Benefits Of Illegal Immigration

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Illegal Immigration: Financial Benefit to America Throughout American history, illegal immigration has always been a hot topic. One could argue that it is one of the great dividers of our nation. Some Americans support illegal immigration on the grounds that it provides financial benefits to America, while others condemn illegals claiming they are strains on the economy. According to Krogstad and Passel, there are an estimated 11.3 million illegal immigrants in the United States, roughly 3.5% of the total population. The argument against illegal immigration mainly focuses on the alleged financial burden illegals pose to America. On the other hand, supporters of illegal immigrants claim that these accusations are misguided stereotypes. …show more content…

According to a recent survey, 51% of Americans believe illegals are taking away jobs from Americans and lowering wages (Undocumented Immigrants Taking Jobs From US Citizens? Most Americans Believe Immigration Is Bad For Economy). So let’s examine what jobs illegals predominately occupy. Illegal immigrants work in a variety of professions in the United States, but mainly in blue collar jobs. Illegals chiefly work in low-skilled, low-wage jobs, which are labor intensive, such as, farming, fishing, and forestry. These are occupations in which employment between U.S citizens and illegals are vastly contrasted; U.S born citizens only make up 0.5% of these occupations (Majority of undocumented immigrants work in low-skill jobs, report finds). Why are these percentages of Americans working in these jobs so low? The reason is simple. Illegals are willing to work undesirable jobs for very low pay. And this is not to say that Americans are too lazy to do these jobs; it is better stated that Americans do not like working in uncomfortable environments for jobs with an insecure future and low pay. Daniel Gross, a contributing writer for the Slate Group, says “Americans haven 't grown too wealthy and snooty for the kind of work that gets your hands dirty, or for nursing, or for computer programming. Rather, the people who have the skills to enter those fields also have opportunities and skills to enter other fields. And so they have to decide whether the rewards—monetary and psychological—of the opportunity before them are worth it. The vast majority of Americans would still not want to do these jobs”. In other words, it is more of a risks versus reward scenario. Therefore, illegals essentially take jobs that Americans would rather not do, and by filling these occupations illegals have given Americans more reason to seek higher education to attain higher paying jobs. So this

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