Do you, like a lot of us, get caught up emotionally in terms like illegal immigrant or undocumented immigrant? This is a distraction to coming to terms with developing a solution for this tragedy. So what are the factors that cause so many people to take this perilous journey to the U.S. ?
Illegal Immigrant, Undocumented Immigrant, Illegal Alien, Irregular Immigrant – Is there a difference?
The short answer is no. Specifically, all of these expressions share the same definition, but depending on a person’s viewpoint some are favored over others. For instance, I like this definition or litmus test for determining if someone is an illegal immigrant:
“If you move into the country without the necessary legal documents or violates the immigration laws, then you will have committed illegal immigration.”
Though there is no real difference for each of these illegal immigrant terms’ definitions, there can be a degree of bias depending on which term you use. To explain further, see SCU’s Words Matters for more discussions on these terms and their possible connotations.
What Are the 10 Reasons Behind Illegal Immigration in the U.S.?
There are many factors behind illegal immigration. To elaborate, in July 2021 the White House published their U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America. Specifically, in their cover message they said:
“The COVID-19 pandemic and extreme weather conditions have indeed exacerbated the root causes of migration—which include corruption, violence, trafficking, and poverty.”
The White House also identified a related factor to illegal immigration. Specifically, the lack of: “…regional governments to create the conditions on the ground to attract … investment” that would result in more economic opportunities. Thus many, if not all, of these factors behind illegal immigration identified in the White House message also applies to the world over. To list, below are the major factors behind illegal immigration:
1. Host Country Has Restrictive Immigration Policy.
Sometimes countries enact immigration policies that result in more illegal immigration. As an example, the U.S. had a fairly liberal guest worker policy in years past where around 450,000 guest worker visas were issued every year. However when this immigration policy changed resulting in very restrictive guest worker policies, illegal immigration skyrocketed.
2. To Flee Political Corruption.
Many countries have corrupt government politicians and officials. Namely, this corruption creates economic uncertainty and an unsafe environment for everyday citizens. Thus, this situation results in illegal immigration to a more stable, safe environment.
3. Seeking More Economic Opportunity.
If people have means to get to another country that has more economic opportunities and there are no legal means to get there, they will immigrate illegally.
4. Where Human Trafficking Is Profitable.
Human trafficking is a profitable business preying on illegal aliens. Specifically, this includes sex trafficking, forced labor, and debt bondage as well as “coyotes” smuggling people over the border. Indeed, San Diego State University estimates that there are 2.4 million victims of human trafficking among illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States. See Unvarnished Facts article, 8 Causes Of Human Trafficking for more details.
5. To Flee Violence.
Some areas of the world are lawless and unsafe. Thus, Illegal immigrants flee from the fear of death, rape, extortion, or being forcefully recruited into a life of crime.
6. Where Undeveloped Countries Are Overpopulation.
If people live in a city or rural area that is overcrowded, this results in an unhealthy environment and limits economic opportunities. As a result, illegal immigration becomes a promising alternative.
7. Opportunity To Reunify With Family.
A person will more likely illegally immigrate if they have relatives in the host country. Indeed, this is especially true if host immigration policies are too burdensome or restricted.
8. Seek Asylum Due to War or Oppression.
If war, civil war, or extreme repression exists in the country of origin, this can result in illegal immigration. To compound this, many host countries do have policies to accept refugees, but these policies are very time consuming and burdensome to achieve legal status.
9. Deprived of Citizenship In Their Own Country.
In some situations, a segment of a country’s population may be deprived of citizenship. For example, this could be due to ethnic cleansing campaign. Also in some countries, people born on national territory do not automatically obtain the nationality of their birthplace, and may have no legal title of residency. Thus, they become illegal immigrants.
10. More Education Opportunities.
Families desire a better life for their children. Therefore if another country offers a better or guaranteed education as well as a safe environment to learn, this would be a cause for illegal immigration.
For more details on the factors behind illegal immigration, see Wikipedia, EarthEclipse’s What is Illegal Immigration?, NIH’s Unintended Consequences of US Immigration Policy: Explaining the Post-1965 Surge from Latin America, and MigrationPolicy Org’s Explainer: Illegal Immigration in the United States
For more information from Unvarnished Facts, see more articles on human rights and helping people.
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