IMMIGRATION – WHAT IS TO BE DONE
Introduction
Illegal immigration is defined as an act of crossing the country’s border by foreign nationalists without the permission or any official documentation presented by the government to migrate into their country. Illegal immigration is a direct violation of the law of United States of America that is majorly affected by this issue (Bryan and Nancy, p.2). As of 2012, the illegal population in the country is estimated to be around 11.4 million people that is approximately 3.5% of entire U.S. population. Around 59% of these illegal immigrants enter from Mexico. 25% of the illegal immigrants are residing in California with 53% illegal population being male. Their major occupation is working as housekeepers accounting for 26% and in the roofing industry accounting for 31% of workers (Bryan and Nancy, p.1).
Illegal immigration – Pros and Cons
When we consider the economic impact of illegal immigration there are wide arrays of arguments that emerge. An illegal immigration in U.S. costs the taxpayers annual US$ 113 billion at all three levels of political government – federal, state, and local level. The education of children of these illegal immigrants is one of the major costs to the taxpayers that is around US$ 52 billion per year. An annual expenditure of illegal immigrant costs a Native American around US$ 1115 (Bryan and Nancy, p.1).According to an estimate, at federal level of government around one-third of illegal expenditure is contemplated by tax collection from illegal immigrants where as at local and state level less than 5 percent of illegal immigrant expenditure is re-collected through them. Most of them are unable to pay income tax because of their financial situation, and when they do pay income tax, most of the amount is refunded back to them when they file for tax returns. This argument suggests that illegal immigration is an economic burden on U.S. economy (Bryan and Nancy, p.1).
A counter argument to the above is that since mostly states are in deficit in United States, there is little doubt that the migration of illegal migrants in United States has made considerable contribution to the growth and progress of the economic system.
In the year 2000-2007, an illegal immigrant accounted for more than one-sixth of an increase in total civilian workforce. Even though illegal immigrants diminished from the civilian workforce last year, but still an estimated of 5 percent illegal immigrants are still present in the civilian workforce (Angelo, p.3). This workforce provides a safety control when the demand of the commodity is increasing and this workforce that is the first to be thrown out of the system when the economic conditions are deteriorating. Some arguments against illegal immigration state that unskilled immigrants mostly from Latin America slightly repress the wage level of native Americans without diploma or high school education. This causes dramatic cost increases to state and local level governments but the counterargument to this theory illustrates that the wage repression and the overall impact on fiscal costs is negligible and the general overall benefits of illegal immigration overcome all the arguments (Angelo, p.3).
Since many U.S. states are already in deficit, it is imperative that policymakers should look for options that will help reduce the fiscal costs and burdens of illegal immigration. California is the main state that is affected by this with a budget deficit of US% 14 billion in 2011, and it is expected to hit US$ 22 billion due to illegal immigration.
Illegal immigration – What is to be done?
When we consider the actions that should be taken to control the illegal immigration there are wide arrays of arguments that emerge. One argument that is against illegal immigrants states that laws should be enforced that are already designed. The laws if enforced properly and targeted in the right manner will discourage the illegal immigrants and illegal workforce to enter America. It is of utmost important that Congress should ensure its citizens that they are serious in taking measures to enforce the rules and regulations effectively. Recent actions have been taken by the administration that involved measures along with deportation can help in reducing the number of cross-borders entry into America. If the crackdown occurs of businesses that help and employ illegal immigrants, this issue can curtail, and the government credibility can be retained in that area. (Sylvan, p.226)
According to Angelo who is in favor of illegal immigrants, a reform package should be announced in order to promote the security of illegal immigrants and the process should instigate to legalize them along with an implementation of workers’ program that benefit both the natives and the immigrants. Angelo believes that deportation or enforcement of law is not a solution to this rising concern because even the most anti-immigrant politicians lack strategy or are not interested in discussing the deportation of more than 11 million illegal workers because they know they make up 5% of American workforce and are deployed at basic but essential tasks. (Angelo, p.3)
Conclusion
Illegal immigration is defined as an act of crossing the country’s border by foreign nationalists without the permission or any official documentation presented by the government to migrate into their country. Illegal immigration is a direct violation of the law of United States of America that is majorly affected by this issue. The economic impact of illegal immigration is discussed in the paper along with the suggested strategies with both sides of arguments.
Work Cited
Angelo Amador “Pro comprehensive immigration reform” Director of Immigration Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (2007), p.3
Bryan Baker and Nancy Rytina “Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2012” (March 2013) Population Estimates, p.1
http://immigration.procon.org/sourcefiles/illegal-immigration-population-2012.pdf
Sylvan Barnet “Current Issues and Enduring Questions” 9th ed, Bedford Books (2009), p. 226
