The Trump Administration is Working to Enforce Our Laws on Immigrants with Criminal Backgrounds

Abstract 

The problem of insecurity had been a significant issue in the US. The constitution provides that the security of US citizens be the number one priority to ensure their safety and security. The biggest challenge in addressing this issue has been on tackling the illegal entry of people into the US territory and, most so, those illegal immigrants with criminal records. The immigration law requires that illegal immigrants be deported back to the country of origin. This will reduce insecurity, and as a result, the bodies responsible for enforcing immigration laws are advised to roll up their sleeves and deal with this issue at hand. 

Enforce and Administer our Immigration Laws on Immigrants with Criminal Backgrounds 

Introduction 

In the past days, there has been a buildup of interest regarding the issue of unauthorized immigrants who are on the verge of being deported because of records of criminal charges they hold. The Department of Homeland Security has a top priority of resolutely protecting the American people from the risks of Terrorism and other threats to homeland security. In the recent past, criminals and terrorists have overwhelmingly adopted new and advanced techniques with the aim of circumventing the homeland security. This has since posed a significant threat to the security, safety, and prosperity within the US borders. The ever-rising threats and attacks demand that the DHS respond rapidly and proactively to detect and prevent attacks on the US soils by criminals who are thought to be illegal immigrants with criminal records. 

Background Information 

Illegal immigration is a process whereby people infiltrate into the country in violation of federal laws of immigration (Ewing, 2015). The illegal immigrants include all the foreign nationals who have since entered the United States of America but remained there even after the expiry of their entry visa and parole documents. Illegal immigration has continued to be a matter associated with intense debate in the US since the 1980s. Research shows that immigrants increase the size of the US economy and contribute positively to the economic growth of the country through increased tax revenue collection and have seen enhanced welfare of the natives (Boubtane, 2016). The illegal immigrant population in the United States had peaked by 2007, at 12.2 million, which is estimated at 4% of the US population count. In 2016, the number of unauthorized immigrants dropped to 10.7 million, representing a 3.3% estimate of the US total population. This drop has resulted from the Great Recession that has left a high number of illegal immigrants leaving the US than they are entering it. 

Statement of the Problem 

Undocumented immigration still poses a big problem for most people in the United States. The infiltration of millions of people into the country and who lack authorization from relevant authorities continuously live under the threat of deportation and is not good at all for our society, nor the undocumented immigrants. The immigrants who are undocumented themselves made it clear that they are tired of living in the United States with no rights. This has long pushed the lawmakers in the US to do something about it. 

Objectives 

To investigate the enforcement and administration measures of immigration laws for immigrants with criminal backgrounds. 

To investigate the DHS Strategic Plan for the fiscal year 2020 to 2024. 

Research Questions 

What is the current number of illegal immigrants in the US with criminal records? 

What are the factors that affect the DHS's goals of protecting US borders? 

What does Constitutional law say about immigration? 

Are the illegal immigrants given the right to stay in the country with their families even with criminal backgrounds? 

Literature Review 

Illegal entry into the United States 

The number of unlawful entries into the United States is estimated at half a million each year. 6-7 million of the immigrants came to the United States through an illegal channel as determined by Pew Hispanic Centre. The rest of the illegal immigrants enter the country legally via a legal visa, which only offers a short stay, but then, they decide to stay longer, rendering them illegal immigrants. A conventional means of crossing the border by illegal immigrants is hiring people smugglers who help them cross the border without being detected (Hanson, 2009). The activities of crossing the borders illegally have considerably declined following apprehending carried out each month, with numbers estimated between 71,000 to 220,000. 

USA legal immigration channels 

The immigration system in the US provides an avenue for legal immigration and even permanent economic immigration for immigrants who are highly skilled ( Abramitzky, 2017) . The immigration system in the US, rests on the pillars; provision of scarce labor, protecting American workers from any form of competition with foreigners, and family reunification. 

Enforcement of Immigration Laws 

The responsibility of enforcement of immigration laws is tasked to the Department of Homeland Security is critically important to the overall national security and public safety. DHS has the role of investigating those who fraudulently violate immigration laws (Armenta, 2017). The violators of the immigration laws include those who overstay in the US regardless of the expiry of their stay visa. The DHS is determined to identify individuals in the immigration using biographic and biometric information of those admitted into the country via a stay visa. 

Department of Homeland Security's Strategic Plan: FY 2020-2024 

Strategic plans of DHS comprehensively give a reflection of the complex mission that is at hand for the betterment of the lives of US citizens. The strategic plan has six goals for consideration. The first two goals are of utmost importance as they focus on matters to do security. This means that the main objective of the DHS is to provide safety and security to the citizens. The two goals are on counter-terrorism and homeland security threats and securing the US borders, respectively. Both goals shed light on measures to be taken in providing security to the people of the United States of America. On counter Terrorism, the main objectives are; to collect, analyze and share actionable intelligence to the Department of Homeland Security; detection and disruption of threats; protection to the designated leadership and their families as soft targets; counter the mass production of malicious weapons such as bio-weapons and nuclear weapons. The second goal focuses on securing the US borders and approaches. Its main objectives are to ensure the air space, land, and marine borders, extending the reach of the US borders, enforcement of the US immigration laws, administering immigration benefits for the advancement of security and prosperity of the United States. 

Terrorism 

Terrorist threats and intimidation to the United States has continued to evolve in a considerable manner since the September 11th attacks on the US soils. Despite the breakthrough in detection and prevention of sophisticated terrorist attacks, the terrorists are still on the verge of plotting new ways taking advantage of vulnerabilities involved in such occurrences. Terrorists have exploited routes of getting into the country without being detected. The terrorists enter as illegal immigrants and carry out their activities within the border, and they can be easily traced. The fight against Terrorism would, in some way, have to dismantle these organized groups by blocking ease of entrance into the country. Therefore, the Department of Homeland Security has put in place measures to combat search crimes through the deportation of illegal immigrants. 

Methodology 

This research study focused on a qualitative survey (Yates, 2016). on secondary materials on Terrorism, immigration, and enforcement of immigration laws in the United States by the Department of Homeland Security as in the Strategic Plan for the fiscal years 2020 to 2024. Terrorism, in the genuine sense, is the illegal use of force and violence by an actor who has deemed a non-state with an aim to achieve a political, economic, social, and religious goal throw coercion, intimidation, and fear. This analysis focuses on illegal immigration as a potential cause of terrorism incidences in the United States of America. In the recent past, there has been a massive wave of immigrants who enter the US territory through illegal means. Many of the illegal immigrants have a history of convictions or rather criminal backgrounds, and in that case, they pose a significant threat to the homeland security of the US territory. They are therefore marked as potential terrorists. 

Results and Discussion 

Number of Immigrants with Criminal Records 

The unauthorized immigrants in the US with criminal convictions and who are a priority for removal stands at an estimated figure of 820,000 immigrants (Landgrave, et al., 2017). This is out of the estimated number of illegal immigrants that stands at 11million from the 2015 report by the DHS. The illegal immigrants with criminal records are just but a subset of the 1.9 million non-citizens that were identified by the DHS for immediate removal from the US territory the current DHS removal policy. The figure is very high and poses a significant threat to the safety and security of the people. The growing number of illegal immigrants is a result of the increasingly porous border that allows the smuggling of humans by illicit traders. 

Constraints to DHS's goals of protecting US borders 

The DHS has not satisfactorily dealt with the problem of illegal immigrants with criminal records. This has been due to several constraints. The DHS has not invested much in pulling resources together and involving the public in the fight against Terrorism and who are holding relevant information that would otherwise be used by the DHS in solving the problem at hand. 

Constitutional immigration law 

The immigration law is found in Section 1, Clause 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The constitution reads: 'All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." This clearly draws a line between those persons that are legally in the US territories and those that are illegally here (Morag, 2018). 

Rights for illegal immigrants 

Illegal immigrants with criminal records have no right at all to stay in the country, even with their families as the law on immigration does not provide so. Illegal immigrants with criminal records are a threat to the security of the US. 

Conclusion 

There are indeed many signs that show the country's immigration system has run amok. The immigration enforcement system has not done enough in mitigating the problem of terrorist threats that are posed by illegal immigrants in the country. The US constitution does not allow illegal immigrants in the country and does the immigration law. Illegal immigrants with criminal records should be deported to their respective countries to ensure total security and safety of US citizens. 

Recommendation 

The Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency should work together to put more resources in engaging the public in the endeavors of preparing disaster responses. Also, DHS should take community-based approaches to effectively involve the general public in the fight against Terrorism. Another recommendation is that the Web-based campaigns on awareness on matters to do with Terrorism should be active and involve the public vastly. The DHS should also involve itself with meaningful communications with the public in order to counter the impacts of Terrorism and DHS ought to enforce immigration laws to counter the problems of illegal immigrants in the country and curb threats related to Terrorism. 

References 

Abramitzky, R., & Boustan, L. (2017). Immigration in American economic history.  Journal of economic literature ,  55 (4), 1311-45. 

Armenta, A., & Alvarez, I. (2017). Policing immigrants or policing immigration? Understanding local law enforcement participation in immigration control. Sociology Compass, 11(2), e12453. 

Boubtane, E., Dumont, J. C., & Rault, C. (2016). Immigration and economic growth in the OECD countries 1986–2006. Oxford Economic Papers, 68(2), 340-360. 

Ewing, W. A., Martinez, D., & Rumbaut, R. G. (2015). The criminalization of immigration in the United States. Washington, DC: American Immigration Council Special Report. 

Hanson, G. H. (2009). The economics and policy of illegal immigration in the United States. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. 

Landgrave, M., & Nowrasteh, A. (2017). Criminal immigrants: Their numbers, demographics, and countries of origin. Immigration Research and Policy Brief, (1). 

Morag, N. (2018). Comparative homeland security: Global lessons. John Wiley & Sons. 

The DHS Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2020-2024. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/search?q=THE+DHS+STRATEGIC+PLAN+Fiscal+Years+2020-2024&oq=THE+DHS+STRATEGIC+PLAN+Fiscal+Years+2020-2024&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l2.2644j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 

Yates, J., & Leggett, T. (2016). Qualitative research: An introduction. Radiologic Technology, 88(2), 225-231.