex slaves, according to Manuel Capellin, director in Honduras of the humanitarian organization House Alliance^[82].

Death

Death by exposure has been reported in the deserts, particularly during the hot summer season. ^[83] “Exposure to the elements” encompasses hypothermia, dehydration, heat strokes, drowning, and suffocation. Also, illegal immigrants may die or be injured when they attempt to avoid law enforcement. Martinez, points out that engaging in high speed pursuits while attempting to escape arrest can lead to death. ^[84]

Causes

See also: causes for illegal immigration.

Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, argues that "[illegal immigrants] are going to get here as long as they have economic incentives to come."^[85] Illegal alien and Illegal aliens redirect here. ... Tamar Jacoby (b. ... The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is an influential New York City-based free market think tank established in 1978. ...

The Rockridge Institute asks, "What role have international trade agreements had in creating or exacerbating people's urge to flee their homelands? If capital is going to freely cross borders, should people and labor be able to do so as well, going where globalization takes the jobs?... Such a framing of the problem would lead to a solution involving the Secretary of State, conversations with Mexico and other Central American countries, and a close examination of the promises of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to raise standards of living around the globe.^[86] The Rockridge Institute is an American non-profit research and progressive think tank located in Berkeley, California. ... A trade pact is a wide ranging tax, tariff and trade pact that usually also includes investment guarantees. ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... NAFTA redirects here. ... The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is a free trade agreement between the United States and the Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and Canada, and Mexico. ... -1... IMF redirects here. ... The World Bank logo The World Bank (the Bank) is a part of the World Bank Group (WBG), is a bank that makes loans to developing countries for development programs with the stated goal of reducing poverty. ...

Reasons for leaving home country

Mexico

The Pew Hispanic Center has estimated that 56% of illegal immigrants come from Mexico.^[87] The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the USA and the world. ...

Poor fiscal management, NAFTA, and lack of competitiveness

The Mexican government failed to follow through on promises to the United States to invest billions of dollars in roads, schooling, sanitation, housing, and other infrastructure to accommodate new "maquiladoras" (border factories) that had been envisioned as a way to reduce illegal immigration as a part of NAFTA.^[88][88] As a result few were built,^[88] and China was able to out-compete Mexico for manufacturing goods for the United States market.^[88] Rather than increasing as planned, the number of manufacturing workers in Mexico dropped from 4.1 million in 2000 to 3.5 million in 2004.^[88] Also, price pressure from more efficient United States corn producers and the elimination of tariffs under NAFTA^[89] caused the price of maize to fall 70% in Mexico between 1994 and 2001, and the number of farm jobs to decrease from 8.1 million in 1993 to 6.8 million in 2002.^[90] A maquiladora (or maquila) is a factory, that imports materials and equipment on a duty-free and tariff-free basis for assembly or manufacturing. ... Nafta or NAFTA may refer to: an acronym for the North American Free Trade Agreement an acronym for the New Zealand Australia Free Trade Agreement the town/Tokyo of Nafta, Tunisia This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

Inequality of wealth

Mexico has the highest income per capita in Latin America,^[91][92] but her wealth is centralized in the hands of a minority. It had a gross domestic product (in terms of PPP) of more than US$1.3 trillion in 2007,^[93] and more billionaires than Switzerland^[94] (including Carlos Slim whom Time Magazine^[95][96], ABC News, ^[97] and CNN Money ^[98] claim is the world's richest man and who owns 8% of the country's GDP^[99]). Yet according to the World Bank 17.6% of Mexico's population lives in "extreme" poverty, while 30.1% live in "moderated" poverty, for a total of 47.7%.^[100] GDP redirects here. ... Carlos Slim Helú (born January 28, 1940 in Mexico City) is a Mexican businessman of Lebanese Arab heritage[2] and the worlds richest person as of August 2007, according to Fortune magazine and the Wall Street Journal. ... The World Bank logo The World Bank (the Bank) is a part of the World Bank Group (WBG), is a bank that makes loans to developing countries for development programs with the stated goal of reducing poverty. ...

Participation of authorities

There it has been some accusations from U.S. groups that the Mexican government is collaborating to make illegal immigration to the United States easier:

• It plans to produce 70,000 maps marking main roads and water tanks for people wanting to cross illegally into the US. According to Mauricio Farah of Mexico's Human Rights Commission, "The only thing we are trying to do is warn them of the risks they face and where to get water, so they don't die," But Russ Knocke, a spokesman for US Homeland Security said maps would not improve safety for those trying to cross the border, "It is not helpful for anyone, no matter how well intended they might be, to produce road maps that lead aliens into the desolate and dangerous areas along the border, and potentially invite criminal activity, human exploitation and personal risk,"^[101]"In response to the growing concern over these immigrant deaths, the INS [Immigrantion and Naturalization Service] launched "Operation Lifesaver" ...using patrol flights and search-and-rescue missions to find migrants in distress."^[102]

• The Yucatan government (a state of Mexico) also produces educational materials (a handbook and DVD) about the risks and implications of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. According to some groups, this guide tells immigrants where to find health care, how to get their kids into U.S. schools and how to send money home. Sara Zapata Mijares of the Los Angeles Yacatecan Club and officials in Yucatan say illegal immigration is a reality and the guide is a necessity to save lives. Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform says, "This is really the way they keep their corrupt system afloat, by sending their excess workers to the United States and getting billions of dollars in remittances every year ... so for them this is a worthwhile investment".^[103]

• The Mexican government distributes a comic book which warns illegal immigrants about illegal passing across the border. ^[104] That comic book recommends to illegal immigrants, once they've safely crossed the border, "Don't call attention to yourself. ... Avoid loud parties. ... Don't become involved in fights." The Mexican government defends the guide as an attempt to save lives. "It's kind of like illegal immigration for dummies," said the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, Mark Krikorian. "Promoting safe illegal immigration is not the same as arguing against it." However, on the last page of the comic book, it is clearly stated the Mexican government doesn't promote illegal crossing at all and only encourage visits to the U.S. with all required documentation.

Sending wages back to Mexico

In 2003, then-President of Mexico, Vicente Fox stated that remittances "are our biggest source of foreign income, bigger than oil, tourism or foreign investment" and that "the money transfers grew after Mexican consulates started giving identity cards to their citizens in the United States." He stated that money sent from Mexican workers in the United States to their families back home reached a record $12 billion.^[105].

Two years later, in 2005, the World Bank stated that Mexico was receiving $18.1 billion in remittances and that it ranked third (behind only India and China) among the countries receiving the greatest amount of remittances.^[106]

Corruption

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, a survey of international businessmen that ranks countries from least to most corrupt, ranks Mexico at 72nd place out of 179 countries^[107]. (The Index ranks the U.S. in the 20th place. Lower ranking indicates less corruption.) According to Global Integrity's 2006 Mexico Country Report, corruption costs the Mexican economy as much as $60 billion per year^[108]. A survey by the Center for the Study of Private Sector Economics (Centro de Estudios Económicos del Sector Privado), a Mexican research firm, estimates that 79 percent of companies in Mexico believe “illegal transactions” are a serious obstacle to business development^[109], . The 1994 economic crisis in Mexico associated with rampant government corruption ^[110] resulted in a greatly decreased U.S. dollar value of Mexican wages relative to U.S. production workers^{[111][112][113][88]}. The 1994 economic crisis in Mexico, widely known as the Mexican peso crisis, was triggered by the sudden devaluation of the Mexican peso in the early days of the presidency of Ernesto Zedillo. ...

Other countries and regions

Central America

Many of the same issues that apply to Mexico also apply to the countries of Central America."The proportion of Mexican immigrants will almost surely shrink over time...If high immigration continues...Mexico will run out of Mexicans."^{[114][115][116][117]} For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ...

Demand/pull factors

Family reunification

The U.S.'s failure to enforce immigration policy assisted a "network effect" - furthering immigration as Mexicans moved to join relatives already in the U.S.^[88], often through Chain migration. Chain migration refers to the mechanism by which foreign nationals are allowed to immigrate by virtue of the ability of previous immigrants to send for their adult relatives. ...

Availability of jobs

The continuing practice of hiring unauthorized workers has been referred to as “the magnet for illegal immigration.” ^[118]

Matrícula Consular identification cards

The Matrícula Consular ("Consular Registration") is an identification card issued by the Government of Mexico through its consulate offices. The purpose of the card is to demonstrate that the bearer is a Mexican national living outside of Mexico. Similar consular identification cards are issued to citizens of Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador, and Honduras^[119]. This document is accepted at financial institutions in many states and, in conjunction with an IRS Taxpayer Identification Number, allows illegal immigrants to open checking and saving accounts.^[120] The Matrícula Consular (Consular Registration) is an identification card issued by the Government of Mexico through its consulate offices. ... The United Mexican States are a federal presidential representative democratic republic whose government is based on a congressional system, whereby the president of Mexico is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party electoral system. ... The rule of Napoleon Bonaparte after his coup detat in France had conducted the manners of French governmant under dictatorship and in a consulate. ... A national identification number is used by the governments of many countries as a means of tracking their citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents for the purposes of work, taxation, government benefits, health care, and other governmentally-related functions. ...

Impacts

Economic

Main article: Economic impact of illegal immigrants in the United States

Those who find positive economic effects focus on added productivity and lower costs to consumers for certain goods and services. ...

Impact on poverty

"In North Carolina, where the immigrant share of workers with a high school degree or less doubled in the past five years, surging immigration has depressed wages for low-skilled native workers and cost some their jobs, says John Kasarda, a professor at the University of North Carolina's business school." ^[121]

"Supporters of a crackdown argue that the U.S. economy would benefit if illegal immigrants were to leave, because U.S. employers would be forced to raise wages to attract American workers. Critics of this approach say the loss of illegal immigrants would stall the U.S. economy, saying undocumented workers do many jobs few native-born Americans will do."^[122]

Most Americans would not see any wage increases if illegal immigrants disappeared. However, high school drop outs would expect to see an average of 25 dollar a week raise if illegal immigrants disappeared. On the other hand, they would also see an increase in the costs of some goods and services [12]. Illegal immigrants are thought to have disproportionately affected certain groups of American citizens such as black and Hispanic poor. Research by George Borjas, Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Economics and Social Policy at Harvard University, shows that the average American's wealth is increased by less than 1% by illegal immigration. The effect on wages for middle class individuals was an overall wealth increase. However, illegal immigrants had a long-term reduction of wages among American poor citizens during the 1980s and 1990s by 4.8% ^[123]. Harvard redirects here. ...

Paul Samuelson, Nobel prize-winning economist from MIT asserts that there is no unitary, singular effect, good or bad, that arises from illegal immigration, but instead a variety of effects on Americans depending on their economic class. Samuelson posits that wealthier Americans tend to benefit from the illegal influx, while poorer Americans tend to suffer.^[124][125] "There are obviously great advantages to the winners socioeconomically to have immigrants doing work cheaply," Samuelson adds. ^[126] Paul Anthony Samuelson (born May 15, 1915) is an American neoclassical economist known for his contributions to many fields of economics, beginning with his general statement of the comparative statics method in his 1947 book Foundations of Economic Analysis. ... The Nobel Prize (Swedish: ) was established in Alfred Nobels will in 1895, and it was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901. ... Percent below each countrys official poverty line, according to the CIA factbook. ...

Impact on black Americans

Research by George J. Borjas (Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Economics and Social Policy at Harvard University), Jeffrey Grogger (the Irving Harris Professor in Urban Policy in the Harris School at the University of Chicago), and Gordon H. Hanson (the Director of the Center on Pacific Economies and Professor of Economics at UCSD) found that a 10-percent immigrant-induced increase in the supply of a particular skill group reduced the black wage by 4.0 percent, lowered the employment rate of black men by 3.5 percentage points, and increased the incarceration rate of blacks by almost one percent. ^[127] George J. Borjas (b. ...

“We're being overrun,” says Ted Hayes of Choose Black America, which has led anti-illegal immigration marches in south-central Los Angeles, California. “The compañeros have taken all the housing. If you don't speak Spanish they turn you down for jobs. Our children are jumped upon in the schools. They are trying to drive us out.”^[128] He also touts illegal immigration as the biggest threat to blacks in America since slavery.^[129] Hayesâ Crispus Attucks Brigade and the American Black Citizens Opposed to Illegal Immigration Invasion have organized protests against illegal immigration.^[130] Ted Hayes is an American homeless advocate and Republican Party activist. ...

Impact on social services

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.^[131] reviewed 29 reports published over 15 years to evaluate the impact of unauthorized immigrants on the budgets of state and local governments. It found the following The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government. ...

• State and local governments incur costs for providing services to unauthorized immigrants and have limited options for avoiding or minimizing those costs
• The amount that state and local governments spend on services for unauthorized immigrants represents a small percentage of the total amount spent by those governments to provide such services to residents in their jurisdictions
• The tax revenues that unauthorized immigrants generate for state and local governments do not offset the total cost of services provided to those immigrants
• Federal aid programs offer resources to state and local governments that provide services to unauthorized immigrants, but those funds do not fully cover the costs incurred by those governments.

Michael D. Antonovich, a board member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, has said that welfare costs for illegal immigrants in LA County were over $37 million in September 2007 and that they had increased $2 million over the previous two months. He also said that 25% of all welfare and food stamp benefits go directly to children of illegal aliens and that the projected annual cost in welfare and food stamps for illegal aliens would be $444 million - including public safety and healthcare, the total cost for illegal immigrants to the County exceeded $1 billion a year - not including the millions of dollars for education. ^[132]

Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico and current Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, asserts that illegal immigrants are only a drain on government services when they are incapable of paying taxes; and that this incapacity is the result of restrictive federal policies that require proof of citizenship. He further argues that the US economy has "crucial" need for migrant workers, and that the current debate must acknowledge this rather than just focus on enforcement.^[133] Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León (born December 27, 1951) was President of Mexico from 1994 to 2000. ... The Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, or YCSG, is a research centre at Yale University at New Haven, Connecticut. ...

Robert E. Rector, a leading national authority on poverty, the U.S.welfare system and immigration, points out that poor immigrants strains public services such as local schools and health care. He points out that "from 2000 to 2006, 41 percent of the increase in people without health insurance occurred among Hispanics"^[134], although he makes clear that these facts are true of legal as well as illegal immigrants. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, 25.8% of Mexican immigrants lived in poverty — more than double the rate for natives in 1999.^[135] In another report, The Heritage Foundation notes that from 1990 to 2006, the number of poor Hispanics increased 3.2 million, from 6 million to 9.2 million.^[136] The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is a nonpartisan immigration reduction-oriented, non-profit research organization and was founded in 1985. ... The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank located in Washington, D.C., is widely regarded as one of the worlds most influential public policy research institutes. ...

Professor of Law Francine Lipman ^[137] writes that the belief that undocumented migrants are exploiting the US economy and that they cost more in services than they contribute to the economy is "undeniably false". Lipman asserts that "undocumented immigrants actually contribute more to public coffers in taxes than they cost in social services" and "contribute to the U.S. economy through their investments and consumption of goods and services; filling of millions of essential worker positions resulting in subsidiary job creation, increased productivity and lower costs of goods and services; and unrequited contributions to Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance programs."^[138]

Aviva Chomsky, a professor at Salem State College, states that "Early studies in California and in the Southwest and in the Southeast...have come to the same conclusions. Immigrants, documented and undocumented, are more likely to pay taxes than they are to use public services. Illegal immigrants aren't eligible for most public services and live in fear of revealing themselves to government authorities. Households headed by undocumented immigrants use less than half the amount of federal services that households headed by documented immigrants or citizens make use of."^[139] Aviva Chomsky is a professor at Salem State College and former professor at Harvard University, specializing in history of Latin America and the Caribbean. ...

Health care

Almost $190 million or about 25 percent of the uncompensated costs southwest border county hospitals incurred resulted from emergency medical treatment provided to undocumented immigrants^[140] However, according to a phone survey in which Alexander Ortega and colleagues at the University of California asked illegal immigrants how often they receive medical care, illegal immigrants are no more likely to visit the emergency room than native born Americans ^[141]. A study performed by the RAND Corporation in 2006 interviewed over two thousand people in Los Angeles, asking them what their citizenship status was and how often they received medical care. That study also found that only a small fraction of America's health care spending is used to provide publicly-supported care to undocumented immigrants. The study found that overall, immigrants to the United States use relatively few health services, primarily because they are generally healthier than their American-born counterparts.^[142] Alternate meanings: See RAND (disambiguation) The RAND Corporation is an American think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the U.S. military. ...

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) continues to bring injured and ill undocumented immigrants to hospital emergency rooms without taking financial responsibility for their medical care.^[143]

In 2006, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority estimated that it would spend about $9.7 million on emergency Medicaid services for unauthorized immigrants and that 80 percent of those costs would be for services associated with childbirth.^[144]

Because of the federal Emergency Treatment and Active Labor Act established in the mid-1990s, any illegal alien may receive medical treatment and an interpreter at a hospital without divulging their insurance, citizenship, or employment status. This generates a significant financial burden on the US economy that remains generally ignored in the lay press.

To reduce the risk of diseases in low-incidence areas, the main countermeasure has been the screening of immigrants on arrival. Prior to being awarded a green card, legal immigrants over the age of 15 must have a chest x-ray or skin test to check for tuberculosis.^[145][146] Illegal immigrants are not screened in this manner. In medicine, infectious disease or communicable disease is disease caused by a biological agent (e. ... A United States Permanent Resident Card (green card) A United States Permanent Resident Card, also green card, is an identification card attesting the permanent resident status of an alien in the United States of America. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or Tuberculosis) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria, mainly Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ...

However, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)], tuberculosis (TB) cases among foreign-born individuals remain disproportionately high, at nearly nine times the rate of U.S.-born persons. Immigration from areas of high incidence is thought to have fueled the resurgence of tuberculosis (TB), chagas, hepatitis, and leprosy in areas of low incidence. In 2003, nearly 26 percent of foreign-born TB patients in the United States were from Mexico. Another third of the foreign-born cases were among those from the Philippines, Vietnam, India and China, the CDC report said.^{[147][148][149]} The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services based in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia adjacent to the campus of Emory University and east of the city of Atlanta. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or Tuberculosis) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria, mainly Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... Chagas disease (also called American trypanosomiasis) is a human tropical parasitic disease which occurs in the Americas, particularly in South America. ... Hepatitis (plural hepatitides) implies injury to liver characterised by presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue. ... For the malady found in the Hebrew Bible, see Tzaraath. ...

Education

Using the U.S. INS statistics on how many illegal immigrants are residing in each country and the U.S. Dept of Education's current expenditure per pupil by state, the estimated cost of educating illegal alien students and U.S.-Born Children of Illegal Aliens in 2004 for the top five states was as follows^[150] Old INS building in Seattle The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was a part of the United States Department of Justice and handled legal and illegal immigration and naturalization. ...