Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
With this entry I decided to tackle a problem that has no easy solution: illegal immigration. Now before you good readers get your dander up, please understand a few things: first, this is all my opinion (unless I cite facts and references); second, we all have different opinions; third, we aren't all ever going to agree about everything. With all that said, let's take a look at a few statistics I was provided via email and let me share some of my outlook with regard to them.
Let me specify this up front: I haven’t confirmed or qualified any of the numbers quoted in the article I received via email. Taking them "on faith" - even if they aren't accurate - I've made comments about each. The comments would still apply even if the numbers were reduced by fully 50%.
First number: approximately 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States. I had once read the number was closer to 30 million, or 1-in-10 since we’ve got more than 300 million people living in the United States now. Hmm... 20 million OR 30 million. Let me see what I can find to compare that to in an effort to put it into some type of perspective.
According to the 2005 census numbers:
The city of New York had approximately 8.1 million residents. So, the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. is somewhere between 2.5 – 4 times the number of people living in New York. Can you imagine? EMPTY NEW YORK at least 2.5 times, and maybe some more.
Los Angeles: 3.8 million. The number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. is 5 – 7.5 times more than the entire population of Los Angeles.
Chicago: 2.8 million. Illegal immigrants in the U.S. equal as much as TEN TIMES the number of people living in Chicago.
Houston: 2 million. Number of illegal immigrants in the U.S.? Ten to fifteen times more than the number of people in Houston.
Here’s what I find scary: We could EMPTY New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix and San Antonio JUST TO EQUAL THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN THE UNITED STATES. That’s seven of the largest cities in the country. That’s just to get to the 20 million number. To get to the 30 million number we have to add the next THIRTEEN largest cities in the United States. That’s the twenty largest cities in the United States. We have enough illegal immigrants in the United States to populate our twenty largest cities. Does that cause concern to anyone else?
Second Number: If the estimated 3.5 million illegal aliens living in California were moved back to Mexico, the state would save approximately $10.2 BILLION dollars PER YEAR in school costs, hospital services and prison maintenance. Given a recent news article about a Mexican state/district that is complaining about the financial impact it's absorbing as illegal immigrants leave the U.S. and go back to Mexico, I have to think there is some credence to this.
Third Number: In Denver approximately 12,000 gang members would be taken out of the population if the illegal aliens were caught and sent back to their own country or countries. What does 12,000 less gang members translate into in saved police labor dollars?
Fourth Number: If no more employers hired illegal aliens to work “off the books†or “under the table†the income taxes paid on the legitimate incomes earned by American Citizens would increase federal government revenue by approximately $401 BILLION dollars. ANOTHER approximately $4 Billion would be further collected by state, county and local governments.
Fifth number: Approximately 15,000 MS-13 gang members who are responsible for distributing about $130 Billion worth of illegal drugs EACH YEAR would be gone. In Los Angeles alone about 20,000 members of the 18th Street Gang would be removed.
Final number: If we didn’t have 20 to 30 million illegal aliens living in the United States, earning money (non-taxed), and sending that money OUT of the country, we’d keep an additional $80 Billion dollars within our own economy.
So, let me recap: IF we could get the 20 – 30 million illegal aliens out of the United States we could change our economy for the better by approximately $890 Billion (just short of ONE TRILLION dollars). We could keep about $130 Billion worth of illegal drugs off the streets (and away from our children). More than 47,000 gang members would be invited to leave our country. BILLIONS (pure guess) of dollars spent on enforcement and public safety labor would be saved.
Does anyone still think that illegal immigration doesn’t present a problem for our country? More importantly, does anyone believe that we should just grant that (almost) TRILLION dollar illegal community amnesty and invite them to stay legally? If you said, “Yes,†then I encourage you to reconsider the 47,000 gang members and their (more than) $130 Billion in illegal drugs, some of which are surely being sold / distributed to our CHILDREN.
Now, lest someone accuse me of being prejudiced, let me say this: I firmly believe that America was built by immigrants and that we should continue to encourage those seeking a dream to come here LEGALLY and pursue that dream. They should be required to have a sponsor; a waiting job; and a place to live. They should have a criminal background investigation to make sure they aren’t simply escaping justice in their own country. They should be tested for contagious diseases like tuberculosis and hepatitis. Our citizenship laws should be changed so that the child of an illegal alien that is born in the United States is NOT a citizen. “Anchor†children present huge issues for our country (remember, this is just my opinion). Another option is that immigrants wishing to become citizens could come to our country and enlist in our armed services. All members of our armed services should be required to speak English FLUENTLY.
I believe that we SHOULD continue to see our country grow. That growth should occur through births and legal immigration. However, when 10% of our current population is here illegally and costs our country almost one trillion dollars, it’s obvious that we need to do something. That something does NOT include happy-happy joy-joy speeches made by politicians hoping to get votes from those related to illegal immigrants, or benefiting from their presence in our country. That something should be the proper adjustment of laws; the careful enforcement of immigration controls; and, above all, the aggressive tracking and removal of illegal aliens from within our borders.
Your thoughts?
