Regarding recent letters referring to “illegal immigrants” — concerned with providing immigrants health care and worried about immigrant crime:
- U.S. Code 1325 “Improper entry by an alien” is not a criminal offense — therefore not “illegal.” It’s only illegal if they entered after being deported.
- Crossing the border to seek asylum is a completely legal process under U.S. Code 1158.
- In fiscal year 2023, 2,055,089 migrants were arrested or expelled. No “open borders.” Only family units and children are allowed entry.
- In 2021, 86.3 percent of convicted drug traffickers were U.S. citizens. All criminal conviction rates are lower for immigrants than for native-born Americans per capita. There’s never been a terrorist attack attempted by someone who crossed the southern border.
Inflammatory language is being used as a fear tactic for political purposes. If you’re worried about your tax dollars, providing health care to immigrants should not be your first concern. Instead, focus on the $84 billion a year that private Medicare Advantage companies are overcharging the U.S. public — a figure that amounts to five times all the property crimes in the U.S. in a year.
