Rights of Illegal Immigrants The first line of the Fourteenth Amendment says this, “Any person born or naturalized in the United States is a citizen of the United States.” Illegal immigrants are people who have snuck into the country illegally and therefore apply to neither of the two. Because of this, illegal immigrants should have no rights or privileges also stated in the Constitution. Those rights belong to the legal citizens of the United States. The United States experiences environmental problems due to illegal immigration. The influx of the population causes more air pollution and less clean air. Is there really that much of an overpopulation problem to affect the country, though? The DHS states that there were over 11.6 million illegal immigrants in the United States as of January 2008 and is growing tremendously. California, with 3 million illegal immigrants, is the state with the greatest number of immigrants. Then Texas has over 1.6 million immigrants, and Florida has over 1 million immigrants. The other 6 million immigrants are spread across the country in various states. How do these illegal immigrants get into the country so easily? Most often, they hire a smuggler. These smugglers are known as coyotes – or snakeheads in parts of Asia – and charge up to 6000 dollars for their services. One ABC News anchor covered a story on said smugglers. One smuggler who uses the alias Francisco Suarez, took an ABC news anchor on a journey through 18 states as he smuggled immigrants into the country. He says that he is “providing these people with a new life.” However, what he is doing is illegal and unfair to the citizens of the United States. Not only is illegal immigration a moral issue in the country, but also an economic issue. Illegal immigrants place a burden on our economy by abusing the welfare system and using social services, without having to pay taxes. The taxes that all American citizens have to pay go toward our government and the services they provide. Welfare services, for example, provide families with cash assistance, food stamps, and help finding jobs. 32.7% of the people using these welfare services are illegal immigrants. (Levy). How is it that a majority of these services go toward the people who do not support the government by paying taxes? The United States also spends an estimate of $7.5 billion on education for illegal immigrants and their children. People who are not even citizens of the country are getting a free education, while over half of Americans taxes go toward schooling. Illegal immigrants also cost the government over $2 billion for medical expenses. In fact, that is one of the main reasons illegal immigrants sneak into the United States. Our hospitals cannot refuse anyone for treatment, so illegal immigrants get treatment, then go back home, not able to pay their bills. They leave it up to the State to pay for.
One man in San Diego took full advantage of this a couple years ago. Hermillo Meave was sent to Sharp Memorial Hospital for a chronic heart problem. He claimed to be a United States citizen that worked as a gardener with his brother. He could not produce a California identification card, but he did have a valid Medi-Cal card that made him eligible for treatment. Meave was in the hospital for five months, waiting for a donor for his heart transplant. They soon found an available heart and performed the surgery. After his recovery and release, the hospital found out the truth about Meave. In truth, he lived and worked in