Premium Essay

Should the United States Allow More People to Immigrate Here Legally?

In:

Submitted By liberty260
Words 902
Pages 4
Between the years of 2005-2010 6,721,3701 people were granted legal permanent residency in the United States, on top of that another 6,706,8931* people were admitted here as temporary workers or trainees. With the U.S. experiencing such a large surge in immigration many are concerned about what type of affects such an influx of immigrants will have on our economy and if should we continue to allow so many foreign born people to settle or work here? In an effort to counter these concerns some will argue that immigration actually benefits our economy and therefore we should treat immigration the same as we do international free trade and not limit it. Nevertheless, research has shown that on average when immigration levels are too high the average wage of workers is lowered. Considering the high current unemployment rate not only does this negatively affect native born Americans but also incoming immigrants, thus immigration levels should be reduced.

A study done by Harvard Economist George J. Borjas shows that, “immigration lowers the wage of competing workers: a 10 percent increase in supply reduces wages by 3 to 4 percent.”2 According to Borjas this wage decrease can be primarily explained by applying the basic economic theory of supply and demand. This theory states that if the supply of a product increases and demand does not, then the price for that product must decrease as a result. This principle also holds true for labor market as well, if the amount of people able to compete for the same job increases, yet the number of jobs remains the same then the amount a company will have to pay for that job decreases because there are more people to fill the void. On top of that immigrants usually come from countries that have a lower standard of living and which are less

economically stable, therefore they are usually willing to do the same job Americans do but

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Illegal Immigration Understanding

...courage, your boldness, and your talent” (qtd. in “Speech,” pars.12). Sarkozy is correct about the American ideal, it has driven millions of people here for the past 200 years. because this ideal is what drives millions of people since the first settlers came in 1492 to America. For some immigrants, this drive for a better life is so strong that they risk and sacrifice their lives in their attempts to attain it. For example, some immigrants are willing to come to America illegally. Norbert Santana, a writer for The Orange County Register, writes “the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the Pew Hispanic Center and the Center for Immigration Studies generally agree there are about 12 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S.” (pars. 18). There is no accurate method of counting how many illegal immigrants actually live in America; however, there are enough here to cause conflicts. Some illegal immigrants come to America for a few years to make money, and then they take their fortunes back home, while others come to live and to raise their families. All of these immigrants are unwelcome by many Americans because they perceive the immigrants illegal entry into the United States (U.S.) as a blatant disregard of the law. Many of these same Americans also believe that once Immigrant and Custom Enforcement (ICE) finds illegal immigrants, the U.S. government should deport them back to Mexico. Some Americans feel that illegal immigrants hurt the economy by stealing jobs from unemployed Americans and...

Words: 1929 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Iiligal Immigration

...the beginning of civilization, Immigration has spread ideas, beliefs, and cultures to many different countries. Furthermore, it has also made the United States of America what it is today. Immigrants come to the United States for many different reasons. Many come for another chance or a new beginning. Others come for jobs and money, to escape a war, education, or just for freedom. All immigrants come for the hope of living the “American Dream” as a citizen of the United States. The 14th amendment in the Constitution of the United States defines citizenship as “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” (The Constitution of the United States). Many immigrants come into America legally with the required papers, but others sneak past the borders illegally. However, over the past few years immigration into the United States has increased dramatically and is turning into a very big problem to many. Even though the United States of America were established by immigrants many Americans are against the immigration policy in the United States, some accept it and encourage it, and others want to give everyone an equal opportunity. The fact that immigration into the United States has greatly increased over the past few years worries many all across America. These people are against mass immigration and think the United States should begin to cut back on the amount of immigrants granted entry into America in order to preserve our security and culture. “We need to control immigration...

Words: 1307 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Immigration Reform in the Usa

...Nery Mejia Ms. Ybarra English 1301 24 April 2015 Immigration Reform in the United States: What would you do if you lived in a country with fewer opportunities and options for a better future, and you wanted to improve your life? Would you immigrate to developed countries like the United States, either legally or illegally? That is what many of our ancestors have done. We can look at the past and present history in the United States. As humans we immigrate to other places due to many reasons often searching for better pay, family, and to find opportunities to be successful. At this time, “about 11.7 million undocumented immigrants are living in the United States illegally, a population that has not varied much over the last three years but may recently be increasing again, according to new estimates published by the Pew Research Center Hispanic Trends Project.” Most of the undocumented people, have families and want to live permanently in the U.S. Some people say they should not be here and the U.S. government should send them back to their country because they came illegally (breaking our laws). However, others believe that the U.S. government should pass the new law proposed by President Obama legalizing all undocumented immigrants already here, with no criminal records, to give them a chance to live here as legal residents to have the opportunity to work legally. For the undocumented who have families to continue to live without fear of being deported...

Words: 1320 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Compromised Solution to Illegal Immigration

...A Compromised Solution to Illegal Immigration The issue of illegal immigration is certainly a very pertinent and current issue of today. Currently there are two resolutions to the issue being proposed by the Democrats and the Republican parts. The Democratic plan works to try and legalize all those who are here illegally, whereas the Republican backed plan seeks to enforce the laws that we all ready have in place. Although both plans have advantages and disadvantages, the Republican backed plan seems to be a superior plan. The illegal immigration problem that is occurring in the United States is a mass crossing of the Southern boarder by Mexican and other central American residents. The number of illegal crossings is estimated to be close to one million a year (State Laws Related to Immigration and Immigrants 1). This number is only an estimate though, and only around 500,000 aliens, or people caught illegally in other countries, are apprehended each year meaning that the number could be even larger(1). These large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country brings with it great risk and danger to us. Every year U.S. citizens living along the boarder are killed by illegals crossing into the U.S. , as well as many Boarder patrol agents who are killed and wounded in the line of duty (U.S. Immigration Policy 1). The illegals crossing also usually bring many illegal substances, such as drugs and guns, which are then sold on the black market in the U.S.. Fears are also mounting...

Words: 1092 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Conflict Diagnosis in the News Paper

...Conflict Diagnosis in the News Paper Frankie Hofmann Com/470 John Murphy Conflict Diagnosis in the News Paper Immigration has been a front running story in the United States for years, why don’t we let them in American or why should we let them in America, and or why don’t they just follow the rules to get in American. All of the questions are asked by America and there is always conflicting answer to go with those conflicting question. This paper will be analyzing the conflicting reason why people what or do not want immigrates in America using conflict diagnoses and the conflicting resolution of the immigrations conflict in America. Conflict diagnosis will be cover a number of things like describing the conflict, identify the cause of the conflict, analyze interests, Characterize the conflict, Consider trust, Identify impediments to settlement, Identify/maximize the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), and Consider diversity issues (Zee Pedia , 2014). This conflict of can be described as the American people vs the American people, the American people vs the American government, and the Immigrants vs the American government these are all the parties involved in this conflict. Next step is to understand why each group believes in what they believe to cause the conflict. Why do immigrants what to come to America so bad, so bad to risk not only their lives but their children and their wives/mothers lives? Most immigrants say the same thing “Immigrants...

Words: 1453 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Essay On Open Borders

...What would happen if the United States suddenly stopped building walls and instead flung open its borders, not unlike the European Union has done among the member countries of the common market? Conservatives malign the notion and liberals, even radical ones, haven’t exactly embraced the “open borders” concept. Open borders are the norm for borders between subdivisions within the boundaries of sovereign states, though some countries do have controlled borders within the boundaries of the state (for example in the People's Republic of China between the mainland and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau). Open borders are also usual between member states of federations (such as the United States of America), though again in some instances movement between member states may be controlled...

Words: 1590 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Immigration Reform Research Paper

...Immigration Between Reforms and Reinforcement We need them out. No, you can’t say that. It is the same debit is going on for many years in the united states. Mexicans have the biggest share of these debates, obviously because Mexico is the country on the borders that suffers economically, politicly and in many other aspects that will make the united states the haven for Mexicans, even though if they will have to stay in the united states illegally. I tried to find my answers to the issue by looking into articles that talk with numbers and facts more than feelings, but it was not an easy job because most if these articles will try to predict the future, and they are suggesting soli-tons no one before tried yet, they were only successful...

Words: 1769 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Imigration Laws

...this country or to what level they will be able to contribute to the economy. With a country changing its primary industry to advanced technology and less low skilled manufacturing the ratio of immigrant coming into the country should mirror that demand. With 11 million illegal unskilled laborers living in this country and still growing something has to change. Even though politicians are unable to agree on the correct approach to fixing the immigration problems Immigration laws need to be changed. Over the years there have been many changes in immigration laws but many of them failed. For example in 2005 the real identification (ID) act was mandating that all states would be required to enforce requirements for state-issued drivers’ licenses. In 2006 many of the states started looking into the cost associated with the new real ID act. Many states were not happy with the cost associated with the new act and did not want to enforce it. On, “September 21, 2006, the National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators released a report that judged the cost to the states of implementing REAL ID to be more than $11 billion over five years.” (Stock, 2007). As the states began to implement the new lice sensing rules legal immigrants started to have difficulty in obtaining new or renewed licenses. In New Hampshire a class action was filled by immigrants. The immigrants won the class action against...

Words: 1425 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Policy Analysis I

...in the United States that has been a constant issue for many years. The issues of illegal immigration are described as the migration of foreign citizens into the United States of America. This is done through illegal routes, such as hiding on boats porting in the United States, crossing through miles of treacherous terrain illegally to jump the borders of Mexico, and violating the agreement of a tourist visa as well as illegally boarding planes bound for the United States. It is a known fact that the men and women who enter this country do not meet the legal requirements to enter the United States from foreign countries. The research conducted will describe the issues of illegal immigration, whether the current policy is a regulatory or legislative-initiated policy, and the issue with the policy. A review of the possible constitutional violations will be described as well as if this issue or policy will affect the community, the accused, and the victims of any crimes committed by the illegal immigrants. The Issue The policy makers of the American government typically will take multiple routes in taking care of these issues before needing to develop a policy that will assist in combatting the concerns of the government. The existing immigration policies have been active for many years and for that same amount of time the policies have been questioned and scrutinized. The problems arising from illegal immigration have shown the violation of legal laws on both a state and federal...

Words: 1991 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Undocumented Immigrants Research Paper

...a legal right to be or remain in the United States. Two different views of the ethical concerns regarding the duty for health care coverage for undocumented immigrants are offered. There are opposing positions on this issue, each have many interesting facts and rationale to defend their views. However, I will add that it is interesting that one view is from medical doctors and the other is from a justice with the federal court of appeals. The first article is through the eyes of doctors Rajeev Raghavan and Ricardo Nuila. They believe that standardized coverage should be allowed for undocumented immigrants. They share a patient’s story with Irreversible kidney failure whom is an undocumented immigrant. They suggest that coverage would alleviate the burden on taxpayers. The second position is shared by David W....

Words: 1192 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Social Security & Reproduction in the United States

...but it is a basic need that we aren’t meeting here in the United States. Corning lists it as one of the fourteen basic needs because it is crucial for the survival of the species and will cause a variety of harms if it is not satisfied. It’s common knowledge that in order for a species to survive, it must reproduce itself. This applies to the human race as well. In the long-term, consequences of not enough reproduction could be extinction as we know it. However, more realistically, in the short term, it is essential for normal day-to-day and economic productivity. If there aren’t enough people around in your age group due to low reproduction, social relations become difficult, and so does communication. Economically, if there aren’t enough people participating in the market, then it will grow unstable. On an individual level, once a child is raised in a family, there will be an economic return in them providing for that individual later. This could be accomplished through direct interaction from child to parent, or from someone receiving benefits from someone else’s child from the Social Security Administration after retirement. That is the focus here. If we cannot successfully reproduce over the next generation, then there won’t be enough workers to attend to the retirees from the previous generation that rely on Social Security. This makes reproduction a need. Why it isn’t being met in the United States. In the United States, we have a very slim rate of population growth...

Words: 3196 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Immigration

...controversial issue within our society. There are families within our society that are made up of parents that are here illegally but have children who are born here and are citizens. But it is these citizens that are what I am referring to as the incomplete citizens. Who are these incomplete citizens and why are they being impacted by our society? Are there different stipulations for these children that are born to these undocumented families? Do they really receive the same rights as those born to U.S. citizens? Our societies including our politicians have different opinions about illegal immigration. Immigration reform negatively affects those children that are born to undocumented parents. They find themselves facing adversities that had the situation been different would never have to face. Working in an elementary school I have seen first hand how those children are affected as a result of their parent’s legal status. My purpose in this research is to show the emotional, educational, and financial effects that are inflicted on the undocumented families. This is a problem that is not going to be resolved overnight but rather this is a problem that is going to need help from the various disciplines. With this research more information will be found to present how children are affected through the different disciplines and how these disciplines integrate and can have a more insightful understanding of the issues at hand. The four disciplines that I will focus on will by communication...

Words: 4046 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Studennt

...Bill 1070 into law in order to resolve immigration problems in her state (McFayden, 2011). It is one of the toughest pieces of legislation in the nation. SB 1070 allows Arizona law enforcement to stop, detain, and arrest any undocumented immigrants if the officers have a “reasonable suspicion.” This law not only makes it a crime to be in the Arizona illegally, but also a crime to transport or hire someone for employment as well (McFayden, 2011). Judicial Watch (2011) pointed out that Arizona has a right to defend itself under the Constitution if the federal government fails to stop illegal immigrants from crossing its border. In addition, this article confirmed that the creating of SB 1070 complied with the relevant federal, state and local laws, the Arizona Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution. The SB 1070 complements the immigration law rather than usurping the federal jurisdiction. It protects the American citizens and the legal immigrants in Arizona through a legislation that is enforceable against the illegal immigrants, the employers who engage in hiring the illegal immigrants, and those who are involved in transporting the illegal immigrants. Arizona Senate Bill 1070 Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act Introduction On April 23, 2010 Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070 into law (McFayden, 2011). The key part of the Arizona law is Section 2(B) that states if a police officer has a reasonable suspicion that an individual who...

Words: 1781 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Immigration Law

...Changes Need to Be Made Illegal immigrants go through a rigid journey to cross the border into the United States of America. Crossing the border successfully does not mean the journey is over for these illegal immigrants, their life of living in the shadows is just beginning. In the article “America’s Divide,” it discusses the debated immigration reform legislation, which has been projected in the U.S. Senate, and well as the U.S. House of Representatives. This article tells the story of Irma Palacios’ story of her family and their legal status. It is not uncommon for legal immigrants to have family that have diverse statuses for legality. In Irma’s family she has members that are legal through birth, permanent residents, naturalized citizens, and some, like her brother-in-law Raymundo, undocumented immigrants. Raymundo, among others, are burdened with the stress of living a life unseen. He cannot achieve his full potential because he is stuck doing the work that citizens of the United States do not want to do, such a working in the fields and hard labored factory working. With the status of being undocumented, if he was to lose his job he does not get unemployment, and when he has a job his wages a lower than they should be. Raymundo stresses about is immigration status to a point where he will get a rash on his body. He has a wife and a child who are citizens of the United States, and if he gets caught, he will be sent back to Mexico away from his family. “Field of Tears,” is...

Words: 2782 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Immigration

...llegal 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 utilize and add to taxpayers. Then contrary to the negative impacts, the positive impacts reveal benefits of low production costs, increases in the local market sales, undocumented tax generation, impact on growth and employment brought forth by illegal immigrants. These impacts, both negative and positive, are independently analyzed and weighed against each other. The discussion does show a slight net positive impact on the US economy in contrast to the normal belief about illegal immigrants. There was a time when people came freely and settled within the land, but as societies became more civilized and community laws established, immigration became a point of concern for the advanced societies. They did not just want any person to enter the...

Words: 2703 - Pages: 11