The authors examine U.S. efforts to prevent illegal immigration to the United States. Although the United States has witnessed a sharp drop in illegal border crossings in the past decade alongside an enormous increase in government activities to prevent illegal immigration, there remains little understanding of the role enforcement has played. Better data and analyses to assist lawmakers in crafting more successful policies and to support administration officials in implementing these policies are long overdue.

The authors examine U.S. efforts to prevent illegal immigration to the United States. Although the United States has witnessed a sharp drop in illegal border crossings in the past decade alongside an enormous increase in government activities to prevent illegal immigration, there remains little understanding of the role enforcement has played. Better data and analyses to assist lawmakers in crafting more successful policies and to support administration officials in implementing these policies are long overdue.

Discusses the controversial viewpoints regarding illegal immigration.

"The simple truth is that we've lost control of our own borders, and no nation can do that and survive." ?Ronald Reagan America is under siege, facing a hostile invasion on its own soil that most of its citizens know nothing about: the invaders are illegal immigrants, their battleground is the U.S-Mexico border, and what's at stake is the money, security, and freedom of all Americans. In this chilling exposé, investigative journalist Jon Dougherty contends that today's unchecked immigration is destroying the very fabric of our culture and endangering American lives. With alarming new evidence, Dougherty argues that illegal immigrants are brazenly turning America's welcome mat into a doormat and our reckless policies and lackluster restrictions are allowing criminals, drug lords, and even terrorists to take advangtage of our freedoms. "If 9/11 can't get us to secure our borders," says Dougherty, "nothing will!" Featuring compelling real-life accounts from the people who engage in the battle on the border every day?Border Patrol agents, local residents, and citizen-enforcement groups?this book shows definitively how illegal immigration costs taxpayers greatly and threatens the lives of all Americans, native-born and otherwise. It also proves once and for all that our government is doing nothing to stop this ever-growing crisis. This is the untold, unnerving story of life on the U.S.-Mexico border?how illegal immigration is quicklly making us all strangers in our own country.

A valuable resource for high school, college, and general readers, this book provides an up-to-date, comprehensive examination of illegal immigration in America, addressing its complex history, comparing its occurrence today with the past, and explaining why a solution is so difficult to enact. Who is coming into the United States illegally and why? What compels people to leave their country of origin? Is the United States responsible for taking care of the more than 11 million individuals who are here illegally? Are illegal immigrants helping or harming our nation's economy and infrastructure? Should our borders be "secured" as called for by many politicians? This book examines the history of illegal immigration in the United States, addressing the tough questions about the issue and describing in detail the most significant issues and events in recent decades. It succinctly tackles the topic of illegal immigration without bias, explores the myriad of problems and controversies that have arisen due to illegal immigration, and explains how lawmakers have historically tried—and continue to try—to solve these issues. This thoroughly revised and updated second edition ofIllegal Immigration: A Reference Handbook covers the debate over the vexing and seemingly intractable illegal immigration problem from all angles and updates the discussion to 2015. It covers the key court, executive, and legislative-branch actions on the matter and examines both state and national-level government attempts to cope with illegal immigration. The book also contains a variety of primary source documents in summary format that cover all the key laws enacted, presidential or state governor's executive actions taken, and key court decisions since 1985. These documents not only provide factual data but also give context that allows readers to better grasp the complexity of the problem and the difficulty in trying to improve the situation through regulation.