In the first article, The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Raúl Hinojosa- Ojeda argues that if the United States government moved from an ‘enforcement only policy’ to a comprehensive immigration reform, both individuals born in America and immigrants would increase benefits. The comprehensive immigration reform that Ojeda describes “legalizes current unauthorized immigrants and creates flexible legal limits on future immigration in the context of full labor rights…” (Ojeda page 175). Ojeda further argues that the current U.S. policy creates a wage floor, and if undocumented immigrants gain citizenship, the wage floor will rise, increasing the wages of all workers. The rise in wages cited in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) states that a comprehensive immigration reform would increase consumer consumption and wages and would increase the creation of jobs and tax revenue. This is mainly based on the concept that IRCA was implemented during a time of recession, but was still able to raise wages and investments made by immigrants. Ojeda explains, through the example of the IRCA, it is estimated that comprehensive reform, over 10 years, would create 1.5 trillion dollars in United States gross domestic product (GDP) (176). However, they add that one of the issues with the IRCA, is the lack of flexible limits set on the number of workers allowed to enter the United States. In the 1990, therefore, U.S. labor demands were not met. The change in demographics in Mexico is labeled as one of the larger reasons for the increased number of immigrants coming to the United States from Mexico. Ojeda cites that, over the past forty years, one-third of the immigrants come due to high birth rates in Mexico. Howe... ... middle of paper ... ...ed Hinojosa-Ojeda, Raúl. "The Economic Benefits Of Comprehensive Immigration Reform." CATO Journal 32.1 (2012): 175-199. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. Orrenius, Pia M., and Madeline Zavodny. "The Economic Consequences Of Amnesty For Unauthorized Immigrants." CATO Journal 32.1 (2012): 85-106. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. Ewing, Walter. "The Many Facets Of Effective Immigration Reform." Society 47.2 (2010): 110-117. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. The Heritage Foundation Immigration and Border Security Reform Task Force. "Advancing the Path to Immigration and Border Security Reform." The Heritage Foundation. Heritage.org, 14 June 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. Greenstone, Michael, and Adam Looney. "What New Immigrants Could Mean for American Wages." The Brookings Institution. Brookings.edu, 2 Aug. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
Sarah Starkweather. "US immigration legislation online". University of Washington, Bothell Library. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
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.
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.
Gordan F. Ewell. (2005). Mexico immigration, US Economic Issues. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
With this rapid increase it is seen that in the 1990’s alone, “the number of Mexican immigrant workers in the U.S. grew by 2.9 million, which is a 123% increase in this segment of the labor force. In contrast, the overall number of American workers grew by only 13% in the same time period”(Paral 4). Also in the 1990’s, “8.8% of Mexican immigrants were in agricultural, forestry, fishing, and hunting. Then in the 2000’s there were 15.3% in these same categories In the 2000’s a total of 33.8% of Mexican immigrants were in the agricultural workforce, which is the highest amount of all industries”(Paral 8). These numbers show the job readiness of Mexican immigrants coming into the United States spoken about beforehand which helps connect how Mexican immigrants have contributed vast amount labor in growing the United States agricultural
America the land of opportunities, millions of people have left their countries to look for a chance to start a new life, a new beginning. Over the last 400 years, immigrants from different parts of the world left their countries for different reasons, some for war in their homelands others for economic and social reasons. Mexican community was one of the first group of people that stablished a strong presence in the country; therefor had and still has big influence in the development of the United States economically and industrially. Besides the contributions of the Mexican Community to America, Mexican decedents had faced challenges of acceptance from the American society, in a land that once was Mexican territory.
According to Daniel Tichenor, author of Dividing Lines, immigration policy change can be explained by ideas, institutions, and interests. While each of these players significantly impact immigration politics, institutions seem to hold the most importance compared to ideas and interests. The power of institutional actors, such as the government, the business elites, and the labor force, have been the leading players in all immigration reform. Immigrants, Tichenor argues, “have proven capable of influencing the electoral calculations of party leaders and individual candidates, recasting how established interest groups define their policy goals, building new ethnic organizations to influence government actions, and even contributing directly
Among world regions, the number of unauthorized immigrants from Asia, Central America and sub-Saharan Africa rose between 2009 and 2014. The number of immigrants from Mexico has steadily declined since 2007, the first year of the Great Recession, but Mexicans remain more than half (52%) of U.S. unauthorized immigrants. ”(Jeffrey Passel). “Population growth is influenced by three factors: mortality (the death rate, which has been steadily decreasing in the U.S.), birth rates or fertility (children per woman) and net immigration (immigration minus emigration). “ (USPS).
For over ten years, efforts to make changes to the United States immigration system have been put aside due to wars, attacks within our homeland and even worldwide financial crisis but it seems as though this being brought up more and more often. The history of the US immigration policy was more concerned with immigration enforcement over immigration reform. It was not until a few years ago that the US citizens voted they were tired of enforcement-only immigration policies and the pain they caused on immigrant families. So most feel now is the time to draw up new immigration laws that reflect American values and beliefs, and it ne...
The United States has often been referred to as a global “melting pot” due to its assimilation of diverse cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities. In today’s society, this metaphor may be an understatement. Between 1990 and 2010, the number of foreign born United States residents nearly doubled from 20 million to 40 million, increasing the U.S. population from almost 250 million to 350 million people. With U.S. born children and grandchildren of immigrants, immigration contributed to half of this population growth. These immigrants, consisting of mostly Asian and Hispanic backgrounds, have drastically changed the composition of the U.S. population. In 2010, Asians and Hispanics made up 20 percent of the U.S. population, in contrast to a 6 percent share of Asians and Hispanics in 1970. It is predicted that by 2050, the share of immigrants in the United States will increase to one half of the entire population. With this rapid increase in diversity, many citizens have opposing views on its impact on the United States. In my opinion, an increase in immigration does contain both positive and negatives effects, but in general it provides an overriding positive influence on America’s society (“Population”).
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.
Thompson, Art. “Illegal Immigration Hurts the Economy.” Opposing Viewpoints: Immigration. Eds. David M. Haugen, Susan Musser and Kacy Lovelace. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2009. 30-35. Print.
...ol.” Debates on Immigration. Ed Judith Gans, Elaine M. Repogle, and Daniel J. Tichenor. Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Reference, 2012: 144. Gale Virtual Library. Web. 22 Apr, 2014.
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.