Speech Outline

Immigration
How immigration affects the US economy (I'm contemplating a business minor)


I. Attention
Attention Getter:The United States of America is a country founded on immigration from Europe, Africa, Asia, and different parts of North and South America. Several State and Federal Bills and programs have been developed to help regulate immigration in the U.S., but Utah is pushing for stricter laws to keep illegal immigration growth at a steady pace.
Audience Motivation:In 2006, the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated twelve million undocumented people living in the United States. Since then the Federation For American Immigration Reform (FAIR) reported 1.1 million people were admitted into the United States from 2006 to 2008.As for Utah, FAIR also reported, “Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of Utah was 206,765 persons in 2006. FAIR estimated that the foreign-born population of Utah was about 222,800 residents in July 2008.” (O.C.)
Credibility:Immigration was brought to my attention about a month ago. Although I only heard the negative side of immigration in Utah, I decided to research and learn more about the issue and how Utah Representatives and the U.S. government are dealing with it.
Thesis:The illegal immigrants living in our country have helped the economy during the recession, but on the other hand many problems have arose from the growing population. Today I argue:
1. The problem of high illegal immigration population.
2. The solution of laws in Utah to make it harder for American identity theft
3. What the future would be like with or without a solution.

II. Need
1. Illegal immigration in the U.S. has been a problem since the 1980’s and still a major issue two to three decades later. The immigration population in Utah is growing higher and higher every year. The growth in population is diminishing Utah’s resources such as water and increasing air pollution.
A. FAIR reported, “In 2001, some farmers faced harvest yields of up to 40 percent less than normal as a result. In response to the growing crisis, Utah’s governor has asked residents to reduce their water use by 25 percent in the next several decades.” (O.C.)
B. FAIR also reported that Salt Lake County could run out of water by 2025.
C. As population increases so does air pollution because more people are using more transportation to get around.
D. FAIR says, “Air along Utah’s Wasatch Front is visibly polluted most days. Even the New York-New Jersey metro area has better air quality than the Salt Lake Valley when measured for carbon monoxide, one of the main components of unhealthy air.” (O.C.)
2. U.S. Citizens and Utah residence have been experiencing identity theft for years and are still struggling with keeping identities safe. As illegal immigration increases so does identity theft.
A. Richard Hamp, an assistant attorney general for Utah who has prosecuted several cases involving stolen IDs and illegal immigrants said, "People need to wake up to this problem. People’s credit is being destroyed, Social Security benefits, and everything else. This problem has been ignored by the federal government, and it's enormous." (O.C.)
i. Bob Sullivan, a technology correspondent for MSNBC.com wrote that most people whose identities are stolen wouldn’t know until a company is coming after them for money.
ii. The government knows whose identity is being stolen, but won’t bother to tell that person because they benefit from the person who is stealing the identity.
iii. James Lee, chief marketing officer for private data collection firm ChoicePoint, said,“The average victim of immigrant-based identity theft sees their Social Security number shared about 30 times.” (O.C.)

III. Satisfaction
1. A solution for Utahis the new immigration law that took effect on July 1, 2009, SB81.
A. The new law requires proof of U.S. citizenship to obtain a driver license or state identification card and will make it nearly impossible for immigrants to obtain a basic state identification. The law also says that Utah police are able to cross-train officers to be immigration officers.
i. Challengers of the law say that the law will create chaotic situations and cause confusion and fear for the documented and undocumented people.
ii. Aaron Tarin, a lawyer challenging the law said, "A key goal of any immigration law is to account for, and identify who is who in our country. SB81 completely misses the mark on this." (O.C.)
2. For the best solution possible it has to start with stricter border control.
A. Former CNN anchor, Lou Dobbs, suggested, “We need a rational, effective and humane immigration policy in this country. We need the ability to legalize illegal immigrants on certain conditions. We need to be able to influence the direction of the conversation toward securing the border because until we can control immigration, we cannot meaningfully, substantively alter immigration law because it would have no point if we cannot establish the basis for the control of the flow of people across that border." (O.C.)
B. The Real ID Act of 2005,which finally took place in May 2008, allows the building of physical barriers, such as fences.
3. Although illegal immigration cannot be controlled solely at the border, there needs to be a balanced approach of enforcement between border control and laws within the country.
A. The Utah Minuteman Project is a political organization dedicated to curbing illegal immigration through legal reform.
i. The Utah Minutemen Project mission statement: “Like immigration reform movements across the United States, we’re moving forward to secure our homeland, borders and ports from illegal alien entrants, move towards re-establishing the rule of law within our state government, repeal state laws that encourage illegal immigration and violations of federal law.” (O.C.)
ii. By passing and enforcing laws within Utah to make it harder for immigrants to steal identities, but also create an opportunity for immigrants who are still residing in the state to obtain their own sort of identity for jobs.

IV. Visualization
1. If the country continued the way it has been going then the number of illegal immigrants will continue to grow rapidly. The illegal immigrant population could grow so much that the government wouldn’t know how to control it and by that time it’d be too late to enforce laws.
2. If the country and Utah took action and combined parts of SB81, Real ID Act of 2005 and also consider the arguments of the Utah Minutemen Project and Utah Latino groups. The illegal immigrant number would slowly go up every year from granted citizenship and also people will manage to sneak into the country. Immigrants in the country will have a chance to obtain an identity and get jobs so they can earn money and possibly get benefits instead of stealing it from Americans.

V. Action
Although my solution won’t make everyone happy, I feel that it is the best way to save Utahns and the rest of Americans from identity theft, but also letting immigrants have the opportunity to build a life in the U.S.
FAIR says that people can get involved by writing to their state representative. Utah Minutemen Project encourages people to join political organizations, and also encourages people to develop opinions and to share them with others.