Illegal immigration alludes to the migration of persons into a nation in means which infringe the immigration requirements of the country. Also, it incorporates staying in a nation without the legal right more so after the expiry of visas. In the United States, illegal immigration refers to unlawful entry into the country by foreign people or remaining in the country after the cessation of parole documents or visas (Peri 1). As such, these people constitute the unauthorized immigrant who are the foreign-born non-Americans who are not legal residents. Majority of the unauthorized residents in the United States got into the country without legal inspection or were allowed temporarily and stayed beyond the date they were expected to leave. It is estimated that there are about 12 million plus illegal immigrants in the US which stirs a lot of issues regarding their stay (Hanson 20). As a result, efforts have been made to deport and detain the immigrants more so after president Donald Trump came into power. The deportation may seem to be right, but it is worth taking into account the benefits that the immigrants have on the United States. For that reason, this discourse will support why illegal immigration should be allowed and no more deportation and detention should be made to illegal aliens.
Immigration in the United States has been connected with the economic and demographic growth. The growth has been attributed to the well-known increase in investments. The immigrants most of whom are illegal contribute the much-required labor force which steers investment in US companies. When companies get access to more workers, they tend to increase their capacity and build on more establishments. The immigrants have grown the productive capacity in the U.S. economy by a flat rate from 1960 to 2009 (Peri 1). In 2007, the capital per worker increased rapidly, and it’s during this time that the immigration was at peak. In this case, investments in the United States responded positively to the increase in the inflow of workers. Therefore, immigration did not wipe out the already existing firms but rather increased the number and size of companies offering more investment.
On the same note, employers benefit from illegal immigrants as they tend to bargain for a low pay compared to the natives thereby providing cheap labor supply. Often the immigrants are desperate for jobs, and they accept poor pay which is usually below the wage rate. As a result, the employer gets the advantage of paying less on non-wage costs and in welfare conditions. Therefore, the majority of employers in the US rely upon undocumented immigrants who are believed to play a critical role in improving the economic activities of the country. The illegal immigrants also take jobs which the natives refuse to do (Peri 1). They keep farms and ranches which enables the owners to contribute to the economy via payment of taxes. The same immigrants establish restaurants and hotels which in the long run hire people including US citizens who in return pump back cash to the economy. Finally, the undocumented immigrants maintain American households by cleaning homes and cutting lawns beside attending to children enabling men and women to spend extra time in jobs amassing great returns which adds on the country’s productivity.
Additionally, illegal immigrants are very mobile and are willing to move and find jobs compared to the natives. As a result, immigration has necessitated smooth local busts and booms which improves the economy. Also, the immigrants move into booming regions and declining areas where they help stabilize the economy besides balancing between the local demand for labor as well as its supply. The immigrants’ readiness to move assists in slowing down wage in stagnated regions which contributes to economic growth in advanced areas (Hanson 14). As such, the immigrants’ mobility aids in reinforcing productivity growth in already strong labor markets taking into account their complementarity with the natives.
Immigrants have also been recognized due to their enormous contribution to innovation. The highly educated immigrants have proved to be a great asset to the United States economy as the country attracts engineers and scientists from all parts of the world. For instance, a quarter of the U.S. based Nobel winners for the last 50 years are people from foreign countries, and a third of the most educated persons are foreigners (Tactaquin 1). Also, in 2006 immigrants established about 25 percent of the new high-tech firms which recorded a sales of more than $1 million generating employment and income for the entire nation. As it is evident, growth in technology and innovation are the key drivers of economic development in technologically developed countries such as the US where investing in and training of new engineers and scientists is instrumental in persistent economic progress.
Moreover, illegal immigrants contribute much to raising federal government revenue through the payment of taxes. There have been misconceptions that the illegal immigrants do not pay taxes as it was evident during the campaigns of President Trump. He termed immigrants as users of US taxpayers monies while in real sense the authorized workers’ pay equal taxes as the natives. Also, the undocumented immigrants pay taxes via the filing of their annual returns annually when they do not benefit from the services offered to Native Americans. For instance, in 2015 the IRS received 4.4 million from income tax returns for undocumented workers who even did not have Social Security numbers (American Immigration Council 1). The workers’ pay taxes for benefits which they do not acquire such as Medicare and Social Security. Also, illegal immigrants pay sales taxes when they shop for clothes and foods and the property taxes when they rent or own an apartment. The undocumented employees lack the eligibility for the benefits such as earned income tax credit yet they are required to file tax returns which the majority of them do.
Illegal immigrants further create a sense of diverse culture in the United States. Diversity is associated with positive impacts within society as it allows the growth of new ideas, cultures, and perspectives. The exchange necessitates understanding among the interacting natives and the immigrants which bring about respect and acceptance. As such, the illegal immigrants combine their skills and abilities with that of Native Americans to come up with a strong, productive, and responsive outlook. The result is high productivity in the country which is made possible by the cohesiveness of the aliens and the citizens (Becerra et al. 123). Further, diversity diminishes discrimination by encouraging acceptance which in turn brings exposure and communication between the two groups. As such, there is an adequate integration which facilitates economic development. Moreover, undocumented immigrants facilitate cultural enrichment by setting up good examples based on a strong work ethic for the US citizens. As such, they set a pace for the natives who refuse to toil and look upon social welfare for survival. The illegal immigrants act as role models to the United States citizens to wake up and work for their family well-being.
The costs that are associated with deportation and detention can also be reduced or even done away with if illegal immigration may be allowed to stay and gain roots in the US. As earlier noted, the majority of illegal immigrants do not break laws or commit vices other than being in the country without the required legal documentation. The deportation of undocumented immigrants is very costly, and involvement in the fight against the persons costs the government enormous amount of money. For instance, $3.2 billion were used in 2016 to identify illegal documents, arresting them, detaining, and in their removal from united states (Lombardo 1). The amount only helped in handling 240,000 of the 450,000 deportations in the particular year which is a true reflection of how expensive it is to eradicate undocumented immigration. Therefore, the US government can work towards legalizing the illegal immigrants instead of deporting them as it is less expensive besides the fact that the persons are instrumental in the nation’s economic development.
Illegal immigrants should also be allowed because majority of them have already established residency. From the statistics collected in 2012, over 60% of the persons that had immigrated to the nation illegally had stayed in the country for at least ten years. Moreover, the number of illegal immigrants that had stayed in the country for less than five years had dropped tremendously. Further, it is recognized that one in three illegal immigrants who have attained the age of 15 has a child that is a United States citizen (Lombardo 1). On the same note, at least one in three of the immigrants pay property taxes and own homes. Therefore, it is with no doubt that these undocumented immigrants deserve considerations and be allowed to acquire legal citizenship in the US. As such, the government will have taken the fair deal on persons who are willing to stay in the US and contribute towards economic progress.
Allowing illegal immigrants can help do away with the cost of taking care of legal children born from illegal parents. The statistics in the immigration department shows that about 4 million children have US citizenship yet their parents are living in the country illegally. If the government decides to deport the parents, then it should bear full responsibility of caring for the children more so when there are no legal relatives involved (Becerra et al. 118). If such happens, the government may have to spend quite a lot on care as well as taking close attention to the children’s health which may be affected due to withdraw of their parents. For instance, the children can suffer depression which may be an added cost to the government. Therefore, the US government can weigh the cost of eliminating undocumented immigrants and opt to legalize them which may save a lot for the economy and overall betterment of the nation.
Lastly, allowing illegal immigrants in the United States would boost their performance in the nation building. The undocumented immigrants tend to live outside the society with the fear of deportation where they isolate themselves ((ProCon 1). Legalizing them would make them more active in society with the eventual result of great contribution to economic development. Further, it is vital to legalize people who illegally get into the country as sometimes situations force them. Most of the immigrants in the United States originate from countries which are dangerous and full of poverty, thus, forcing them to move to the country to seek a better life. As such, allowing them in the country issues them an alternative to a devastating life in their own country (Massey et al. 6). Moreover, by allowing illegal immigrants into the country, United States will have made a first step towards becoming a stronger nation. The illegal immigrants can be very resourceful and if allowed can change the country besides becoming great leaders who can repair the errors necessary to make America a stronger nation.
Conclusion
To sum up, it is apparent that illegal immigrants are more of assets than liability to the United States economy. The undocumented persons aids in the economic development of the nation by pulling in labor besides engaging in high-tech innovations. Also, the immigrants have necessitated performance of all kinds of jobs which are not done by natives. Additionally, illegal immigrants have added much on the American culture, thus, creating strong and richer biodiversity. Besides the immigrants have boosted the American economy via payment of taxes, working on farms, and savings in US banks steering economic growth. Further, allowing illegal immigrants in the country would save the country a lot of money which is needed in deporting and in turn use it in investment. Therefore, it is economical to allow illegal immigrants and protect those already in the country due to the numerous contributions they have to the nation as a whole. It is evident that their presence is more beneficial as they are instrumental in economic development. As such, undocumented immigrants should stay and any effort to eliminate them should be criticized.
Works Cited
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Becerra, David, et al. "Fear vs. facts: Examining the economic impact of undocumented immigrants in the US." J. Soc. " Soc. Welfare 39 (2012): 111.
Hanson, Gordon Howard. The economic logic of illegal immigration. New York, NY: Council on Foreign Relations, 2007.
Lombardo, Crystal. “9 Pros and Cons of illegal immigration.” Vittana, 2018, https://vittana.org/9-pros-and-cons-of-illegal-immigration. Accessed 23 Nov. 2018.
Massey, Douglas S., Karen A. Pren, and Jorge Durand. "Why border enforcement backfired." American Journal of Sociology121.5 (2016): 1557-1600.
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ProCon. “Top 10 Pro " Con Arguments.” ProCon.org, 2018, https://immigration.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000842. Accessed 23 Nov. 2018.
Tactaquin, Catherine. “Immigrants impact on education.” 2011, http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~pila22d/worldpol/education.html. Accessed 23 Nov. 2018.
