Immigration to South Florida

Florida is the third largest state in the U.S. with population of 16 million people. It is the seventh fastest growing state in the nation, which experienced significant population boom in the last decade. This rapid population growth resulted in about three million new residents, one-third of which account for immigrants. This increase is several times larger than Florida’s entire population in 1950. A lot of people argue that “bigger is better” and that swift growing will surely lead to the state’s prosperity in business, economic, and politics (The U.S. Immigration Support). Is it really so? Could this impetuous population growth be pernicious, involving sunk costs and affecting the quality of life?According to the Migration Policy Institute, Florida has become home for more than 2.7 million foreign-born residents, 700,000 of which are illegal immigrants. In fact, this implies an increase of 100 percent since 1996. Nowadays, Florida makes up nine percent of the total amount of foreign-born population that resident in the USA (Leonard et al.) In particular, South Florida is a tasty morsel for most illegal immigrants. This is because they view South Florida as a paradise with a great number of job offers. However, how the multitudes of illegals affect the cultural, political, and economic life in the region?It is common knowledge that foreign immigrants are crucially beneficial for small and big businesses. Indeed, they perform all hard and low-wage jobs, which Americans do not want to do. However, other South Florida citizens suffer from constant immigration flows rather than benefit from them. It is considered that illegal immigrants have no rights, as they have got to the country illegally. Nevertheless they enjoy certain advantages in the sphere of public services. Indeed, this access to free social services is one of the primary concerns in the U.S. in whole and South Florida in particular (Chomsky).According to Center of Immigration Studies, today, illegal Hispanics account for about 5 percent of the region’s entire population. This change in the ethnic composition strongly affects education. In fact, South Florida has to spend a lot of money on free education for children of illegal immigrants, which results in a significant economic burden for legal residents of the region. It was accounted that last year South Florida had to spend additional $50 million on the regions’ educational system (The U.S. Immigration Support). Indeed, South Florida is obliged to do so because denying free education for illegal immigrants’ children makes them earn their living by illegal ways. This is because children and adolescents, who are busy with nothing, are easy victims for drug dealers, panders, and other criminals. However, there is another side of the coin. Providing illegals’ children with free education results in extra education fees for legal residents and decreases the quality of education because of the school overcrowding. Free medical care for illegal immigrants is another important economic concern. Both South Florida’s hospitals and legal residents experience the financial tensions of illegal immigration. Active Labor Act and Emergency Medical Treatment guarantees …