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| Foreword | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Is There an Illegal Immigration Crisis in the United States? | |
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| Overview: Unauthorized Immigration in the United States | |
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| There are more than 10 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States; highly concentrated in a few states, these immigrants are mainly from Latin America. | |
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| Yes: There Is an Illegal Immigration Crisis in the United States | |
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| The Unabated Flow of Illegal Immigrants Must Be Stopped | |
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| The United States needs to halt illegal immigration through enforcement measures because of the dangers of overpopulation, lawlessness, and terrorism. | |
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| Failure to Enforce Laws Has Resulted in an Illegal Immigration Crisis | |
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| The will of the American people and existing laws are defied by the current lack of enforcement of immigration laws, which will work if enforced. | |
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| No: There Is Not an Illegal Immigration Crisis in the United States | |
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| Immigration, Legal and Illegal, Improves the Lives of Americans | |
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| The immigration of low-skilled workers who come to America both legally and illegally has a positive effect on Americans; therefore, legal immigration should be increased. | |
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| Illegal Immigration Is Not a Bigger Problem than Legal Immigration | |
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| The problem to be solved about immigration is not simply one of ending illegal immigration, as the effects of illegal and legal immigration are very similar. | |
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| Illegal Immigration from Mexico Will Cease to Be a Problem Soon | |
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| Lower fertility rates in Mexico and other countries from which high rates of illegal immigrants originate mean that illegal immigration will not be a problem for long. | |
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| Does Illegal Immigration Harm US Citizens? | |
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| Overview: The Costs and Gains of Illegal Immigrants | |
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| Although both legal and illegal immigration appear to have a modest aggregate economic impact on the United States, debate wages about the specific economic effects. | |
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| Yes: Illegal Immigration Harms US Citizens | |
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| Illegal Immigrants Drain Health Care Resources | |
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| Free medical care given to illegal immigrants creates a burden for American taxpayers and results in increased costs throughout the entire health care system. | |
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| Illegal Immigration Leads to Higher Crime Rates | |
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| Data show that illegal immigrants are incarcerated at a rate that is greater than their share of the population, proving that they commit a disproportionate amount of crime. | |
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| Illegal Immigrants Take American Jobs | |
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| Millions of Americans are unemployed as a result of illegal immigrants doing jobs that could be done by Americans if immigration laws were enforced. | |
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| No: Illegal Immigration Does Not Harm US Citizens | |
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| It Is a Myth That Illegal Immigration Leads to Higher Crime Rates | |
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| Research suggests that immigration actually is correlated with a decrease in crime rates and that the small amount of border violence that exists could be stopped by issuing more work visas. | |
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| Taxes Paid by Illegal Immigrants Help Social Security | |
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| The Social Security system would be in crisis if it were not for the payments made into the system by illegal immigrant workers, most of whom do not receive anything out of it. | |
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| Are Current Policies Regarding Illegal Immigrants Working? | |
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| Overview: The Evolution of US Immigration Policy | |
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| The federal government has established several immigration policies over the last century, including those that allow for legal immigration and those that address the issue of illegal immigration. | |
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| Yes: Current Policies Regarding Illegal Immigrants Are Working | |
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| Attrition Through Enforcement Is Working to Reduce Illegal Immigrants | |
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| Data show that ramped up enforcement of existing immigration laws is working to encourage illegal immigrants to leave. | |
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| State and Local Immigration Enforcement Works and Should Be Expanded | |
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| The use of the 287(g) program by state and local law enforcement agencies is an effective tool in immigration law enforcement and needs to be utilized more. | |
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| No: Current Policies Regarding Illegal Immigrants Are Not Working | |
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| State and Local Enforcement of Immigration Laws Results in Abuse | |
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| Allowing local police departments to enforce federal immigration law threatens the rights of Hispanics and allows other crimes to go unreported and unaddressed. | |
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| Current Policies Regarding Illegal Immigrant Children Are Inadequate | |
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| Undocumented immigrants' children are trapped in a legal paradox that could be alleviated by passing the DREAM Act, which would be a wise investment for the entire country. | |
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| How Should the Government Respond to Illegal Immigration? | |
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| Overview: Americans' Views on Immigration Reform Policy | |
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| Most Americans believe illegal immigration is a serious problem, though they are split along party lines over how to address the issue. | |
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| Illegal Immigrants Should Not Be Allowed Amnesty | |
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| Comprehensive immigration reform that would grant amnesty to illegal immigrants is unwarranted given the number of unemployed American workers. | |
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| A Border Fence Is a Good Solution to Illegal Immigration | |
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| The federal government needs to finish the border fence promised by past legislation to secure the border prior to considering additional immigration reform. | |
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| Congress Should End Birthright Citizenship | |
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| It makes sense to end birthright citizenship through a constitutional amendment in order to have a common labor market with Mexico and Canada. | |
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| Birthright Citizenship Should Not Be Eliminated | |
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| There are no good policy arguments for ending birthright citizenship, but many good policy arguments in favor of retaining this citizenship rule exist. | |
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| Organizations to Contact | |
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| Bibliography | |
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| Index | |