Illegal immigration has been a source of mounting concern in the United States since the 1970’s. Statistics indicate that the past ten years have witnessed an increase in the number of illegal immigrants with the number estimated to increase in the future. “The percentage of illegal immigrant population from Mexico was 59% (or 6.8 million) as of January 2013. Other countries with large amounts are El Salvador (660,000) Guatemala (52000), Hondorous (380,000) and China (280,000)” (Infoplease 1). The rising number of illegal immigrants over the past ten years has led to an increasing concern about the effects of illegal immigrants on wages, national security, and public finances. Evidently, illegal immigration has been a source of economic stress, increased insecurity, low healthcare services, and reduced education standards. To delve deep in understanding the negative impact of illegal immigration, this paper critically explores how unauthorized immigration negatively impacts various social economic aspects. A plethora of studies show that illegal immigrants take away jobs from United States natives (Corsi 109). Arguably, this is because of their willingness to work for very low wages including those below the minimum wage. “Currently illegal immigrants are mostly doing jobs Americans do not want to do” (Desai 431). Despite a lack of legal documents, illegal immigrants have continued to work in public school systems, stable jobs, construction, fast food industry, hotel industry and restaurants (Corsi 108). The influx in the number of illegal immigrants has not only increased competition in the job market but also created low paying jobs. Furthermore, the jobs would pay more and in return become more attractive if illegal immigrants ... ... middle of paper ... ... Ed. Noel Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Current Controversies. Rpt. From “Illegal Aliens and Crime Incidence: Illegal Aliens Represent a Disprportionately High Share of the Prison Population.” Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), 2001. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 25 November 2013 Ankarlo, Darrell. Illegals: j mmlk . Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc. 1978. Print. Bryant, Phil. The Impact of Illegal Immigration on Mississippi: Costs and Population Trends. Jackson: Jackson Free Press. 2006. Print. Corsi, Jerome. America for Sale: Fighting the New World Order, Surviving a Global Depression, And Preserving USA Sovereignty. New York: Eagle. 2009. Print. Johnson, Hans and Laura Hill. At Issue: Illegal Immigration. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California. 2000. Print. Kenney, Karen. Illegal Immigration. New York: ADDO. 2008. Print.
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.
The United States was formed by the immigration of many people from all over the world. Americans take pride in knowing that we are a people of vast ethnic backgrounds and culture. However, at the present time, the flow of illegal immigration, as well as a large influx of other legal immigrants is placing a strain on our land of "huddled masses." Legal immigration to the United States can easily be handled and is welcomed by most Americans. However, the flow of illegal immigrants, especially from Mexico, must be stemmed, due to the strain it is placing on the government, (at the local, state and federal level), as well as the general population. Illegal immigrants are costing the United States over 24 billion dollars a year in taxpayers money (National Review 12.13.93). Something must be done to reduce the flow of illegal immigration into the United States. The focus of this paper will be the problems caused by and possible solutions to the problem of illegal immigration.
Illegal immigration has been an ongoing problem in America for many decades. The form of law that currently governs the immigration process is, the Immigration and Naturalization Act, and it has been broken for many years as immigrants still continue to pour into the states illegally. The immigration acts enacted in the past that have been continuously modified leads up to the current policy that falls under the Incrementalism model. However, it is important to note that the current American Immigration system is broken and is in dire need of reform. There are 11 million people living in the dark and too many employers cheating the system by hiring undocumented workers in exchange for offering lesser pay. The current system is hurting the economy and bringing down our country as a whole.
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...
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.
Ngai, Mae M. 2004 “Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America” Publisher: Princeton University Press.
Ngai, Mae M. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. Princeton, N.J. [u.a.: Princeton Univ. Press, 2004. Print.
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...
Those who support immigrants being protected by the law believe that immigrants help the economy by creating lower wages which enables companies to make better profits. According to Becky Akers and Donald J. Boudreaux, immigrants “should be allowed to contribute to the United States economy in the Constitutional and legal precepts that guarantee all immigrants the opportunity to pursue life, liberty, and happiness in the United States” (22). If immigrants were not here in the United States, the jobs they do might not even get done by anyone else (Isidore 103). Immigrants fill up the jobs that many Americans do not want. “Specialization deepens. Workers’ productivity soars, forcing employers to compete for their time by offering higher pay” (Akers and Boudreaux 25). As researcher Ethan Lewis said, “Economics professor, Patricia Cortes, studied the way immigrants impact prices in 25 large United States metropolitan areas. She discovered that a 10-percent increase in immigration lowered the price...
Many americans claim that illegal immigrants come into the u.s and take their jobs. In 2012 8.5 million jobs were taken by immigrants. (Passel, Jeffrey S. and D'Vera Cohn, Federation for American Immigration reform,p.2)Yes, many immigrants have jobs in the U.S but most of these jobs are all minimum wage. Facts actually show the types of jobs immigrants are taking. Most illegal immigrants work in hard, awful environment factories. They work extra hours just to have enough money to get by. People are mad at the fact that they have jobs here but truth is they wouldn't take those jobs anyways. If all immigrants workers leave, who would do these j...
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.
...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.
Although the truth is that these illegal immigrants are taking legal citizens jobs. As illegal immigrants acquire jobs, they take place in legal workers jobs, leading to the average wage going down for the rest of the legal work force because illegal immigrants get paid significantly less. The United States is a democratic nation and is dependent on the citizens to help out with the making and following of laws and policies.
Gerking, Shelby, and John H Mutti. Costs And Benefits of Illegal Immigration: Key Issues For Government Policy. 61.1 (June 1980): 71-85. Print.