IMMIGRATION, SOCIAL PROBLEM

Usage of Social Services

Social Problem?

Education

• HEALTH CARE
• In 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) was created and it banned most public services to illegal immigrants, but it allowed illegal immigrants to access “emergency” medical services and provide pregnant woman and infants with care (especially since most these infants are U.S. citizens).
• EDUCATION
• In the Supreme Court decision, Lau v. Nichols in 1974 stated that when pubic schools do not provide non-English speaking children the language of instruction, they are violating the students right.
• In the Plyler vs. Doe (1982) case public schools are required to provide education to all students regardless of immigration status and are prohibited from requiring proof of status (Ramanujan, 2009)

• In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court supported the right of undocumented students to have access to public school education when it ruled on Plyler v. Doe.
• Established the rights of undocumented students to be the same as the rights of citizens and legal residents.

• Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Plyler v. Doe was crucial in securing undocumented students’ right to a free public primary and secondary education, it did not help undocumented students hoping to attend public and private universities and colleges across the country.
• As Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 currently stipulates, the government cannot give any public financial aid to undocumented students for the purposes of higher education.

Right vs. Wrong

The Numbers ...

• In recent years, many groups and organizations have put a huge amount of attention on national security, costs of social services, and the overall preservation of American life and society.
• One of the scapegoats has been illegal immigrants.
• These are people without voices and unknown identities; this makes them easy targets.
• Children of illegal immigrants (including those born in America) are the forgotten ones.
• Politicians, the media, and education policy is aimed to hurt undocumented workers and make illegal immigration less appealing.
• Unfortunately, children are taking the brunt of the punishment by being hurt in the present, and by having their prospects on a successful life diminished.

• There are approximately 8.3 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. workforce (2008).

• 47% of those 8.3 million illegal immigrants have children (73% of the children are U.S citizens).

• The children of those 8.3 million illegal immigrants make up 6.8% of all elementary and secondary school-going children.

Consequences

Immigration-Legal and Illegal

• Illegal immigration has developed problems through many institutions, but education has influenced a negative perception of illegal immigrants.
• People experience everyday things differently such as, walking at the park, eating in a restaurant, and many more, but adding the issue of illegal immigration and their personal experiences increases the change to their experiences.
• Not only do the people in the U.S who oppose illegal immigration experiences change, but illegal immigrants experience change as well.

• "American Dream" - The dreams and aspirations of immigrants are shared, whether they are legal immigrants or illegal immigrants.
• In 1986, the U.S. government begin to take action against illegal immigration by creating the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA).
• 1st - penalizes US employers who “knowingly” hire undocumented immigrants
• 2nd - create an “amnesty” program that would legalize illegal immigrants living the U.S. under certain criteria.
• IRCA had hoped to decrease illegal immigration, which they did, but that did not stop illegal immigrants from coming to the U.S.

Possible Solutions

K-12 Public education

• Bilingual/Immigrant programs are necessary for schools so that these students can learn the English language and become proficient in it.
• Immigrant drop out rates may be high because they do not get enough attention from faculty members at their schools.

References

Create more programs for educational outreach

Higher education

• Education has the ability to improve the U.S by allowing everyone to be able to attend post secondary schools.

Provide resources for higher education.

Bean, Frank D. and Susan Brown. 2006. Mexican Immigrant Political and Economic

Incorporation. Irvine, CA

Drachman, Edward. 2006. Access to Higher Education for Undocumented Students.

Peace Review,18(1), 91-100

Espenshade, Thomas J. and Charles A. Calhoun. 1993. An Analysis of Public Opinion

Toward Undocumented Immigration. Princeton, CA: Office of Population Research

Lee, Yueh-Ting. and Victor Ottati. 2001. Attitudes Towards “Illegal” Immigration Into

the United States: California Proposition 187. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Nadadur, Ramanujan. 2009. “Illegal Immigration: A Positive Economic Contribution to the United States.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 35(6), 1037-1052.

Immigration and School Overcrowding. 2002. The Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Immigration, Social Problem

Brina Miltenberger