Immigration Is What Has Made America What It Is Today

543 Words2 Pages

Immigration is what has made America what it is today. In fact, there would be no America if not for immigration because everyone in the country is an immigrant or is directly descended from one. Even the oldest inhabitants, the Native Americans, emigrated from Asia. The rest of us come from all different places in the world. Countries such as England, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, China, Germany, and many others have all contributed to populate the United States. Immigration started with our nation’s beginning and it hasn’t seen and had continued for every year since. Each wave of immigrant brings new ideas and cultures as the people integrate with other Americans. Immigration is definitely a necessity, however if uncontrolled, it can also have devastating effects on the country’s economy and population. Therefore, immigration is only good, if it is limited immigration. I believe the policy on immigration the country currently holds is controlled and a good policy.

Immigration in its controlled state can have positive affects on the economy. They pay taxes and start businesses that boost the GNP. The starter of Hotmail was an immigrant from India with only $200. His company has certainly had a positive affect on the US economy. The most comprehensive immigration study, completed by the National Research Council, found that immigration provides an overall modest net gain for the United States. Roughly $7 billion to $10 billion a year are gained in an $8 trillion economy from immigration. Some local governments feel a financial strain in states with a large number of immigrants, notably California, the report said, because those households are more likely to have school-age children, depend on social services and pay lower taxes than native residents. But overall, the results are positive.
Immigration when not controlled will slaughter the country’s economy. Because many of the immigrants that come into the country come with nothing but the clothes on their backs, billions of dollars would have to be spent on just keeping the immigrant alive. Unchecked immigration would be the end to the average middle class family of today. Working for next to nothing, immigrants would flood the work force, forcing the middle class workers out of work and into poverty. We would see our wonderful nation slip into the realm of the third world country.

Immigration should not be stopped completely. We have many things to thank immigrant for. Immigrants from China built the Transcontinental Railroad, which brought our country together by connecting the East and West.

Open Document