The United States has been a sought after destination by migrants from all over the World. While legal immigration is more than welcome as it caters to the needs of the society, illegal immigrations are a cause of concern. The Pew Hispanic Center has estimated that 10. 4 million illegal aliens reside in the United States and the number grows by 500,000 every year. Of these maximum illegal entrants are said to be residing in California. California’s prosperity is becoming its bane as the illegal migration to the state continues unabated over the years, the state’s affluence becoming a magnet for immigrants from all over the World.
In the mid 1990’s California had eight million immigrants with one in every four state resident being a migrant or one third of the total population. (Camarota: 1998). The state’s large number of illegal immigrants estimated at 3 million are said to cost the Californians approximately $ 10. 5 billion per year in terms of education, health care and incarceration costs. (Longley: 2004). The overall subsidy being provided to illegal immigrants was to the tune of $ 1. 1 billion in 1994, the same would have raised manifold after over 10 years now.
The burden on the health care costs of illegal aliens and their families is the highest in California at $ 1. 4 billion. While the financial burden can be estimated, the overwhelming social and denial of health services costs to the citizens of the state is difficult to compound yet is highly significant. The impact of illegal immigration on California’s health care system thus needs an in depth analysis. Research problem, Hypothesis, Research Questions and Objectives Research Problem. The United States has been viewed as a land of opportunity.
Thus there has been large scale immigration to the United States over the years and this to an extent has been encouraged by the state as well as the civil society as it contributes to the growth of economy of the country in many ways. However of late the problem of illegal immigration has resulted in a heavy drain on public resources particularly in education, health and incarceration services. The problem in the health care sector is particularly acute, in states as California, where the illegal migrant population comprise over 3 million. This has resulted in a heavy load on the health services.
Apart from the financial burden, it is depriving the native population including the geriatric and veteran’s access to health care. The dimensions of encroachment of illegal immigrants into the health care sector are still unclear. Presently it has been evaluated in terms of financial off sets which is said to be $ 1. 4 billion. The impact of this on denial of facilities to natives and other genuinely needy individuals and families has not been assessed. When immigration is viewed objectively and not from the prism of being positive or negative, it would be evident that its impact will depend on the volume and characteristics of migrants.
(Camarota: 1998). The factors involved are thus numerous and complex. There is thus a need to undertake a holistic study of the problem of impact of illegal immigrants on efficiency and effectiveness of the Californian health care and hospital system. Hypothesis. The large number of illegal immigrants in California is adversely impacting the overall health care and hospital system in the State leading to overall deterioration in social and health care facilities available to the general public.