Unauthorized Immigration

Illegal immigrants in the United States (US) have long been a topic of debate for policymakers and the public. The rationale about them is that they do not pay taxes; they add to the costs of taxpayers and use up funds in resources meant for assisting citizens and legal immigrants (the legal citizens). Therefore, they are perceived as a threat to the US economy. The true impacts of illegal immigrants on the US economy are discussed by debating over the economic benefits as well as economic costs of these immigrants. The negative impacts, discussed first, presented the decreases in low skilled jobs’ wage rates for legal immigrants and citizens instigated by illegal immigrants, the social services such as educations and healthcare that they

The last 10 years of U.S. economy can be seen by the impact of immigrant reform in different scenarios. In 2013, undocumented immigrants have been granted legal status; citizenship has helped to increase the U.S. GDP and would accumulate by an additional $1.4 trillion compared to the 10 years in between the 2013 to 2022. This earning will give a chance for the Americans some additional earnings of $791 billion at the same period as a personal income, in which the economy would create job opportunities, about 203,000 new jobs per year. In these years the undocumented immigrants will earn about 25.1 percent more than the current earnings of the immigrants. These earnings show that they will be contributing significantly to the federal, local, and state taxes which will add to tax revenue in 10 years with $185 billion to $116 billion for the USA federal government as well as $68 billion to the state and local government (Stuart Anderson,2011).

In the United States of America there are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the U.S. Many industries depend heavily on immigrant labor , legal and illegal, to achieve productivity. The construction industry, nationally , employ at a fast rate about 1,000,000 illegal immigrants; almost one in five illegal immigrants work major industries. (Passel,2006). Immigrant reform will undoubtedly reduce the supply of illegal immigrant by encouraging enforcement of current laws by creating new legislation with harsher penalties for illegal immigration. The enforcement of the new laws will allow for industries to allow employers to recruit and hire foreign born workers only with signs of identification. However for the industries

An issue that many undocumented immigrants face in the U.S. is unemployment and economical disparities. It is important to focus on the challenges Latino immigrants encounter in the workforce. Immigrants do not account for the majority of Latino workers in the United States. Since the recession the economy has not restored all the jobs that were lost. Jobs being added are hardly keeping ahead the other supply of workers. Most of the jobs recovered are being occupied by U.S. born workers. According to the article Latino Jobs Growth Driven By U.S. Born, Rakesh Kochhar states “ U.S.-born Hispanics gained 2.3 million jobs in the recovery, compared with a loss of 37,000 jobs in the recession. For Hispanic immigrants, the 453,000 jobs gained in

This means that in the working class most affected by immigration, the least educated and least skilled native-born Americans, the changes in wages are hardly noticeable due to immigrants. In actuality, the “overall low-skilled native wages are 2.4 percent lower as a result of immigration” (Orrenius 21). Additionally, in many cases the job or profession is one that would not appeal to a native-born American, such as lawn services, construction, or janitorial work. This supply of cheap labor actually benefits American

The US labor force would not survive if it was not for illegal immigrants. If there were no illegal immigrants our labor force would decrease by four percent (Isidore 5). “We could not have grown as much as we did in the 1990s if we did not have immigrants… our growth would have been slower (Isidore 5).” Having illegal immigrants in our labor force increases the amount of resources we have, which increases the amount of production in the country. “Some economists discuss that not only do U.S. consumers benefit from lower prices as an outcome of the low wages most immigrants are paid, but that the convenience of lower-wage labor helps create more work for higher-skilled, higher-paid workers who are generally born in the US (Isidore 14).” Illegal immigrants are opening up higher wage jobs, because they take over the lower wage jobs. Many immigrants take jobs in the field of construction, agriculture

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.

This also reported that the average immigrant contributes around $120,000 more in taxes than what they consume in public services. David Card of the University of California discovered that “immigration yields a 5% increase in overall wage quality” (Manhattan Institute). Immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants, tend to be employed in low-skilled, labor-intensive careers. The notion that migrant workers “steal” jobs from honest, hard working Americans is rapidly being disproved; an American Community Survey done in 2013 revealed that the top two jobs for immigrant workers without high school diplomas were positions as maids and housecleaners, with line cooks coming in a close second. However, the top two occupations for native workers were cashiers and truck drivers (Tanvi Misra, City Lab). The results are clear: undocumented immigrants and native born workers are not competing for the same jobs. These positions need to be occupied, and more often than not it is immigrants who fulfill them; they do not just stabilize the economy, they are actually proven to enhance it.

The first program was held in the year 1995. Mexico is not included in the DV program, from the first year because of sending so many immigrants to the U.S. Between 1965 and 2015 more than 16 million Mexican immigrants migrated to the United States.From 2009 to 2014,1 million immigrants returned to Mexico while 870,000 arrived in the United States. Immigration has peaked in 2007 to 6.9 million. There were 5.4 million Mexican unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. in 2015 and 5,7 million in 2016.

Nadadur, Ramanujan. "Illegal Immigration: A Positive Economic Contribution to the United States." Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies 35.6 (2009): 1037-1052. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Nov.

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).

For ages, the United States has seemed to be the country where people seek to move to for a better life. The United States was built on immigrants. People have always migrated to the United States both legally and illegally. The main problem the country has face with immigrants is the amount that trespass the border illegally. Illegal immigration is the unlawful act of crossing a national border(Illegal Immigration Pros and Cons). The illegal immigrant population keeps growing at an annual average of about 300,000 people(Currie 10). In the recent year of 2014, there were about 11.3 million undocumented people living in the United States(Krogstad). Many have asked what harm they do to both the economy and the American citizen. Although there are many arguments as to how much harm they cause, there are as many arguments stating illegal immigration benefits the United States. Illegal immigration has a positive impact in the United States within the consumers, the working class, and the overall economy.

Over the past two decades the number of low-skilled workers in the United States has increased because of immigration, both legal and illegal. (Chiswick, 2006)

Immigration is important for the growth of the economy because it’s a major contributions towards the economy. The United States has often been referred to as a global melting pot due to its assimilation of diverse cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities. Today, this metaphor may be an understatement. Edstam and Carlson an immigration activists reports that, without the extra work and consumption provided by immigrants, the economy of the United States would collapse. They include in the article saying that, despite the common notion that immigrants steal jobs from Americans, the 2005 Economic Report shows that The Federal Reserve in fact recently raised its benchmark interest rate because it observed a strengthening U.S. economy with reduced unemployment, rising wages and some labor shortages Immigrants continue to strengthen local economies through their higher productivity and increased consumption (Edstam and Carlson). An article by Savajlenka added, Studies show that competition with American workers among immigrants is very minimal and limited to the unskilled labor. Therefore, Savajlenka immigration analyst states that, “Numerous studies have documented that immigrants are needed to replace the large number of retiring Baby Boomers and that the future growth of the U.S. workforce will come from immigrants and their children” (Savajlenka). This is an additional like a shot in occupations that presently use several older employees, like janitorial and truck driving

The proponents to accepting these illegal immigrants and granting them citizenship believe that the undocumented workers provide a vital asset to our nation’s economy. Bardow suggests that many immigrants help to create jobs and drive innovation. According to employers with entry-level positions, the American labor force is unwilling to work at those positions. Nor, will they accept the salaries paid to undocumented workers. Proponents are also sympathetic to the quality of life the immigrants are experiencing in their home countries, the costs they must incur to reach our country, and the contributions these workers are making in our homes and businesses. An article in Pro/Con states that although “the wages for low-skilled worker go down’, but ‘the rest