Crossing the Border, Reaching the Light
Crossing the Border, Reaching the Light An illegal immigrant is defined as anyone who migrates to a country for permanent residence without any form of identification. The number of illegal immigrants in the United States was estimated at 11.5 million in 2011, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Of these 11.5 million immigrants, 58 percent came from Mexico, 23 percent from other Latin America countries, 11 percent from Asia, and 8 percent from Africa, Europe, Canada and elsewhere. How do they get in the U.S.? Why do they want to be here? How do they get jobs in the U.S.? Should all of these people be deported back to their native countries? Are illegal immigrants good or bad for the economy? There are several reasons why people want to immigrate to the U.S. People immigrate to other countries for various reasons. Most come for reasons similar to those motivating legal immigrants, such as the desire for a better life, freedom of religion, and speech, a better job, reunifying with relatives, or escaping oppressive conditions at home. Some do not qualify to immigrate legally. They can be disqualified for a variety of reasons, such as criminal background, communicable diseases, and more. Some people do not wish to wait their turn. Some do it simply because it is easier than filling out the paperwork and doing the background checks. Most of the illegal immigrants in the U.S. are Mexican. This is because Mexico and the U.S. are shared a border. Most simply can cross the border where it is not secured. If they get caught, they might come again a few hours or days later. You can see people doing it by just go to YouTube and do a searching for “illegal aliens crossing border”; you will find many videos. According to Public Agenda, only 25 percent of illegal immigrants speak English. On the other hand, those that are smuggled into the country are usually uneducated and poor. They came here because they could not find jobs that paid enough to support them in their
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