Illegal immigration was an issue in the past and is a pressing problem in the present. The U.S. Government has been trying to find a resolution to this issue for years. The United States approved the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, which allowed the American Government to punish American companies that consciously employed illegal immigrants (Nadadur 1037-1052). The United States’ Government Immigration Reform and Control Act has been unsuccessful in controlling illegal immigration. It is estimated that illegal immigration into the U.S. has a yearly interval of three hundred fifty thousand people (Rousmaniere 24-25). It is apparent that the 1986 act was not able to keep a handle on illegal immigration. Illegal immigration continues due to the fact that immigrants only take the jobs available to them, which in turn helps support the United States’ economy, so measures should not be taken to halt immigration. Recently, the U.S. government has been cracking down on illegal aliens and employers are in danger of raids and lawsuits for hiring illegal immigrants. Many employers either do not require any documentation or accept copies of documents (Rousmaniere 24-25), regarding legalization. Immigrants are desired employees and companies continue to hire them even with the risks. By working for lower wages, they keep the costs of goods and services down; the illegal alien work force helps improve the U.S. economy (Nadadur 1037-1052). However, illegal immigrants can have a negative effect when they encroach on American job opportunities (Carter 8). Some economists argue that illegal aliens actually help the host-country’s economy by adding to the labor force. However, other economists state that too many illegal... ... middle of paper ... ...ay 2009): 12. Academic OneFile. Web. 21 March 2011. Gomez, Alan. “Illegal immigration levels off in ’10.” USA Today n.d. (02 February 2011): 02a. Academic Research Complete. Web. 25 March 2011. Jordan, Miriam. “Latest immigration wave: retreat: an illegal worker realizes dram, briefly; fewer are sneaking in.” Current 507 (November 2008): 27-29. Academic OneFile. Web. 21 March 2011. Nadadur, Ramanujan. “Illegal Immigration: A Positive Economic Contribution to the United States.” Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies 35.6 (July 2009): 1037-1052. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 March 2011. Quindlen, Anna. “Newcomers By Numbers.” Newsweek (20 August 2011): 90. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 23 March 2011. Rousmaniere, Peter. “Facing a tough situation.” Risk & Insurance 17.7 (June 2006): 24-25. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 23 March 2011.
In Pia Orrenius and Madeline Zavodny’s article, “The Economics of U.S Immigration Policy,” Orrenius and Zavodny state that Americans’ are split between those who believe immigrants (legal and illegal) positively impact the economy and those who believe immigrants negatively impact the economy. Pia Orrenius and Madeline Zavodny’s argue that the United States needs to implement an “immigration policy that addresses the concerns” about low-skill, unauthorized “immigration’s labor market and fiscal impacts” (954). The article may appeal to experts or those who have a higher interest in immigration due to the academic diction and the genre of the article, while discussing the public concerns with immigration, how immigration impacts the economy,
In the U. S today, the approximated population of undocumented immigrants stands at averagely 11 million. Therefore, this has created a hot debate in Congress about the action to take over the undocumented immigrants. Those opposed to illegal immigrants suggest that, their stay in the United States effects U.S citizens on the job market negatively . In addition, illegal immigrants are viewed in certain quarters as takers in the sense that illegal immigrants benefit more from public resources than the american-born citizens of the U.S. However, the reality is that immigrants contribute positively to the U.S economy and pay significantly into the system compared to what they send back home. In addition, the contributions associated with undocumented immigrants involve sustaining the solvency of the SSTF (Social Security Trust Fund). In this sense, the use of cost benefit analysis by those supporting immigration restrictions are unfounded and do not reflect the facts on the ground (Nadadur 1037). The opponents of undocumented immigrants believe that having more undocumented immigrants in the U.S is costly; however, there are no solid reasons to prove that undocumented immigrants are a burden to the treasury. Instead, the undocumented immigrants play an important role in boosting the economy and in particular by taking up jobs those citizens perceive as demeaning because the money they earn goes back to the economy through taxes resulting from consumer spending when they send money back home.
Nadadur, Ramanujan. “Illegal Immigration: A Positive Economic Contribution To The United Sates.” Journal Of Ethnic & Migration Studies 35.6 20090€: 1037-1052. Education Source. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
The United States cannot afford to lose the economic gains that come from immigrant labor. The economy would be suffering a greater loss if it weren’t for immigrants and their labor contributions, especially during the 2008 U.S. recession. The U.S. economy would most likely worsen if it weren’t for the strong labor force immigrants have provided this country. Despite the mostly negative views native-born Americans have towards immigrants and the economy, their strong representation in the labor forces continues today. Immigrants aren’t taking “American” jobs, they are taking the jobs that Americans don’t want (Delener & Ventilato, 2008). Immigrants contribute to various aspects of the economy, including brining valuable skills to their jobs, contributing to the cost of living through taxes, and the lacked use of welfare, healthcare, and social security when compared to native-born Americans, showing that the United States cannot afford to lose the contribution immigrants bring into the economy.
Mandel, Michael J. "The Immigrants: How They are Helping to Revitalize the U.S. Economy." Business Week 13 July 1992: 114-118+.
Becerra, David, et al. "Fear Vs. Facts: Examining The Economic Impact Of Undocumented Immigrants In The U.S." Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare 39.4 (2012): 111-135. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
Morales N. (2013 September 11) Cons of immigration. Retrieved September 20, 2013 from Extra News
Lind, Micheal. "Legal Immigration Harms American workers" Bender, David L. Immigration: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Inc. 1998 pp. 79-83
The advantage of this thesis statement is that the undocumented immigrants positively affect on the US labor market and economy. For an example, the undocumented immigration spend their salary by purchasing homes, cars, food and clothing. In fact, research shows that “within 10 years of undocumented immigrants, the cumulative increase in economics contribute of all undocumented immigrants would be $470 billion.”
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.
Immigration has been a major issue around the world for many years. In the United States today’s immigration has brought a lot of attention, especially illegal immigration. Immigration is the act of immigrating, which means to move to another country where you were not born, and to use the new country as a permanent residence. Desperate to become a part of the booming American culture, thousands upon thousands of immigrants have begun to enter the United States illegally. Illegal immigration is when someone is staying in a given country without the country’s official permission, illegally entering a given country, or overstaying the expiration of a visa. According to The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the population of unauthorized immigrants is estimated to be 11 to12 million. Every year a significant number of people arrive. Although there is a multitude of issues surrounding unauthorized immigrants staying in the United
Immigration has been becoming a massively growing issue in today's times as more immigrants are finding homes in the Land of Opportunity; despite having the freedom of opportunity rapidly slipping away as many politicians propose radical immigration reform. The main issue surrounding immigration—disregarding people's personal biases and opinions about the immigrants themselves—is the financial issue that immigration presents to the current economy. Immigration, in the eyes of many politicians, is a financial issue which must be dealt with in a manner that benefits the U.S. in the long run; but what many politicians are proposing, such as sealing the borders and deporting all illegal immigrants,
Lynch, R., & Oakford, P. (2013, March 30). The Economic Effects of Granting Legal Status and Citizenship to Undocumented Immigrants. American Progress. Retrieved July 2, 2014, from http://americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/report/2013/03/20/57351/the-economic-effects-of-granting-legal-status-and-citizenship-to-undocumented-immigrants/
Nadadur, Ramanujan. "Illegal Immigration: A Positive Economic Contribution to the United States." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 35.6 (2009): 1037-052. Print.
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?