Since the 18th century, there has been a significant amount of immigration to the United States. However, with more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US, illegal immigration is one of the biggest problems of the day. Some writers even contend that the unprecedented level of immigration that has caused a significant shift in society would be the most significant aspect of the 1990s history if it were to be written. (Camarota 19). Since the start of the 1990s, the impact of immigration has been so great that it has outweighed other concerns like the booming economy, Clinton's impeachment, or the GOP's control of Congress. Moreover, the issue of illegal immigrants has had different perspectives with some people arguing that the high number of individuals moving into the US indicate that the US is an attractive place socially, economically and politically. However, others argue that the large number of illegal immigrants only show that the borders of the US are not safe enough (Camarota 122).
Thesis
The Congress should pass the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act that the Senate passed in 2013 because it will improve immigration and more specifically, deal with illegal immigration.
Pros of the Senate Bill in Addressing Illegal Immigration
The Senate had passed the bill on Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act with an overwhelming 68-32 margin (United States Congress). Although the bill died in the 113th congress, the senate bill would go a long way in solving the illegal immigrant’s crisis in the US. The bill provided for a 13-year pathway to US citizenship for all the unauthorised immigrants. The provision meant that all the illegal immigrants who moved to the US before 2012, has never committed any serious crime, had passed the background check, paid the fees and fine as required would be given a permanent resident status as a citizen of the United States.
The first step to ensuring permanent residency would rid the immigrants the worry that they could be arrested, deported or detained at any time (United States Congress). It would also give them a chance to gain legal work in the US to help them improve their life status. The Senate bill also allowed the immigrants who got the RPI status to apply for permanent residency after three years. Moreover, the bill also worked out for the young undocumented immigrants below 16 years and agricultural workers who moved to the US. The provision of the permanent residency status for these illegal immigrants would help the government monitor any new illegal immigrants into the country and deal with the numbers in an easier way.
The Senate bill also aimed at protecting families and if it were passed, very few families and communities would be torn apart. The act allowed the unauthorized immigrants who were to be removed from the US, to return later and gain an RPI status especially is they were below 16 years, had a spouse or a parent who had obtained legal permanent residence in the US (United States Congress). The bill also considered the implementation of a new merit-based visa category which would clear the backlog of more than 4million people who have waited for decades to access a family or employer sponsored visa. As such, the aim of the bill is not to separate families but to accommodate them into the US. If the government can control the illegal immigrants who are already in the US, it will give it an upper hand in the regulation of new arrivals into the country.
Opponents of the bill have argued that it leads to economic stagnation and degradation for the US Natives because the available jobs are only given to the immigrants who are willing to take cheaply paying jobs. However, the enactment of the bill would only lead to the growth of the US economy because the reform would lead to a cumulative $1.2 million into the economy. As such, this would increase the overall income for the US by $625 billion and allow for the creation of about 145,000 jobs annually (United States Congress). The Congressional Budget Office Data which is the centre for American Progress showed that the Congress House does not pay immigration reform costs. To put this into perspective, the US had missed out on $26.8 billion since 2013 when the Senate passed the bill. Such massive amounts of money can be used to provide more employment opportunities and even sponsor government activities such as education and healthcare which contribute to the overall growth of the economy.
Cons of the Senate Bill in Addressing Illegal Immigration
Opponents argue that passing the bill on Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act is very wrong because it will add to the congestion in the US. The Census Bureau of the US already estimated that the country is likely to have 459 million people by the year 2050. The growth is overwhelming as it means more than 33% increase in the next 40 years (Davis). An average American needs 1acre of land to produce the food necessary for a sustainable diet. Although the US has more than 2 Billion acres, much of it is not agriculturally productive. For instance, Alaska has more than 300 million acres under ice, and as such, the land is not productive in an agricultural perspective. Therefore, the sustainability of the people of America is a major issue of concern. The opponents believe that the economic expansion will only lead to new shopping malls, the growth of urban centers, roads, parking lots and resorts. As such, the Native Americans who will be born years to come may not have any land to own.
The opponents of the bill also site that assimilation is another issue that affects the Native Americans (Camarota 124). Although the immigrants learn the American culture and way of doing things especially those who attend their school system and workforce programs, the assimilation is a two-way path. The Americans are some of the liberal people across the world which are mainly caused by immigration. The US began experiencing immigrants as early as the 18th century, and this means that they were exposed to different lifestyles, languages, religious beliefs and other aspects of different cultures very early. The assimilation is felt so strongly that although English is the primary language in the US, other languages such as Hispanic and Latino are very common. Therefore, the Americans have lost their sense of culture over the years and the Native Americans who are born in the recent years do not have anything to associate themselves with. The political ideals of the land have also changed with a great rift developing between the democrats and the republicans. As such, the need to preserve the culture of the Americans by controlling illegal immigration into the country is another bone of contention.
Wage depreciation is another issue that is commonly raised by the opponents of the bill (Krogstad, Passel and Cohn). The bill provides for the migration of more immigrants into the country as long as they can access employee-sponsored visas. Although the migration is often temporary as the laborers are needed for short-term labor provision, most of them end up applying for a permanent residence in the country which they are guaranteed. Therefore, when immigrants provide labor into the country, it is likely to lower the wages as they are more willing to offer cheap labor as compared to Native Americans.
Conclusion
The issue of illegal immigration is a continuous issue that will keep affecting the United States until the government comes up with a remedy. The country will have to prove that it is open to diversity by coming up with terms that are friendly to immigrants such as those stipulated in the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act. The implementation of the act should come up with means to ensure sustainability for both the Native Americans and the immigrants into the country. In the age of globalization, the US cannot afford to stay in timid isolation where all the immigrants are viewed as unfit in the American Society. The Senate Bill ought to be enacted because it will provide a means to regulate the illegal immigrants into the country and provide ways to improve immigration.
Works Cited
Camarota, Steven. Immigration and Economic Stagnation. Washington: Center for Immigration Studies, 2010. Print.
Davis, Bob. The Thorny Economics of Illegal Immigration. 9 February 2016. Web. 8 June 2017.
Krogstad, Jens, Jeffrey Passel and D'Vera Cohn. 5 Facts About Illegal Immigration in the U.S. 27 April 2017. Web. 8 June 2017.
United States Congress. Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act: Report Together with Additional and Minority Views ( To Accompany S.744). A Report by the Committee on the Judiciary. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2013. Web.
