Rebuttal Of Article Paper

Dwight Dundas

BCOM/275

4/28/2014

Doris Savron

“Legalizing illegal immigrants is a bad idea.” So reads the headline of an article written for the Chicago Tribune by Dave Seminara (February 08, 2013). First I must state that I disagree with the author’s opinion in this article. The legalization of immigrants isn't a bad idea. Aside from my personal opinion, there are many studies that have shown this to be a good move for our country. The author, Mr. Seminara, made several points throughout the article to justify his opinion. Some of his title points included, “It’s not just going to be 11 million”, “Shadowy people aren't going to come out of the shadows”, Jobs Americans won't do, and “We already have guest worker programs that don't work”.

According to Mr. Seminara, “A substantial percentage of illegal immigrants are here alone, and once they get green cards, they will be able to petition for their wives and children to join them in the U.S. And if they become U.S. citizens, they will also be able to petition for their siblings and parents” he also goes on to say that “11 million migrants could result in possibly 30 million new arrivals”. This conclusion from Mr. Seminara sounds like more an sensationalized theory, than actual fact. He offers no supportive data to prove how 11 million illegal immigrants will become 30 million, nor does he state how long the number would take to grow from 11 to 30 million. However, if his numbers are indeed correct, our country would actually benefit from the additional work force. According to an article written in The Washington Post by Brad Plumer (September 6, 2013) “Baby boomers are starting to retire en masse, which means that there are fewer eligible American workers” This statement from this author makes perfect sense, because it is common knowledge that the baby boom generation are at retirement age, and is doubtful that there would enough citizens to fill the employment gap that they will leave behind.

Mr. Seminar also states that “One of the primary justifications for the so-called path to citizenship is that it's unwise for us to have people living here who might want to do us harm and not know who they are. But the notion that criminals or terrorists will come forward and submit to a series of government background checks is fanciful”. Again there is no data referenced in this article that proves this assumption to be factual. I can imagine that if someone is not able to find a job or further their education because of their illegal status, they would be more likely to turn to crime. According to an article posted on judicialwatch.org (JANUARY 30, 2009) which references information published by the Justice Department’sNational Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC), an FBI task force created in 2005 to curb the growing threat of violent gangs in the U.S, “Criminal street gangs—mostly comprised of illegal immigrants—are responsible for the majority of violent crimes in the United States and are the primary distributors of most illicit drugs”. If we give people the opportunity to get an education, and a job to provide for their families, it is my belief that they will be less likely to turn to a life of crime, because they will be able to earn money the legal way.

Another point in Mr. Seminar’s article is “Proponents of an amnesty for illegal immigrants often claim illegal immigrants do tough, low-paying jobs that Americans and legal immigrants won't do”. “Illegal immigrants are currently limited to working for employers who pay in cash and don't ask questions, but with an amnesty, they'll be competing for jobs in the mainstream labor market with less educated Americans, who are already struggling with wage stagnation and a tight labor market” According to Mr. Seminara’s statement, illegal immigrants are forced to do jobs that they are over qualified for. Even though he provides no data to support this, lets just assume that this statement was true. Wouldn’t our country benefit from having more skilled workers to fill jobs verses being forced to fill open positions with employees who might be less qualified? To worry about immigrants taking jobs away from American citizens, would totally keep our industries stagnant. If anything, I believe that it will propel “citizens” to become more resourceful, educated and skilled.

The last point I would like to cover from Mr. Seminara’s article is “We already have guest worker programs that don't work”. He supports this statement with the following “Employers know how to game the system to create a phony case that American workers are unavailable”. “The new system will only intensify the "in-sourcing" trend where U.S. employers import cheaper guest workers for jobs they can't outsource” As usual Mr. Seminara has no supporting data for his statements. I personally have met many people who possess skilled worker visas, and are compensated equally with their American counterparts. I can also mention that I have had the experience of applying for jobs that did not want to hire anyone who required sponsorship because of the additional cost to the company. It is my belief that companies value their reputation too much to involve themselves in illegal activity just to secure cheaper labor. The bad publicity a company would receive for being involved in an unethical immigration practice would be too high a price to pay. The article “Is America falling behind the skilled worker race?” by Neil Ruiz and Shyamali Choudhury, Special to CNN, states that “The search for skills has been a daunting task for U.S. companies trying to find the right person to fill well paying and highly skilled jobs”. “A high-skilled workforce is an essential input to economic growth in the fast-growing knowledge economy, and specialized skills – often requiring education or experience in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – are critical to supporting innovation in fields as diverse as computers, medicine, and communication”.

The points made by Mr. Seminara’s are nothing more than statements with no real data to support his thesis. Mr. Seminara who graduated from Villanova University with a B.A. in Management/International Business is not qualified to speak on a topic like immigration. I have referenced factual information from many sources that contradicts the statements made by Mr. Seminara. All have agreed that the American workforce and its companies would greatly benefit from additional people as well as skilled workers.