sk of crossing isn't high enough to come at all, but it's made immigrants think twice about going back and forth." In 2000, only 1 in 10 undocumented immigrants returned to Mexico within a year, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, a San Francisco think tank-- almost 50 percent fewer than in 1992. In its effort to lock people out, the U.S. government has instead locked them in."(Jones).
             Immigration issues began to slip onto the backburner of politics until Sept 11. The immediate response by the U.S. was to tighten borders in the interest of national security. This slowed immigration in the short run however; numbers are back on the rise higher than ever. A statistic in time magazine indicated that in Arizona alone, over four thousand illegal immigrants cross the border into the U.S.
             The constant influx of illegal immigrants has many effects on our country, the majority damaging it in some way or another. The immediate noticeable effect is on the land and people where the immigrants cross. This description by a report in Time magazine illustrates this: "When the crowds cross the ranches along and near the border they discard backpacks, empty Gatorade and water bottles and soiled clothes. They turn the land into a vast latrine, leaving behind revolting mounds of personal refuse and enough discarded plastic bags to stock a Wal Mart. Night after night they cut fences intended to hold in cattle and horses... The illegal traffic is so heavy that some ranchers, because of the disruptions and noise, get very little sleep at night."(Time). It is understandable that someone who has just made a long a laborious trek through the desert to come into the country has very little concern about what affect they have on the local area, they have there minds set on a far greater goal of finding food, water, shelter, and a job. The owners of the ranches and locals of nearby towns however should not be...