Introduction
It is not a secret that nowadays, due to the development of modern technologies, migration has become more available and easier for people. Modern vehicles allow passengers to overcome thousands of miles within a few hours. Sometimes, people have to immigrate to other countries even if they do not want to leave their homeland. There are various reasons for that, such as a hostile political situation or an unstable economy in their home country.
As a result, people tend to move to other places to find safety and better living conditions. Unfortunately, some people cross the borders of other states illegally, violating immigration law. While the influx of a large number of illegal immigrants may bring some positive results for the host countries, it also has many disadvantages. First of all, the emergence of a considerable quantity of immigrants increases host countries’ expenses for healthcare services. Second, illegal immigration facilitates the prosperity of criminality and smuggling. Third, the failure of immigrants to assimilate into the society of the host countries leads to racism among locals and newcomers, as well as a disagreement between different religions and cultures.
Illegal Immigration
Indeed, illegal immigration may bring both positive and negative results. Thus, the immigrants benefit the host economy, as they help to reduce labor shortages. In addition, they promote a richer and more diverse culture of a host country. Third, immigrants can introduce new skills and teach these skills to local citizens of the countries where they immigrate. However, in my opinion, there are more disadvantages than advantages of illegal immigration. If there is a need to immigrate, it is always better to do that in a legal way.
Illegal immigration has been a burning issue for many countries in the world. The most significant disadvantage of illegal immigration is the increasing expenses of the host countries for healthcare services. All immigrants who cross the borders of the states illegally still need to meet their basic needs. The majority of newcomers find an illegal job and work as unskilled employees for low compensations (Yoshida and Woodland 9).
In terms of education, it is difficult to provide it for immigrants children as it is impossible to enter an educational institution without any documentation. Therefore, refugees either never send their children to schools or tend to resolve this problem by making fake documentation. However, the situation is different when it comes to healthcare services. The problem here is that host countries recognize their moral obligation to provide healthcare services to all the inhabitants of the state, including illegal immigrants (Silbermann et al. 423). Therefore, immigrants still receive healthcare services when they need them and never pay for them. It results in the increasing expenses of the host countries for healthcare services.
Another problem with illegal immigration is the tendency of immigrants to take part in criminal activities and smuggling prohibited goods. This is one of the main reasons why some states are so reluctant to host immigrants from other countries. Unfortunately, sometimes, due to the shortage of workplaces for illegal immigrants, some of them have to earn money by transferring drugs from one state to another.
Moreover, in some cases, when immigrants fail to adjust to a new society, they realize that they have neither an appropriate level of education nor the same rights as local residents. Being desperate, they start feeling marginalized and involve in illegal activities, such as drug trafficking, corruption, or robbery (Majumdar 9). As a result, some of them go to prison, while others continue living without any rights. There is no doubt that in these conditions, the presence of illegal immigrants in the country does not bring any positive results for the host states. Therefore, host countries try to enhance border control and take new measures that would prevent illegal border crossings.
The third disadvantage of illegal immigration is the emergence of racism and conflicts between locals and newcomers that are caused by different cultural backgrounds and beliefs. The emergence of illegal immigrants from Latin America in the United States can serve as an excellent example of a confrontation between locals and refugees. US natives have expressed concern that immigrants fail to integrate into US society due to cultural differences (Abramitzky and Boustan 1312). Moreover, some people claim that a large number of both legal and illegal newcomers decrease the number of working places for locals and wages for existing workers.
The influx of refugees to Europe, due to the war in Syria, is another example of a confrontation between displaced people and local citizens. The most significant obstacle on the way to their peaceful coexistence is the difference in religions, customs, and traditions between Europeans and the Arabs. Thus, the refugees are not happy about the small number of mosques in the majority of European cities. In addition, they want to live in the host countries, maintaining their lifestyles and traditions, which is challenging due to the cultural differences.
For instance, European host countries do not allow Syrian refugees to stick to a different work schedule or reduce working hours during the Muslim sacred month, Ramadan (Silbermann et al. 423). Syrians try to struggle with these rules because, in their country, they used to change the working schedule in Ramadan so it would be easier for them to fast.
Moreover, cultural differences lead to the emergence of racism and discrimination among the population of the countries. Westerners tend to treat newcomers with mistrust, seeing them as aggressive and dangerous outsiders. The majority of employers prefer to hire citizens of their country, even if a refugee has all the required documents, skills, and education needed to be employed. Of course, displaced people feel this attitude, which does not help them to assimilate into the society of the host countries.
All the mentioned above issues lead to the situation when residents of the host countries feel that their cities become overcrowded, criminal, and dangerous. Meanwhile, refugees feel unsatisfied with their new homeland, feeling that their situation is desperate, and the only thing they can do to survive is to be involved in criminal activity. All these factors promote confrontations, mutual misunderstanding, and arguments among refugees and host countries’ residents.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that there are more disadvantages of illegal immigration than advantages for both refugees and host countries. For most states, illegal immigration brings increasing expenses for healthcare services, the spread of criminality, and the emergence of racism and an unhealthy social atmosphere among the inhabitants of the country. For immigrants, it is highly undesirable to cross the borders of other states illegally. Otherwise, they have to live in a country without any rights to education or work. As a result, they are forced to be involved in criminal activity to meet the basic needs of their families.
Works Cited
Abramitzky, Ran, and Leah Boustan. “Immigration in American Economic HIstory.” Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 55, no. 4, 2017, pp. 1311-1345.
Majumdar, Ananda. “Immigrants and Refugees in Globalized World.” Asian Journal of Humanity, Art and Literature, vol. 5, no. 1, 2018, pp. 7-24.
Silbermann, Michael, et al. “Middle Eastern Conflicts: Implications for Refugee Health in the European Union and Middle Eastern Host Countries.” Journal of Global Oncology, vol. 2, no. 6, 2016, pp. 422-430.
Yoshida, Chisato, and Alan Woodland. The Economics of Illegal Immigration. Springer, 2016.