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Leonardo Madera
Prof. Kraemer
English 101
2/2/2015
Amnesty will harm the U.S.?
Home to millions of descendants of immigrants, the United States has been a place for
individuals to immigrate. However, in recent years, illegal immigration has taken place and has
become a major issue in 21st century America. Although some people believe that these
undocumented immigrants should be granted amnesty, others are opposed to the idea. There is a
large misconception that illegal immigrants are a burden to the nation’s economy. Furthermore,
in times of hardship, people seek out to blame a specific group of people to blame their
problems, which is common in times of economic downfalls. Individuals oppose illegal
immigration argue that undocumented immigrants are have a relation to crime, limit job
opportunities, harm the economy and are wrongfully here in the U.S. Despite their claims,
statistics and research prove them wrong, thus making their arguments invalid.
TOPIC SENTENCE People who are against amnesty for illegal immigrants have “The
perception that ‘illegal aliens’ are responsible for higher crime rates is deeply rooted in American
public opinion.” (Becerra et al. 113). Crime is common in every part of the U.S. Illegal
immigrants are more likely to be in the “down low” because of the risk of deportation if crimes
are committed or they report one themselves. Furthermore, it is more common to hear about an
American citizen committing crimes as oppose to their undocumented counterparts, which is
rarely heard. In addition, according to Rumbaut, “In 2006 the city council of Hazleton,
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Pennsylvania passed the ‘Illegal Immigration Relief Act Ordinance,’ declaring that illegal
immigration leads to higher crime rates and the city’s legal residents and citizens have the right
to live in peace, free of crime committed by illegal aliens (qtd. in Becerra et al. 113).” It is
important to acknowledge that legal residents and citizens create crimes, thus they won’t be able
to live in peace either way. Furthermore, non-criminal illegal immigrants would be discouraged
from committing any future illegal activities because they do not want to risk losing their legality
(Epstein and Weiss 289). Amnesty would reduce crime amongst illegal immigrants, which would
benefit the country as a whole. In summation, non-criminal illegal immigrants are not the blame
to crimes that occur in the country.
Apart from being considered as a cause to crimes, non-criminal illegal immigrants are
accused of harming the economic stance of the country. In addition to all illegal immigrants
