Illegal Immigration

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The subject of illegal immigration seems to be a very hot-button topic for many Americans. The subject seems to lose public outcry on either side at any given moment, then suddenly cause tremendous tremors on our social conscious. The subject of illegal immigration has many sub-issues, but one of the most problematic is that illegal immigrants are a financial drain on the American economy. Ellis Island is the location where European immigrants passed through and were documented. According to June F. Tyler, “Before 1890 each state handled immigration according to its own rules. After that date the federal government assumed this responsibility. Ellis Island became the first immigration station, opening for business in 1892.”(1) Information obtained through the website ellisisland.org stated that: 1921 560,971 immigrants came to our borders and passed through Ellis Island. In the same year the U.S. Congress passed the first Immigration Quota Law. The total number of immigrants that were allowed entry was set at nearly 358,000. The Immigration Act of 1924 further restricted immigration, and reduced the annual quota to approximately 164,000. This marked the end of mass immigration to America. The Immigration Act also provided for the examination and qualification of immigrants at U.S. consulates overseas.” (1) It is very important to note that every immigrant was examined for any potential physical or mental disease and a determination was made if the immigrant was able to fend for himself without becoming a burden to the public. There is no way to know that exact number of illegal aliens in our country at any given moment, but in a study done by the Department of Homeland Security, “there were an estimated 11.6 million u... ... middle of paper ... .... Web. 2 July 2010. . Hoefer, Micheal, Nancy Rytina, and Christopher Campbell. Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2006. 2007. 26 June 2010. Malanga, Steven. “How Unskilled Immigrants Hurt Our Economy.” City-Journal (New York, NY) Summer 2006 7 Jun 2004 < http://www.city-journal.org/html/16_3_immigrants_economy.html> Pitts, Byron. "Illegal Immigrant Births - At Your Expense." CBS News. CBS interactive Inc., 2010. Web. 7 July 2010. . Temple, Andrea and June F. Tyler. Ellis Island A historical Perspective. 2007. 5 July 2010.

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