Ruiz 1

Karen Ruiz
Professor Batty
English 113A
November 16, 2015
Immigrants Contribute
When the words illegal immigrants are mentioned, a major debate arises. There are
some people that believe that immigrants cause a huge negative impact in America. Those people
think that Immigrants are bad people who are drug traffickers and are threatening the American
culture. It is said that immigrants harm the United States economy by making citizen wages
drop and by taking their jobs away. In my opinion there are more positive things that immigrants
can bring to our nation. For example, newer technology and a variety of different skills that some
people dont realize.
To begin with, there are people who argue that the job market is low because of
immigrants, but some of those immigrants take the jobs that native-born wouldnt, yet they
denunciate that immigrants are taking away their jobs. I understand the point of view of these
people to a certain extent. I can see why some citizens see immigrants as a threat in the job
industry. The ones who identify them as threats are those natives who have not received a high
school diploma or are not well educated, but wouldnt this make more people want to have a
better education so they dont have to be competing for minimum wage jobs. I disbelieve that the

Ruiz 2

job market is low because of immigrants. In fact, they help create more jobs, as stated in an
article called Immigrates Help Build and Strengthen Our Economy by Jason Furman and
Danielle Gray Immigrant owned businesses create jobs for American workers. According to
the Fiscal Policy Institute, small businesses owned by immigrants employed an estimated 4.7
million people in 2007, and according to the latest estimates, these small businesses generated
more than $776 billion annually. What this is proving to us is that immigrants are not here to
provoke losses of jobs for Americans, but rather to better our community and generate more
income to our nation. In this article, Furman and Gray also indicate that immigrants develop
cutting-edge technologies and companies. According to the National Ventura Capital
Association, immigrants have started 25 percent of public U.S. companies that were backed by
Ventura Capital investors. This list includes Google, eBay, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems, and Intel.
This means that immigrants have greatly contributed to the growing of technological
improvements.
Another argument is that some people believe that immigrants make native-born worker
wages drop. I believe that instead of making wages drop they help the native-born gain more
money by expanding businesses. For example, in the articled Immigrants Help Build and
Strength Our Economy by Furman and Gray, it is mentioned that Immigrants are more likely
to create their own jobs. Reported by the U.S. Department of Labor 7.5 percent of the foreign
born are self-employed compared to 6.6 percent among the native-born. This means that as
immigrants are arriving; they are striving to become their own boss. They work hard to have
their own business and be able to gain more money. Something that was expressed in this article
by Furman and Gray is that immigration boosts earnings for American workers. According to a
study by the University of California at Davis, increased immigration to the Unites States has

Ruiz 3

increased the earnings of Americans with more than a high school degree. Between 1990 and
2004, increased immigration was correlated with increasing earnings of Americans by 0.7
percent and is expected to contribute to an increase of 1.8 percent over the long-term. What this
is telling us is that immigrants do have an impact on native-born wages, but not in the way
people assume they do. Instead of decreasing native-born income, immigrants make it grow. The
reason why the wages of native-born with more than a high school diploma increase, is because
immigrants usually take the minimum wage jobs.
In addition, a different conflict emerges when we speak about immigrants and their labor.
It is referenced that immigrants harm the United States economy. Many are credulous that
immigrants do not pay taxes. What people dont know is that immigrants do pay their state and
local taxes. In the article Undocumented Immigrants it is declared that, immigrants currently
pay approximately the same level of sales and property taxes as other U.S. residents in the same
income brackets they pay six or seven percent of their income in state and local taxes, simply
because they buy things and they rent or own homes, and sales and property taxes are paid
automatically. Said Matthew Gardner ITEPs executive director. What this defines is not only
that immigrants pay taxes, but that they pay as much tax money as a native-born. Also foreigners
greatly contribute to expanding much more job opportunities and raising the money of products
bought in the United States. In the article Immigrants Help Build and Strengthen Our
Economy, Furman and Gray express Immigrants boost demand for local costumer goods. The
Immigration Policy Center estimates that the purchasing power of Latinos and Asians many of
whom are immigrants, alone will reach 1.5 trillion and $775 billion, respectively, by 2015. This
implies that the United States isnt losing money, because foreigners make and spend money
within the United States. Additionally divulged in this article Furman and Gray make known

Ruiz 4

that, Immigrants start businesses. According to The Small Business Administration,

immigrants are 30 percent more likely to start a business in the United States than nonimmigrants, and 18 percent of all small businesses owners in the United States are immigrants.
This insinuates that outsiders can really make our nation grow by distributing the skills they have
and are creating more jobs with the businesses they construct.
All in all, I believe that Immigrants have helped the United States tremendously. We as
citizens have also benefited from the work and the new skills immigrants have brought to our
nation. We have all used Google, shopped on eBay, and seen movies on Netflix. All these three
companies and many more wouldnt function the way they do if it werent for immigrants. There
is so much more for people to see and learn from, but some of them resist and set boundaries
between native-born and immigrants. I dont believe that immigrants are here to abduct anyones
jobs, but rather to establish more of them. Everybody has different skills and different learning
techniques, and if immigrants and native-born were to combine those talents our nation would
have fewer labor gaps. President Obama publicized at a neutralization ceremony held at the
White House that the lesson of these 236 years is clear- immigration makes America stronger.
Immigration makes us more prosperous, and immigration positions America to lead in the 21st
century. These young men and women are testaments to that. No other nation in the world
welcomes so many new arrivals. No other nation constantly renews itself, refreshes itself with
the hopes, and the drive, and the optimism, and the dynamism of each new generation of
immigrants. You are all one of the reasons that America is exceptional. Youre one of the reasons
why, even after two centuries, America is always young, always looking to the future, always
confident that our greatest days are still to come What president Obama is trying to

Ruiz 5

Indicate here is that our nation wouldnt be what it is today without the collaboration of
immigrants. Obama is emphasizing that there are always new things in America and that it never
gets old. He is also saying that the future of students in America is bright, and that with hard
work nothing is impossible.

Ruiz 6

Work Cited
"Undocumented Immigrants Pay $11 Billion Annually in State and Local Taxes; Immigration
Reform Would Increase State Revenues by $2 Billion." Economics Week, (2013): 407.
Peri, Giovanni, and Chad Sparber. "Task Specialization, Immigration, and Wages." American
Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1.3 (2009): 135-169.
Jason Furman, and Danielle Gray. Immigrants Help Build and Strengthen Our Economy. White
House .gov (July 12, 2012)