Removable aliens and social relations
Removable aliens, often referred to as undocumented immigrants, are individuals residing in the United States without legal authorization. As defined by the U.S. government, these individuals lack citizenship and can face deportation for violating immigration laws. The terminology surrounding this group is contentious; terms like "illegal aliens" have been critiqued for their inflammatory nature, with advocates suggesting "undocumented immigrants" as a more respectful alternative.
The population of removable aliens is significant, with estimates indicating around 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. as of 2012, many of whom contribute to the workforce. Legally, while they enjoy certain rights, such as access to public education and emergency healthcare, they are generally excluded from entitlement programs like food assistance. Major legislative efforts, such as the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and various executive actions, have sought to address their status, yet challenges persist in both policy and public perception. The discourse surrounding removable aliens often highlights broader societal debates about immigration, economic impact, and human rights, reflecting diverse perspectives on their role in American society.
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Removable aliens and social relations
The and the US Department of Homeland Security define an as “any person not a citizen or national of the United States.” The US government refers to aliens entering the United States or residing in the country in violation of immigration law as removable aliens or undocumented aliens.
The terms illegal aliens or illegal immigrants are also used to refer to undocumented aliens, but are the subject of controversy. During the , immigration activists and other critics called these terms into question as part of the larger immigration debate. Jose Antonio Vargas, writing for Time magazine in 2012, wrote that although these terms are commonly used by politicians and the media, they are “inflammatory, imprecise, and most of all, inaccurate.” Vargas prefers the term “undocumented immigrant” as one that is fair and accurate, and described himself as such when he revealed his own immigration status in 2011.
In November 2014, the Pew Research Center reported that there were 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in 2012, comprising 3.5 percent of the total US population. Of these, 8.1 million unauthorized immigrants were either working or looking for work that year, accounting for 5.1 percent of the total US work force. Another study by Pew Research Center reported 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in 2022.
The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) of 1952, amended several times since then, comprises the primary body of US immigration law. According to the American Immigration Council in 2014, the INA allows a yearly worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants to enter the United States, based on family reunification, admitting skilled immigrant workers, protection of refugees, and promotion of diversity. The United States makes 480,000 family-based visas available each year. There is no numerical limit on visas for immediate relatives of US citizens; the bottom limit for visas for other relatives who meet family-preference system criteria is 226,000. The United States grants 140,000 employment-based permanent immigration visas each year in addition to temporary work visas. The number of refugees who are allowed entry is set by Congress and the president; for 2024, the US proposed number for refugee admissions was 125,000.
Aliens residing in the United States occupy a unique place in the US legal system. Aliens living in the country legally enjoy most of the rights guaranteed to “the people” by the Constitution, with the most notable exception being the right to vote. Unlike citizens, however, aliens can be deported for violations of the law (deportation can be appealed to the Board of Immigration in the Department of Justice or to the courts).
Considerable debate has centered on issues such as the costs versus the benefits of the undocumented alien population to American society and what the rights of undocumented aliens should be. Conflicting statistics have been presented regarding whether undocumented aliens are a drain on federal, state, and local governments because they use public services (such as health services) or whether the fact that many of them actually pay income taxes offsets such expenses. There are restrictions on the benefits that undocumented aliens can receive from the government. Legal aliens are eligible for benefits from such as food stamps and unemployment compensation; undocumented aliens are not. The courts have held, however, that undocumented aliens cannot be denied primary education and healthcare because of their status.
A 1982 Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe, established that states cannot refuse to finance the education of undocumented alien children or exclude them from public schools. The Court used the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to support its decision. The (IRCA) addressed the issue of undocumented immigration. It outlawed the hiring of undocumented aliens and strengthened controls to prevent illegal entry into the country. The law mandated that employers require their employees to provide documentation that they are legal residents of the United States. IRCA also established a program through which undocumented aliens who had been residing in the country since 1982 could apply for amnesty. The law apparently did little to slow undocumented immigration, as aliens could easily purchase forged documents.
In the mid-1990s, the US Border Patrol estimated that only about a third of aliens entering the country without proper authorization were being apprehended. In most years since 1977, more than 1 million undocumented aliens have been apprehended annually, implying that perhaps 3 million or more people are able to enter the country illegally each year. The majority of these individuals are Hispanic, primarily of Mexican descent, and move back and forth across the border with regularity.
In 2011, President Barack Obama pledged to enact the , first introduced in 2001 by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Chris Cannon (R-UT), but as of 2025, the legislation has remained controversial and has failed to pass Congress. In 2012, Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program granted temporary amnesty from deportation to about 1.2 million undocumented immigrants who had been brought into the country as . In 2014, Obama issued an executive order offering temporary legal status to more than 4 million undocumented individuals living in the United States, and made provisions for undocumented parents of minors who are US citizens or legal permanent residents to apply for work permits if they meet certain criteria.
In fiscal year 2024, the US Border Patrol referred 98,356 unaccompanied alien minors to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The children came primarily from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico. In fiscal year 2024, ORR noted a decrease in unaccompanied minors from the previous year, which had recorded 118,938 referrals. The increase created a humanitarian crisis that has proven challenging to local and federal governments and nongovernmental organizations as they struggle to provide basic necessities for the children and process their immigration hearings.
Bibliography
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Dinan, Stephen. “Obama Amnesty Creates Loophole for Illegal Immigrants to Vote in Elections.” Washington Times, 12 Feb. 2015, www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/12/obama-amnesty-creates-loophole-for-illegal-immigra/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.
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