(Retrieved from theblogprof)     

     There aren’t many topics that can excite emotions, create controversy, and divide a nation as well as the topic of illegal immigration.   Everyone has an opinion they vehemently defend.  I take a strong stand against it. The influx of illegal immigrants is out of control and needs to come to a screeching halt. Now.  Since our federal government has neglected to take action the burden has fallen upon the states and their people to devise a solution.  However, before we can do that we need to have a clear understanding of what illegal immigration is.

     Legal Dictionary defines an illegal immigrant as “An alien (non-citizen) who has entered the United States without government permission or has stayed beyond the termination date of a visa” (Legal Dictionary).  The debate over illegal immigration dates back to the late 1920’s but we need to look back further into history to find where, and how, it began.  Between 1881 and 1920 over 23 million immigrants entered the U.S. Although they migrated from all over the world most came from eastern Europe. In 1920 Congress passed the Quota Law, restricting the number of immigrants allowed from any one country. In 1924 Congress passed further limitations.  Since most immigrants were eastern Europeans the law didn’t account for northern Europeans or Mexicans. This unrestricted flow of immigration eventually led to illegal immigration. This continued until 1929 with the start of the Great Depression.  Thanks to the lack of welfare, jobs, and stronger visa rules, many illegal immigrants left. Most of these were Mexican. It wasn’t until the early 1940’s when the government began to import foreign workers that illegal immigration again became a problem. In the 1950’s President Eisenhower became concerned about the impact illegal workers had on American wages as well as the corruption that came from companies employing cheap labor.  By the end of the decade 95% of illegal immigrants had been removed from the U.S. This is not the end though. Once again illegal immigration soured in 1965 when Congress passed the Immigration Act. While this was intended to promote legal immigration, illegal immigration rose just as sharply. (Americans for Legal Immigration). This is still the case today.  

     It’s important to remember that the topic of discussion is illegal immigration and does not pertain to those who migrate here legally.  Also, it’s important to understand that illegal immigration refers to people of all nationalities and not just Mexicans. Due to the shared border between the U.S. and Mexico there are significantly more Mexicans here illegally. This has led to the misconception of racism.  According to Immigrationcounters.com, out of the estimated 23+ million illegal immigrants in this country today only a little over 588, 000 are not Mexican (Immigrationcounters.com). Because of the outrageously high number of Mexican illegal immigrants the information available is primarily based around them. Regardless, this topic is not about race. It’s about illegal immigration. It’s about right and wrong.

Works Cited

“End Illegal Immigration”. History of Illegal Immigration in U.S. Americans for Legal Immigration. 2008. Web. October 5, 2010. <http://www.endillegalimmigration.com/History_of_Illegal_Immigration_in_US/index.shtml>

Immigrationcounters.com. 2010 Web. October 5, 2010. <http://immigrationcounters.com/>

Legal Dictionary. Illegal Immigration. 2010. Web. October 5, 2010. <http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Illegal+immigration>