The Facts About Illegal Immigration in the US in the 21st Century
Without going too far into sentiment, US Immigration Bonds wants to discuss the facts about illegal immigration in the United States. This is purely objective, but before we delve in it’s important to note one thing: Immigration is messy, beyond messy. Its chaotic and that’s putting it lightly.
It’s difficult to discuss immigration, and we must be specific because immigration is, after all a deeply human issue. But Government policy is broad, which means it’s difficult to reconcile creating an immigration policy that works to keep the bad out and attract the good.
This facts about illegal immigration are specific to the United States and to the 21st century. Every country and every period in history has its own immigration story.
- The Immigrant Population Has Increased
The overall immigrant population has increased, the numbers include both legal and illegal immigrants. In 1970, immigrants comprised 4.7% of the total U.S. population, 9.6 million people in total.
In 2015, immigrants comprised 13.5% of the population, a staggering 43.3 million people living in the United States were not born on U.S. soil.
Illegal immigrants make up roughly 3.4% of the total population in the 21st century.
Source: Migration policy Institute.
For undocumented immigrants who are arrested, it means spending months (if not years) in detainment, only able to garner release through immigration bonds.
- It is Not Easy Getting to America Legally
The sentiment heard most often when discussing facts about illegal immigration, is ‘why don’t they come here legally?”. It’s a fair question.
For most, traveling overseas and receiving the proper authorization is near impossible. There is a documented bias against nonwhite immigrants that we can trace back to the Immigration and Nationalist Act, signed into effect in 1965.
Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
For most poor, unskilled persons living in corrupt countries, the United States is worth the risk of arrest. There is far more to lose by staying.
- It’s Not Just Criminals Who Live in the U.S. Illegally
This is an ironic statement because by the very nature of living within the U.S. illegally, it would seem you are breaking the law. It’s easy to think of these people as criminals because they are currently breaking the law. In a black or white sense, they are wrong.
It is in fact, not a crime to live in the U.S. illegally and this is where the law gets messy. It is a civil violation to stay in the United States illegally, not a crime.
But that doesn’t change the national mindset. Detainees are ARRESTED, they are CHARGED, they require IMMIGRATION BONDS, they go to TRAIL. This is still the language of criminal proceedings after all.
The truth is that people of all backgrounds and ethic proclivities arrive in the United States every year. It is also difficult for criminals to enter the U.S. because of strict background checks.
Source: U.S. Passport & International Travel.
