Immigration Reforms: Impact on American Economy

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In the upcoming presidential election, one of the most popular topics is that of illegal immigration. Leading Republican candidate Donald J. Trump has run a campaign heavily anti-illegal immigration. He proposes reform in American immigration, specifically from Mexico. Many politicians and political activists argue that undocumented immigrants take job-positions from American workers and cost federal, state, and local governments considerably large amounts of money per year in law enforcement, education, and healthcare services. U.S. citizens are passionate to restore their economy, and many have adopted a very xenophobic attitude towards immigration amidst the new presidential debates. In order to restore our economy, many people believe that …show more content…

However, illegal immigrants actually provide the workforce with a necessary pool of unskilled labor. Many of the jobs that these workers are taking are not in competition with citizens in America, where college degrees have become a societal norm. These unskilled laborers help to increase production in the country at relatively low wages that are beneficial to businesses. In addition, illegal immigration actually creates jobs in the United States. Consider that there are millions of undocumented children currently living in the U.S, and that they are all given the right to education in public schools. These children increase the demand for additional teachers, staff members, administrators, counselors, etc. in the education department. Higher student enrollment stimulates economic activity, through the purchasing of school supplies and educational materials. This example is not case-specific: larger populations demand workers that can adequately provide for them, and this is true in many different aspects of life. Immigrants provide revenue to many different American businesses through purchases, and illegal immigrants also pay income taxes through Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers or false Social Security Numbers. “As a result, undocumented immigrants contribute over $7 billion annually to Social Security and over $1.5 billion to Medicare,” (NCLR, …show more content…

Illegal immigration is a violation of federal law, and money is spent in law enforcement to apprehend these individuals. Educational services per child are an additional cost as well. Health insurance is not provided to undocumented immigrants, but health care services, such as hospitals, are. These three areas can be costly for government to provide but not in the magnitude that the media often portrays to the public. It is important to remember that immigration, legal and illegal, helps to stimulate the economy. Immigrants are not stealing jobs from skilled workers, they are providing their labor to our economy. In the meantime, they are creating more opportunities and employment positions for skilled workers, and they are funding our Social Security and Medicare services. From an economic standpoint, illegal immigration is not harmful. In some areas, it is costly, but I believe that the benefits outweigh the costs. Undocumented immigrants contribute a great deal to the U.S. economy. However, it is important to remember that this activity is illegal and should not be encouraged. There is much more that we can do to improve the current state of immigration in our country so that not only our economy flourishes, but also that workers from other countries can come to ours to benefit as

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