Illegal Immigrants Should Receive Health Care

1320 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Immigration and its effects on the economy

America needs comprehensive health care reform, and immigrants should be a part of the movement. But many American citizens might ask that pertinent question: why should they cover the expense for illegal immigrants to access health care? The answer is plain and simple: until congress passes immigration laws that work, people are going to migrant here illegally. And to deny migrants access to affordable health care, Americans are not only denying them their human right, they are also putting individual and national health at risk. I believe that this country – which has the medical advancements and the facilities to ensure the health of its citizens – should reach out to its non-citizens, legal and illegal, until it passes laws that improve conditions, increase pay and thus prevent disease more effectively-- or until undocumented workers are prevented from residing here altogether.

Most people believe that illegal immigrants are a strain on the American economy. That is, that they oftentimes live off the system yet do not contribute funds. This is a common misconception, though the extent to which the American economy might benefit, if it does at all, is debatable. Immigrants do, in fact, pay taxes. Though we can only estimate, it is believed that 50 to 60% of undocumented workers have social security and Medicare payments withheld from their paychecks. Oftentimes they do this by using fake social security numbers, so their lack of legal status leaves them paying for benefits that they cannot use (Brulliard B01). And all undocumented workers pay other taxes, such as sales, property and consumption taxes (Brulliard B01).

It is debatable, however, whether or not they, as a group, cost more mone...

... middle of paper ...

... 12, No. 23. pp. 521-544. The CQ Researcher. Portland Community College Library, Portland, Oregon. 19 November 2008. .

FAIR. “Illegal Immigration and Public Health.” Federation for American Immigration Reform. FAIRUS.org. 19 November 2008.

.

Navas, Melissa. “Undocumented Worker Ruling Could Rattle Oregon's Economy.” The Oregonian. July 22 2008. OregonLive.com. 14 November 2008.

520.xml& coll=7>.

Wolf, Richard. “Rising Health Care Costs Put Focus on Illegal Immigrants.” USA Today. January 21 2008. USATODAY.com. 19 November 2008.

.

Show More
Related

  • The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... 2002. Mexican immigrants use about $250 million in social services such as Medicaid and food stamps and another $31 million in uncompensated health care, that leaves a profit of $319 million” (218). But should we still allow people to put their lives at risk?

    Read More

  • Jo-Ann Pilardi's Immigration Problem Is About Us Not Them?

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    The other aspect is that illegal immigrants have positive effects in the U.S economy by decreasing consumer cost. Most of the illegal immigrants came to the U.S to fill the secondary labor market; therefore products and services become cheaper because illegal immigrants work for lower wages, thus providing a kind of subsidy to American consumers. Nadadur Ramanujan in his article “Illegal Immigrants” states that, “Because illegal immigrants serves to allow businesses to minimize their cost of production in the secondary sector, it positively impacts income of all native workers by decreasing

    Read More

  • High Cost Of Health Care For Immigration Essay

    360 Words  | 1 Pages

    Leighton Ku (2009) researched the lack of health care for immigrants in the United States. Ku stated that “The high costs of health care and the erosion of health insurance coverage are two important long-term challenges that confront all Americans but these problems are especially acute for immigrants

    Read More

  • Undocumented Immigrants in the US and Healthcare for them

    1718 Words  | 4 Pages

    Some viewpoints assert that if a person is in the United States illegally, he should have no rights and no benefits. Proponents justify this position by blaming illegal immigration for economic hardships, such as increasing health care costs, for the American people. This attitude is simply inaccurate. Many undocumented immigrants do contribute to the economies of the federal, state and local governments through taxes and can stimulate job growth. However, the cost of providing healthcare impacts federal, state, and local governments differently.

    Read More

  • Addressing the Problem of Illegal Immigration

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    Among the problems that face our nation, illegal immigration seems to be one of the most regarded. “In 2005, there were 12.7 million people classified as refugees in the world. Refugees are forced to migrate because of danger in their own country.” (Cath Senker 12) Some push to end it while others want to have it legalized or less strict. There are many points that are argued on this topic. Although immigrants support the economy, they should have to pay taxes. Illegal immigration should be stopped or slowed until the legalization process and borders are improved. Due to the fact, that taxpayers are the backbone of our economy and nation as a whole.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Immigration On The Economy

    2015 Words  | 5 Pages

    Probably the largest contribution that immigrants given America’s economy - whether they are illegal or legal - is that they spend the money that they earn and put it back into the economy (Davidson). According to Costa, Cooper, and Shierholz, “immigrants’ share of total output was about 14.7 percent over 2009-2011.” This is true even though they make up 13 percent of the total U.S. population, because a majority of immigrants are working age, compared to the diverse ages of the general U.S. population (Costa, Cooper, Shierholz). Another point that is brought up in “An Immigration Stimulus: The Economic Benefits of a Legalization Program” is that if the U.S. legalizes more “illegal” immigrants, they are then able to earn more. When Immigrants are able to earn more, they can then pay more in taxes, and their ability to spend more money to put it back in the economy grows (“An Immigration Stimulus: The Economic Benefits of a Legalization Program”). And on the point of Social Security, illegal immigrants have contributed $15 million a year to the Social Security Trust fund. And while they are contributing such a large amount to Social Security, very few of them are able to get the benefits from it (Davidson). So as a group, they are giving much more into the Social Security system than they are taking out. After taking into account all of

    Read More

  • All Americans Have a Right to Health Care

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    Reese, Philip. Public Agenda Foundation. The Health Care Crisis: Containing Costs, Expanding Coverage. New York: McGraw, 2002.

    Read More

  • All Americans Need Access to Health Care

    2227 Words  | 5 Pages

    America is known for democracy, freedom, and the American Dream. American citizens have the right to free speech, free press, the right to bear arms, and the right to religious freedom to name a few. The Declaration of Independence states that American citizens have the rights including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” America promises equality and freedom and the protection of their rights as outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. But with all the rights and freedoms that American citizens enjoy, there is one particular area where the United States seems to be lacking. That area is health care. The United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t have some form of legal recognition of a right to health care (Yamin 1157). Health care reform in the United States has become a major controversy for politicians, health care professionals, businesses, and citizens. Those in opposition to reform claim that health care is not a human right, therefore the government should not be involved. Supporters of reform believe that health care is most definitely a human right and should be available to everyone in the United States instead of only those who can afford it, and that it is the government’s responsibility to uphold that right.

    Read More

  • Health Care for Migrant Farm Workers

    2444 Words  | 5 Pages

    Although agriculture is one of the most hazardous jobs in the United States, there is a huge gap in healthcare for those that work in the industry. Due to the large migrant and seasonal worker population, especially those from Mexico, it is a hard population to reach when it comes to healthcare needs. Fear, language barriers and cultural norms are all barriers that need to be addressed for this special population. “(Holmes 2011) Agriculture is one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States. In 2000, there were 780 deaths and 130,000 disabling injuries in agriculture. The only industry that had more deaths was construction, with 1,220.”(Hansen and Donohoe 2003) “Migrant workers face numerous barriers to medical care, including lack of transportation, insurance, and sick leave, the threat or fear of wage or job loss, language barriers between MSFWs and health care providers, and limited clinic hours.”(Hansen and Donohoe 2003) Traumatic injuries, food insecurity, infectious disease, chemical and pesticide related illness, dermatitis, dental, heat stress, respiratory conditions, musculoskeletal disorders, and reproductive health are just some of the issues that migrant farm workers face. (Hansen and Donohoe 2003; Wang, Myers et al. 2011; Weigel and Armijos 2011)

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Obama Care

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    In recent years, the number of Americans who are uninsured has reached over 45 million citizens, with millions more who only have the very basic of insurance, effectively under insured. With the growing budget cuts to medicaid and the decreasing amount of employers cutting back on their health insurance options, more and more americans are put into positions with poor health care or no access to it at all. At the heart of the issue stems two roots, one concerning the morality of universal health care and the other concerning the economic effects. Many believe that health care reform at a national level is impossible or impractical, and so for too long now our citizens have stood by as our flawed health-care system has transformed into an unfixable mess. The good that universal healthcare would bring to our nation far outweighs the bad, however, so, sooner rather than later, it is important for us to strive towards a society where all people have access to healthcare.

    Read More

  • The Effect of Illegal Immigration on the US Economy

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    While some argue that illegal immigrants burden the United States of America and its economy, others believe that they have become essential and are an important part of the US, economy. Illegal immigration has helped in the nation’s economic growth by enabling businesses to prosper, as the illegal immigrants have provided cheap labor and long hours of hard work. Businesses benefit from illegal immigration by saving a large amount of money since they are not providing insurance, both medical and retirement plans for their illegal workers. This results in a lower production cost for the companies and lower prices for goods and services for everyone. Although illegal immigrants may not contribute directly to the economy of the nation in the aspect of paying taxes like income tax, they contribute to the economy in the form of sales taxes by purchasing the supplies they need in the same way native citizens or legal immigrants do in order to survive and live comfortably....

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: The United States is not The Greatest Country in The World

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite the established health care facilities in the United States, most citizens do not have access to proper medical care. We must appreciate from the very onset that a healthy and strong nation must have a proper health care system. Such a health system should be available and affordable to all. The cost of health services is high. In fact, the ...

    Read More

  • America Needs Affordable Health Insurance

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    Health Insurance is one of the nations top problems, the cost is rising for premiums, and many businesses just cannot afford it. As Americans many of us have the luxury of health insurance, but far too many of us have to go without it. This is something that always seems to brought up at congressional debates, but little is done about it. “In 2013 there were 41 million people reported with out health insurance coverage, this is too many considering those people probably were sick at some point through out the year, and they couldn’t afford treatment.” We need to find someway to make sure that every citizen of the United States is able to have affordable healthcare for themselves, and their families.

    Read More

  • The United States and Illegal Immigration

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gomez, Alan. “Illegal immigration levels off in ’10.” USA Today n.d. (02 February 2011): 02a. Academic Research Complete. Web. 25 March 2011.

    Read More

  • Illegal Immigration: Causes and Effects

    541 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gerking, Shelby, and John H Mutti. Costs And Benefits of Illegal Immigration: Key Issues For Government Policy. 61.1 (June 1980): 71-85. Print.

    Read More

More about Illegal Immigrants Should Receive Health Care

Open Document