Immigration in the United States
The immigration patterns of the United States have fluctuated over the years, some years having little while others see a rising amount of immigrants, both legal and illegal, looking for opportunities to improve their lives. The amount of illegal immigration is a problem since many take advantage of the social services provided by the government without contributing towards the country since they are not citizens and many people see these illegal immigrants as a threat to their employment. Illegal immigrants do affect the U.S negatively in a number of ways, but if those illegal immigrants were to have a safe passageway towards gaining citizenship, the immigrants would contribute greatly towards the country. With much of the immigration system broken, it affects many aspects of the U.S, the economy being the most affected; however, steps are being taken to improve the immigration system and help the immigrants gain legal citizenship in the U.S
One of the major aspects of the U.S that is affected by immigration is the economy, there are various opinions surrounding what immigration is doing to the economy, some positive and some negative. If the amount of immigration were to be kept and a large amount of unskilled labor were hired, the cheap labor supply would cause wages of native born Americans to fall ,but consumer goods would fall in price also, meaning the economy would improve. With a greater amount of poor immigrants arriving much of the government taxing is thrust upon upper class people, again a major effect upon native Americans that can cause some anger, but overall it is estimated that these problems caused by immigration on the economy are short term problems, in the long run the immi...
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...rocesses not being streamlined enough to encourage the illegal immigrants to become citizens. With the pro-immigration groups opting for immigration reform, the United States could experience economic growth and prosperity between the native born Americans and the newly naturalized citizens.
Works Cited
Allport, Alan. Immigration Policy. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2005. Print.
Andryszewski, Tricia. Immigration: Newcomers and Their Impact on the U.S. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 1995. Print.
Egan, Matt. "Silicon Valley Goes to Washington to Take on Immigration Reform." Fox Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
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Mahony, Roger M. "Immigration Reform." America 17 May 2010: 1. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Wallis, Jim. "Immigration Reform: Put People before Politics." TIME 19 Feb. 2014: 1. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
The United States of America has the largest foreign-born population in the world. With nearly thirteen percent of the total population being foreign-born, one may find it hard to imagine an immigrant-free country (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Immigration has been an integral part of the United States’ overall success and the country’s economy since it was established and without it, would have never been founded at all. Although there are some negative issues associated with immigration and many native-born Americans believe to be more of a problem than a solution, overall it actually has a positive effect. Immigrants in America, among other things, fill jobs where native-born Americans may not want to work or cannot work, they contribute to Social Services and Medicaid through taxes and they help provide the backbone of America, especially by working jobs that natives may have not even considered.
History has proven that prosperity follows immigrants. Economist showed that the economic boom of the 1950s-60s was led by immigration, and the depression of the 1930s began after they enforced the Immigration Act of 1924. The Immigration Act of 1924 is a federal law in the United States that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to two percent of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States. Illegal immigrants usually work in low paying jobs that most Americans refuse to do themselves. According to (Stewart 10), whenever there was a shortage of farm workers, the INS border patrol pretended that they didn’t see the Mexican workers crossing the border. They contribute more money to the government than what they receive in benefits; therefore, they cannot be seen as social burden. According to (Szumski 14), the Orange County Task Force found that illegal immigrants pay $83 million taxes each year and they receive medical services costing only $2.7 million per year. So, they only receive few benefits and many immigrants are drained from hope of better jobs, not by benefit programs from the United States. The limitations of immigration policies are dramatic and far-reaching. Many Americans fear open border polices because of all the stereotypes about illegal immigrants. The motivation and positive aspects of illegal immigrants has become essential to this country. While illegal Immigrants work in fields, clean houses, wash dishes, and labor in sweatshops, millions of Americans would rather sit and ask for money or wait for welfare checks rather than search for a job. According to (Lee 8), approximately 700,000 immigrants are legally accepted to the United States each year. After this small limit is reached, all the others are turned away or cross
...e private sector to find new growth opportunities and create new jobs. Furthermore, America always has been, and always will be a country of immigrants. Despite that rich tradition, Congress has not updated the country’s immigration policies in three decades. However, Congress now has an opportunity to fix the immigration system and improve the economic well-being of all Americans. Failure to address the issue will have severe consequences for America’s future and well-being, and that is why how America reforms the immigration system will determine its future. The current immigration system is outdated, broken, and reveals that Comprehensive Immigration Reform is urgently needed, and is good for America’s workers and the economy. Despite the claims, complaints and the resistance of many, Americans should welcome, accept and support Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
Illegal immigration has many diverse effects on the United States economy. Some people argue that the negative outweigh the positive, but there is no doubt that immigrants do carry a critical role.
A new immigration reform will stimulate economic growth, nurture innovation, secure borders, strengthen families, and build flexibility in immigration law. This policy brief discusses how the passage of H.R. 15 will benefit the United States of America while also examining the need to reform our current immigration system. H.R 15 was purposefully written by the National Democratic Caucus to accommodate the views from the Democratic and Republican Party; thus, allowing room for compromise.
While tangible reasons exists for the need to cut on undocumented immigration, the benefits that illegal immigrants bring to the U.S economy still surpass the arguments against providing undocumented immigrants with legal status. The undocumented immigrants are found in all sectors of the U.S economy and their input needs to be recognized by providing them with legal status to work and improve the economy. They in fact, add circulation to the economy and many benefits that most of american-borns don’t see.
In 2007, the White House issued this statement in hopes to influence a Congressional debate: “Immigration has a positive effect on the American economy as a whole and on the income of native-born American workers” (Pear). This statement relates to the idea that immigrants actually enhance the productivity of American workers and increase their earnings in a significant amount, estimated at $37 billion a year (Pear). This is just one way in which immigrants support economic development in the United States. Since the U.S. is an i...
There are currently 11.7 million immigrants living in the U.S. The United States is now again being named the land of immigrants. The new century has been introduced to the illegal immigrant. They are desperate to get into the American culture and are forced to disobey the laws of government to assimilate themselves in America. People come over because they have family, jobs or want a better life. This may cause some problems for Americans. Certain Americans believe immigration will cause the economy to drop, drop to wages, and job loss due to cheap labor, etc. But no one has thought of a solution for immigration that will work effectively.
First, immigrants come to the U.S. to work and bring valuable skills which help grow the economy despite the negative views surrounding their part in the U.S. economy. Since the 2008-2009 recession the view on immigration and its effects on the economy has been more negative than positive (Peri, 2012). A study done by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government found that about 50 percent of American adults believe that immigrants burden the country because they, “take jobs, housing, and healthcare”, while the other 50 percent believe that, “immigrants strengthen the country due to their hard work and talents” (Delener & Ventilato, 2008). Over the past decade, “over half of the increase in the U.S. labor force,… was the result of immigration-l...
As an effect legal immigration would make way for new jobs and if more people had more jobs they would more likely invest in the economy. Many immigrants remain illegal due to the long and rigorous applications and tests required to become a legal citizen. As well as hard tests, the fee to apply is a substantial amount especially for poor immigrants looking to immigrate for economic reasons (Swain). Many immigrants protest to lower fees to allow for a more efficient way to gain citizenship. Politicians debate on whether to lower fees often (EdTech). Many politicians believe if the fees where lowered it would allow a large number of immigrants into America. Allowing large number of immigrants could have both positive and negative effects. Crime rates could be increased, at the same time jobs would be created and the economy would begin to increase due to the amount of money spent in
The United States of America, being a country founded by immigrants, is known all over the world as the land of great opportunities. People from all walks of life travelled across the globe, taking a chance to find a better life for them and their family. Over the years, the population of immigrants has grown immensely, resulting in the currently controversial issue of illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants are the people who have overstayed the time granted on their US, visa or those who have broken the federal law by crossing the border illegally. Matt O’Brien stated in his article “The government thinks that 10.8 million illegal immigrants lived in the country in January 2009, down from a peak of nearly 12 million in 2007.”(Para, 2) While some argue that illegal immigrants burden the United States of America and its economy, others believe that they have become essential and are an important part of the US, economy.
The current effects of immigration throughout the United States has had a negative impact on its economy. Whether foreigners are legal permanent immigrants or illegal occupants, nations must diligently keep track of all individuals. This is a brief analysis on how immigrants impact the U.S and strategies to minimize their effects on this nation. In addition, the U.S must implement and monitor plans of action to lessen unemployment of citizens and reduce the excessive use of benefits and resources by immigrants.
Immigration has played a major role in the economy of the United States, creating both deficits and surpluses in the U.S. economy. Arguments have been made that immigration brings more negative effects to the United States economy than it does positive, whereas on the other hand, people claim that immigrants have taken a major weight of the economy of the U.S. and has even allowed the economy to make significant growths. Considering the fact that the total accountable population of the U.S. is said to be made up of approximately 13% of immigrants, many arguments have been made for and against the entrance of immigrants into the United States. Immigration has effects upon the work force, the living conditions, the poverty rates, and other contributing
While immigration for our country is good the ability to become a legal citizen has become insanely hard therefore leading immigrants to illegally cross our border, which negatively impacts our country.
Immigration has always been a topic of controversy, and the effects that immigration has on the United States are countless. Debates approach to whether or not the United States should take radical measurements against the eleven million-population living illegally in the United States and how the United States should address them (Costa et al). Such a controversy conveys deeper understanding of the current situation. In order to speak about immigration several factors should be analyzed: how is immigration contributing and/or hurting the United States economy? What weighs the most, the advantages or disadvantages? What’s the opportunity cost of taking one decision or the other?