How+does+illegal+immigrant+crime+affect+America?

How does illegal immigrant crime affect America? Drug Cartels as a Social Justice Issue

//“I am no longer proud to be an American. I feel like a sucker, and I hate myself for having children before finding out that their father would be thrown out of the country and treated like a dog for trying to do the right thing. No one understands. People always say thing like, " he must have done something!" "The US would let him back, he has kids here, he must be a drug dealer or something." The United States doesn't care about me or my children. I work, pay taxes, teach my children to be good people.” // //Erica // //Grants Pass, Oregon //

 The previous passage is a personal story of an undocumented immigrant known as “Erica”. Her story about having her husband deported helps depict the argument of social injustice towards illegal immigrants. Illegal immigration crime is considered a social justice issue because these crimes increase stereotypes, endanger American citizens and encourage terrorism, however this is not to say that the majority of undocumented immigrants are dangerous criminals.

 The Latin community who are established citizens have been deeply affected by racism due to the stereotypes of illegal immigrants. In today’s media Latinos are usually portrayed as “illegal aliens, ignorant immigrants who take, but give little back to the country and can't even speak the language, or drug-crazed thugs who have no respect for law or order  “ (Saltzman). These stereotypes have developed as a result of reported illegal immigrant crimes. According to Joe Saltzman’s article “ In whose image? Media stereotypes of minorities” because much of TV news is stories on crimes, that is what the american public is exposed to. However many of these stories have the tendency to be derogatory because they focus on the poor committing crimes. Many members of the poor are of an ethnic or racial minority. Since many consumers recieve a steady stream of minority-dominated crime, the impression left is clear: Racial and ethnic minorities, in the descriptive phrase of the president of the National Association of Black Journalists, usually have a criminal face. This is not fair to the Latin community for them to be catergorized as illegal immigrants, nor is it fair for illegal immigrants to be made into a stereotype.

 Illegal immigrants do indeed increase crime rates. How? Our very own citizens, yes, crime rates do increase and they do so because these illegal immigrants are proven to commit crimes, most commonly homicides, against the innocent citizens of our country. Illegal immigrants who have been deported for committing crimes are more likely to find another way back into the United States and are also likely to commit crimes against innocent American citizens thus increasing crime rates. Also, in some cases these homicides involve the selling of illegal drugs. Because of these illegal drugs it increases violence due to conflict between drug distributors which may put innocent American citizen’s lives in harm’s way as well as American police forces. Overall, illegal immigrants do affect the increase of crime rates in the United States. For example, an article entitled “Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Crime” provides multiple cases in which illegal immigrants have committed homicide to innocent American citizens. These same illegal immigrants are nine times out of ten an illegal who has been deported for crime rates and illegal drug distribution. An example of one of these cases would include the case of Norfolk Police Officer, Sheila Herring. Herring was shot to death by an illegal, Mario Roberto Keen, and before this, Keen was sentenced to five years in prison in 1990 for selling cocaine. He was eventually deported but however he had successfully snuck back into the United States through New York in 1997. This is only one of many cases that involve homicide by an illegal which involves drugs. Are we serving justice by allowing illegal immigrations to enter our country and commit such crimes? The injustice of illegal immigrants is shown here, it is unfair and inhumane to allow such criminals to enter our country illegally and act against the innocent, legal American citizens. This proves how illegal immigrants do affect our crime rates by committing homicide and harming our American citizens, a valid reason supporting the injustice of illegal immigration.

Thirdly, illegal immigration proves to impact our country’s crime rates by encouraging terrorism. Yes, terrorism is one of the many negatives of illegal immigration in the United States. Although statistics show that a strong majority of illegal immigrants are from Mexico, an article provided by a site entitled “The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration” proves that three of the four pilots involved in the 9/11 attacks were already in the United States illegally before 9/11 had occurred. How is illegal immigration justified if it allows terrorists to enter our country and make the innocent citizen’s a vulnerable target to these kinds of threats? Allowing terrorism is not only unfair towards the American citizens but it threatens the country from terrorists. This is a social justice issue because some believe, including the Church, that we should “aid” those in need. If we “aid” these strangers we may never distinguish those who came to start a better life and those who came to end lives through acts of terrorism. The death toll was set to thousands who died in the 9/11 attacks, should the toll increase when we allow illegal terrorists set off bombs and nukes in public places and major cities? Should we allow these dangerous figures into our country because we believe it is the justified choice, to assume that we must aid these "helpless" individuals? Illegal immigration is a serious matter, its more of an impact than we think, it is a loop whole for enemies, it endangers the American citizens. Allowing illegal immigration is allowing terrorism.

Illegal immigration causes issues not only for United States Citizens, but also the immigrants themselves. This is a serious issue, which should force America to look at how they treat and react to their peers and criminals.

(Above: A picture of the Norfolk Police Officer, Sheila Herring, who was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant.)

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 * __Audio Clip:__** Crime Stats Figure In Illegal Immigration Debate



 Works Cited "Crime Stats Figure In Illegal Immigration Debate : NPR." //NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR//. NPR, June-July 2010. Web. 25 May 2011. .

"Erica" "The Stories of U.S. Immigrants in Their Own Words." //My Immigration Story - Home//. Web. 25 May 2011. .

"Impacts Of Illegal Immigration: Crime." //The Dark Side Of Illegal Immigration: Facts, Figures and Data Show A Disturbing Truth//. Usillegalaliens.com, 2004. Web. 25 May 2011. .

"Impacts Of Illegal Immigration: Terrorism." //The Dark Side Of Illegal Immigration: Facts, Figures and Data Show A Disturbing Truth//. Usillegalaliens.com, 2004. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_terrorism.html>.

Saltzman, Joe. "In Whose Image? - Media Stereotypes of Minorities - Column | USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education) | Find Articles at BNET." //Find Articles at BNET | News Articles, Magazine Back Issues & Reference Articles on All Topics//. CBS, Nov. 1994. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_n2594_v123/ai_15897250/?tag=mantle_skin;content>.

"YouTube - Broadcast Yourself." //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.// June-July 2010. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded>.