Texas is growing at a very fast rate of about 1.41 with an increase in population and according to recent Census Bureau estimates, the population stands at around 28.7 million. More and more babies are being born thus increasing the number of children in Texas drastically (World Population Review). Also, the population increase can be attributed to the increasing number of immigrants coming into Texas from other parts. The number of people of Hispanic descent is also increasing and with this steady rise, the majority in Texas will be a Hispanic.
Political Implications of the Changing Population
Initially, the Hispanics were a minority in Texas and they were disregarded as their few votes could not cause a shift during elections but the current statistics indicate that Hispanics could now have the power to create a change. The Democrats and Republicans can align themselves with the Hispanic to obtain more votes since they will be a majority (Horsley). Also, the increasing number of immigrants to Texas can result in changes in the immigration policies.
The Undocumented Immigrants
The undocumented immigrants should be offered a pathway to citizenship as it is inhumane separating them from their families, friends and their accustomed environment. Deportation will create a strain on families which is harmful health wise as it may lead to psychological complications (Pro Con). Also, through offering the undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship, America will be respected as it will have incorporated people of diverse cultures in the country. Hardworking and rule-abiding immigrants should be given amnesty as they increase the country’s productivity.
Pros and Cons of Illegal Immigration on Economy
Advantages
Many illegal immigrants improve the country’s economy as they partake jobs many Americans disregard for a low pay and this keeps the economy functional. Another advantage of illegal immigration on the economy is that it may result in innovative ideas by the immigrants which are later developed and improve the economy (Weebly).
Disadvantages
Illegal Immigration causes a strain on the states’ budget as the immigrants benefit from taxes of the residents making the residents suffer as resources become limited or get poor in quality. Most of the illegal immigrants are less educated thus are prone to live in poverty and this creates an economic strain as the country has to take care of them (Weebly).
The possibility of a Compromise
A compromise is possible on immigration as deportation and amnesty are not the only options to handle illegal immigration. Deportations are harsh as they affect many families negatively through separations while amnesty will promote more and more illegal immigrants to come into the United States. Since the U.S has strict policies regarding immigration a compromise would involve developing fair immigration policies to allow processing of more individuals eligible to be U.S citizens. The fair policies will give power to the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security jurisdiction to assess the immigrants whether or not they are eligible to be citizens of U.S (Ligor, 5). The fair immigration policies will reduce illegal immigration as most of the immigrants will have a chance to obtain citizenship legally and enjoy the benefits like other citizens.
Role of Texas in the Immigration Policy
The state of Texas needs to allocate more resources and empower the local law enforcement agencies in order to reduce the number of illegal immigrant entering the state. When the local law enforcement takes part in the immigration policy crime rates and economic strains will be drastically reduced making the livelihood of the Texans more comfortable. Most undocumented immigrants are not able to get jobs due to their citizenship status thus they result to crime to fend for themselves (The Washington Post). Also, the local law enforcement agencies may crackdown and eliminate the routes used by the immigrants for illegal entry hence, reducing illegal immigration in Texas.
Works Cited
Horsley, Scott. “Big Growth Could Shake Up Texas' Old Political Equation”. 2013. NPR. Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/07/01/196724707/big-growth-could-shake-up-texas-old-political-equation
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Ligor, Douglas C. "Neither Deportation nor Amnesty: An Alternative for the Immigration Debate Building a Bridge Across the Deportation-Amnsesty divide." 2018. Retrieved from:https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/perspectives/PE200/PE279/RAND_PE279.pdf
Pro Con. “Should the Government Allow Immigrants Who Are Here Illegally to Become US Citizens?” 2017. Retrieved from: https://immigration.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001362
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The Washington Post. “Texas’s New Law on Immigration Policy Is a Blow to Good Policing.” 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/texass-new-law-on-immigration-policy-is-a-blow-to-good-policing/2017/06/28/f73e63ce-4b81-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?noredirect=on"utm_term=.e8d119230574
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Weebly. “Positive and Negative Effects”. Retrieved from: https://zvmcc.weebly.com/positive-and-negative-effects.html
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World Population Review. “Texas Population 2018”. 2018. Retrieved from: http://worldpopulationreview.com/states/texas-population/
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