Illegal Immigration 8

Sara Sacco
Dr. Horowitz
Intro to Sociology
Essay #1
April 25, 2011

Illegal immigration in America has been a topic of controversy since the   beginning of 1800’s during the mass Immigrations movement . Specifically, illegal immigration from Mexico has currently formed the basis of debate to advocates of stricter illegal immigration laws to prevent illegal immigrants and the opposition of anti-illegal immigration plans. Many US citizens feel that this issue needs to be addressed very fast and congress is under pressure to pass laws proposing a solution. Immigrants from Central America and Mexico in the United Stated have the highest rate of any other minority group. This population usually referred to as Hispanics, get into America either illegally or legally. The number of illegal immigrants from South America and Mexico continues to grow rapidly which is because of the various reforms on immigration laws since the President Nixon era in the 1960s.These reforms have led to increase in population from less than 10 million immigrants in 1970 to a number greater than 38 million today (http://www.cis.org/currentnumbers. 2010), of which Mexicans accounts for the majority. The reasons behind this vast immigration include   poverty, search for employment, reunions with parents and family, etc. It is important to take into account that it is very difficult for the US government cannot estimate with certainty the number of unauthorized immigrants in America, since they   are undocumented. This paper analyzes the social issue about illegal immigration to United States and   the opposing side’s responses as well as possible solutions to theories involving immigration. The theories I will focus on are structural functionalism and conflicts. Conflict theory is a paradigm that sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change and emphasizes a materialistic view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change. Functionalism,...