Immigration Issues Essay

State and local governments have been handed the problem of illegal immigrants by the Federal government. The Feds are not funding the services that have to be provided to these people and yet Government - either elected official or civil servant - is doing nothing to strengthen enforcement of the laws to remove those that are here illegally or to strengthen the borders and immigration process to keep illegal immigrants out. For the financial survival of many of our Border States; either illegal immigrants are breaking the law and need to leave the country or the laws need to be changed. This schizophrenic attitude towards immigration law enforcement has to stop - either the law has been broken or it has not and appropriate action needs to be taken. Either people are breaking the law and should be deported or they should be offered citizenship or the legal ability to stay. The States and Local Governments cannot afford to support illegal immigrant services and still take care of their own citizens.

Juana Mora in “Acculturation Is Bad for Our Health: Eat More Nopalitos” argues that the United States offers many job and educational opportunities for Latinos, but acculturation in America negatively impacts their health. Mora offers research and statistics, most of which I find compelling, to explain that these illnesses are primarily due to the immigrants’ new “daily habits and environment changes” (Mora 660). After arriving in America, immigrants often live in crime-ridden, low income neighborhoods, rely on fast food, abuse alcohol and tobacco products, and have fewer safe areas for exercise. Additionally, the stress caused “by learning a new language and culture” and “living in new and sometimes dangerous environments” causes illnesses such as post-traumatic

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was the first step that the United States takes in order to provide greater access to health care coverage, reduce health care spending rate, and improve the quality of service. Ever since the implantation of the ACA, millions of Americans were able to have access to health care coverage. However, the ACA fails to include the undocumented immigrants. Compared with other immigrant group in the United States, undocumented immigrants have lower rates of health insurance coverage. The studies shows that undocumented Latinos were less likely to check their health and they report that “blood pressure being check in the past 2 years and cholesterol checked in the past 5 years. There was 40% reported that reported receiving

But for the rest of the population substantial disparities still exist. This problem not only affects the uninsured population and the communities they live in, but the entire nation's economy. Dozens of hospitals in Texas, New Mexico Arizona, and California, have been forced to close or face bankruptcy because of federally mandated programs requiring hospitals to provide free emergency room services to illegal aliens. Safety net hospitals continue to operate under a heavy burden of providing care to this largely uninsured population (Torres, Steven, & Wallace, 2013). Having access to healthcare is a necessity in maintaining the good health of these undocumented immigrants. Several solutions have been proposed to overcome the barriers affecting undocumented immigrants. One solution would be to expand the coverage of the Affordable Health Care Act for this population. Another solution would be to approve an amnesty bill to alleviate the undocumented immigrants' situation in the United Sates, which would allow them to access public health

First, they must pass a health-screening process beforehand. In Canada, health screening was implemented to ensure that no immigrant becomes a burden on health or social services or “is a danger to public health or safety” (Government of Canada, 2002:np). Canada has no list of diseases that will automatically disqualify would-be immigrants, but infectious conditions such as HIV-AIDS can decrease their chances of acceptance (Zencovich, Kennedy, MacPherson, & Gushulak 2006). Screening does not guarantee that the host country will receive immigrants that are healthier than its own citizens, but it does ensure that people with serious health problems are not allowed to immigrate; consequently, the cohort of immigrants coming to North America tends to be healthy.

Illegal immigration at the U.S. - Mexico border is a growing problem, and the death toll is rising as more people are attempting to illegally enter the United States. As a result of an increasing number of people trying to enter into the United States illegally, the border is now being guarded by an increasing number of border patrol officers. The United States implemented different laws and operations to prevent more illegal immigration from Mexico into the United States. The ‘Operation Gatekeeper’ was introduced in 1994, which increased the number of Border Patrol officers. The most recent and controversial law was passed in Arizona, which essentially ‘allows’ officers to use racial profiling to check legal status of anyone in that

With the economy of the United States in shambles, illegal immigration and the effects it has on health care can no longer be ignored. America has a whole needs to be concerned and well informed of the issues rather than collecting information piecemeal by way of media or other biased groups. If illegal immigration stays its present course the American tax-payer will continue to fund the well being of individuals who have broken federal rules and regulations and are being supported by law abiding citizens. This argument is not about individual rights to live and prosper. It is not about race or discrimination of any sort. It is only about the effects on health care that I am addressing.

     Illegal immigrants usually hold jobs that have bad conditions and worse pay.  Oftentimes, these jobs are found in sectors such as agriculture, construction, food-handling and manufacturing (Dwyer).  Unfortunately for the illegal individuals who acquire these jobs, they have no access to comprehensive health care, though their line of work tends to demand it.  Although illegal immigrants are consequently strapped for cash, many of them will not visit primary care physicians for fear of being deported.  This sets up a vicious cycle: individuals get sick yet ignore the signs.  When illnesses get remarkably worse and are too severe to treat at doctors' offices, the individuals then go to emergency rooms, where the cost is considerably greater.  More often than not, the immigrants cannot afford to pay their hospital bills.  The cost is then covered by the medical institutions and tax-payer dollars (Wolf).  While some argue that illegal migrants do not

As the most migrant workers were not eligible for health care because they are not permanent residents in the United States. According to the Krakowski, “Migrant farmworkers by definition live a highly transient lifestyle and spend a substantial amount of their time away from their home, and permanent residence. Because of this, migrant farmworkers often struggle to meet the state residency requirement for medical, and although they would otherwise qualify for the program, there is often no safety net in place to ensure Medicaid coverage. Medicaid is failing to meet the health needs of this segment of the population, not because they are ineligible to receive Medicaid benefits, but because of their migratory lifestyle.” Migrant farmworkers’ health status in the United States was not good.

having access to health services, illegal immigrants would be able to live a more comfortable and secure life, as well as the whole community around them. Lack of follow-ups, such as tuberculosis, AIDS/HIVS, and untreated mental issues could result being life-threating. As we know, many illegal immigrants that come to the United States are

A key goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to decrease the number of uninsured individuals, many of whom are in low-income families and are minorities (Kaiser Family Foundation 2016). Under the ACA, immigrants who are in the U.S. legally are eligible for coverage through the health insurance marketplace but undocumented immigrants are not (HealthCare.gov) even when using their own money to purchase. There are estimates of 11.1 million undocumented immigrants in the country as of 2014 (Krogstad, Passel, & Cohn 2016). It is estimated that California was home to more than two million undocumented immigrants in 2013. In 2016, California passed SB 10, a bill that would require the California Health Benefit Exchange, which facilitates the enrollment of qualified individuals into health plans, to apply to the United States Department of Health and Human Services for a waiver to allow individuals who are not eligible to obtain health coverage through the Exchange because of their immigration status to obtain coverage from the Exchange (California Legislative Information). This paper will explore California’s SB 10 legislation, its purpose, and how it will seek to serve its undocumented immigrant population and their health needs.

Today immigrants make up approximately 13% of the U.S. population. From 1900 to 1930, immigrants made up somewhere around 12% and 15% of the population (which is about forty two to forty eight million people), and similar increases happened in the 1850s and 1880s. Close to 47 percent of immigrants are naturalized citizens and the remaining 53 percent are undocumented immigrants. Immigrants, being the largest and most rapidly growing population in the U.S., still have the lowest access to medical care, making it difficult to access medical attention like vaccines. Many of the key reasons as to why getting medical attention is so hard is due to the high cost of medical care, having poor work benefits, not being able to qualify for medical care, and fear of having to provide documentation if a case ever involves being an undocumented immigrant, because legal status can have a big impact on eligibility for any health care service.

The increased risk and incidence rates of certain health issues associated with the United States – Mexico border require unique attention and specialization. The US border region is medically underserved, has higher uninsured rates resulting in worsening health conditions in an increasing population5. The overall population for this review consists of communities along the US-Mexico border focusing on the Hispanic immigratory individuals who face barriers to improved health status. An increase in rate of disease is experienced when two countries of different disease rates deal with high volumes of travel, trade, and immigration, which can be a primary source of illness in the bordering country with the lower incidence rate,6 which in this case would be the US.

The United States has long served as a refuge for people who seek to escape hunger, poverty, torture, and the oppression of the human spirit in their own countries. However, the issue of immigration in the United States has become a political flashpoint since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The sacralization of the tragedy has served to paint all immigrants with the same fear-ladened brush, and has marginalized and stereotyped an already vulnerable population. Today, more than ever, immigrants in the United States face increasing stressors as they try to assimilate in a politically charged post 9/11 world. To be an effective social worker, immigration issues and multicultural awareness is critical. Mary and Mario, a couple who

As the amount if illegal immigrants entering and existing in the country increase, the health care industry is feeling the strain of trying to care for all of these people. The effects for the taxpayer would be a rise in health insurance premiums to cover the costs being incurred for the uninsured. Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals with emergency rooms are required to treat and stabilize patients with emergency medical needs regardless whether or not they are able to pay for the treatment. These hospitals are then caught between a rock and a hard place because there is no guarantee that the costs involved in treating these patients will ever be reimbursed. Because there is a mandatory requirement to treat people that come to the hospital in an emergency type situation, many illegal use the emergency room for all preventative needs as opposed to emergencies. People should be entitled to treatment for illnesses regardless of whether they have healthcare or not. The problem comes in when the system is abused in a manner like the one we are presently