Illegal Undocumented in Los Angeles USA

Illegal Undocumented in Los Angeles USA

1.  Introduction

The United States is a country with the particularity of having a population almost entirely based on fairly recent immigration. Through successive waves of immigration from different parts of the world the country has built one of the most populated nations in the world. During the first centuries of existence New York was the main point of entrance for new arrivals, as most immigrants were hailing from European countries. However the Californian economic boom in the first half of the 20^th century made of Los Angeles another major point of entrance into the country. Today New York and Los Angeles alone are home to 18% of all immigrants residing in the United States. Despite being a major door to country these 2 megalopolis have very divergent immigration population (Foner and Waldinger, 2012).

However in spite of being historically a country of immigration the United States has been implementing a policies aiming at reducing drastically the influx of foreign population by operating a firm control of its boundaries. Nonetheless toughening legal immigration didn’t result in less immigration. Many candidates to immigration in the US started to enter the country in order to work and live there permanently without the proper documentation to do so. The myth of the “illegal” alien, later rename in a more politically correct term “undocumented” was born. In Los Angeles it is estimated that 10% of the city’s population resides in the country illegally which is the highest share of any city in the country. Los Angeles’ Sanctuary City status for undocumented immigrants alone doesn’t suffice to explain why the city has been such a preferred destination compared to other similar cities. How can the large undocumented population of Los Angles be explained?

2.    Sociological Analysis: Structural Functionalism Paradigm

According to the Census Bureau in 2013 Hispanics of any race were 49% up from 17.1% in 1970 making it the largest ethnic group in Los Angeles who became then a minority- majority city.

What were the factors making Los Angeles so attractive for Hispanic immigrants? Some argue that the presence of many individuals of Mexican descent can be explained by the fact that California was in the past a territory under Mexican administration. However the Mexican rule only lasted some 25 years and the 1940 US census reported a population of 86.3% composed of non-Hispanic whites. Therefore the population grew as result of direct result of a massive influx of Hispanic individuals.

California started booming economically in the beginning of the 20^th century coinciding with the discovery of oil fields and the major movie studios relocation to Los Angeles turning the region into a dynamic and attractive place. Immigration from Mexico and Central American countries had been continuous and stable over the first half of the 20^th century however in the late 1970’s a combination of factors led to a significant acceleration in the influx of arrivals.

The 1980’s saw wars and never ending unrest in Central American countries, economic marasmus in Mexico due to chronic corruption, but also improvement in long-distance travels and American low birth rate, creating favorable grounds for immigration. Nonetheless starting in 1986 the US Congress adopted measures aiming at fighting illegal immigration enacting the Immigration Reform And Control Act and in 1996 the Illegal Immigration Act reinforcing border control and turning hiring illegal aliens more difficult. Nonetheless millions of immigrants still crossed the border to settle in Los Angeles disregarding the law (Sonensheim, 2013).

The reason underlying such massive influx of population is that immigration fulfills a need for both those who leave and those who receive. and are usually safety or economically motivated. New comers were running away from poverty, wars, looking for work, a better healthcare system and education opportunities for them or their children. They were looking to improve their achieved status (Sullivan and Kimi, 2014) (Chavez, 2012).

In its turn the United States who were starting to face a decreasing birth rate and found absorbing young immigrants as a solution to its demographic problems allowing its total population to keep growing and to renew generations. From an economic perspective aliens often represent cheap labor to fill unskilled jobs and maintain economic competitivity. Immigrants working illegally will pay taxes to support the state expenses, consume, and will not be a burden as they are ineligible for welfare due to their illegal status (Sullivan and Kimi, 2014).

Why is illegal immigration specially focusing on Los Angeles? New York is nowadays mainly an air border as oversees land is remote and the closest land border is with Canada, a country receiving also massive immigration. An air border is arguably much easier to control as all entrances convergence to one same point which is heavily secured, the airport. Also purchasing a plane ticket can be an obstacle for someone hailing from a developing country (Foner and Waldinger, 2012).

On the other hand Los Angeles is very close to the Mexican border. The geographical proximity as well as the fact that the frontier can be crossed by feet which facilitates the immigration process in terms of time, costs, and logistics.

Moving to a different country can be a challenging experience leading to cultural shock from having to deal with a different language, different folkways, and different norms.  The presence of fellow countrymen from the same village or relatives already settled in the city is seen as relief for newcomers that despite changing country they can maintain a social tissue allowing them to practice their culture keeping a feeling of in-group belonging. Another aspect is that Los Angeles largely conserved the toponymy expressed in the Spanish language left by the Spaniards which creates a feeling of familiarity for people hailing from countries where Spanish is the official language (Logan, Wenquan and Richard, 2002).

3.   Conclusion

Illegal immigration and undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles have long been a heated topic. Some are deeply against in defense of American society integrity, while others are unconditional partisans invoking everyone’s right to the American Dream. While undocumented immigrants certainly brings and takes away from the United States their presence on Angelino soil serves several purposes. Undocumented immigrants are willing to cross the closest border risking their lives and breaking the law for a glimpse at a materially more comfortable life, joining a friend or a relative already settled while filling-in gaps in the American economy and demographics who welcomes them. As a fairly recent country the United States demographics have changed drastically several times in just a few centuries of History. This current wave of immigration is only one chapter in a country in perpetual mutation.

4.   Sources

Chavez, Leo R. "Undocumented immigrants and their use of medical services in Orange County, California." Social science & medicine 74.6 (2012): 887-893.

Foner, Nancy, and Roger Waldinger. "New York and Los Angeles as Immigrant Destinations: Contrasts and Convergence." (2012).

Sonenshein, Raphael J. The city at stake: Secession, reform, and the battle for Los Angeles. Princeton University Press, 2013.

Sullivan, Richard, and Kimi Lee. "Organizing Immigrant Women in America’s Sweatshops: Lessons from the Los Angeles Garment Worker Center." Signs 40.1 (2014).

Logan, John R., Wenquan Zhang, and Richard D. Alba. "Immigrant enclaves and ethnic communities in New York and Los Angeles." American sociological review (2002): 299-322.