Melissa Oligario-Morandy

Professor Perparim Gutaj

U.S. Government and Politics 1100

August 2, 2019

Immigration is an issue in the United States that is hotly debated and affects a lot of

people, in this country as well as others. It also effects all Americans indirectly due to the

amount of tax money spent on immigration, the workforce that immigrants make up and the

safety of our country as well. There are approximately forty-three million immigrants living in

the United States and eleven million undocumented immigrants. President Trump campaigned on

this issue and pledged that he would build a wall spanning the southern border between the

United States and Mexico. He also promised to deport undocumented immigrants living in the

United States. Since he has been elected President, he has been working hard to keep his

campaign promises regarding immigration, despite some resistance from Congress and many

Americans. Some Americans do agree with Trump and think that he is just saying and doing the

things that many Americans think and just won’t say when it comes to immigration. On the other

hand, those who disagree and think that the harsh stance on immigration is inhumane and that

Trump is a racist. I am going to argue that although some immigration reform is necessary, I

think we are going to an extreme and forgetting that immigrants are humans and deserve to be

treated with respect.

There are many reasons why people leave their country and look for a home in the United

States. Many people come to be reunified with family that is already here. They can apply for
citizenship to join their families, but those visas are limited and sometimes require continued

effort. This can lead to people risking being caught to join their families. And with family

already here it can be easy to be harbored and fly under the radar while not contributing to

society out of fear. Another reason people come to America is to leave poverty and to look for a

better life. The majority of illegal immigrants have left third-world countries or countries that

struggle with extreme poverty. And in extreme cases people flee here to avoid wars and

genocides. After all our country was built and established by immigrants and people looking for

a better life and freedom from oppression.

If people did not have to risk everything to come here illegally, they could help contribute

to our society, both financially and socially. Studies show that legalization of illegal immigrants

would boost the U.S. economy. Undocumented immigrants who work under the table do not pay

taxes to help the government run. It limits the jobs that they can work and makes them not

eligible for social security and other taxpayer funded welfare programs. A 2015 study shows that

"increasing deportation rates and tightening border control weakens low-skilled labor markets,

increasing unemployment of native low-skilled workers. Legalization, instead, decreases the

unemployment rate of low-skilled natives and increases income per native." (Chassamboulli)

Along with the benefits to the economy there is no evidence to show that immigrants increase

crime in the United States. Some research even suggests that increases in immigration may partly

explain the reduction in the U.S. crime rate.

Undocumented immigrants in need of medical care are sometimes forced to go to the

emergency room even if they cannot afford it because of lack of health insurance. This creates an

extra burden for citizens who have to make up the loss in their health care costs. Jobs that

provide health care for these immigrants would help alleviate that problem. The biggest cost to
taxpayers when it comes to illegal immigrants comes from public educations. All children are

allowed a free education regardless of immigration status. But, are children born in the United

States who are receiving an education, are they really illegal immigrants? Second generation

immigrants usually go on to do far better than their parents in this country and can boost the

economy. This to me seems like an investment in the future. It is almost impossible to determine

a precise cost of undocumented immigrants partly because they tend to live within shadows and

therefore their contribution and use of taxpayer resources is unknown.

Like the U.S. born children of undocumented immigrants if other illegal immigrants were

allowed to pay into the system and have the opportunity to get an education would they be able

to contribute and boost the economy, I think they would. Let’s offer illegal immigrants the

opportunity to get loans to go to college or trade school and improve themselves. I also think it

would be beneficial for the government to track immigrants somehow. When illegal immigrants

are scared and in hiding that is not possible. I am not saying that there should be an unlimited

number of immigrants allowed into this country because that could lead to over population and

other problems. But, closing the borders and making it almost impossible to become a citizen

isn’t helping anyone.

I think that immigration reform needs to start with the children of undocumented

immigrants who were brought here without a choice and now are stuck here in limbo. I do not

think that it would be fair to deport them to the county of their birth even if for a short time until

they can come here legally. They may not have been to their home country since childhood and

would not know how to live and function there, the U.S. is the only country they know. Those

children need to have expedited citizenship, this will allow them to pay into the system and be an

asset to our country. Then the government can help those who have been here for a long time and

have family here, those individuals who live and work here anyway but could be working legally
and paying into the system. After legalization of those individuals then they could look at new

immigrants with a needs-based system, allowing those into the country first that have family

here, have special skills to share or are in desperate safety or economic need.

Donald Trump has signed several executive orders since becoming president regarding

immigration. The first one was a focus on border security by instructing a border wall to keep

immigrants from Mexico from entering the country. Another one was to focus on terrorism

prevention. This order banned nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen

from entering the United States for at least ninety days; blocked nationals from Syria

indefinitely; and suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days. This one would seem to

imply that immigrants from those countries are a danger to our country by citizenship alone.

I think these executive orders have gone to far in the name of humanity. Detention camps

have been created that separate families trying to enter the country illegally and human

beings are kept in deplorable conditions for extreme amounts of time to prevent them from

coming here. Although I am not in agreement for letting unlimited numbers of people into

our country with no background check of any kind I do not think we should shut down our

borders and not allow anyone in like we are now, we have gone too far, especially for a

country that was created by immigrants.

Although immigration is a complex and complicated issue as citizens, we need to

remember that everyone is human and if nothing else we can be kind and civil to those

immigrants who here whether illegally or legal. And if it is an important issue then it is

helpful to contact local congressmen and tall them what you think. I am afraid that while

Trump is in office nothing positive is going to change when it comes to immigration, but it

does not hurt to try.

Citation:

Chassamboulli, Andri; Peri, Giovanni (1 October 2015). "The labor market effects of reducing

the number of illegal immigrants". Review of Economic Dynamics. 18 (4): 792–821.

Doleac, Jennifer (February 14, 2017). "Are immigrants more likely to commit

crimes?". Econofact. Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Archived from the original on

February 16, 2017.

Hals, Tom. “U.S. to Expand Rapid Deportation Nationwide with Sweeping New Rule.” CNBC,

CNBC, 22 July 2019, www.cnbc.com/2019/07/22/reuters-america-u-s-to-expand-rapid-

deportation-nationwide-with-sweeping-new-rule.html.

The Integration of Immigrants into American Society. National Academies of Sciences,

Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. doi:10.17226/21746. ISBN 978-0-309-37398-2.