Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, “Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” So we know that if everyone comes from immigration, then it’s two things: important, and when controlled, good. That being said, what are the effects when people immigrate illegally? Don’t take me for someone who opposes immigration I think it is one of the greatest things about the United States, the fact that people can come here to better their own lives is what our country is predicated around. Although Ronald Reagan had spoke this phrase in the past that, “A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation.” This is a good way to explain how immigration should be performed. When we look at our Illegal Immigration situation, can we call ourselves a nation? We need to improve our security on our borders. This and a few more strategies could deter immigration, and make crossing the border unjustifiably futile, and less appealing.

One common misconception when it comes to illegal immigration is that it is extremely beneficial for the economy, and is demonstrated in the article "Legalization of Unauthorized Immigrants Would Benefit the US Economy" by Marshall Fitz, Philip E. Wolgin, and Patrick Oakford, “Immigrants—even the undocumented—pay a significant amount of money in taxes each year. A 2011 study by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy found that undocumented immigrants paid $11.2 billion in state and local taxes in 2010 alone, adding a significant amount of money to help state and local finances.” Now while this is true, there are significant drawbacks that come with these immigrants. In the article "Legalization of Unauthorized Immigrants Would Burden the US Economy," it describes some of the drawbacks that these illegal aliens impose. One of which is they offer a cheaper form of labor, which forces lower costs in manufacturing which competes with small business owners. With illegal immigration, it may have just gotten harder for small business owners to keep their own business. This is a big deal, considering small business is just one of the things that this country wants to preserve about itself. Despite the fact that immigrants pay a large sum of money in taxes, they do, however, as stated by an article from the New York Times titled "Do Illegal Immigrants Actually Hurt the U.S. Economy?" have negative effects on the U.S economy. One thing that stood out to me in Davidson’s article is a statistic he shared which stated, “Labor economists have concluded that undocumented workers have lowered the wages of U.S. adults without a high-school diploma — 25 million of them — by anywhere between 0.4 to 7.4 percent.” This in the end could end up costing the United States more than the taxes the workers pay. This does make it harder for legal citizens to maintain jobs and support themselves and their families.

Legalized immigrants should be allowed to vote. This viewpoint is opposed in an article by writer Ron Hayduk titled "Allowing Noncitizens To Vote Is The Right Thing To Do."  Hayduk poses a fact, “Historically, the right to vote in America has not been tied to citizenship status but rather to residency. There are millions of immigrants residing in the United States who pay taxes and contribute to society, but who are unfairly prohibited from the democratic process simply because they are noncitizens. This situation is unfair, and thus resident noncitizens should be allowed to vote.” While this is true, there is a reason it no longer stands. If this were to be changed, politics could be even more corrupted. Let’s say a president proposes laws that would benefit illegal immigrants but do not have the country's best interests at heart. They could win the election by the more than 11 million immigrants who would vote for them, whereas a candidate who wanted the best for the country realized the problem with the illegal immigrants but was voted against for their view. Making one president win over the other, who could cause big problems for the country and all those who reside in it.

In an article titled "Executive Action Is Necessary" by President Barack Obama, in which he described some of the plans that needed to be executed, and some of the plans he himself executed, what it all comes down to is more resources which need to be diverted into border security. He explains, “Today, we have more agents and technology deployed to secure our southern border than at any time in our history. And over the past six years, illegal border crossings have been cut by more than half.” He had much success by adding resources, so why not gain more? Surely after all the financial downfalls we have learned illegal immigrants impose on us we can divert some finances to stopping the problem all together.

In the end, I’d just like to level with you Mr. or Madam President, with your help we can aid to our economy and help the small business owners across America by cutting down on this broken system and forcing illegal aliens to go through the proper channels in order to become a true red, white, and blue citizen. Then we can prosper from these legal immigrants, and as Reagan declared call ourselves a nation again. It is completely up to you. What will you chose Mr. or Madam President?