The policies implemented by the United States to strengthen the border and enforce immigration policies have led to the abuse and profiling of undocumented immigrants. Undocumented immigrants live in constant fear of deportation and are subjected to multiple human rights violations as they are abused, exploited and discriminated against. Immigrants are racialized and stereotyped. The US government has passed laws that discriminate against undocumented immigrants, making it harder for them to live and survive in America. These laws are due to the perception that undocumented immigrants are a burden on the US economy, but on the contrary undocumented immigrants provide an economic benefit to the US, and due to the benefit they provide society …show more content…
The mass deportation of undocumented immigrants categorizes them as second class citizens. People assume they provide a burden to society, and many policy makers have taken steps in order to oust them. The first being IIRIRA. In reality undocumented people have every right to be here. The economic slump of their native countries is a consequence of US actions and policies, and undocumented workers provide a great economic benefit to the US. In “Border America: illegal but essential, experts say undocumented immigrants are a driving force in the economy despite a toll to public services and unskilled workers,” by David Streitfeld the benefits undocumented workers provide for the economy are outlined. Streitfeld writes that economist agree that undocumented workers contribute to consumer spending and instead of replacing workers actually create jobs. Undocumented workers have a negative stigma that they misuse resources and steal jobs from citizens, but they do the opposite. The influx of undocumented workers has stimulated the …show more content…
Reyna Grande in her book “The Distance Between Us” recounts her life journey from living in poverty in Mexico to living in prosperity in America. One quote encompasses the motivation for the mass migration north of illegal immigrants. Grande’s mothers words “But no poverty here can compare to the poverty we left behind” (224). Grande describes the poverty that pushed her family north. It was the hunger in the pit of the stomachs of men and women. The scarcity of jobs that didn’t allow men to provide for their families. “Back then, I didn’t know that Guerrero was the Mexican state with the most people emigrating due to the scarcity of jobs. I hadn’t know that a year before he left, my father had already been leaving home to find construction work in Acapulco, Mexico City, even as far as Mazatlan, Sinaloa until eventually making his way farther north,” (59) wrote Grande. Hunger is a powerful motivator for migration. As Grande describes in her book parents leave their children in hopes of finding a better tomorrow. Providing their children with food, clothes and an education. As long as Latin America is poverty stricken people will migrate north, some will bring children. To escape the hardships of poverty, the lice, the worms swimming in the bellies of children. Poverty that is a result of US policy. In an article titled “The Political Economy of the “Illegal Immigrant,” by Steve Martinot, he writes
As people immigrated to the United States, legally and illegally, particularly Hispanic workers, they began to look for jobs to provide for their families. They took jobs that Americans did not want: they accepted the low-paying, physically-demanding, and temporal agriculture jobs. Since many did not speak English and were uneducated, some even illiterate, they were easy targets for farm owners to exploit. Immigrant workers were often not paid, had low wages, and because of such conditions, some even died. In addition, they also lived and worked in appalling conditions, some workplaces did not even have suitab...
The other aspect is that illegal immigrants have positive effects in the U.S economy by decreasing consumer cost. Most of the illegal immigrants came to the U.S to fill the secondary labor market; therefore products and services become cheaper because illegal immigrants work for lower wages, thus providing a kind of subsidy to American consumers. Nadadur Ramanujan in his article “Illegal Immigrants” states that, “Because illegal immigrants serves to allow businesses to minimize their cost of production in the secondary sector, it positively impacts income of all native workers by decreasing
Undocumented immigrants are not legally permitted to work in the United states. The undocumented immigrants tend to get jobs that have low payment occupation like farming, and cleaning services. This jobs are where their legal status is less likely to be discovered. (Lynch and Oakford) Undocumented immigrants are now free to get the jobs deserve base on their skills. For example, an undocumented immigrants have a job like a cleaning service, but his or her skills are beyond that. After the legalization, he or she will have chance to apply for the higher
To begin, an illegal immigrant is defined as “an alien (non-citizen) who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa.”(“illegal immigrant”,def.1). It is important to first define “illegal immigrant” before continuing this discussion. Illegal immigration has progressively gotten worse throughout the years, and has lead some Americans to believe that illegal immigrants have caused major economic problems and continue shrink the domestic job market for foreign workers or more importantly United States citizens. But is that really the case? The current positive economic impact made by illegal immigrant workers is tremendous, if we decided to mass deport all of them, it would cripple the United States economy. Illegal immigrants provide the United States with low-wage workers that are difficult or even scarce to find. Which allows our businesses to provide us with products at a
Illegal immigrants in the United States usually come from less developed countries or at least poorly developed regions of these countries. These illegal immigrants carry a totally different knowledge of culture, legal system and human rights when they came into this country. The most these people are victimized is when they are working, sometimes, these people can't even realized when they have become victims. Because of their status, illegal immigrants, it is very rare that they can find good positions in considerably big companies to start with. Usually, small businesses will take the risk to hire illegal immigrants, sometimes it may be because of these small businesses are trying to help those illegal immigrants who share same nationality with them, but, for most of the time, these undocumented migrant workers are much cheaper and easier to manipulate.
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 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.
Since a long time ago immigrant families have been coming to the U.S. to seek a better life. The idea of the American Dream becomes shattered once they start dealing with all the obstacles to get to the United States from South or Central America. People start facing discrimination and are taken advantage of. Since their journey starts, immigrants face discrimination from everywhere they go; the people who help them cross over to the U.S. charge high amounts of money to help them come over. Once they get to the United States immigrants continue in the same pattern of being abused, and taken advantage of. It is important to mention that if people are moving from their own country of origin it must be because the conditions they are living in are worse than the ones they are willing to live in, by moving. People that decide to make the move and explore new ways of living are often faced with discrimination, wage-theft and poor health conditions. “Wage theft is particularly prevalent among immigrant workers, and ―work-related exploitation appears to be growing along with the country’s immigrant population.” (James Pinkerton,
Most of the United States (U.S) is comprised of immigrants—including those who have migrated to the States from another country and those whose ancestors freely travelled to the States in search of a fresh start. Every year, the U.S. grants a limited number of people around the world the opportunity to immigrate to the States each year. As a result of the restriction, citizens from neighboring countries cross the border illegally. According to an article by Jens Manuel Krogstad, 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants reside in the U.S. in 2014. This whopping number has stirred controversy both politically and economically for America’s government officials. As a result, many people argue whether illegal immigrants should or should not be aided
Today, in most cases, people don’t spend very much time thinking about why the society we live in presently, is the way it is. Most people would actually be surprised about all that has happened throughout America’s history. Many factors have influenced America and it’s society today, but one of the most profound ways was the way the “Old Immigrants” and “New Immigrants” came to America in the early to mid 1800s. The “Old Immigrants were categorized as the ones who came before 1860 and the “New Immigrants” being the ones who came between 1865 and 1920. The immigrants came to the United States, not only seeking freedom, but also education. Many immigrants also wanted to practice their religion without hindrance. What happened after the immigrants
The total cost to deport all of the people who entered the United States illegally adds up to being between 400-600 billion dollars (Swier). People do not get to choose where they are born or what they are born into, so despite coming into the States illegally, immigrants deserve a chance living in freely. Not everyone would be allowed to enter freely, there would be screening and other requirements involved in order to keep the country safe. Undocumented immigrants should have a pathway to citizenship being that it would help the economy, population, and create a more cultured country.
Illegal immigration is a complex issue that impacts the United States in many different ways, in particular the economy of the country is one that is impacted the most (Illegal immigration a $113 billion a year drain on U.S. taxpayers). Sanctuary cities have provided many safeguards to keep undocumented immigrants from being deported, thus creating many incentives for people outside the United States that are thinking of coming to the United States illegally. Illegal immigration is caused in part by sanctuary cities.
“In 2009, the U.S. admitted over 1.1 million legal immigrants, just 6.5 percent of whom possessed employment skills that in demand in the United States” (Report by Immigration Progress). American is a nesting ground for immigrants from all around the world. An important issue in the United States is the problem of illegal immigration. An illegal immigrant is someone who migrates to another country, and breaks the immigration laws of a destined nation. The United States has by far the most immigrants than any other country and this is a catalyst to many of the problem that America is facing today. Due to the increase in Immigration, there is an increase in poverty and economic downfall in the United States. Factors like education, job conflicts, welfare, and unemployment all play a vital role in proving the theory.
Given the fact that immigrants bring new products, technologies, medicines that creates jobs for many Americans, which they have always been the asset to the U.S labor force and economy. Through immigration, many have given a better opportunity to have a good life and find the job that can support their families. Overall, Immigrants are important not only in the economy but also globally. However, we can’t ignore the 11 million undocumented immigrants that taking advantage of all the resources and opportunities that this country has. They are ruining the good image of “immigrants” and causing more problems that lead to the security threat of everyone. Undocumented immigrants also benefit from the public services provided by the government which the taxpayers have a contribution to them. Also, cheap labor taken by the undocumented immigrants can have a negative impact on the market. Children of the undocumented immigrants can be a burden in U.S. public school, and lastly, undocumented immigrants create an ongoing security threat in
Children of illegal immigrants, it’s a controversial topic going on right now. Coming from a home were my mom is born in Mexico, I can relate to this situation. Children of illegal immigrants born in the United States are considered legal U.S. Citizens, this is set by the 14th amendment “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” The law and the government can deport illegal parents but not children born in the United States. Children of illegal immigrants or American-born children are considered U.S. citizens if born in the U.S., the president and many other legal counselors considered this untrue now and our trying to change the law.