Effects of Unauthorized Immigration on the Economy
With the growth in the world's population, the rate of illegal immigration into the United States has been steadily increasing. The effects of these migrations have sparked heated discussions in Congress and among residents about the key effects of unauthorized immigration on the country's overall economy. According to latest estimates, there are currently about 12 million illegal immigrants living in America (Hoekstra & Orozco-Aleman, 2017). The study also revealed that while the total effects of unauthorized immigration are still unknown to the immigrants, they continue to have a detrimental impact on the economy. With the ongoing debates regarding the contours of immigration reforms in the congress, several arguments have been laid on economic grounds. A reasonable number of economists believe that illegal migrants make the wages to go down and at the same time take the jobs that the Native Americans would have otherwise secured (Gravelle, 2016). Besides, they also utilize the social programs that are meant to serve the calculated number of the documented immigrants and the American origins, hence leading to congestion in social amenities such as schools and hospitals (Beyer & Matthes, 2015). The congestion brought in the social facilities creates a huge burden of debt to the taxpayers who are legally registered to use these services. Thus, it would be rational to claim that illegal immigration has contributed to scarce jobs, high taxes, and not limited to weaker economy in the United States.
Economic Effects of Undocumented Immigration
It is imperative to add to the account that the economic effects of the undocumented immigration into the United States are costly and influence the financial security of the legal residents of the country negatively (Bandyopadhyay, Chambers, & Munemo, 2014). However, the impact may be felt in different ways. The first and the most prominent is the impact on wages. It is true that the high number of illegal immigrants has led to a reduction in the minimum wage for the nationals in America. The illegal immigrants often secure casual labors that are always underpaid. Even so, the underpayment of the undocumented laborers keeps the wages low in specific regions and occupations. Besides, it is also ostensible that undocumented immigrants are hard to trace, therefore, putting a financial burden both to the federal and to the local agencies of law enforcement (Davidson, 2013). The federal government always incurs the cost of trailing the illegal immigrants so that they can adhere to the legal requirements. Conversely, these expenses would have been otherwise used in building the nation's economy or carrying out other matters of national importance.
Utilization of Social Resources
Regarding the utilization of social resources, it is also justifiable to claim that the undocumented immigrants usually exhaust the social amenities that are meant to be used by the legally registered population in the United States (Beyer & Matthes, 2015). In fact, the findings show that the illegal immigrants have the tendency of raising larger families as compared to the American aliens (Beyer & Matthes, 2015). The difference in the total number an individual has in the family has a significant effect on the social resources such as schools and hospitals. The American schools often suffer congestion at district schools, which are densely populated by the undocumented immigrants (Beyer & Matthes, 2015). The other challenge is always seen in the public hospitals, which are congested by the unrecognized immigrants. Whereas the illegal migrants might not have the legal privileges to use the social services, their children born within the United States have the legal rights to access services such as medication and education from public institutions. The fact that their children are American citizens by birth, they have to be treated the same way as the children of the Native Americans. This leads to an economic burden to the legal citizens since they are the ones who suffer the heavy taxation. In fact, it is estimated that the undocumented immigration costs the taxpayers in the United States close to 113 billion dollars each year at the local, state, and federal level (Ottaviano, Peri, & Wright, 2013). A rough estimate also shows that educating the children of undocumented immigrants costs the taxpayers a huge amount of money, usually at an average price tag of 52 billion dollars each year (Davis, 2016).
Other Economic Burdens
Other than the burden on the social institutions, it is also imperative to be cognizant of the problems that illegal immigrants create to the nation's income directly. Illegal immigration spurs the importation and distribution of illegal goods (Davidson, 2013). The undocumented immigrants often provide room for the black market. Therefore, it means that the goods and services that are shipped into the country go without being taxed. The capital that the state and the federal government lose because of the non-taxed commodities shipped into the country is always high. Besides, the fact that the services and goods traded through the black market do not contribute to the tax base shows the negative impact it brings to the country's economy (Gravelle, 2016).
The fact that some states make it hard for the illegal immigrants to secure driving licenses can also drive up the insurance rates for cars. Thus, affecting the rates that are supposed to be paid even by the legal immigrants and the American aliens (Hoekstra & Orozco-Aleman, 2017). The other economic burden is that unrecognized immigrants come from other countries; hence, financial constraints might arise when the amounts of emigration are in excess. Such trends do not only destabilize the foreign nations but also reduce the ability of the firms in the United States to export goods to those respective nations (Ottaviano, Peri, & Wright, 2013). With several state budgets running in deficit, the policy-makers now have the responsibility to outsource funds to narrow the fiscal burden of undocumented immigration (Liu, 2010). For instance, the state of California, facing a deficit of close to 14.5 billion dollars in its budget between 2010 and 2011 showed a significant hit in its annual expenditure on the illegal immigrants (Kim et al., 2011).
Job Competition and Wage Effects
People always have the routine of looking the other way when the employers pay the undocumented aliens low wages to do hectic jobs for several hours in unsafe conditions. Whereas various proponents of humanity claim that the illegal immigrants do the work that many Americans cannot do, various economists and health professionals give their diverse opinions (Bandyopadhyay, Chambers, & Munemo, 2014). Of course, it is true that many Americans are not ready to work for low wages, for long hours, and under unsafe conditions. The only reason why American aliens would want to work under safe and secured conditions is that they value their safety first. In addition, many Americans would want to adhere to the employment and labor regulation, thereby; they would not be willing to work for several hours in many instances. Ideally, there is nothing wrong with demanding for good pay and a safe environment for work. Thus, the fact that the illegal immigrants are ready for lower wages should not be an ideal ground for job competition (Dick, 2011). The Americans have to adhere to the labor and minimum wage laws regardless of their job groups.
It is undebatable that whenever cheap labor dominates the market, the wage goes down naturally (Liu, 2010). Therefore, when the minimum wage decreases, the American workers are affected. When the impact is on the American workers, the poor are usually the first victims. In other words, in a free market, assisting the illegal immigrants harms the families of the legal immigrants and the documented citizens invariably (Palivos & Yip, 2010). Illegal immigrants pay little to no taxes. Instead of building the economy of the nation, they build the economy of their home countries (Palivos & Yip, 2010). It is unfair to avoid paying taxes and living on other people's expenditures, which has been the order of the day for the undocumented immigrants (Pope & Garrett, 2012). The local, state, and federal government spend more than 5 billion dollars on the upkeep of the illegal immigrants each year, which only weakens the economy instead of building it (Davis, 2016). Concisely, with all the facts pointed out in the paper, it is substantial to claim that illegal immigration has contributed to negative effects on the economy of the United States both directly and indirectly.
References
Bandyopadhyay, S., Chambers, D., & Munemo, J. (2014). Foreign Aid, Illegal Immigration, and Host Country Welfare. Review of Development Economics, 18(2), 372–385. https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.12090
Beyer, A., & Matthes, J. (2015). Attitudes toward illegal immigration and exposure to public service and commercial broadcasting in France, Norway, and the United States. International Journal of Communication, 9(1), 3264–3279.
Davidson, A. (2013). Do Illegal Immigrants Actually Hurt the U.S. Economy? The New York Times Magazine, 12. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/magazine/do-illegal-immigrants-actually-hurt-the-us-economy.html?_r=0
Davis, B. (2016). The Thorny Economics of Illegal Immigration. Wall Street Journal, 1–9. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-thorny-economics-of-illegal-immigration-1454984443
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