Illegal immigration, in a literal context, is the entry and continuous living of a person in a foreign land without the permission of the government of the host country. In the United States, illegal immigration is the violation of a non-US citizen of US Immigration Laws by entering the US without the proper authorization and inspection, continuing to stay in the US after the legal period given upon entry and noncompliance of conditions given upon legal entry .The Center for Immigration Studies estimated that as of 2008, there are more or less 11 million illegal migrants in the US. Most of these illegal migrants are from Mexico, Central America, Asia and Africa.
A major cause of illegal immigration laws is economics. Citizens of developing countries seek better economic opportunities in highly developed countries such as the US. Re-uniting with a family member who already resides in the US either legally or illegally is also a big contributor to illegal immigration, so is the need to escape a civil war or political instability in the country of origin. However, the main cause of illegal immigration is the inability of the US government to completely address it.
Some observers say that illegal immigration has been allowed to continue because the situation has equally benefitted some sectors of US society. The American public has been perceived as divided in so far as the illegal immigration issue is concerned. Such issues as racial discrimination, illegal searches and politics often pop-up whenever illegal immigration is discussed. Although the US has a strong Anti-Illegal Immigration Law, it has always been a cause of political heat. On the other hand, there are anti-illegal immigration law groups that are actively campaigning to eradicate illegal immigration.
Campaigns against illegal immigrants launched by caused-oriented groups , are based on the theory that many social problems in the US are caused by illegal immigrants. These cause-oriented groups contend that while it costs the US government billions of dollars worth of taxpayers money to give illegal immigrants access to education and health care, illegal immigrants send billions of dollars every year to their countries of origin. Quite unfair? These groups further contend that illegal immigrants are the usual cause of violence in a community, as the ad campaign of Sharron Angle depicted. Sharron Angle came out with this ad to criticize her opponent Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada for cajoling illegal immigrants. A more précised campaign against illegal immigration is prohibiting employers from hiring illegal immigrants, as what the New Jersey Citizens for Immigration Control lobbying for. They want employers in New Jersey to use the Federal electronic database system in screening job applicants or they may run the risk of loosing their business license. It is very interesting to note that the group feels the timing for their campaign is perfect because all members of the New Jersey legislature is due for re-election this year and they will definitely make this an issue.
The US government is finding it very difficult to launch a successful campaign against illegal immigration because politicians keep contradicting each other on the issue on stronger immigration laws especially during election period. US citizens, too, are divided on the issue.