Estimates of illegal immigrants range from just under ten million to almost twenty million. Almost fifteen million American families contain at least one individual who is considered to be an illegal immigrant. Tens of millions of children are either undocumented aliens themselves or having siblings or parents who are undocumented immigrants. Undocumented workers as a group pay about 90% of the taxes that are paid by citizens and legal immigrants; they hold nearly the same level of insurance; they account for, and pay close to the same costs of public services and health care as legal citizens and immigrants.
Immigration attorneys work hard to navigate the confusing and difficult immigration laws, illegal immigration laws, and anti-immigration laws. There has never been a proper and clearly delineated system of immigration laws in America. Immigration, legal or otherwise, has always been addressed on an as-needed basis. In the past, immigration has ebbed and flowed within the government’s reasonable ability to manage the influx of foreign peoples, yet currently that system is overwhelmed.
When immigration grows too fast there is a cultural backlash. This occurred with the Irish in the early 20th century. Additionally, several modern factors have brought heightened exposure to undocumented immigrants in particular. Some of these factors include advances in documentation and record-keeping, new laws that require constant monitoring of citizens and residents such as driver’s licenses and registrations, social security documentation and its use as proof of legal rights to work, and payroll and income taxation and documentation.
Illegal immigration requires a great many hard-working immigration attorneys to unravel the laws of federal and state governments in order to arrange the best possible resolution. They work to gain their clients the proper documentation such as green cards or work visas, passports, and legal IDs. They also work to get their clients into naturalization and citizenship programs so that they can work, live, and pay their proper taxes as legal workers, residents, and citizens.
The hard work of immigration lawyers benefits everyone, citizens and workers and businesses alike. They benefit the immigrants who wish to create better lives for themselves, the legal residents and citizens who wish to live assured that their opportunities are not eroded by an unmanageable volume of immigration, and the commercial interests who wish to use the cheap and available labor of new immigrants.
