Abstract
The issue on illegal immigrants has always beset the American society. Many immigrants go to America to pursue what most people call as “the American dream”, often believing that America is the “land of milk and honey”. The problem however, is that there a number of immigrants without the necessary legal documents. Two opposing views on whether illegal immigrants should be beneficiaries of government benefits exist. Benefits given to both legal and illegal immigrants include healthcare, education, housing and employment benefits. This paper aims to show the pros and cons of giving benefits to illegal immigrants in the view that in the end, one can decide whether the government benefits enjoyed by these immigrants are rightfully theirs.
There has always been a debate as to whether illegal immigrants should be entitled to the same government benefits as those enjoyed by legal citizens. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. revealed that there are approximately 11.7 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States as of March 2012. Previous year’s record showed only 11.5 million illegal immigrants. With the improving economy of the United States, some states are granting immigrant-friendly measures like college tuition breaks. But there are still some sectors who still believe that illegal immigrants should not enjoy the same footing as legal citizens.
One of the benefits in question in this debate is the healthcare coverage. Other people believe that illegal immigrants should be covered by government’s health care benefits because they too contribute to tax revenues. If they will not be given access to health services, then it will pose a threat to the over-all well-being of the other legal citizens. The general population’s health will be weakened, paving the way for more communicable and infectious diseases in the environment. Proponents of healthcare benefits even for illegal immigrants consider healthcare coverage as a fundamental provision of the Constitution. As such, it cannot be denied even to illegal aliens. On the other hand, those who oppose this view believe that illegal aliens rob them of their healthcare benefits. They believe that instead of providing these benefits to illegal immigrants, they should be the ones who should be enjoying healthcare subsidies from the government. There are critics who even view subsidies for illegal immigrants as a “perverse reward for breaking immigration laws”.
Another issue with regards to illegal immigrants is that of granting them access to in-state tuition. Some states which have provided undocumented immigrants with in-state tuition are being lambasted for providing education for non-US citizens when it could have given the opportunity to US citizens. According to a 1982 federal legislation, all students are entitled to a free public education from kindergarten through 12th grade. This is the rationale used by some states in allowing illegal immigrants to enjoy in-state tuition. Moreover, providing education to illegal immigrants is viewed by some as an investment because these people can contribute to the economic development of a state.
Employment of illegal immigrants is another issue that confronts the US government. There are some sectors in society which believe that before an immigration amnesty program is implemented, employment should first be provided to the unemployed legal work force. Another related issue with the employment of illegal migrants is that some employers prefer to hire illegal aliens because they are willing to work on dangerous jobs at minimal wages and without any benefits. Opponents of the amnesty program deem it unreasonable for illegal immigrants to compete with legal citizens who deserve employment. Proponents of the program; however, think that there should be equal opportunity for everyone especially if one is qualified for the job.
It is a common misconception that illegal immigrants do not pay taxes. On the contrary, illegal immigrants do pay taxes. Being taxpayers themselves, one thinks that it is justified that they be entitled to the government benefits. The decision of whether to grant government benefits to illegal immigrants should be weighed according to whether in the course of providing these benefits to them, the legal citizens are being deprived of what is due them. If that is the case, then those who are legal should take precedence over those who are illegal.
Based on the above considerations, one is of the belief that illegal immigrants should be granted government benefits but they should be given a certain deadline wherein they should fix their papers. If after the said deadline, they still have not fixed their papers, then they should not be allowed to avail of the benefits. This move will also encourage the illegal aliens to work on their papers and maybe avail of the amnesty offered by the government. In this way, the legal citizens will not feel that the government is unfair in providing benefits to illegal immigrants.
References
Bloomberg L.P. (2014, February 19). Denying immigrants health care is cruel politics. Retrieved from bloomberg.com: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-02/denying-immigrants-health-care-is-cruel-politics.html
CBS Local Media. (2013, September 25). Study: Number of illegal immigrants living in US rises to 11.7 million. Retrieved from washington.cbslocal.com: http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/09/25/study-number-of-illegal-immigrants-living-in-us-rises-to-11-7-million/
Siley, C. (2005). Should undocumented immigrants have access to in-state tuition? American Association of State Colleges and Universities, 1.
White, D. (2014). Illegal immigration explained - Profits & poverty, social security & starvation. Retrieved from usliberals.about.com: http://usliberals.about.com/od/immigration/a/IllegalImmi_3.htm
