Illegal Immigration: Crime, Ramifications, and Control (The American Experience) (From Crime and Law Enforcement in the Global Village, P 65-86, 1997, William F McDonald, ed. -- See NCJ-167298)

• NCJ Number: 167302
• Author(s): W F McDonald
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 22 pages
• Grant Number(s): 95-IJ-CX-0110
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Sale Source: Anderson Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper explores all facets of illegal immigration, providing a portrait of the relevant transnational issues and their importance.

Abstract

Following a review of American developments vis-a-vis immigration, the author addresses the history and definitions of illegal immigration as a crime, along with associated penalties. The characteristics of the resident illegal alien population are then profiled, followed by an overview of the criminality of illegal immigrants and crimes related to illegal immigration. Attention is also given to illegal immigrants as crime victims. Other sections of the paper consider the failure of transnational police cooperation, the American unilateral effort through the Immigration and Naturalization Service, employer sanctions, and an assessment of the quality of enforcement efforts. The author advises that transnational cooperation in the control of illegal immigration must rely more upon addressing the economic forces that underlie migration than upon joint law enforcement efforts to deter migrants. On the other hand, the secondary crime and justice problems generated by the restrictions on transnational migration -- particularly the problems of organized crime involved in the fraud, corruption, smuggling, and victimization associated with illegal immigration -- constitute a growing area of need for transnational police cooperation; this threatens to eclipse international drug trafficking as a social problem in the global village. 49 notes