Essay About Illegal Immigration

In recent years, the debate over illegal immigration has remained central to everyday American debates. It has elicited a wide range of reactions both within and outside the country. The majority of these conversations appear to agree that America was established on immigration and that its varied population is vital to its economy. Many people have claimed that to deny America's nature as a cultural melting pot is to deny the entity of America itself and its existence (Briggs, 2014). The opponents of this motion do not dispute these facts; rather, they express worry over illegal immigration. It is those that are in the nation illegally that are causing it to lag behind when citizens of this country are unable to attain decent employment. Nonetheless, illegal immigration is beneficial to the economy of America, and its existence is worthwhile. While many believe that illegal immigration is a threat to the host country due to economic drain they cause on their host country’s taxpayers, host countries need illegal immigration because it is linked to economic growth and stability.

In evaluating a situation of this sort, it is important to analyze the threats posed to the economy against the benefits attained. Illegal immigration is a concept that causes concern among American citizens because immigrants of this sort may have low standards to live by (Hollifield et al., 2014). They are likely to work for lesser wages than the minimum thereby engaging in criminal activities to supplement the deficit. Additionally, a person that has no way of legally attaining employment is very likely to participate in any possible means of survival including smuggling of drugs and illegal weapons among other social evils. Also, some American citizens who have all the legal requirements and qualification to attain certain jobs are terrified of the prospect of being cut off since cheaper labor is available from immigrants who might be in the country illegally. However, such thoughts ignore the fact that illegal immigrants are not always the prioritized workers even in minimum wage employment. They are likely to work at construction sites as opposed to taking employment away from professionals. The complimentary jobs that most immigrants perform make it easier for individuals such as electricians and carpenters to carry out the work more smoothly than would have been possible. Therefore, it would be right to see illegal immigrants as people who benefit the economy in this manner. After all, it would be impossible to find such complimentary labor without increasing the wages given.

In analyzing claims brought forward concerning illegal immigration, one must also understand that the American society is too diverse to define illegal immigration altogether. It would be hypocritical to argue that illegal immigrants are destroying a society that has almost entirely neglected the natives of its land. From a moral perspective, such a claim appears to be completely bizarre. This argument, however, should not encourage the nation to be permissive but it ought to point out the absolute hypocrisy in setting apart this particular issue and using it as a basis to attack illegal immigrants. It stirs up a lot of sentiments among the American people (Davidson, 2013). Many illegal immigrants in the nation, while explaining their spending, prove that they barely save any money as they have to pay approximately $1400 to the IRS to maintain an identification with which they use to pay rent and other essential expenses (Valentino et al., 2013).

Moreover, these immigrants contribute to Social Security through payroll taxes, not to mention value added tax that they accrue when they consume goods and access services. The astounding fact is that the amount of payroll taxes paid by undocumented individuals adds up to $15 billion according to the chief actuary of Social Security (Davidson 2013). This contribution is significant to the economy given that these workers barely make the minimum wage. On average, the illegal immigrant construction worker makes about $25000 annually (Davidson 2013). This amount is barely enough to survive in America in the present day.

It would be unjust for the American community to blame every undesirable element of its society on illegal immigrants. Despite their existence as undocumented workers, it is important to note that they contribute to the economy nonetheless (Hollified et al. 2014). A revenue of $15 billion is a significant amount to the economy. One must realize that the difference in this contribution is only the fact that it is undocumented. However, this one fact does not make it any less of a contribution to the American economy. The claim that illegal immigrants are a burden to the host country through their use of public facilities paid for by the local taxpayers is an inaccurate statement. According to the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration, ten per cent of the fund arises from the contribution of illegal immigrants (Davidson, 2013).

Seeing as illegal immigrants have their pool of contribution, it is only right to say that they are useful to the nation rather than destructive. The truth is that most of these people come to America in search of greener pastures. To claim that they take jobs from citizens of the country may be a hasty complaint. The Ministry of Agriculture reveals a stunning piece of information to the world concerning the contribution of illegal immigration. According to the Ministry, it is this group of workers that mostly provide labor for the agricultural sector (Davidson, 2013). Without these individuals, the fruit and vegetable industry would suffer significantly. The deportation of illegal immigrants would cause the industry to deteriorate thus a decline in the economy. Ironically, the population that supports this industry is mainly from Mexico, the country which is primarily accused of having illegal immigrants in America. Additionally, the prices of milk would increase to over sixty percent without the input of illegal immigrants. States such as Texas have shown an increase of illegal immigrants by 6.1% (Briggs, 2014). Consequently, cutting this input from the workforce would decrease the gross of the state by 2.1% (Briggs, 2014). The agricultural, hospitality, construction, and horticultural are among the industries that American citizens would rather not work in. If such industries are left to American citizens who have a choice to pick out other jobs, then they would fade away altogether.

America benefits from illegal immigration more than it faces harm from the same. One can see that these immigrants relish the better life they have in America as opposed to the ones they would have had in their countries. It would make more sense for the nation to focus on more urgent matters ailing the economy and its labor structure. It is crucial to note that the economic realities of America may not have changed as much as the nation wants to believe and that its problems may be more political than economic (Briggs, 2014). For this reason, citizens must be wise enough to know when they are being stirred up to a diversion for a political agenda. In the case of recent events, one would not be speculating to say that the issues are more political and lean towards nationalism as opposed to looking out for the American economy. At the same time, a review of the illegal immigration situation in America does not mean that the issue is not a cause for alarm. It is evident that crime rates seem higher in areas where illegal immigration is more common as compared to the areas where the immigrants are few. Nonetheless, the economic implications are completely different.

The numerous benefits of illegal immigration prove that host countries are in need of this group of people to maintain functional and stable economies. A state that chooses to support only legal immigrants and citizens risks the loss of some of the most crucial industries such as agriculture. Any jeopardy of such industries would be highly threatening to food security in the host country leading to vulnerability (Davidson 2013). A host country’s economy would suffer inflation and a high cost of living apart from the cheap costs of labor that translate to low prices of goods and services in the country. It is evident that getting rid of illegal immigrants would lead to a depreciation of the economy through inflation. It would create much bigger problems than it would have solved.

Ultimately, the role of illegal immigrants is undeniable to any country’s economy. Despite the costs it imposes on the taxpayers, it also benefits them greatly especially in the most vital sectors such as agriculture and horticulture. The costs of getting rid of illegal immigrants against the benefits it brings make the former an unreasonable thing to do. Clearly, any host country becomes economically enhanced with the existence of illegal immigrants within its fabric. It goes without saying that political issues can be solved amicably without necessarily having to cut off foreigners from the nation, even the illegal ones. In all fairness, the labor opportunities taken up by these immigrants would not benefit the country if the same were cut off considering that they work on extremely low paying jobs. The taxpayers would undergo greater suffering owing to the lack of food security and revenue gained from payroll taxes. Moreover, illegal immigrants are also the reason why the prices of goods and services are low in the industries mentioned above. Allowing them to leave the country would mean a fall in the quality of life through increased prices. This is a direct negative impact of ridding illegal immigrants from the host country’s economy. Evidently, economic stability is barely a matter of valid citizenship and sovereignty. Rather, the sovereignty of a nation is seen in its ability to realize its most crucial needs and how to meet these through certain means such as externalities. The disadvantages of such actions can be handled appropriately by seeking out perpetrators of criminal activities and law breakers as opposed to generalizing an entire population.



References

Briggs, C. (2014). The Reasonableness of a Race-Based Suspicion: The Fourth Amendment and the Costs and Benefits of Racial Profiling in Immigration Enforcement. S. Cal. L. Rev., 88, 379.

Davidson, A. (2013). Do illegal immigrants hurt the US economy? The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/magazine/do-illegal-immigrants-actually-hurt-the-us-economy.html

Hollifield, J., Martin, P., & Orrenius, P. (2014). Controlling immigration: A global perspective. Stanford University Press.

Valentino, N. A., Brader, T., & Jardina, A. E. (2013). Immigration opposition among US Whites: General ethnocentrism or media priming of attitudes about Latinos?. Political Psychology, 34(2), 149-166.