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Illegal immigration refers to a immigration of people across national borders —in violation of the immigration laws of the country of destination. In politics, the term implies a larger social problem with consequences in other areas of government, such as economy, social welfare, education, healthcare, and costs of government services.
For nationalists (also so-called "natives") or voters illegal immigration connotes a perceived threat to traditional culture as well as having societal and real costs that exceed the possilbe benefits. (See Also Illegal immigration to the United States
Terminology
There are various terms used to describe a person who either enters a country illegally, or who enters legally but subsequently violates the terms of their visa, permanent resident permit, or refugee permit. The status and rights of such individuals are a controversial topic of debate due to the economic vitality, job availability, and environmental costs of illegal immigration, as well as nationalism, racism, and moral concerns.
Due to the contentiousness of immigration issues, the selection of language to describe certain types of immigrants is a sensitive matter. Terms that refer to immigrants who choose to cross the border, or overstay a visa, and who do not have residency permits to live or work in the new country, include:
- alien
- migrant
- criminal alien
- foreign national
- illegal immigrant/ migrant/ alien
- undocumented immigrant/ migrant/ alien / worker
- undocumented resident
The terms "illegal immigrant" and "illegal alien" are commonly used phrases that refer to the illegality of the action of migration without legal authorization. The term "illegal alien" is conferred legitimacy by its official use in federal statutes. An illegal alien is a foreign national who resides in another country unlawfully, either by entering that country at a place other than a designated port-of-entry or as result of the expiration of a non-immigrant visa. Alternative terms include "illegal immigrant" and the terms "undocumented immigrant", "undocumented worker", and "paperless immigrant".
Those more supportive of the illegal immigrant community tend to replace illegal with undocumented, arguing that it is offensive to describe any human as illegal, whether or not their behavior is illegal. Undocumented worker is often used by supporters to refer to all undocumented individuals, including children and those who do not work. While alien is a term with a specific legal meaning, some argue that the term alien carries with it the negative connotations of extraterrestrials and other meanings of the word alien and is criticized by the pro-illegal immigrant community. George Lakoff, a University of California linguist and progressive strategist, has argued that "the terms 'aliens' and 'illegals' provoke fear, loathing and dread" and should thus be avoided. Meanwhile, border patrol agents and those supporting stronger border controls tend to use illegal alien or the shorter illegals. Illegal immigrant is generally accepted as a neutral term suitable for use in mainstream media according to the AP Stylebook, although the National Association of Hispanic Journalists recommends undocumented immigrant.[http://nahj.org/nahjnews/articles/2006/March/immigrationcoverage.shtml
State and justice organisations focuses on the (il)legal aspects of immigration. Switzerland offices (IMES, ODR, ODM) use the terms illegal migrants « migrants illégaux »; while the European Union use the term person in illegal stay « personnes en séjour irrégulier » in its French written documents, and use « illegal migrant » in its English written documents. In English the United Nations prefer « undocumented migrants » appelation which refers to the fact that these persons are not registered in the country where they are, without criminalising them. The Organisation Internationale des Migrations (OIM) uses terms like « irregular migrant » and « irregular resident », which imply that their status is not regular but persons are not « illegal » . The organisation focuses on the negative consequences that assimilation of migrants into an illegality notion can have on people.
In the United States, 60% of illegal aliens are illegal border crossers, while 40% are visa overstayers.**
Causes of immigration flux
The international migration of people is largely driven by persons who leave perceived relative poverty and poor living conditions in their own country, or political oppression, in hopes of acquiring a better life in a new country. Nations experiencing extremes of weather, high levels of unemployment, civil war or violent political conflict, will often experience periods of emigration. Poor conditions may be a result of nations that lag in stability, security, technological skills, organizational ability, lack resources, knowledge, or political will or cohesion to build a better educated work force or a better economy.
Some immigrate to fill jobs offered by agribusiness, construction, entertainment or other typical low skilled jobs but also high paid jobs. Some immigrate to fill a relative shortage of persons with either a particular skill or training. Many immigrants desire to secure free welfare, free education and free healthcare typically offered by many developed countries for their own citizens or are able to receive these when they arrive. Some corporations seek cheaper labor. Sometimes high unemployment in less-developed nations will cause people to immigrate to find work elsewhere, due to the general imbalance in the world of trade and employment opportunities. Some are trying to escape civil wars, repression, military servitude (such as conscription, or National Service), and sexism in their native country. Advocates of free immigration characterize nearly all migrants as legitimate, implying that the real costs and benefits imposed on the rest of the population are unimportant. Conversely, advocates of restrictions believe it is a given right of citizens to defend and maintain their traditional culture and standard of living without allowing unrestricted immigration. Immigrants are often divided into political migrants and economic migrants. Those who migrate for personal reasons are generally classed as economic migrants, even if living in the new country occasionally greatly reduces their earning potential.
Classification
Advocates of more restricted immigration divide people into political migrants - i.e. refugees - and economic migrants, while supporters of more open immigration may consider all kind of migrants as refugees. Those who migrate for personal reasons are generally classed as economic migrants, regardless whether living in the new country greatly reduces or increases their earnings potential.
Critics of the "illegal immigrant" status, such as Saskia Sassen in The Global City (1991, revised 2001), have contended that the artificial creation of legal aliens was necessary to insure the reduction of production costs and low-wages policies demanded by the "new economics". Others, such as Giorgio Agamben, have pointed out the similarity between an illegal alien, an "enemy combatant" and a Homo Sacer, a figure of Roman law deprived of any civil rights.
Methods
- For a US perspective on this subject please refer to: Illegal immigration to the United States
Immigrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally. In some areas like the U.S.-Mexico border, the Strait of Gibraltar, Fuerteventura and the Strait of Otranto. Because these methods must be extralegal, they are often dangerous. Would-be immigrants suffocate in shipping containers, boxcars, and trucks, sink in unseaworthy vessels, die of dehydration or exposure during long walks without water. Sometimes migrants are abandoned by their human traffickers if there are difficulties, often dying in the process. Others may be victims of intentional killing. The official estimate, for example across the US-Mexican border, is that between 1998 and 2004 there were 1,954 people who died in illegal crossings. These smugglers often charge a hefty fee, and have been known to abuse their customers in attempts to have the debt repaid.
The Snakeheads gang of Fujian, China, has been smuggling labor into Pacific Rim nations for over a century, making Chinatowns frequent centers of illegal immigration.*
People smuggling may also be involuntary. Following the close of the legal international slave trade by the European nations and the United States in the early 19th century the illegal importation of slaves into America continued for decades, albeit at much reduced levels.
The so-called "white slave trade" referred to the smuggling of women, almost always under duress or fraud, for the purposes of forced prostitution. Now more generically called "sexual slavery" it continues to be a problem, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, though there have been increasing cases in the U.S.
Legal and political status
- See also: Illegal immigration to the United States, Immigration to the United States, Australian immigration, Immigration to the United Kingdom, Illegal immigrants in Malaysia.
Many countries have or had laws restricting immigration for economic or nationalistic political reasons. Whether a person is permitted to stay in a country legally may be decided on by quotas or point systems or may be based on considerations such as family ties (marriage, elderly mother, etc.). Exceptions relative to political refugees or to sick people are also common. Immigrants who do not participate in these legal proceedings or who are denied permission under them and still enter or stay in the country are considered illegal immigrants.
Most countries also have laws requiring workers to have proper documentation, often intended to prevent the employment of illegal immigrants. However the penalties against employers are not always enforced consistently and fairly, which means that employers can easily use illegal immigrant labor. Agriculture, construction, domestic service, restaurants, resorts, and prostitution are the leading legal and illegal jobs that undocumented workers are most likely to fill.
In response to the outcry following popular knowledge of the Holocaust, the newly-established U.N. held an international conference on refugees, where it was decided that refugees (legally defined to be people who are persecuted in their original country and then enter another country seeking safety) should be exempted from immigration laws. It is, however, up to the countries involved to decide if a particular immigrant is a refugee or not, and hence whether they are subject to the immigration controls.
The right to freedom of movement of an individual within National borders is often contained within the constitution or in a country's human rights legislation, but these rights are restricted to citizens and exclude all others. Some argue that the freedom of movement both within and between countries is a basic human right and that Nationalism and immigration policies of State Governments violate the human right of freedom of movement that those same governments recognise within their own borders. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, fundamental human rights are violated when Citizens are forbidden to leave their country. (Article 13). Of course this only assists immigrants with the first part of their immigration process and does not assist with the second, settling in their new home.
Since immigrants without proper legal status have no valid identity cards or other official identification documents. Thus, they may have reduced or even no access to public health systems, proper housing, education and banks, which may result in the creation or expansion of an illegal underground economy to provide these services.
The presence of illegal immigrants often generates opposition. A perception may exist among some parts of the public in receiving countries linking illegal (or even legal) immigrants to crime increases, an accusation that others may claim is "anti-immigrant" or "xenophobic". When the authorities are overwhelmed in their efforts to stop illegal immigration, they have historically provided amnesty. Amnesties, which are becoming less tolerated by the citizenry, waive the "subject to deportation" clause associated with illegal aliens.
Economic and social involvement
Most countries have laws requiring workers to have proper documentation, often intended to prevent or minimize the employment of unauthorized immigrants. However the penalties against employers are often small and the acceptable identification requirements vague and ill defined as well as being seldom checked or enforced, making it easy for employers to hire unauthorized labor. Agriculture, construction, hotel and motel work, domestic service, restaurants, resorts, and prostitution are the jobs that unauthorized workers, who often have limited education, are most likely to fill. For example, it is estimated by some that 80% of U.S. crop workers (~5% of the unauthorized workers in the U.S.) are without valid legal status. Approximately 5% of all prisoners in jail are also without valid legal status, although studies of Mexican immigrants to the United States have suggested that unauthorized immigration may in fact be associated with decreased crime.Unauthorized immigrants are especially popular with many employers because they can pay less than the legal minimum wage or have unsafe working conditions secure in the knowledge that few unauthorized workers will report them to the authorities. Often the minimum wages in one country can be several times the prevailing wage in the unauthorized immigrant's country making even these jobs attractive to the unauthorized worker. Most unauthorized workers are paid well above minimum wage. Many members of the public react negatively to the presence of unauthorized immigrants, allegedly taking jobs they would like, crowding their streets, markets, schools, prisons and emergency rooms, and such sentiments are often exploited politically. However, allegations that the presence of unauthorized immigrants means increased costs and increased rates of crime and unemployment with few compensating benefits are conversely attacked by unauthorized immigrant advocates as "anti-immigrant" or "xenophobic." Occasionally, authorities issue amnesties (often called regularization, earned legalization or guest worker programs).
European Union
Restricting immigration in the European Union has often been driven by the fear the immigrants will bring alien political values that will disrupt or dilute European values, by nativism or general fear of strangers, by fear of wage and benefit reduction, by concerns of adverse impact on public services, or by security interests regarding criminals or terrorists.
A major issue is illegal immigration from Africa across the Mediterranean Sea, especially via the Strait of Gibraltar, where thousands of people die every year in attempts to reach Europe. There have been suggestions about establishing immigrant centres in Morocco, or elsewhere in northern Africa, to give information and protect the people risking their lives to reach Europe.
Southern Spain is a major entry region for illegal immigrants. It is estimated that about a million illegal immigrants from Africa live and work illegally in this area.
The European Union is developing a common system for immigration and asylum and a single external border control strategy.
In France, helping an illegal immigrant (providing shelter, for example) is prohibited by a law passed on December 27, 1994 under the cohabitation between socialist President François Mitterrand and right-wing Premier ministre Edouard Balladur *. The law was heavily criticized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the CIMADE or the GISTI, left-wing political parties such as the Greens or the French Communist Party, and trade-unions such as the magistrates' Syndicat de la magistrature, who alleged that this brought France to the dark periods of Vichy France during World War II.
In October 2005, dozens of Subsaharan emigrants died trying to bypass the Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta. Morocco's authorities decided to expel all of them, leaving hundreds stranded in the desert near Oujda (border with a zone of Algeria loaded with landmines) and south of Morocco, without water nor food. This raised a public uproar in Europe, although Morocco legitimately pledged that Europe's 1985 Schengen Agreement compelled it to fund Morocco in order to be able to cope with the emigration influx.
United States
The illegal immigration issue is currently a major political topic in the United States. However, illegal immigration has occurred in the U.S. for some time. Currently, most illegal immigrants come from Mexico and Central America, but there are a significant population of visa overstayers from other countries. In addition, illegal immigration has been linked to issues of border security and protecting the country against terrorists.
The 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 in California. As crossing has been pushed into more desolate areas of the Arizona desert, the journey to find work in the United States has become much more hazardous for illegal immigrants.
Each year, numerous immigrants illegally flooding into the country become heat casualties of the arid Sonoran Desert. In 2005, the US Border Patrol reported finding 463 dead bodies of illegal immigrants. On behalf of a request made by Senator Jon Kyl, the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association calculated the cost of providing health services to illegal immigrants to approximately 31 million dollars in just one year. The figure was given as a "bare minimum number", said the Association's John Rivers. The difficulty of the journey has prompted many immigrants who come for seasonal or temporary work to stay in the United States rather than face the difficult crossing to return home.
The Mexican government places the blame for these deaths largely on the numerous "coyotes" who abandon their passengers along the way. (In this context, a coyote is intended to mean one who, for a steep price, agrees to ferry illegal immigrants from Mexico into the heart of the state; see people smuggling).
Many proponents of illegal immigration see the flood of undocumented aliens as a benefit to Arizona's economy and workforce. Some see Mexico as a poor country that sends its tired, weak, and hungry to the United States for work. Mexico is ranked 87th by gross domestic product per capita.*
The flood of illegal aliens has also caused a surge in crime, and has subsequently seen the prisons become even more overpopulated. Approximately one third of the prison population is comprised of non-citizens. The 4,000 imprisoned illegal immigrants in Arizona cost the state government over fifty dollars per day, per head. This cost does not include funds spent to send these individuals through the justice system prior to their imprisonment. Maricopa County's Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been receiving complaints since he implemented a plan to actually incarcerate and punish those who are living in the state illegally. While this plan is completely in accordance and in support of the law, the plan has been called "an attempt to intimidate immigrants by threatening and imposing incarceration", by Victoria Lopez, the executive director of the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform, a leading group in the immigration reduction movement, reports that illegal immigration costs Arizona taxpayers approximately 1.3 billion dollars every year. Current reports estimate the population of illegal aliens in Arizona to be nearly half a million. The U.S. Border Patrol reports stopping that many criminals crossing the border in just one year, highlighting the extremity of the problem at hand.
Mexico
Mexico has accepted large numbers of immigrants during wars such as World War I (Germany, Yugoslavia, Poland, etc.); the Spanish Civil War and exilees form the South American and Central American dictatorships. It has also received those who are fleeing their native areas for religious persecution such as the Russian Molokans and Christian Lebanese and Mennonites. However, in the last decades, Mexico has received illegal immigrants as the result of civil war in Central America, many of whom attempt to eventually cross the US border illegally. Some of the immigrants are members of the Mara Salvatrucha, a criminal organization whose members have terrorized various places in Mexico, and in the States have currently extended their activities as far north as Washington, DC. It is said that the U.S. is pressuring Mexico and paying for the deportation of Central American origin.
In the first eight months of 2005 alone, more than 120,000 people from Central America have been deported to their countries of origin. This is a significantly higher percentage than in 2002, when for the entire year, only 130,000 people were deported Other important group of people are those of Chinese origin, who pay about $5,500 to smugglers to be taken to Mexico from Hong Kong. It is estimated that 2.4% of rejections for work permits in Mexico correspond to Chinese citizens Eastern Europe, Asia, United States and Central and South America are also offered jobs at table dance establishments in large cities throughout the country causing the National Institute of Migration (INM) in Mexico to raid strip clubs and deport foreigners who work without the proper documentation *." target="_blank" >After the Argentine economic crisis of 2001 many Argentines have chosen to immigrate to Mexico either temporarily or permanently. Many of these are currently working in the country with the proper documentation, including some who work also in dollar|$" target="_blank" >*10 million *.
Mexico has very strict immigration laws pertaining to both illegal and legal immigrants.* The Mexican constitution restricts non-citizens or foreign-born persons from participating in politics, holding office, acting as a member of the clergy, or serving on the crews of Mexican-flagged ships or airplanes. Certain legal rights are waived in the case of foreigners, such as the right to a deportation hearing or other legal motions. In cases of flagrante delicto, any person may make a citizen's arrest on the offender and his accomplices, turning them over without delay to the nearest authorities.
See also
- Rule of law
- Filibuster (military)
- Immigration to the United States
- H.R. 4437
- S. 2611
- Illegal emigration
- 2006 U.S. immigration reform protests
- United States immigration debate
- Mexico
- Alien (law)
References
World
- Messina; Anthony M. ed. West European Immigration and Immigrant Policy in the New Century Praeger, 2002
- Mireille Rosello; "Representing Illegal Immigrants in France: From Clandestins to L'affaire Des Sans-Papiers De Saint-Bernard" Journal of European Studies, Vol. 28, 1998
- Tranaes, T. and Zimmermann, K.F. (eds), Migrants, Work, and the Welfare State, Odense, University Press of Southern Denmark, (2004)
- Venturini, A. Post-War Migration in Southern Europe. An Economic Approach Cambridge University Press (2004)
- Zimmermann, K.F. (ed.), European Migration: What Do We Know? Oxford University Press, (2005)
United States
- Barkan, Elliott R. "Return of the Nativists? California Public Opinion and Immigration in the 1980s and 1990s." Social Science History 2003 27(2): 229-283. in Project Muse
- Vanessa B. Beasley, ed. Who Belongs in America?: Presidents, Rhetoric, And Immigration (2006)
- Borjas, G.J. "The economics of immigration," Journal of Economic Literature, v 32 (1994), pp. 1667-717
- Cull, Nicholas J. and Carrasco, Davíd, ed. Alambrista and the US-Mexico Border: Film, Music, and Stories of Undocumented Immigrants U. of New Mexico Press, 2004. 225 pp.
- Thomas J. Espenshade; "Unauthorized Immigration to the United States" Annual Review of Sociology. Volume: 21. 1995. pp 195+.
- Flores, William V. "New Citizens, New Rights: Undocumented Immigrants and Latino Cultural Citizenship" Latin American Perspectives 2003 30(2): 87-100
- Nicholas Laham; Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Immigration Reform Praeger Publishers. 2000.
- Lisa Magaña, Straddling the Border: Immigration Policy and the INS (2003)
- Mohl, Raymond A. "Latinization in the Heart of Dixie: Hispanics in Late-twentieth-century Alabama" Alabama Review 2002 55(4): 243-274. Issn: 0002-4341
- Ngai, Mae M. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America (2004),
- Ngai, Mae M. "The Strange Career of the Illegal Alien: Immigration Restriction and Deportation Policy in the United States, 1921-1965" Law and History Review 2003 21(1): 69-107. Issn: 0738-2480 Fulltext in History Cooperative
External links
- Immigrants and the Labor Market from Dollars & Sense magazine
"Illegal immigration"