Understanding the Immigration Issue

I'd like to try my best to explain what people are being singled out for deportation by ICE agents across the United States.  In order to do this we have to distinguish what is a legal immigrant and who is not legal.  Legal immigrants are foreign-born people legally admitted to the U.S. Undocumented immigrants, also called illegal aliens, are foreign-born people who do not possess a valid visa or other immigration documentation, because they entered the U.S. without inspection, stayed longer than their temporary visa permitted, or otherwise violated the terms under which they were admitted. (https://www.dshs.wa.gov/faq/what%E2%80%99s-difference-between-legal-and-undocumented-immigrants)

The only way to enter the United States legally is with a Visa (no, not the credit card).  "A citizen of a foreign country who wishes to travel to the United States needs either a non-immigrant visa for a temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence." (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html/visa).  Unless individuals are from Canada or Bermuda even if they just want to come to the United States to visit Disney World they have to obtain a travel visa.  The folks get these by paying a fee ($185), filling out the proper forms, scheduling an interview at the American Consulate or Embassy in your home country, showing the appropriate documents and demonstrating that you have between $5000 and $10,000 in your bank account to cover expenses during your stay.  The process for students and migrant workers is basically the same with the exception of the amount of money in their bank account.  Usually these folks have someone behind the scenes guiding them through the process, either an exchange organization or the group that is hiring the migrants to work construction, agriculture or, like at Beardstown, factory jobs.  In addition, your home country has to be willing to let you go.  We have in our family a foreign exchange student who obtained a visa to study here.  After her education was complete she applied for a work visa and was granted one.  She went home to see her parents and to renew her passport and visa and her home country denied her application to renew her passport for over a year because, as a highly successful employee in her field of study, they wanted to keep her in their country to work.  Yes, subsequently they extended her work visa but it was quite the wait.

An immigrant visa is much different and more difficult to get.  First of all, the United States has a limit on the number of immigrant visa's it awards in a year.  The United States provides for immigrant visas based on family ties, employment, adoption, special immigrant categories, and the diversity visa.  A legal immigrant is required to have a sponsor in the U.S. (almost always a family member) who is a citizen. The process to immigrate to the U.S. for employment purposes is even more extensive and generally requires an employee of the company for whom one is working to help navigate the process.  An immigrant must THEN apply for a green card.  That is the document that allows an individual to work and live legally in the United States.

Ok, that's a lot of information.  So, what about illegal immigrants?  How do they enter the country, why do they enter the country, why don't they just go through the proper channels and get a travel or education or work visa from their own country?  My friends, if you had to walk from Venezuela to Texas (approximately 3000 miles) to be able to enter the United States, it is very likely you don't have the resources to navigate the system appropriately.  In the majority of instances illegal immigrants come to the United States for a better standard of livings.  To really understand the numbers this study from the Pew Research Center can provide you a lot of valuable information. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/22/what-we-know-about-unauthorized-immigrants-living-in-the-us/.  The majority of illegal immigrants to the United States come from Mexico, but increasing numbers come from the Caribbean, South America, Asia, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.  People walk in, they are smuggled in, they pay exorbitant sums of money (bribes) to other people to sneak them in through airports and seaports.  As much as 45% of the total unauthorized migrant population entered the country with visas that allowed them to visit or reside in the U.S. for a limited amount of time. Known as “overstayers,” these migrants became part of the unauthorized population when they remained in the country after their visas had expired. (https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2006/05/22/modes-of-entry-for-the-unauthorized-migrant-population/).

Are undocumented immigrants taking our jobs?  The majority of undocumented aliens work in construction, agriculture, hotel services (maids and janitors) and food service.  Unless the company or individual for whom they work operates illegally by paying them "under the table" taxes are taken out of the paycheck they receive.  Other than WIC, unauthorized immigrants are generally ineligible for federally funded supports except for emergency Medicaid, primary and preventive health care at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), free/reduced school lunch, and short-term access to shelters and soup kitchens in emergency situations.  Undocumented immigrants do not receive food stamps, money for housing, or free medical care.  Even most legal permanent residents (aka green-card holders) face a five-year waiting period before they can qualify for federal benefits. (https://www.migrationpolicy.org/content/immigrants-public-benefits-us)

ICE is specifically tasked with the arrest and deportation of individuals in this country without proper documentation.  According to the ICE website the present policy is to target those individuals who have committed crimes either in the United States or in their home country.  If, however, during an ICE raid others who have not committed or been accused of criminal activity are "discovered" they can be detained for deportation consideration.  

Lastly, what happens to the children of deportees?  In most instances the children leave the country with their parents by parental choice.  As of right now, children born in the United States are birthright citizens.  They, just like you and me, are legal citizens.  When parents believe they cannot safely return their children to the country of origin they often make arrangements for relatives or close personal friends to care for the children until final decisions are made.  When all else fails, the children are placed in the foster care system

I am aware of the length of this post, but I hope it helps you understand the immigration issue just a little more.