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Illegal Immigration and Its Effects on the US economy
Causes and effects of illegal immigration
Negative impacts of illegal immigration
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Illegal immigration still remains as one of the major problems on the U.S-Mexico border in our country. The effect of having illegal immigrants in our country puts the U.S in a dire situation. Many people are even starting to question the authority of the U.S. Customs and U.S. Border Patrol agents. Even though Homeland Security is always consistently hiring for U.S customs and border patrol agents to watch over the southern border to make sure no illegal immigrants sneak into the U.S. Many people are blaming illegal immigration for the loss of “American” jobs and why many Americans cannot find work today in the U.S.
Illegal immigration has had many effects on the U.S. for the past two decades. Many illegal immigrants that cross the U.S-Mexico border take many of the jobs that are intended for U.S citizens. Mexican citizens are offered amnesty with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. According to the U.S. Homeland Security, “the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was passed in order to control and deter illegal immigrants to the United States. Its major provisions stipulate legalization of undocumented aliens who had been continuously unlawfully present since 1982, legalization of certain agricultural workers, and sanctions for employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers, and increased enforcement at U.S. borders.” Even though this act was passed, there are still thousands of illegal immigrants that are breaking this act and not returning to Mexico after they finish their task at one work place.
Another effect from illegal immigration is the fact that Americans are suffering a cut in their pay even though they possess the same skills as the illegal immigrant (Gerking and Mutti 1980).” With more ille...
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...cial Science Quaterly. 61.1 (1980): 71-85.
Orrenius, P.M. “Illegal Immigration and Enforcement along the U.S-Mexico Border. An Overview.” Economic and Financial Review. First Quarter. (2001): 2-11.
Ramirez, M.; Perez, M.; Valdez, G.; Hall, B. “Assessing the long-term effects of an experimental-multicultural programme: implications for drop-out prevention, multicultural development and immigration policy.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 12.1 (2009): 47-59.
Segovia, F.; Defever, R. “The Polls and Trends.” Public Opinion Quarterly. 74.2 (2010): 375-394.
U.S Homeland Security. “Immigration reform and Control Act of 1986.” 1986. Web. 14 Nov.2011:http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=b328194d3e88d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextoid=04a295c4f635f010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD.
While the legal citizens are complaining about illegal immigrants taking up jobs in the low wage sector, this is not true. Undocumented immigrants are able to access those jobs because of the immobility of the American citizens working in the low wage sector (Nadadur 1048). On the other hand, the efforts of undocumented immigrants are not only realizable in the low wage sector, but also high wage sector that provides for white-collar jobs. Some of the illegal immigrants that reside in United States are highly qualified professionals and their input is significant in driving the U.S economy to greater heights. Within the population of undocumented immigrants,
Martinez, Oscar. Border People: Life and Society in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1994), 232.
Illegal immigration has been a problem that has plagued the United States for many years. This problem is not new to the country because thousands of immigrants have crossed over the oceans and Mexican border since our country was founded. The underlying problem is the lack of assimilation to the American ways of life and the acceptance of existing rules and laws. With the already fragile economy and the largely growing unemployment rate Americans must make every effort to close its borders to undocumented workers to ease the strain and retain any available jobs for unemployed Americans and legal workers. Aviva Chomsky writes “immigration plays a much more complex role in the employment picture, and many different factors affecting employment and unemployment.”(4). Chomsky so on to say, “it indeed seems to be the case that immigrants and low-skilled citizens are competing for the same jobs”(11). Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants enter the country and start working either under illegal names or take agricultural jobs in which they are paid under the table. Chomsky solidifies this fact when she say “some immigrants work in the informal economy, and are paid under the table in-cash, so they don’t have federal and state income taxes, or social security taxes, deducted from their paychecks”(36).Which a lot of employers are catching on to because on doing this they don’t have to pay taxes and can turn more of a profit This also hurts the country’s economy because no one is paying their taxes and so there is no money flowing to pull the country out of the current recession. This burden indefinitely falls on the shoulders of the rest of the legal citizens of America who are inevitable paying the way for this one sided labor for...
Bilingual education offers a completely different world for students of different ethnic background and thus creates a comfort zone limiting the risk-taking factor necessary for the maturation of a child to an adult. Rodriguez argues supporters of bilingualism fail to realize "while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality" (Rodriguez 26). He explains that the imperative "radical self-reformation" required by education is lost by offering bilingual education and such a program suggests a place where the need for a sense of public identity disappears. A bilingual program gives a student the opportunity to be separated from real life and institutes a life that leaves out an essential understanding of the world. Bilingual students do not know the complexities of their world, including emotion, ethics, and logic, because the bilingual program secludes the eager minds to a much simpler, more naïve idea of how the society works, leaving out the confidence of belonging in public. This situation not only limits the education experience for non-English speaking students, but also hinders the further education of English speaking students by erecting a communicat...
Out of the 11 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States, 8 million of them are currently working. Employers in America who want inexpensive workers, hire illegal immigrants and pay them under the table. Since the system does not have an efficient way of identifying and penalizing these employers, this has been an ongoing dilemma. As a result, the American economy suffers because illegal immigrants are not paying taxes like the rest of the legal citizens. Americans who are citizens consequently have difficulties finding jobs because employers would rather pay under the table so they can make higher profits. In my perspective, the employers are at fault here if they knowingly hire workers who are not eligible to work here. However, if the employer did not know about an immigrant’s illegal status than the immigrant is at fault for cheating the system. These are just some of the current issues related to illegal immigration t...
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.
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.
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...
Vaughan, Jessica M. “Aliens Who Overstay Their Visas Are a Serious Security Threat.” Opposing Viewpoints: Immigration. Eds. David M. Haugen, Susan Musser and Kacy Lovelace. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2009. 182-193. Print.
Everyone agrees that the United States of America is considered as one of the most countries that has received huge numbers of legal and illegal immigrants. The United States has a very strong relationship with immigration. Before and after the discovery of America, tens of millions of immigrants over four centuries have made the United States what it is today. They came to build a new life and new ways to live in the new world, as it was called. In fact, millions of men and women around the world have decided to immigrate to the United States and make their new lives. This movement actually marked one of the essential elements that led to the overall development of this country. This process was essential in establishing the
The lack of enforcement of immigration policies will cause the greatest impact on America’s economy. One of the most controversial topics is how immigrants affect jobs and wages. Many argue that immigrants help the economy by working for the people that will not, but in reality they are taking Americans jobs and legal immigrants that have earned their rights. The main issue is wages: illegal immigrants are desperate for jobs and will do anything. Businessmen will take advantage of this and pay them significantly lower wages. Cheap labor negatively affects other workers. Studies show that immigrants push down wages and may cause other workers to leave a certain industry.
Currently around 52%, or around 6 million, of the illegal immigrants in the U.S are from Mexico. With the peak number of illegal immigrants occurring in 2007 with 12.2 million, the Pew Research center predicts the number to be increasing again from the steep decline in 2008 and 2009. Although the true cause of the decline is unknown, Jefferey S. Passel, a senior demographer at Pew’s Hispanic Trends Project noted, “The dates of decrease matched the deepest years of the economic slowdown, with its high unemployment. We don’t know what caused the decline, but it certainly coincides with the recession.” As the recession slows to a stop, illegal immigration is expected to grow despite a reco...
Illegal immigrants hold over 14 million jobs in the U.S. These jobs should belong to some of the 17 million unemployed Americans. If U.S. citizens would take these jobs unemployment would be at around 2% which is considered full employment. Not only do illegal immigrants take jobs, but they also receive more benefits compared to the taxes they pay. Another negative effect is that many industries pay illegal immigrants a lower wage saving money on the higher wages a native would earn. Even though illegal immigrants bring some rewards the overall negative effects of lower wages, tax burdens, and less available jobs is why illegal immigration should be stopped.
From my experience, bilingual education was a disadvantage during my childhood. At the age of twelve, I was introduced into a bilingual classroom for the first time. The crowded classroom was a combination of seventh and eighth grade Spanish-speaking students, who ranged from the ages of twelve to fifteen. The idea of bilingual education was to help students who weren’t fluent in the English language. The main focus of bilingual education was to teach English and, at the same time, teach a very basic knowledge of the core curriculum subjects: Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. Unfortunately, bilingual education had academic, psychological, and social disadvantages for me.
Gerking, Shelby, and John H Mutti. Costs And Benefits of Illegal Immigration: Key Issues For Government Policy. 61.1 (June 1980): 71-85. Print.