What issues are faced by legal and illegal immigrants who choose to stay in the United States instead of seeking employment in their home countries?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The public has tied illegal immigrants, and even legal immigrants, to almost every social problem in the nation. They become the scapegoats for unemployment; they are labeled "drug runners" and, especially since September 11, 2001, "terrorists." Arrest, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants greatly increased. Their vital economic and cultural contribution to the United States is generally overlooked, as it has been for more than a hundred years. American citizens of Hispanic or Asian origin, some of whom were born in the United States, may be greeted with prejudice and distrust, as if their names automatically imply that they are illegal immigrants. Furthermore, these citizens and legal residents of the United States may be unable to find work because employers wrongly believe that their documents are forged. Since the Congress approved the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) that made it illegal to hire illegal aliens, many illegal immigrants live in fear and hiding, subject to even more severe harassment and discrimination than before.