Immigration has been a thorny issue in United States for several years. It has been a major contributor to cultural change and population growth in the country. There have been lot controversies with regards to jobs for non-immigrants, economic benefits, ethnicity settlement patterns, voting behavior and crime. Most immigrants come to the country due to the prospect of improving their lives economically (Massey and Karen 3). As a result, there has been development of various policies to help deal with the issue. Illegal immigration has been the center-stage of these policies. The policies devised usually emanate to conflicts between the state and federal government.
A favorable example is the conflict that has persisted between the Texas government and the national government with regards to undocumented immigrants. The national government through the PRWORA restricts provision of several publicly funded local, federal and state services towards undocumented immigrants. Among these services is the provision of free and discounted health care services (Kullgren). The state of Texas has conflicted with the national government on this issue for some time now. The Texas government does not seem to uphold the policy and on various occasions tend to offer the unprecedented health services to the undocumented immigrants. This happens bearing in mind that Texas is among the states in the country that hosts a large number of immigrants within its population. PRWORA came up with this policy with the objective of reducing the number of illegal immigrants in the country. However, the Texas government does not think that this policy would work to service its intended purpose.
Among the reasons that make the Texas government to consider this policy as redundant is the general effects it has on the people. To begin with, the undocumented immigrants that are being denied access to free and discounted health care services tend to interact with other locals in one way or another. Based on their health status, this increases the prospect of spreading undesirable communicable diseases (Kullgren). This possesses a threat to the people and the government resources that would have been used in other developmental projects. This policy also acts as a contradiction to the ethical obligations that clinicians have towards patients. They are required to attend to all the patients regardless of their political, social and citizenship status (Kullgren). The policy also contradicts itself in some way. There are laws such as the Labor Act and Emergency Medical Treatment that require health institutions to offer expensive health care to undocumented immigrants when faced with emergency medical conditions. This is not logical at all. In most cases, treatment costs can be reduced significantly with management of some diseases such as hypertension, asthma or diabetes.
It is prudent to look out at other policy options to help curb the aspect of illegal immigration. This would entail policies that do not put the lives of other individuals in danger nor contravene other existing policies or laws. This way it becomes easy for implementation. Among the options that can be considered is construction of a wall along the border. Another option would include deportation of illegal immigrants in the country. Deploying of national guards along the border would also work as a favorable policy (Shapiro).
These policies have their pros and cons. With regards to construction of the wall, it would play a huge role in ensuring that illegal immigrants do not cross the border at will. It would serve as a restriction to several immigrants who would have passed the border if it did not exist. A disadvantage of this policy is that the wall only slows them down, but does not restrict people from crossing the border entirely (Kehaulani). They will eventually find a way of circumventing. When it comes to the deployment of the National Guard it would be more effective compared to the erection of the wall. The wall only makes intruders visible to members of the patrol. This makes a strong case for the deployment of the National Guard. A disadvantage of this policy is that it will require several personnel to oversee the policy implementation. This continues to add to the government’s wage bill. Deportation of immigrants that have crossed the border illegally would also work since it is a direct mechanism. Anyone that does not have the relevant documentation is deported back to their country. The problem with this policy is that the process involved would be costly to the government. It would also mean ejection of some immigrants that contribute positively towards the economy (Shapiro).
The recommended course of action to help solve the conflict that exist between the Texas and national government with regards to preventing spread of illegal immigration is finding a common ground. The two parties should come together and find a common solution. Every party should present its views and how they think the situation should be solved.
The reason behind this course of action is that both governments will strive to implement policies that have been mutually devised. This is because everyone will feel the responsibility of implementing the policy since they were part of its realization. When polices are coined by one party and then passed to another, it might make the receiving party to feel inferior hence become non-receptive. This action works towards eliminating conflicts between the Texas and National government with regards to policy implementation.
Works Cited
Kate, Manuel. “State Challenges to Federal Enforcement of Immigration Law: Historical Precedents and Pending Litigation in Texas v. United States.” Http://www.fas.org. Congressional Research Service, 12 May 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Kehaulani, Sara. “What Americans Want to Do about Illegal Immigration.” Pew Research Center RSS. 24 Aug. 2015. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.
Kullgren, Jeffrey T. “Restrictions on Undocumented Immigrants’ Access to Health Services: The Public Health Implications of Welfare Reform.” American Journal of Public Health 93.10 (2003): 1630–1633. Print.
Massey, Douglas S, and Karen A. Pren. “Unintended Consequences of US Immigration Policy: Explaining the Post-1965 Surge from Latin America.” Population and development review 38.1 (2012): 1–29. Print.
Shapiro, Ben. “4 Ways to End The Illegal Immigration Crisis – Breitbart.” Breitbart News. 20 June 2014. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.
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