Essay On Illegal Immigration

The prospect of employment in the United States has always been somewhat of an economic magnet drawing people in with the hopes of financial stability. With the rail road, world war II and agricultural work force demands, immigrants saw opportunities for more money and a better way of life. These events in our history along with others, have caused an increase in undocumented immigrants. As the immigration population started to increase American Citizens began to worry about the impact this would have on the economy.

Undocumented immigrants are foreign nationals who entered the United States without authorization or entered legally but remained in the United States without authorization. However, undocumented youth and students usually have no role in the decision to come to this country. They are usually brought to this country by their parents or relatives, generally due to economic hardship and they have spent more years in the United States than in their country of birth. (Baum, Flores, 2011) Over the years, undocumented immigration has grown tremendously in the United States. “Among the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants, a

America is deemed the land of the free and the home of the brave. The very fabric of this great nation was built upon immigrants from the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock to the millions of immigrants landing at Ellis Island. America is known as a melting pot of many different cultures and ethnic groups with roughly 11.7 million illegal immigrants living here. There has been a long standing love/hate relationship with the issue of immigration. It has long been debated as to whether or not we should continue to allow immigrant into our country so freely.

Illegal immigration is the migration of people across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. Some countries have millions of illegal immigrants. Immigration, including illegal immigration, is overwhelmingly upward, from a poorer to a richer country. The easy definition of an undocumented immigrant is someone who was not born in the United States and therefore has no legal right to be or remain in the United States. Not all undocumented immigrants snuck across the border illegally. Although it is hard to get an accurate number on the amount that did, some undocumented immigrants originally came here legally as tourists or some came on a temporary visa and just did not leave. The reasons on why they decided to stay and not go back to their countries are numerous. Some immigrants come to the United States to work and escape the poor economy in their country, while others come to be with their family. Whatever the reason may be, at the end of the day they all come here to achieve the american dream.

Undocumented workers help our economy by generating new jobs. An example of this can be seen in the following report made by Mehta et al., which states: “Undocumented immigrants in the Chicago metro area spending approximately $2.89 billion annually from their earnings. These annual expenditures of $2.89 billion generate an additional $2.56 billion in local spending. Therefore, the direct, indirect, and induced spending of undocumented workers accounts for a total of $5.45 billion spent annually in the metro area economy, or 1.5% of the Gross Regional Product for 2001. This spending generates 31,908 additional jobs in the local economy.” This report shows how greatly this marginalized group contributes to our economy, although they are not legal residents of this country. Pointing out this fact leads to the argument that legalizing all of these immigrants will help our economy even more than what they already do, since it means that more people will be paying taxes which means that more money will be collected from those

For many years, people from all over the world have come to the United States seeking a better life for themselves, their spouse, their children and even their children's children. However, not every immigrant comes into this country legally and many of these illegal immigrants are poor, uneducated and may be carrying contagious diseases. They may arrive here via human trafficking, smuggling or other methods. There is one thing we know for sure that many of them choose to remain silence when they become victims. The three main reasons they become invisible victims are they are not aware they are victimized, they don't know the right way to ask for help and they are afraid to be fired or even deported.

Put yourself in the place of an undocumented immigrant or a family member. Would you then advocate for amnesty? Amnesty, which is a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, has been a very controversial topic that has been debated since the foundation of the United States. People argue against amnesty because according to their sources they take jobs from American citizens. They are violating the law of the United States and they live of taxpayer dollars. Should illegal immigrants be granted a pathway to citizenship? Yes, they should because illegal immigrants will stimulate the economy, most illegal immigrants are otherwise law abiding and the amount of illegal immigrants in the united states

12). A 2007 study on immigrants in Arkansas found that the total economic impact of Arkansas’ one hundred thousand, fifty one percent undocumented, on the state economy is nearly three billion dollars (Willis par. 5). Texas comptroller study found that the one million four hundred thousand undocumented immigrants living in Texas in 2005 contributed 17.7 billion dollars to the state economy (Willis par. 5). Illegal immigrants also take low paying jobs. Most Americans do not like to wash dishes, bust tables, and mop floors, but those are jobs that need to be done. Employers always have trouble finding regular employees to do that kind of work, which is also usually low paying. Americans are not willing to work them whereas the illegal immigrants are. When businesses have trouble filling positions of low skill jobs they only have two choices, raise the wage rate high enough to fill jobs or eliminate positions (Gheen par. 14). Businesses must then raise the prices of their items to make up the difference. Higher prices that the customers of those businesses will end up paying for. Illegal immigration also improves the overall image of America. No other country in the world has the diversity of races,

Next, a study by Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda states that using a comprehensive immigration plan that involves giving current undocumented immigrants legal status would benefit the country with 1.5 trillion dollars in additional GDP growth over 10 years while increasing wages for all workers. Additionally, tax revenue would be increased by 4.5+ billion dollars over three years. The same study shows the cost of mass deportation, which is 2.6 trillion dollars in lost GDP over 10 years while increased wages for less-skilled workers. These undocumented immigrants certainly have a heavy influence regarding the economy, and it may be beneficial to incorporate them by granting amnesty as opposed to other solutions such as mass deportation. With legal status, the 11 million undocumented individuals can be more productive and help further strengthen the U.S. economy.

Illegal immigrants help boost the United States economy by paying some taxes. Like American citizens, illegal immigrants may pay local, state, and federal taxes including sales tax that helps support government services that they may not be able to access (Ewing 9). Since more American citizens are becoming aware of the benefits of an education, openings are being created for illegal immigrants in low paying jobs (Nadadur 1037-1052). Americans, unlike illegal immigrants, have more diverse careers. Aliens are more concentrated in specific job areas, resulting in a decrease in immigrant labor cost. This helps boost the United States’ economy (Carter 777-795). Of the approximate eleven million illegal immigrants in the U.S., most work in labor intensive jobs. Careers such as construction and agriculture tend to attract illegal aliens and they account for about twenty-five percent of the work force in these areas (Ewing 9). Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve admits that illegal immigrants help improve the United States economy and does not suggest turning them away (qtd. in Quindlen 90). Anna Quindlen, in her article “Newcomers By Numbers,” agrees with Bernanke and believes that immigrants are the factor that helps keep prices low. She also adds that immigrants are not causing American citizens unemployment, but are simply taking the low wage jobs that citizens are not willing to do and even boosting the economy (90).

Immigration has always been and will always be a topic in the media. While the online Merriam-Webster defines the word immigrants as a person who comes to a country to live there, the urban dictionary define immigrants as what every inhabitant of the USA is, except the Native Americans. Many people have different views on aliens, whether legal or illegal. Even though there are different types of aliens, people usually make the mistake to classify them all as one. Aliens are of the other names used to refer immigrants. The different types of alien’s classification are as followed: a legal alien, a nonresident alien, a resident alien, and enemy alien and an illegal alien. A legal alien is a non-citizen who is allowed to stay in the country for example researchers, business workers. A nonresident alien is a non-citizen who is visiting the country for work, leisure, or to seek medical purposes. A resident alien is an alien have temporary residential status in the country. An enemy alien is someone visiting from a country that an enemy and an illegal alien is an immigrant who reside in the country unlawful. These people usually sneak in through the borders and some just over stay their welcome. When it comes to immigrants, many people talk about all of them in general and all those people usually have different point of view. Because the United States was built on immigrants, some

Every year, around one million people are immigrating into the United States both legally and illegally. As of now nearly 40 million immigrants live in the United States; 11.5 million of which came to the country illegally (CNN). That is nearly thirteen percent of the total United States population. The role the United States government plays in the handling of immigration from foreign countries both legal and illegal, plays a vital role in the security of the people of the United States and

Illegal immigration is a “hot” topic in our country. There is controversy between the state and federal governments over who has authority, and our elected officials in Washington are addressing the issue, with limited success. The majority of us have some opinion on the subject, and our opinions tend to be based on how the issue will impact us. We question if illegal immigration is good for us. What are the costs to us? Is it in the best interest of our country? As nearly twelve million people have secretly slipped across the border to invade our space, our concerns have increased. While our concerns are important, we should not limit ourselves to a one-sided view. Only by understanding both sides of the issue, will we be inspired

The United States has long served as a refuge for people who seek to escape hunger, poverty, torture, and the oppression of the human spirit in their own countries. However, the issue of immigration in the United States has become a political flashpoint since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The sacralization of the tragedy has served to paint all immigrants with the same fear-ladened brush, and has marginalized and stereotyped an already vulnerable population. Today, more than ever, immigrants in the United States face increasing stressors as they try to assimilate in a politically charged post 9/11 world. To be an effective social worker, immigration issues and multicultural awareness is critical. Mary and Mario, a couple who

Throughout the history of the United States immigration has become apart of our country’s fabric which, began centuries ago. Only to become a hot topic in the US in recent years with its primary focus being illegal immigrants. Illegal immigration is when people enter a country without government permission. As of 2008 the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that there are 11 million illegal immigrants in the US which is down from 2007‘s 12.5 million people. Although the Center for Immigration Studies estimates are very different from other estimates that range from 7 to 20 million. While the Pew Hispanic Center estimated in March of 2009 there are 11.1 million illegal immigrants and that number is from March 2007’s peak of 12