You receive far more opportunities when you legally immigrate to the U.S. when compared to immigrating illegally. Why not come illegally? What if you’re denied a green card and decide to break the laws? This guide explains the differences between legal and illegal immigration.

Benefits of Legal Immigration
You get better jobs. You get more opportunities for your family. You can get a better education. You can become a citizen. With citizenship, you can vote. You pay taxes, therefore becoming eligible for benefits. The benefits are numerous. You lose them if you illegally immigrate.

Dangers of Illegal Immigration
Beyond breaking your country and U.S. immigration laws, illegally immigrating itself can be quite dangerous. Why? Say for example you try to illegally immigrate from Mexico. Every year, hundreds die of exposure and the elements. A car may break down, forcing you to walk. Someone dishonest may take your money and try to cheat you out of more. The walk to the border may be longer, hotter, and more dangerous than you originally thought.  Those who help illegal immigrants – always for a fee –  are not the type of people you want to deal with. Some immigrants are taken advantage of – forced into slavery, prostitution, even getting involved in the drug trade. You always have options beyond illegal immigration. If you are caught, you can be penalized both by your home country and by the U.S., including jail time and fines.

The Employer Question
Employers who take part in illegal immigration are also in danger of being penalized, often quite severely. On the other hand, if you legally immigrate, legally get a job, there are laws for how you are treated, what income you can get (by law there is a minimum wage), and the opportunity for benefits.

Are You Unsure of the Laws?
Illegal immigration often occurs because immigrants are unsure of basic laws. Sometimes confusion can lead to problems. You may be promised by an immigration lawyer that he has someone working at the USCIS who can help you immigrate. Even if this were true – and it rarely is – that would be breaking the law. If you are ever unsure, consult with an experienced immigration lawyer, or start researching the subject. To research the subject, go to official government sites, sites by respected lawyers, and blogs focused on the subject (like this one).

Getting Legal Help
While there are some dishonest immigration lawyers, there are many more honest ones. First, pay a fair fee. Second, look for references and experience. Third, be sure they are actual immigration lawyers, and will appear in court on your behalf. And finally, if they offer to break laws for you, get a new lawyer.

While sometimes we worry about how illegal immigration takes jobs away, hurts state budgets, causes an increase in crime and problems with drug trafficking, there are dangers for the immigrants themselves. If you are an immigrant deciding on whether or not to come to the U.S. illegally, bear in mind the many dangers involved.

Slavery
While you do not see immigrants becoming slaves in the U.S., there is the potential for deceit in how they are transported. If you are look to immigrate, you might pay someone to let you board their ship or truck in order to get to the U.S. Sometimes you do not end up in the U.S. You may be taken advantage of in a variety of means, such as slavery or prostitution. Many women, for example, are smuggled into the United States to be prostitutes.

Prostitution
Prostitution can and should be linked to slavery. There are many cases of immigrants being promised one thing and given another. There are reports of women from foreign countries being promised good jobs and money if they take this job in another country. Then, when they are transported far away from their home, they’re, to be put it simply, enslaved. Away from home and with few protections, they are forced to choose between running or being prostitutes. This may seem outlandish, but it does happen.

Death
Every year on the Mexican border, hundreds who are looking to immigrate to the U.S. die of exposure to the elements. This occurs for a variety of reasons. With the extreme heat of the Mexican U.S. border, those who try to travel by foot or who are forced to walk some distance die. It’s a small proportion of the illegal immigrants, but a serious danger.

What are your options?
You can come to the U.S. legally. This is always your best option. For some, it may not be possible, but because of the many dangers of illegal immigration to the U.S., for both men and women, risking your life is not worth it.

If you have family in the U.S., you may be sponsored by them. You may try to come in through an employment visa. You also have a chance, in certain countries, of being eligible for the green card lottery, where immigrants from countries who send lower numbers of people to the U.S. can be eligible. Mexico by far has the most immigrants, and illegal immigrants, coming to the U.S. You will not be eligible for the green card lottery if you’re from Mexico, but you still have many options.

Who can help?
If you’re unsure of what to do, it’s time to speak with an experienced immigration lawyer. This is your best chance to safely immigrate to the U.S. Almost always, you have more options than you think. If you come here illegally, you risk your life, and sometimes your family’s lives too.

This blog guide focuses on the argument of illegal immigration, the problems it has caused, and also the benefits of having illegal immigrants in the country. That last point may confuse you:  pros of illegal immigration? There are some clear reasons illegal immigrants can help our country. Though this issue is very divisive, it’s too important to ignore. Let’s start with why immigrants are coming to the United States illegally.

Why are they immigrating illegally?
America was once considered the place where dreams happened. It quite often still is. Even with our recent economic downturn, even with job loss in recent years, it’s still the place with the most opportunities for most in the Western Hemisphere. You can quite often live a safer live, work a job which pays more, and give more opportunities to your children. You have far more rights than most countries – you can sue, get proper medical care, and vote in elections. These may seem simple, but to many they are big benefits. People immigrate to the U.S. for better lives.

The Pros of Illegal Immigration
While you may think immigrants take jobs, some say they keep the economy going by fulfilling low-paying jobs. This may not seem fair, but quite often its much more than they would make in their native country. You then get a better state of life; where some families are forced to live on several dollars a day in other countries, in the U.S. jobs allow you to live much better.

Also, illegal immigrants pay taxes in the billions. They pay sales taxes, but also in some cases real estate taxes. If they are made permanent residents, they also pay income tax. And in either case, they buy things far beyond food. In terms of the economy, they are not a drain, but a boost.

Cons of Illegal Immigration
Beyond the simple fact illegal immigrants break the laws by staying here, some also commit other crimes. Drug trafficking, for example, is a problem on the Mexican border. Drugs bring new criminals to the country, while also damaging the lives of those who use them. Because of the increased crime rate, local, state, and federal governments have to hire more personnel and spend more funds. One controversial point is that illegal immigrants also come here solely because of government support systems such as welfare and disability.

The Winner?
Both sides have clear cases. The pros are mainly economic, while the cons are mostly criminal law points. There is no winner. Illegal immigration is a problem with no easy solution. It is important to remember both sides have points. Some of the above may be disagreeable to you, and in a free country, you’re allowed to say so. Some immigrants simply want a better life where they can support their families with honest work and have the rights to freedom and liberty.