How Does Illegal Immigration Affect the U.S. Economy?
Illegal immigration is one of the most problematic issues of the U.S. policymakers. For decades the number of illegal immigrants coming to the USA had been growing. In 2007 there were about 12 million of them living and working in the country when the authorities decided to tackle the problem. By now the number of illegal immigrants has declined (Johnson and Hill 2) and equals approximately 11.1 million. However, it is still disputable whether illegal immigration is beneficial or harmful to the economy of the USA. Although most politicians and economists admit there is more good than bad.
The majority of immigrants come from Mexico – about 57 % (Nadadur 1039). The country has a lot of low-skilled workers available and ready to seek employment in other countries the nearest of which is the United States. The other regions that supply illegal immigrants to the USA are Asia (11 %), Central America (11 %), South America (7 %), Caribbean (4 %), and Middle East (less than 2 %). The total share of the illegal population constitutes 4 %. Most of them have crossed the borders without any inspection (the EWI) while the others may have entered the USA on some tourist, labor or student visa and then overstayed in the country. Among illegal immigrants there are also those who are “out of status but are in the process of adjusting status or applying for asylum” (Nadadur 1039).
The key sphere which immigration primarily aims at and has impact on is the employment market. The immigrants move to the USA in search of economic opportunities the country is known for. It is a widespread opinion that illegal immigrants coming into the country increase competitiveness on the labor market which leads to lower wages. With regard to this, George Borjas (2013) explains that immigration “redistributes income” (1). It means that the wages of competing American workers will be reduced while the wages of complementary American workers will rise. So will the profits of those who use immigrant labor.
Gordon H. Hanson believes (2009) that illegal immigrants do influence the U.S. employment market but mostly beneficially. He claims that illegal immigration is more responsive to the current market needs and provides American employers with the necessary types of workers at the exact time and location they need them (Gordon 5). The legal immigration, on the contrary, is not able to correspond to the jobs market needs as precisely as illegal one. The main reason is overlong legal procedures people have to undergo if they want to enter the country legally. As a result, the tendencies in the market change and their services are no longer required. Besides, the bulk of legal immigration is family-based; so people enter the country “with no regard to economic needs” (Gordon 18).
Contrary to a common belief, illegal immigrants do not deprive Americans of their jobs. They fill the gaps which the employment market has. And these are mostly low-skilled jobs which Americans themselves are not hunting for. Gordon H. Hanson admits (2007) that the supply of U.S. native labor for low-skilled jobs in construction, food preparation and cleaning services has declined (4). He believes (2007) the reason for that is that “between 1960 and 2000, the share of working-age native-born U.S. residents with less than twelve years of schooling fell from 50 percent to 12 percent” (14). The other countries cannot boast of having the same level of education among their citizens. Thus, Mexico, for example, has more low-skilled workers the country needs. Therefore, workers from there are eager to seek jobs in other countries which have the demand for their skills in construction, agriculture, food processing, or cleaning. The good thing about illegal immigration is timeliness of this labor supply – the thing that legal immigration procedures cannot afford. So, the inflow of the necessary labor force helps to use the available U.S. resources to their utmost which results in more output and higher revenues.
But despite these obvious advantages illegal immigration may provide, it is still illegal which is not right. Gordon H. Hanson assumes (2007) it can “undermine the rule of law and weaken the ability of the U.S. government to enforce labor-market regulations” (4). The most serious disregard of labor laws is that immigrants who work illegally do not pay income taxes and, therefore, do not contribute to the U.S. budget as all legal workers do.
Moreover, there is still the issue of national security which has become even more urgent after 9/11. Fear of terrorists crossing U.S. borders from Mexico made the authorities to reinforce the national borders which actually worked and decreased the number of Mexicans coming illegally into the USA. Most Americans are convinced that “illegal aliens” are to blame for most crimes committed in the States (Becerra et al. 113) and these political considerations, in their opinion, are strong enough to overweigh the economic benefits. Besides, there are legal expenditures related to the immigrants’ detention while they are waiting for being deported.
Furthermore, economic benefits illegal immigrants can bring into the labor market are also undermined by the speculations about the spending on servicing them and their families which may include medical care, education, and possible social payments. In other words, these speculations mean the illegal immigrants take in services more than they can potentially contribute to the economy of the USA. Due to them being illegal, they have no rights for Medicaid, but there are categories which are eligible for emergency medical help, for example, elderly, pregnant women, children, disabled, etc.
Education is another issue. Many immigrants either arrive together with their children or have children as soon as they arrive (with these children becoming U.S. citizens). The estimates show that illegal immigrants’ children account for 4 % of the total school-age population (“The Impact of Unauthorized Immigrants on the Budgets of State and Local Governments”). Education of those children may require special costs as they need assistance in language learning, etc. The thing that irritates Americans is that these children receive the education services without their parents’ paying income taxes.
Thus, all these considerations outlined above may lead to different opinions as for the necessity of restricting the illegal inflow of immigrants into the USA. Of course, it is not right that they do not pay taxes while getting educational and (occasionally) medical services the American taxpayers provide. However, illegal immigrants provide the American employment market with the necessary labor force and by filling these gaps (vacancies) they optimize the work of the industries where low-skilled workers are on demand. With their help the available resources are used most efficiently which leads to an increase in total output and revenues on the whole. And as calculations prove, this contribution into the budget is even slightly higher than the expenditures illegal immigrants may cause the American budget to incur.
It is interesting to note that researchers admit that the total impact of illegal immigrants on the U.S. economy is very modest (Hanson, 2007 24) in comparison to all the other aspects influencing it. They do lower domestic wages and increase spending on public services (health care and education). But generally most analysts agree that with them the American economy gets more enhanced. That is, perhaps, the reason why the issue of illegal immigration is still under discussion. And even though some measures to restrict the illegal inflow have already been taken, there are still millions of illegal migrants working in the USA. And if they are deported, the bulk of the population and the economy in general will not feel the difference, but particular groups, such as food-processing, cleaning, and construction businesses, will suffer great losses.
Works Cited
Becerra, David, Androff, David K., Ayon, Cecilia, and Castillo, Jason T. “Fear vs. Facts: Examining the Economic Impact of Undocumented Immigrants in the U.S.” Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. XXXIX, № 4, Dec. 2012: 11-135. Print.
Borjas, George. “Immigration and the American Worker. A Review of the Academic Literature.” Center for Immigration Studies April 2013: 1-26. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
Hanson, Gordon H. The Economic Logic of Illegal Immigration. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 2007. Print.
Hanson, Gordon H. The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2009. Print.
Johnson, Hans, and Hill, Laura. At Issue: [Illegal Immigration]. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California, 2011. Print.
“The Impact of Unauthorized Immigrants on the Budgets of State and Local Governments.” Congressional Budget Office, Dec. 2009. Print.
