Illegal immigration hurts U.S.

Despite some recent promotion for President Bush’s
guest-worker program, both major political parties have refused to
sincerely address the dissatisfaction that 78 percent of Americans
have regarding the federal government’s handling of illegal
immigration. Many times this issue simply devolves into an opaque
partisan debate, with both sides throwing around sound bites but
offering little substantive action or arguments for solving the
problem.

Maverick conservatives have tackled this issue head-on,
reasoning that illegal immigration presents a threat to national
security. Some moderates oppose illegal immigration because of the
loss of jobs for American workers, but liberals seldom voice any
opposition to illegal immigration, and many times support it.
Because of the distortions, half-truths, accusations of racism, and
oft-times irrational thought processes, illegal immigration has
become an issue many liberals seek to avoid discussing at all
costs.

But enforcing the immigration laws of this country should not
only be a general concern for Americans, it should be considered a
liberal one, because illegal immigration threatens the principles
and ideals that liberals hold dear.

Among the tenets many liberals claim to cherish are those of
fairness and equality. Liberals have long been the champions of
civil rights, gay marriage and progressive taxation. It should
follow then that cracking down on illegal immigration be a central
concern for liberals, as individuals who are entering this country
illegally are, in essence, cutting in line and creating an unfair
situation for others.

Many waiting to enter this country legally have been waiting in
line for years in hope of bettering their lives. But because of
people who do not follow our country’s rules, law-abiding
immigrants are forced to wait years longer because of the strain
illegal immigration places on the country. Liberals, on the whole,
claim to be champions of equality and fairness, and I sincerely
hope that stopping line-cutters would be considered consistent with
liberal ideals and principles.

But perhaps more importantly, illegal immigration threatens our
nation’s social services. Currently, illegal immigrants
residing in the United States amount to roughly 11 million people,
and, according to a study conducted by the Federation for American
Immigration Reform last year, cost California taxpayers $9 billion
annually. With the sour state of the California budget, illegal
immigration adds a sizeable chunk of red ink. Because of this fact,
funding for healthcare and education services, institutions that
liberals hold dear to their hearts, have been faced with extreme
budget problems.

In California, illegal immigration costs our education system an
estimated $7.7 billion a year, and our healthcare system about $1.4
billion in 2004, according to the FAIR study. Because of these huge
costs, the difficulties these programs face in providing their
services are perpetuated. Every individual should have access to a
quality education, and no one should go without health insurance.
But for every person who breaks our nation’s laws and enters
this country illegally, the liberal ideals of universal healthcare
and affordable and effective education are made all the more
difficult to achieve.

Solutions to these problems have been thrown around for some
time: hire additional Border Patrol agents, crack down on employers
of undocumented workers, or even help Mexico help itself. Each of
these proposals has its positives and negatives. But for now,
it’s important to realize that not only does illegal
immigration pose significant security risks to our country (who
knows how many of the up to 1 million people entering this country
illegally each year are terrorists), but that it also presents
severe problems to our country’s social services, programs
liberals cherish.

With the present lackluster security of our borders, every
American should be concerned with national security, and liberals
should be concerned with the future of the ideals and programs we
hold dear. And with the present state of illegal immigration, these
concerns are nothing if not extremely justified.

Kleckner is a second-year political science
student.