The United States is home to a projected 12 to 15 million undocumented workers as well as their families who are living illegally in the United States. Illegal, undocumented immigrants are living throughout the U.S, with the highest concentration in California and Texas. About 85% of illegal immigrants cross into North America via routes which pass through the southern U.S/Mexico border, Most of these immigrants are travelling from Central and South America and Mexico. More than 50% of all illegal immigrants are born in Mexico (White, 2007).
Border security and immigration are intense political issues, and across the country, many towns and cities have seen an escalation in the number of illegal immigrants putting down roots in their communities. Anger and chauvinism on the part of American's have brought a sense of disillusionment to many immigrants, and this leads to bitterness, frustration and even violence.
A number of bills have been deliberated by Congress in order to limit if not restrict illegal immigration. This has especially been considered along the southern border shared with Mexico. Arizona passed a bill in 2012 which gave the police authority to investigate and detain "suspected " illegal immigrants. Over a dozen other states have considered similar bills. In time, it has become a very intense political debate. .
It is without a doubt that terrorism is an obvious touchstone for any future debate about the United States immigration reform; the initial unease of immigration law is to sustain national security through border control and the capability of federal authorities to identify and dissuade threats from foreign terrorists on U.S. soil (Immigration and National Border Security, 2011). An increase in illegal immigration during the 1990's and the first part of the 21st century permitted unparalleled numbers of illegal aliens to inhabit inside U.S. borders with no benefit of government supervision or control.