Illegal immigration is a large problem in the United States. Every day, people enter into the United States illegally and the number of those undocumented people is growing. There are currently estimated to be over 12 million people in the United States illegally. There needs to be a call to action and something needs to be done in order to restore the jobs taken away by illegal immigrants. The increasing number of undocumented immigrants is negatively affecting the United States by taking jobs away from legal U.S. citizens, costing billions of dollars in annual expenses, and negatively effecting the environment along the U.S-Mexico border.

Illegal immigration is an ongoing crisis in the United States and has no signs of slowing down. Millions of people are crossing the border illegally every year. Border patrol does what it can by deporting illegals, but the deportation process can take months. Millions of undocumented immigrants from Mexico are in the United States working low paying jobs. A statistic that most people seem to have disagreements about is how many illegal immigrants are in the country, and is that number increasing or decreasing. The fact is, according to Pew Research Center, the number of illegal immigrants has increased tremendously since 1990 and peaked in 2007 at about 12.2 million illegal immigrants. Since 2007, the number of undocumented immigrants within the United States has decreased by a small margin. In a study taken in 2014 by Pew, the number had decreased to about 11.3 million people (5 Facts About Illegal Immigration in the U.S.). This number however does include illegal immigrants from all over the world, and not just those coming from Mexico. In 2009, the number of illegals in the country was about 11.1 million with only 30% of them coming from Mexico. Only a year later, the number of illegal immigrants had increased to about 60% of them coming into the United States illegally from Mexico (Skerry 4). That number has now increased to about 80% of illegal immigrants who have come from Mexico (Skerry 5).   

            It needs to be made clear right away exactly which jobs these illegal immigrants are taking away from legal U.S. citizens and that the main focus is on those immigrants who enter illegally from Mexico. A majority of the jobs taken by illegal immigrants are those that are unwanted and low paying. There are a much smaller number of illegal immigrants who come and take at least minimum wage paying jobs. Of all the illegal immigrants in the United states, about 80% of them are Latino, adding up to almost 11.3 million illegal people in the country. About 93% of the men who come in illegally are in the labor force, compared to that of only 58% of undocumented women who are in the labor force (Skerry 6). As of 2008, illegal immigrants made up about 25% of farm workers, 27% of housekeepers and maids, 28% of dishwashers, 37% of drywalls, and 40% of brick masons (Skerry 7). Many of the jobs that illegals take have little to no job benefits at all. This is why it is not surprising when a census in 2008 showed that about 60% of illegal immigrants do not have health insurance (Skerry 8). There are about 5.8 million illegal males compared to about 4.2 million illegal females in the country (Skerry 8). According to statistics provided by Pew Research Center, it is mostly low paying jobs that are being taken away from the legal citizen in the U.S.

Every day the border between Mexico and the United States has thousands of people trying to enter into the United States, whether that be through the long and questionable legal process, or illegally. The ongoing question is what do we do with all of these illegal immigrants. Some say to let them stay because they have developed a sustainable life here, while others are determined to rid them out of the country not allowing them to come back. The 2016 presidential election has proven to shine light on this ongoing issue. Delegates in the presidential race have differing opinions on what to do with all of the illegal immigrants. Presidential candidate like Donald Trump wants to deport every illegal immigrant and build a wall to keep him or her out. He only wants immigrants to enter the United States if they have gone through gaining legal citizenship. Hillary Clinton has a similar but unclear view on the situation. She wants a wall to be built in places where it is "appropriate, and makes sense." This could mean large areas are left open with no border between the United States and Mexico. Hillary wants to document all of the illegal immigrants in the United States, but if a criminal record of any kind is found under your name, you will be deported, whether the crime was in the U.S. or Mexico (Fewer Immigrants Are Entering the U.S. Illegally, and That's Changed the Border Security Debate). 

Other than having an effect on the 2016 election, illegal immigrations effects the people who enter our country illegally, or even try and enter legally, personally. Families are split every day trying to enter into the United States legally. Gaining legal citizenship when coming from Mexico has proven to be a very difficult thing to do. Those who have been in the United States illegally for over 180 days are legally supposed to be deported and not allowed to reenter the United States legally for at least 3 years (Fewer Immigrants Are Entering the U.S. Illegally, and That's Changed the Border Security Debate). Regulations like this one cause the separation of families and kids from their parents. An intensive reform needs to take place in order to stop all of the separation in families while trying to gain legal citizenship. 

Even though there are many tragedies and down sides to illegal immigration, people still have a way to make the situation seem comical. In the most recent season of South Park, an animated television show on Comedy Central, illegal immigration as well as the current presidential election was presented in a satirical and crude manner. Some find the show to be very offensive in the ways that it makes fun of Judaism, Christianity, and many famous people as well as political figures. However, whether the material is presented in a serious or comedic manner, it is sill presenting the issue to the public and causing more attention to be place on the ongoing illegal immigration issue. Some people find this kind of humor very crude and offensive but no one can deny that raising awareness on the illegal immigration issue is very important in coming to a solution. South Park created a twist on how the issue is looked at. In the episode, the Canadians were the one's who were invading the U.S. due to their country falling apart due to a terrible leader, instead of the illegal immigrants coming from Mexico in search or work and a better life. The twist allowed the viewers to look at the illegal immigration issue from a different perspective.

Many people believe that congress should not have the right to remove illegal immigrants from the country. Acts passed by congress in the 1990s buffed up security and there has been a rise in the abuse and mistreatment of the deportation system. A number of officials have been abusing the system and using it for their own pleasure to mistreat the minorities who are trying to come into the United States. Those officials should be fired from their jobs and never be allowed to work along the border again. 

A measure of public sentiment on how Americans have felt about the record number of deportations of illegal immigrants during the Obama administration was taken during a survey in 2014. Overall, about 45% of Americans called the increase in deportations of illegal immigrants in the United States a good thing and just about the same number of people said it was a bad thing. The opinion of the people in the United States on whether the increasing numbers of deportations is a good or bad thing seems to be split right down the middle. A factor that could be a reason to think deportation is a bad thing could be the mistreatment of the illegal immigrants as well as causing families to be separated during the process of removing them from the country.

Another large part of the issue on illegal immigration is the amount of money that it is costing the United States to keep illegal immigrants out and deport those whom are already here. The budget for Customs and Border Protection has grown to $10.7 billion, which is about a 75% increase from what it was a decade ago (Fewer Immigrants Are Entering the U.S. Illegally, and That's Changed the Border Security Debate). The number of border patrol agents has also increased by more than double and adding up to a total of more than 18,000 agents today (Fewer Immigrants Are Entering the U.S. Illegally, and That's Changed the Border Security Debate).  Even though it is a popular belief that increasing border control will slow down the influx of illegal immigrants entering into the United States, it has not proven to be the case. Statistics show that the number of illegal immigrants entering the country did not match or follow the trend of how many border patrol agents were protecting the border (Fewer Immigrants Are Entering the U.S. Illegally, and That's Changed the Border Security Debate). The cost of national security has done nothing but increase along with the increasing number of illegal immigrants coming from Mexico (The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers). Studies taken in 2013 by the Federation for American Immigration Reform show the effects that these illegal immigrants have on the United States and its taxpayers (The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers). The report estimates that the annual costs of illegal immigration at the federal, state and local level to be about $113 billion (The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers). Of that number, nearly $29 billion is spent annually at the federal level, and about $84 billion is spent annually at the state and local level (The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers). The fact is that illegal immigrants are costing the United States quite a lot. Also, most illegal immigrants are not helping to reverse their negative effects because most of them do not pay any kind of income tax. Among those who do, most of the revenues collected are refunded to the illegal immigrants when they file tax returns. The costs of illegal immigration are having heavy effects on the budgets at the state level. California faced a budget deficit of $14.4 billion in 2010-2011 and was hit with an estimated $21.8 billion in annual expenses on illegal immigrants (5 Facts About Illegal Immigration in the U.S.). New York is another prime example because its $6.8 billion deficit is significantly smaller than its $9.5 billion in annual costs caused by illegal immigration (5 Facts About Illegal Immigration in the U.S.).

Illegal immigrants are not only affecting the United State's economy but also its environment. The parts of the U.S.-Mexico border that do have a wall up to separate the two borders have proven to have negative environmental costs. Presidential candidates like Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have vowed to enlarge this border if elected. This could have a large impact on the Rio Grande Valley on the southern tip of Texas (The Environmental Impact of the U.S.-Mexico Border Wall). The Rio Grande Valley is a large wildlife preserve and attracts many tourists every year to view its beautiful landscapes and animals (The Environmental Impact of the U.S.-Mexico Border Wall). It traces the entire 1,254-mile border between Mexico and Texas (The Environmental Impact of the U.S.-Mexico Border Wall). The area in which the wall would be built would cut off much of this land and destroys animals' habitats, including several endangered species (The Environmental Impact of the U.S.-Mexico Border Wall). This would not only cause those animals along the border to lose their homes, but it would also sacrifice a lot of U.S. land to Mexico. Due to parts of the Rio Grande Valley where it tends to flood and have many bends in the river, the barrier created by the wall does not follow the actual border and the United States is losing part of its land to Mexico. This could hugely affect the Rio Grande Valley that is not on the United States part of the wall (The Environmental Impact of the U.S.-Mexico Border Wall).  

Though it seems that almost all Latinos enter into the United States illegally, there are those who come in through the use of a green card and live here legally. A certain number of immigrants are allowed into the United States each year, and once that number has been reached, the remaining people trying to immigrate must wait till the next year until they can once again try and enter the country legally (5 Facts About Illegal Immigration in the U.S.). The United States allows around 26,000 immigrants per country to enter into America legally each year (5 Facts About Illegal Immigration in the U.S.). That may seem like a lot, but the influx of immigrants trying to enter from the southern border exceeds that number immensely. There is a problem along the border and it needs to be fixed in order to regain stability along our borders and within our country.

Illegal immigration is a national issue and should be treated as such. Turning a blind eye to it or waiting for the problem to solve itself is not the way to go about illegal immigration. The effects on the United States are continuously increasing there needs to be a stop to it. The fact is that illegal immigrants are damaging the United States and need to be removed in order to restore it. Only through the process of legal immigration should those people be allowed to come back and enter into the United States. A major reform needs to take place to help with the constant splitting of families through the deportation and green card processes. Consideration also needs to take place along the border where the wall is being built. Officials in the wildlife department along the Rio Grande Valley stretch need to work to find a solution so that the wall does not destroy innocent animals homes, especially those on the endangered species list. Lastly, the national budget on illegal immigration and the spending on both the state and federal level need to be examined and reformed so that the government is not spending so much on national security due to the illegal immigrants coming into the United States from Mexico. The issue of illegal immigration is a problem that will not end on its own. Action needs to be taken and it needs to be taken now. The legal citizens in the United States have earned the right to be here and so should every other person that wants to live in the U.S.

