Diana Giraldo
How can the United States reform the immigration system for the millions of
undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States?
Diana Giraldo
Senior Research Paper
Blackstone Academy Charter School
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How can the United States reform the immigration system for the millions of
undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States?
There are currently about 11.1 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the
US, who are unable to become citizens and cannot access needed services (Bahrampour).
“During the 1990s, more than 15 million [undocumented] immigrants entered the US, an
increase of 50% from the 1980’s and over 100% since the 1970’s.” (Dettlaff 48) These
undocumented immigrants usually come to the United States because they want a better life for
themselves and their children. When coming to the United States, undocumented immigrants
face many restrictions that affect their daily life. They can’t become citizens of the United States
and therefore do not have the same benefits of citizens of the country. They face disadvantages
regarding health care and other public benefits. The United States is divided on the issue of what
to do with undocumented immigrants. Despite the multiple viewpoints on the issue of
immigration reform, the US government must create clear policies to provide undocumented
immigrants with a path to citizenship and social services.
There are many misunderstandings when dealing with the issue of undocumented
immigrants. Undocumented immigrants are people who are living in the United States without
the permission of the US government. The media and anti-immigrant groups label undocumented
immigrants as: “illegal alien” or “illegal immigrants”. The definition that describes
undocumented immigrants is: “people who are citizens of another country living in the United
States without a green card” (Becker 58). The term “illegal alien” is used by the United States
Border Patrol to describe a person who is not a legal resident of the United States. There are
many ways for an individual to be undocumented. Some entered the United States without a
VISA or came with fraudulent documentation. Others arrived with a tourist VISA but overstayed
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their time (called Nonimmigrant Overstay), or previously were legal United States residents who
committed a crime and got their permanent residency revoked.
Undocumented immigrants are part of the melting pot of foreign born individuals that
make the United States diverse. Deceased Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts spoke at the
U.S. Senate in 2007 on the need for new national immigration laws, “Our strength, our diversity,
our innovation, our music, our hard work, our love of country, our dedication to family, faith and
community-these are the fruits of our immigrant heritage and the source of our national strength.
They have made America the envy of the world” (Morrow 9). Senator Ted Kennedy supported
the perspective that having undocumented immigrants in the United States has made the United
States a diverse place to live, which has become the envy of other countries around the world.
For example, most undocumented immigrants pay taxes to the US government, which help the
state they live in to build new roads, pay for schools, etc. Although undocumented immigrants
contribute to the United States most, are afraid to use some things like health care.
Many undocumented immigrants are afraid of going anywhere because they are scared
that they will be deported or asked for proof of citizenship. For example, “undocumented
immigrants use less health care than nearly every other group in our population. They fear that
using the health care system will require them to disclose their immigration status” (Wailoo
249). Undocumented immigrants have a disadvantage when it comes to accessing social services.
For example, access to education is limited to Kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Undocumented immigrants have some access to emergency medical care, but benefits from
health insurance plans are rare. Many undocumented immigrants fear using social services like
welfare. “Welfare opportunities are taken away [from undocumented immigrants] by not being
able to use food stamps and other things” (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
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Reconciliation Act of 1996). Overall, even the few social services that undocumented
immigrants can access are not taken advantage of due to fear. It is essential that undocumented
immigrants receive these social services. It is important that undocumented immigrants receive
social services because they are human and may not be able to afford to clothe their children,
give them fold or provide a warm shelter because they don’t have places to go for help.
The United States must reform the way undocumented immigrants access social services.
For many years, immigration has been an evolving topic. Immigration laws give an unfair
disadvantage to undocumented immigrants regarding social services. One of the issues that give
undocumented immigrants a disadvantage is that they don’t qualify for public benefits according
to the PRWORA of 1996. In order to qualify for welfare, the applicant and parents (if minors)
must be United States citizens or lawfully admitted to the country as a permanent resident. Also,
a social security number is required in order to receive welfare benefits. If a family member, like
a mother, father, sister, or brother, living in the household does not have a social security number
then they must apply for one in order to receive public benefits. In trying to obtain a social
security number, most people find that they are not eligible. Undocumented immigrants cannot
obtain a social security number because they do not have the necessary requirements to obtain
the number. One requirement that undocumented immigrants do not meet is they are not
“legally” in the United States. In order to obtain a social security number you have to show proof
of age with a birth certificate, proof of identity for a U.S. driver’s license, a state ID or a US
passport, evidence of US Citizenship and evidence of immigration status. Many undocumented
immigrants cannot provide evidence of having these documents.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 was a
welfare reform bill that made all immigrants regardless of status, eligible for school lunch. This
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bill also said that immigrants may not receive state, local or public benefits. This act
reestablished the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Act (TANF) which allows families,
but not undocumented immigrants, to receive public benefits, including food stamps and housing
assistance. When those two bills came into effect, about 52% of children of immigrant families
were living below poverty levels (Dettlaff 50). Many immigrant children and their families also
suffer from other problems. “They are vulnerable to stress, depression, and other issues while
their parents are trying to establish a safe and permanent home which leads to health and mental
needs for both the children and their families” (Dettlaff 58). Many of these services are taken
away from these people because they are not “legally” in the United States.
Many families are afraid of applying for social services because they don’t want to be
asked for proof of residency. “Immigrant families, particularly undocumented families or those
applying for legal permanent residency (LPR), often fear accessing public services and benefits.”
(Dettlaff 62) Although many immigrants are in need of public benefits and 80% of their US born
children are eligible for public benefits, they don’t use social services because their parents are
afraid of being asked for proof of their residency. Not being able to qualify for public benefits
leads to many health issues.
In the United States, anyone, regardless of one’s immigration status, cannot be denied
emergency medical treatment. This means that no doctor or nurse can turn away a patient for any
reason. The court case, Guerrero vs. Copper Queen Hospital of 1975, which gave undocumented
immigrants the legal right to emergency care (112 Ariz. 104, 537 P.2d 1329 (1975). This court
case was heard because an undocumented immigrant went to a hospital and was denied treatment
because they didn’t have a social security number. Many undocumented immigrants use less
health care than any other population because they fear that seeking out health care would
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require them to give out their immigration status (Wailoo 429). Since many of these
undocumented immigrants actually use less health care, they should reform the immigration
system in a way that would let those immigrants use health care for themselves and their
children. One economic reason why the United States does not offer undocumented immigrants
with health care would be because the government has to find the money to pay for those
hospital bills that undocumented immigrant would not pay if they were insured. According to an
article by The New York Times it cost about $5,398.00 for emergency room care for a person
that has no insurance. There is no difference between undocumented immigrants or citizens
because the hospital does not ask for social security number, they only ask for the insurance card.
Undocumented immigrants do not qualify for any type of health insurance. This means
that any medical expense that they incur has to be paid out of pocket. For example, in the state of
Rhode Island children under the age of 19 can qualify for Neighborhood Health Care of Rhode
Island. This insurance pays for all the medical expenses the child might have while in hospitals
or for surgeries. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for health care because, if under age,
their parents do not have a social security number to provide for the insurance.
While undocumented immigrants are denied the opportunity to obtain health care, they
also face restrictions regarding education. In 1982, the Supreme Court ruled in Plyler vs. Doe
that public schools were prohibited from denying immigrant students access to public education.
During this process the court stated that undocumented children have the same right to free
public education as any U.S. citizens and permanent residents (Plyler v. Doe , 457 U.S. 202
(1982) ). Just like other students, undocumented immigrants are obligated to go to school until
they reach the age that the law mandates. This is very important because, thanks to this court
case, undocumented immigrants have the opportunity of attending school and getting an
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education. Those kids have the right of obtaining some education and becoming someone in life
who might become a famous scientist, lawyers or doctors in the future. A 1982 Supreme Court
case allows any undocumented student the right to go to school from kindergarten through 12th
grade. Undocumented immigrants are allowed to attend college but the cost of college restricts
them from going. Once they finish the 12th grade they are not restricited from attendng college,
but face many barriers in pursuing higher education. For example, they do not qualify for any
government financial aid or money. Access to higher education financial aid is limited for
undocumented immigrants because they do not have a social security number or US citizenship.
One of the problems is that higher education is too expensive for most immigrants students so
most do not go beyond high school. Before students were able to complete their education K-12
there was a legislation that wanted to restrict children from going to school.
Do immigrant children have the right to get an education? This is a frequent question
asked in schools around the United States. According to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
every child has the right to an education, no matter their race or gender. This Act was created to
raise test scores of students who were being prejudiced against for being “different”. The NCLB
was also used to give schools measureable goals to be achieved that would better the outcome of
the education provided. In a study conducted they found “that 29% of children of immigrants
have parents with less than a high school education” (Dettlaff 50). Many immigrant parents had
to quit school to go to work to sustain their families in their native countries. For these parents
education is something that they wished they could have completed, but had to stop to in order to
support their families. In conclusion, since most children follow in their parents footsteps, would
seem that immigrant children would drop out of school and go to work just like their parents
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American citizens, state governments, and the federal government must sort out the
multiple viewpoints of both pro and anti immigrant groups in order to make our country a better
place to live. Undocumented Immigration is an issue that has become very controversial.
Throughout the past 7 years, many bills have been proposed in hopes of providing
undocumented immigrants the rights afforded to American citizens. These groups hope
legislators pass these bills and get undocumented immigrants the rights that they deserve. Many
groups believe undocumented immigrants are a burden to the United States. Those groups think
that undocumented immigants take things from the America citizens like jobs and money (Fox
News). There are more than thirteen anti-immigrant groups that are against undocumented
immigrants in the United States. Some are the American Immigration Control Foundation,
California Coalition for Immigration Reform, Federation on American Immigration Reform, Pro
English, and Project USA. One of the most active anti-immigration groups is called The
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, and Minuteman Project Incorporated. This group puts up
billboards that “can currently be found in West Virginia, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Georgia and
California” (US Immigration Support). The Minutemen call themselves the “local neighborhood
watch” of the border. They are composed of volunteers that patrol sections of the US-Mexico
border. Although the group is not really big, they are able to get the attention of the media to get
their point across. Many of these groups are trying to get undocumented immigrants deported.
For example, if the minutemen were to find out that someone is undocumented, they would call
immigration services to get them deported. They have also tried to contact senators and
representatives to persuade them not to pass any legislation that would give undocumented
immigrants any benefits.
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There have also been pro-immigrant groups that have flourished over the years. They
have held rallies in Washington D.C. and set up walks to support immigration. Yearly, on May
1st, anyone who supports immigration would wear white and commit to a walk at the Capitol.
These groups complete this walk in order to make a point to the government that undocumented
immigrants are important to this country and the government should support a law that would
legalize them. These groups exist in order to show that they can make a statement to the US
government about things that are important issues that matter to them. Some groups that commit
to work with pro-immigration advocates are: We Are America Alliance, Border Angels,
American Immigration Lawyers Association, and New American Opportunity Campaign. We
Are America Alliance is an organization that consists of community, labor and religious
organizations. Border Angels are a group of volunteers that have set up water stations near the
Arizona border to prevent dehydration of illegal immigrant crossing the border. These groups all
work together, not to promote to illegal immigration, but to prevent the death of those crossing
the border. These groups hope to providing immigrants a path to becoming citizens of the United
States. These groups may be committing a crime by helping immigrants. This might be by
providing water for them as they are crossing the Mexican border or by hiding them in their
homes to keep them from deportation. Currently there is a campaign to drop the word illegal
when referring to undocumented immigrants. The Drop the I-Word campaign has a “broad
spectrum of individuals and communities from across the country that are demanding respect and
rejecting the I-Word, “illegal’s,” as a designation of their neighbors, children, families and
themselves” (Color Lines). This campaign is another form of activism trying to persuade others
to help undocumented immigrants instead of judging them.
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Will providing undocumented immigrants with social services help or hurt the people,
government and economy? For the past 7 years there has been a proposed bill called The
Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM Act). The DREAM Act would
“help those individuals, who meet certain requirements, have an opportunity to enlist in the
military or go to college and have a path to citizenship that they otherwise would not have
without this legislation” (DREAM Act Portal). On average, 65,000 undocumented students
graduate from U.S. high schools every year (Center for American Progress). The DREAM Act
would give undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship while attending college to obtain
some sort of degree or diploma. In order to qualify for this you must have entered the United
States before the age of 16, be present in the US for at least 5 consecutive years, have graduated
from high school or obtained a GED, be between the ages of 15-35 at the time of application, and
finally, have good moral character and avoid trouble with the law. The DREAM Act is a way for
thousands of kids to gain legal status. For example, a girl who was very smart, was able to obtain
a full scholarship to attend the best school in the country, Harvard University, but tearfully
declined. She was afraid of revealing her immigration status in fear of being deported. While in
her political science class she hid behind her laptop watching the DREAM Act debate, feeling
her classmates eyes hit her as she kept her eyes glued to the laptop (The Daily Beast), hoping for
its passage
If the DREAM Act is passed, undocumented immigrants who are enrolled in college
would be given a Conditional Permanent Residency. After about 6 years of this Conditional
Permanent Residency, they must go through a series of requirements that would finally give
them their permanent residency. One of the newly proposed conditions states that undocumented
students would not be eligible to give residency to a spouse, a child or other family member.
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According to the most recent proposals of the DREAM Act, the government wants to add the
condition that gives undocumented immigrants amnesty but would not be able to sponser other
family members. Although this law is a pro-immigrant bill, there are still many other bills that
oppose immigration which make living in the United States a difficult situation for those
undocumented immigrants. “If you are ever going to stop this invasion, and it is an invasion, you
have to quit rewarding people for breaking those laws,” said State Senator Russell Pearce, the
Senate president, leader of the campaign that wants to get undocumented immigrants out of the
state of Arizona (The New York Times). This bill was a strong anti-immigrant bill giving
government officials the right to find undocumented immigrants, ask them for their proof of
citizenship, and if not given, they could deport them from their state.
Although the bill was passed, there were many provisions on the bill. First, government
officials cannot stop any person driving or walking who might “look” undocumented without a
legal warrant or “reasonable suspicion” (Dwyer). Second, if an undocumented immigrant was to
get arrested and jailed they would have to be transferred to ICE or the Customs and Border
Protection (Arizona State Legislature). This anti-immigrant bill shows that many government
officials do not want undocumented immigrants to obtain citizenship in the United States. Like
in Arizona, Rhode Island has several anti-immigrant protestors that do not want them to obtain
any form of legal status in the United States. Around the country, many states have tried to
propose a law that would act as the Arizona SB 1070. For example, in the state of Rhode Island,
state senator Peter Palumbo proposed that Rhode Island adapt similar legislation that exist in
Arizona. This proposal did not make the floor of the state senate. Like Arizona and Rhode
Island, there are another 15 states that have propossed the copy cat form of the SCB 1070.
Currently, in four states there has been at least one legislation chamber that has passed this copy
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cat bill. Those states are Indiana, Utah, Mississippi, and Kentucky. The other eleven states have
propossed this bill but it is still undergoing processing. Those states include, California, Georgia,
Illinois, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. In Arizona,
the government wants to get undocumented immigrants out of the United States the fastest way
possible. They will be propossing legislation that "encourages states to prevent children of illegal
immigrants from being granted citizenship under the 14th amendment" (Patriot Update).
Fourteen states are trying to pass this legislation, they are Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Idaho,
Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania,
Texas and Utah. These fourteen states want to get the same legislation passed because they are
not supportative of undocumented immigrants. They are not supportive because of the economic
reasons behind this. They think that they would only make the economy worse than what it
currently is (Colorlines).
In the recent immigration debates in Rhode Island, an anti-immigrant supporter, Terry
Gorman, debated that undocumented immigrants “cost Rhode Island $400 million annually”
(PolitiFact Rhode Island). Gorman divided the budget into 4 categories to show how
undocumented immigrants cost Rhode Island about $400 million dollars annually. Gorman said
that to incarcerate undocumented immigrants it costs $7.2 million dollars, the actual number is
$6.2 million. He also mentioned that it cost Rhode Island “$239 million dollars a year to educate
illegal immigrant children and children of illegal immigrants” (PolitiFact Rhode Island). Gorman
said that the cost to educate a child in Rhode Island was $23,000 per student. That number did
not include the special needs that some kids needs which he added would be an additional
$22,000. The Rhode Island Department of Education mentioned that the statewide average per
pupil cost in 2009 was $14,186 per student which covers special education, English instruction
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and other special programs. Terry Gorman stated that undocumented immigrants cost Rhode
Island 400 million a year but this figure seems to be highly exaggerated.
Gorman mentioned two categories which included incarceration and education. The two
other factors were deportations and health services. Gorman said that 35% of the money spent on
Medicaid and RiteCare go to undocumented immigrants. “David Burnett, associate director of
the state’s Office of Health and Human Services said the only undocumented people covered by
Medicaid are 350 pregnant women currently covered by the RiteCare program through a special
plan funded by the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). He estimated the cost at
$125 million when the actual number is less than $600,000. He also mentioned that deporting
one individual would cost $23,148.00 which would mean that deporting 700,000 immigrants
would cost the state $16.2 billion dollars (Center for American Progress). Finally, Gorman used
hospital care as another example. According to Gorman, he was told by a hospital source that
undocumented immigrants use all of the money given for free care. In reality, “patients are not
required to provide SSN or even green card numbers if they have them,” said Gail Leach
Carvelli, media relations for Lifespan (PolitiFact). Treating an undocumented immigrant is no
different from treating any other person. These people have to be treated the same because
hospitals can't ask for proof of residency which means they can't deny anyone health care. In
conclusion there is no way to really show how much money is being spent on health care for
undocumented immigrants.
For many years, there has been many comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) that have
been proposed in the United States. The biggest amnesty that was passed was The Immigration
Reform and Control Act of 1986. This reform was passed under the presidency of Ronald Regan.
The CIR of 1986 gave a temporal legal status to over 2.7 million undocumented immigrants (US
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Citizenship and Immigration Services). The next major immigration reform was the Immigration
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 under the presidency of Bill Clinton. This
was an immigration reform bill, which was a way of trying to get less undocumented immigrants
in the United States. Another proposal would have given federal immigration officials the power
to deport legal immigrants who used more than one year worth of government services during
the first seven years of their residency.
The United States can reform the immigration system for millions of undocumented
immigrants in many ways. Many laws have passed in the past couple of years that restrict
undocumented immigrants from obtaining a lot of things. For example, the Arizona Bill SB 1070
has caused thousands of people to fkeeArizona in fear of being arrested and taken away from
their family. One thing that the government can do to reform the immigration system is to pass
laws that are not prejudiced towards immigrants who have done no harm in the United States.
Undocumented immigrants are considered criminals, for the simple fact that they are in the
country without proper documentation. Deporting one individual would cost $23,148.00 which
would mean that deporting 700,000 would cost $16.2 billion dollars (Center for American
Progress). Instead of using that money to deport undocumented immigrants, it could be used for
education, health care and other services for them. Next, the United States government could
pass the DREAM Act which would give over 65,000 undocumented immigrants the opportunity
to go to college and obtain their citizenship. If those students would get the opportunity to go to
college to obtain their citizenship you would “add as many as 252,000 new scientists, engineers,
and technical workers” (Center for American Progress). That would make the United States an
even greater country.
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The United States is a country that needs to embrace undocumented immigrants. In the
long run, whether it be hundreds of years ago or recent times, immigrants make the United States
a diverse country that is the envy of many. Undocumented immigrants have unique qualities and
come from countries possessing different languages and cultures. One way to reform the United
States immigration system would be to grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants. This would
give thousands of undocumented immigrants the opportunity to change their immigration status
if they have good moral character, have no criminal record and have lived in the United States
for more than 5 years. That would give many undocumented immigrants the opportunity to
contribute to the growth of the United States. President Barak Obama said in the 2011 State of
the Union Address “What's more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea -the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That's why centuries of
pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It's why our students don't just
memorize equations, but answer questions like "What do you think of that idea? What would you
change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?" (White House).
Remember, the United States is a country in which, at one time, all of our families were once
immigrants from other countries.
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