An estimated 8.7 million illegal immigrants are currently residing in the U.S. and 500,000 additional illegal immigrants arrive each year, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. They come here because they want a better life: to be with their family, provide for their children and to make more money. The question is, do we the American people support, and benefit from, their presence here or do Americans lament over the presence of illegal immigrants whilst they hurt the standard of living of the average U.S. citizen.
Immigration has always been an important issue in the history of the United States. Our nation is composed of a vast array of people from many different cultural backgrounds. Despite our differences, Americans have formed the greatest nation in the world. Our nation, once solely the home of Native Americans, used to be a frontier, open to those who wanted a new opportunity to become successful or who were not accepted in their native lands. Colonists fought a war of independence and created a country based on the ideals of freedom and democracy.
As the U.S. has grown and developed, the immigration process has developed along with our nation. It is much harder to immigrate to the U.S. than it was 100 or 150 years ago. It is much easier cross over the U.S.' 1,951 mile border with Mexico, illegally. People who immigrate to the U.S. illegally are desperate for a better life, much like the first immigrants to America.
Should we deny them a better life they are willing to work hard for? Or is it not our responsibility to provide a better life for foreigners? Many people say that Hispanics add greatly to our economy by working for little pay and taking jobs that nobody wants. The Pew Hispanic Center reports that illegal workers account for 5% of our workforce. By working for lower wages, illegal immigrants help to drive down costs for the average consumer. In addition, business's who hire illegal immigrants will increase their profits, thus strengthening the overall economy.
Others counter that that illegal immigrants do not pay taxes, adopt American culture, or adhere to our laws. Illegal immigrants use many of the public services that taxpayers provide without paying the necessary taxes for these services. They also make the point that the jobs illegal immigrants take are not jobs Americans are not willing take, but that business owners will hire the illegal immigrants because they can pay them less than minimum wage and force them to work in terrible conditions.
The issue of immigration is a hard one to deal with because both sides of the debate have important information and logical points regarding their stance on the issue. Even if everyone agreed that illegal immigration was bad, it still would not be clear what should be done about the situation. Should all illegal immigrants be sent back to their native lands? What would be the cost and effects of dealing with the illegal immigration issue? Likewise, if everyone agreed that illegal immigration was good, it would still be clear that changes must be made regarding the rights of illegal immigrants, their ability to become citizens with all benefits of citizenship, and the fact that our border is still not secure and more illegal immigrants enter the U.S. every day. Again, what would be the costs and effects of making changes and dealing with these issues?
It is clear that the issue of illegal immigration must be carefully studied and pondered. Changes must be made. The situation right now is not a good one. Is illegal immigration beneficial to, and supported by, the American people or do Americans lament over the presence of illegal immigrants whilst they hurt the standard of living of the average U.S. citizen? Which side is right and what must be done?
Pro-Immigration
One side of the argument supports the presence of illegal immigrants, noting the great boost they provide to our economy and the fact they will provide labor for jobs unwanted by anyone else for below minimum wage. According to a NY times report, illegal immigrants provide an additional 21.5 billion dollars for our economy. Such reasons make it easy to see why 65 % of Americans support the presence of illegal immigrants, according to a
poll conducted by Quinnipiac University.
Many illegal immigrants come to the U.S. to better their lives and the lives of their families; this being the case many illegal immigrants strive to be good citizens. A prime example is the effort of illegal immigrants to obey our laws of taxpaying. It would hard for the U.S. government to make illegal immigrants, of whom they have no documentation, pay taxes. But many illegal immigrants, feeling that it is their duty now that they live in the U.S., insist on paying taxes anyway. "I'm doing it for my son. In the future, maybe we can fix our papers," said Guillermo Suarez, a painter living in San Marco, California. Another illegal immigrant added, "I'm just doing it to be OK with the government."
