How increased traffic of illegal immigrants raised violence

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Illegal immigration is a major problem which has affected the United States over the years. Every year, millions of people immigrate to the United States to search for employment and other opportunities (Bruno 2010). Although most people who do so follow the legal requirements, there are a large number of immigrants who are illegally present in the United States. Illegal immigrants bring certain challenges to the United States economy and this includes struggle for social and economic resources. When illegal immigrants immigrate to the United States, they compete with native citizens for the scarce resources available. They also compete for employment opportunities as well as social services and infrastructure. As a result, immigrants who do not have access to these social and economic resources become burdens to society either through relying on taxes paid by the population for survival or through creating social evils such as crime to sustain their livelihood.

Mexico is the country where most illegal immigrants pass through. This country has a huge drug trafficking and use problem which has proved to be beyond the control of the police force (Gale 2010). Due to corruption and drug networks within the police force, the army has been used severally to fight drug trafficking in Mexico. This shows the severity of the problem. Since many Mexicans enter the United States illegally, most of these illegal drugs are also smuggled into the United States. This compounds the problem of illegal immigration since in addition to straining economic and social resources, drug trafficking and use is introduced to the youth by illegal immigrants. Many people, both illegal immigrants and US law enforcers have been killed along the border due to the escalating drug problem. It is therefore necessary to study the problem and undertake a research in order to reveal the extent of the problem involving illegal immigrants and border instability and violence.

This paper will evaluate the relationship between the illegal immigration problem in the US-Mexico border with border instability and increased violence. The paper will rely on secondary data sources such as academic books and journals. However, a research study which may be done in future will be proposed in the paper and the research methodology given. The proposed research will apply online questionnaires and surveys in gathering data on the subject under research. The discussed issues will be summarized at the end of the paper.

Research questions and hypothesis statements

There are three research questions which will be asked and which form the basis of hypotheses statements. The first research question is "Does illegal immigration have an effect on border instability and violence?". The second research question will be "What are the effects which illegal immigration have on border instability and violence?". The third question is "What can be done to mitigate the adverse effects of border instability and violence caused by illegal immigration?". These research questions will form the three hypotheses statements which will be evaluated by research. The first hypothesis statement is "illegal immigration has an effect on border instability and violence". The second hypothesis statement is "Drug trafficking, crime and social immorality are some of the effects which illegal immigration has on border instability and violence". The third hypothesis statement is "Increased surveillance, stricter control on border entry and can be done to mitigate the adverse effects of border instability and violence caused by illegal immigration?".

Literature reviewIllegal immigrants

Illegal immigrants have been described as one of the major challenges to economic and social prosperity in the United States. There are millions of people who enter or live in the US illegally and these cause a strain in the limited resources available for those who live there legitimately. Thousands of people enter the US illegally through porous borders which include the Mexican border in which over 100,000 people use to gain entry into the US illegally each year. In addition to illegal entry, the Mexico-US border is infamous for drug trafficking and specifically the trafficking of cocaine and heroin into the United States drugs market. There are specialized drugs cartels which sneak the drugs into the United States through this border using a variety of strategies. Some use drug mules that swallow the drugs while others use mules that hide the drugs in their luggage or parts of their body. Yet others hide the drugs in automobiles which may gain access to the United States either legally or illegally. Drug trafficking is a huge problem in Mexico and through this border; it has spilled into the United States. In addition to the drug problem, there is also a human trafficking problem across this border (Blanken 2010).

Illegal immigrants and strain on resources

Due to the large numbers of illegal immigrants who enter the United States, there has been a huge strain in national resources present in the US (US Citizenship and Immigration Services 2010). Particularly, economic and social resources have suffered due to their inability to cater for the large influx of immigrants. Immigrants have strained available resources such as basic infrastructure, housing, health services, education and employment opportunities. This can be seen in the large number of Americans without access to these resources. For instance, over half of Americans are either uninsured or underinsured. Many have problems accessing and maintaining decent housing. There are also many Americans who do not have access to employment opportunities despite having the necessary education and knowledge. All these problems are attributed to the mismatch between the use of available resources and government revenue with the total population which includes millions of illegal immigrants.

In addition to the strain on resources, there are certain social problems which are attributed to immigrant influx in the United States. Problems such as crime, sexual immorality and drug use can be directly attributed to illegal immigrations. Areas which illegal immigrants live in usually have poor infrastructure and housing and such neighborhoods serve to perpetuate crime levels. Immigrants are unable to acquire decent employment due to lack of legal documents and this forces them to engage in illegal activities so that they may sustain their livelihood. These activities include crimes and sexual immorality (Mathieu 2007). In addition, due to the drug problem which is prevalent in Mexico, immigrants who move into the US from Mexico have been associated with drug cartels and trafficking rings which destroy the American society.

Illegal immigrants and border violence

Due to the problem of illegal immigration and drug trafficking, there has been a lot of border violence and insecurity in the United States-Mexico border. There are also organized cartels which extort the people who want to cross over to the US (Herbert 2010). These cartels also use violence in cases where immigrants refuse to cooperate and pay them their extortion fees. For instance, late last year there was a case where over 70 people were murdered by the extortionists after they refused to pay the illegal fees. The violence is even worse in the Mexican side of the border. Since the Mexican government has employed the use of the army to fight drug trafficking, traffickers are being pushed towards the US-Mexico border. There was widespread corruption in the police force due to drugs trade and the Mexican army decided to use the army who are less inclined to give in to corruption. Since the war against drugs is more effective, traffickers and drug manufacturers are being pushed towards the border where they bring violence which is associated with drugs trade. This problem sometimes crosses over to the border on the US side. In fact, dozens of law enforcers have been killed by drug gangs over the past decade due to violence associated with illegal immigrants (Kirkwood 2008).

President Obama has recognized the severity of the problem and has taken several measures to reduce illegal immigrants who pass through the US-Mexico border. These measures include policies which increase public expenditure on border security as well as massive deportations (Jacoby 2010). There has been increased patrol in the Mexico-US border since Obama was elected as president, which shows that he has acknowledged the problem of insecurity along the border due to illegal immigration. There has also been an unprecedented increase in terrorist threats which has forced the US to close its borders and screen people entering its territory. This has also served to discourage illegal immigrants from entering the US illegally. In addition to these measures, the United States has raised its screening of non-nationals who seek visas to the US in its various embassies across the world. The people who grant visas have to be assured that people seeking to gain entry have plans to return to their countries after accomplishing their goals in the US. Various biometric databases have been created to store data on people who seek visas in order to reduce the likelihood of illegal immigrants entering the US illegally.

Illegal immigrants who observe the law

Although there are many illegal immigrants who enter the United States and break the law, there are yet others whose sole objective is to raise their living standards and grab employment opportunities. Some of the Illegal immigrants who pass through the United states-Mexico border are not drug traffickers. Their only objective of entering the United States is that they gain decent employment opportunities so that they may raise the welfare of their families. Some of these immigrants end up as victims of crime as they are caught in the fight between the law enforcers and drug traffickers. Others suffer under extortion or human trafficking cartels. The United States has acknowledged that some of these immigrants need assistance. However, since the primary duty rests with their native countries, several measures have been taken to ensure that their countries improve their development and economic growth levels so that they can gain access to social services and employment opportunities.

The government uses direct loans and grants to finance projects in countries such as Mexico in order to improve the standards of living and to ease the problem of illegal immigration into the United States. In 2020 for instance, USAID alone sent over $30 million to Mexico to help with improvement of social programs. The organization also provided health care support in terms of staff, equipment and drugs to contain some of the most contagious diseases in Mexico. The United States government also works through non-governmental organizations which finance development projects which aim at improving the living standards of Mexicans. In unique circumstances, the government allows illegal immigrants to legalize their status in order to ensure that they live within the United States legally.

Does the US follow human rights act when dealing with illegal immigrants?

There is a strong debate on whether the US follows the human rights Act when dealing with illegal immigrants especially along the Mexican border. According to the United States human rights Act, this act applies to United States citizens. Illegal immigrants under law are not seen to enjoy the human rights act in the United States. The freedom of movement is also restricted to people who want to leave the United States as opposed to those who want to enter the United States. The United States has the right to accept or reject any admission to its territory. It is therefore clear that illegal immigrants do not enjoy the human rights act and should therefore be treated as foreigners.

However, there are universal principles of dealing with human beings which involve decency, right to life and others. These rights apply to all human beings whether they are US citizens or illegal immigrants. There have been several cases where the United States law enforcers have been accused of brutally beating illegal immigrants trying to enter the United States. Some are arrested and abandoned in areas where they cannot access food or water. Sometimes the law enforcers brutally beat illegal immigrants who are inside the United States. These acts of brutality are not condoned within international law and they are international crimes. It is important for law enforcers to follow the correct procedures when dealing with illegal immigrants and deporting them in a decent manner. This will ensure that the United States upholds its integrity as a democratic state which has a strong belief in human rights and freedoms.

Methodology

This section of the paper will discuss the research methodology, data collection and analysis. The strengths and weaknesses of the research will also be discussed in the section of the paper.

Research approach

The research approach is qualitative in nature since it aims at analyzing qualitative data. The research will be undertaken to assess the impacts which illegal immigrants have on instability and violence at the US border. This research is qualitative in nature since it seeks to answer questions such as "how" and "why" as opposed to quantitative research. The research will also be explanatory in nature since it will seek to establish the relationship between illegal immigrants and instability and violence at the US border through answering questions such as "how" and "why". The research will use a Marxist approach which attempts to explain social conflict. Since the Marxist approach explains that social conflict between classes occurs due to competition over resources, this theory will be relevant when studying illegal immigrants who visit the US and lead to competition over resources for the native US population and themselves.

Data collection

In order to undertake an accurate research, a large sample size and effective data collection methods should be applied. The research will apply online surveys and questionnaires in gathering data on illegal immigrants and their effects on instability and violence around the border. The online surveys and questionnaires will be given through the Internet in various websites which discuss social issues and especially illegal immigration. The questionnaires will be structured to contain both closed ended and open ended questions depending on the information which is sought by the researcher. Care will be taken when structuring questions in order to avoid creating bias through asking questions which attract certain desirable responses. The people who will undertake the survey will be asked to skip any questions which they are not comfortable with in order to ensure that they give honest responses.

Before issuing the online questionnaires, a pilot study will be done in order to unearth the challenges which will face researchers when undertaking the actual project. The pilot study will be done in one website where 30 people will be asked to fill in questionnaires which seek to find out the research topic which is illegal immigrants and their effects on instability and violence around the border. The pilot study will help researchers understand the difficulties which will be experienced in the actual research particularly when collecting and analyzing the data. Effective solutions to these challenges will then be developed in order to ensure that the actual research leads to accurate and valid findings on the research subject.

Target population sample size

The target population is the middle age social group with specific focus on people who have a strong interest in social issues which include illegal immigration. This specific focus group will be reached through posting the online survey on a website which discusses social issues. This questionnaire will be targeting people who have a strong interest in social issues such as illegal immigration, crime, inequality and others. The population segment discussed here was chosen since it will be more objective and will have more information of the topic under study which is a social topic. The sample size is 200 which is a fair sample size which can be representative of the whole. However, care will be taken when analyzing data since the sample group may be made up of people who share common opinions and this may generate bias when developing research findings. In addition, the sample size of 200 may be too small to make an accurate generalization of the views of millions of Americans.

Weaknesses and strengths of data collection methods

There are several weaknesses and strengths of using online surveys and questionnaires in gathering data on any research topic. The first strength of online surveys is that they are cheap to administer. They are offered through the Internet to large groups of people simultaneously thereby lowering their costs. Another advantage is that they can be given to a large number of people simultaneously. Since research requires a large sample size for accurate findings to be made, this form of data collection ensures that research findings are valid and accurate. The third strength of online surveys and questionnaires is that analysis of data is relatively easy. Since all information is received via soft copies, manipulating it through use of software ensures that analysis is accurate and easy.

Online surveys and questionnaires ensure that research is conducted in a timely manner. Unlike the traditional questionnaires which take days to be transported to their actual destination, online surveys and questionnaires take seconds to administer to recipients. These data sources also have higher response rates compared to other data gathering techniques according to research. This is attributed to the convenience of filling information from any location as well as anonymity which is associated with high response rates for data collection. Finally, this data gathering technique attracts honest responses compared to many other data gathering techniques. This is associated with the anonymity of the data gathering process where recipients can fill the surveys from private locations.

However, there are also weaknesses which are associated with online surveys and questionnaires as data gathering tools. The first is that data gathering using online surveys and questionnaires is only limited to people who own a computer with access to the Internet. This hinders data collection for people who dot have access to these resources especially the lower economic group and this may present biased findings. Another weakness is the low nature of confidentiality. There is little confidentiality on the Internet due to the open nature of Internet operations as well as dangers of data hacking. This may lead to possession of research findings by third parties who may have an interest in the research thereby leading to failure in meeting research objectives. There is also a danger of manipulation of data by third parties with an interest in the research. For instance, competitors in the industry may manipulate data gathered through online surveys in order to lead to the making of erroneous research findings.

The fourth weakness is that inappropriate phrasing of questions may lead to bias by the recipients. If questions are structured to elicit certain desirable responses, the research findings may be biased and invalid. Finally, problems in computer software and hardware may defeat the research objectives. Since this method of data collection heavily relies on computer software and hardware, if they experience problems the data may be lost altogether. However, this challenge may be solved through keeping data backups at different locations which are secured.

Secondary data sources

The research will also use secondary data from academic journals and books in order to compare the research findings with literature which has been discussed on the subject. These data sources are valid and accurate since they are written by experts on the subjects. They are also relatively cheap to access since they are readily accessed on the Internet. Another strength of academic journal and books is that they cover diverse perspectives on an issue. It is therefore easy to analyze different perspectives on the research topic. However, there are various weaknesses which are associated with secondary research. One weakness is that there is the possibility of duplicating errors in case the original author made an error in his or her research. When one relies on secondary information to undertake research, any errors which may be present in the material used may be duplicated in the research thereby limiting the accuracy of findings. Another weakness is that corroborating data is difficult since the author is not physically present. Most of the information from secondary sources is published on the Internet. Finding such authors is difficult and therefore one may be unable to seek clarification on issues under discussion. Finally, use of outdated data sources may lead to erroneous research findings. This may limit the effectiveness and accuracy of the research undertaken.

Data analysis

Data collected from the research will be analyzed by both researchers as well as machines. When the data is collected, the answers from the questionnaires will be interpreted by competent researchers who will feed these answers to the computer. After the computer receives the raw data, it will process it through a variety of software including SPSS. This software will compute the margin of error, standard deviation and other attributes of the data collected which relate to accuracy and validity of findings. Any responses from recipients which are unclear or ambiguous will be ignored in order to ascertain that only valid data is accepted. The research findings will then be disseminated to consumers of research after informing them of the weaknesses in research methodology and the overall research. This is important for accurate decision making based on research.

Expected results

The results which will be obtained from the research are expected to corroborate what has been discussed in the literature review section of the paper. There is a strong likelihood that illegal immigrants will be linked to increased border violence and instability according to the research findings. This is due to the fact that previous research and evidence has shown a direct relationship between illegal immigrants and violence. The answers which are expected for the hypothesis statements given in the research will also be briefly discussed. The first hypothesis statement is "illegal immigration has an effect on border instability and violence". The hypothesis is likely to hold as there is a strong relationship between illegal immigrants and increased border violence and instability.

The second hypothesis statement is "Drug trafficking, crime and social immorality are some of the effects which illegal immigration has on border instability and violence". This statement is also likely to hold since from the literature which has been reviewed, some of the adverse effects which illegal immigrants present to the United States include increased crime levels, drug trafficking and immorality (Lobert 2010). Evidence from neighborhoods with a large number of illegal immigrants is likely to support the evidence. The third hypothesis statement is "Increased surveillance, stricter control on border entry and can be done to mitigate the adverse effects of border instability and violence caused by illegal immigration?". This statement is also likely to hold since from the literature which has been reviewed, some of the measures which have been taken by the United States government to address the problem of illegal immigration include increased surveillance across borders, increased screening of visitors to the US and the development of a database to monitor the people who enter the United States from all entry points.

However, there is also a strong likelihood that a number of respondents will shift the blame for border violence and insecurity to law enforcers. They are likely to argue that law enforcers should have the ability to maintain security across the border. Since the primary responsibility of protecting property and lives rests with law enforcers, some respondents may argue that the illegal immigrants should not be held accountable for the violence and insecurity which exists along the United States-Mexico border. It is important to note that this section of the paper is speculative and only the actual research may unearth the true and accurate view held by the public as far as illegal immigration and border instability and insecurity is concerned.

Limitations of research

There are many limitations of the research which may affect the findings made. The first limitation is time. There is limited time within which the pilot study and actual research will be undertaken. The limitation in time means that the data collection and analysis has to be done in a speedy manner which may lead to errors in the research process. Errors may affect the validity and accuracy of the research. Another limitation is money. There is a small budget which will be given for the pilot study and actual research. The limitation in monetary resources will limit the number of people who will fill in and analyze the questionnaire. This too may occasion errors and mistakes in the research process thereby affecting its validity. Finally, there are limitations of questionnaires and online surveys which have earlier been discussed in the paper. These may lead to the development of inaccurate findings by the researchers.

Summary and conclusion

The paper has discussed illegal immigration and border insecurity and violence in detail. Every year, millions of people immigrate to the United States to search for employment and other opportunities. Mexico is the country where most illegal immigrants pass through. This country has a huge drug trafficking and use problem which has proved to be beyond the control of the police force. In addition to illegal entry, the Mexico-US border is infamous for drug trafficking and specifically the trafficking of cocaine and heroin into the United States drugs market. There are specialized drugs cartels which sneak the drugs into the United States through this border using a variety of strategies. When illegal immigrants immigrate to the United States, they compete with native citizens for the scarce resources available. They also compete for employment opportunities as well as social services and infrastructure. As a result, immigrants who do not have access to these social and economic resources become burdens to society either through relying on taxes paid by the population for survival or through creating social evils such as crime to sustain their livelihood (Hickenbottom 2010).

Literature review has showed that thousands of people enter the US illegally through porous borders which include the Mexican border in which over 100,000 people use to gain entry into the US illegally each year. The illegal immigrants have strained economic and social resources which have suffered due to their inability to cater for the large influx of immigrants. Immigrants have strained available resources such as basic infrastructure, housing, health services, education and employment opportunities. This can be seen in the large number of Americans without access to these resources. Although there are many illegal immigrants who enter the United States and break the law, there are yet others whose sole objective is to raise their living standards and grab employment opportunities. Some of the Illegal immigrants who pass through the United states-Mexico border are not drug traffickers. Their only objective of entering the United States is that they gain decent employment opportunities so that they may raise the welfare of their families. Some of these immigrants end up as victims of crime as they are caught in the fight between the law enforcers and drug traffickers. Others suffer under extortion or human trafficking cartels.

There have been several cases where the United States law enforcers have been accused of brutally beating illegal immigrants trying to enter the United States. Some are arrested and abandoned in areas where they cannot access food or water. Sometimes the law enforcers brutally beat illegal immigrants who are inside the United States. These acts of brutality are not condoned within international law and they are international crimes. It is important for law enforcers to follow the correct procedures when dealing with illegal immigrants and deporting them in a decent manner. A qualitative research approach will be used to carry out research to assess the impacts which illegal immigrants have on instability and violence at the US border.

The research proposed in the paper will apply online surveys and questionnaires in gathering data on illegal immigrants and their effects on instability and violence around the border. The online surveys and questionnaires will be given through the Internet in various websites which discuss social issues and especially illegal immigration. It is expected that the research which will be performed will corroborate what has been discussed in the literature review. This is due to the fact that previous research and evidence has shown a direct relationship between illegal immigrants and violence. However, there is also a strong likelihood that a number of respondents will shift the blame for border violence and insecurity to law enforcers. They are likely to argue that law enforcers should have the ability to maintain security across the border. Since the primary responsibility of protecting property and lives rests with law enforcers, some respondents may argue that the illegal immigrants should not be held accountable for the violence and insecurity which exists along the United States-Mexico border. Reach limitations include time and monetary constraints. Others include weaknesses in research methodology earlier discussed. However, generally the research is expected to give accurate findings due to the analysis tools used, large sample size and experienced researchers. Future research should focus on steps which should be taken to mitigate the problem of illegal immigrants in the United States.

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How increased traffic of illegal immigrants raised violence

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