"Illegal Immigration Helps Society"
Steven A. Camarota, director of research at the Center of Immigration Studies, points out that the money saved by hiring illegal immigrants results in less expensive products for consumers (Camarota para. 18). For this statement, take the example of a farmer hiring undocumented workers for labor. In this scenario, the immigrant makes some money for his or her work, the farmer largely profits from selling the harvest to restaurants, and the restaurant profits from selling meals to their customers. Various aspects of the economy are benefited with the assistance of illegal immigrants.The ripple effect of the labor performed by illegal immigrants make life necessities more affordable to the average consumer.
Although this may be the case, it is important to remember that illegal immigrants are as human as everyone else. By exploiting their need for money, businesses overwork their undocumented workers to adjust for their underpaid wages. This one-sided relationship is harmful for the illegal immigrants in the long-run. |
"Some Jobs just need to be Done"
Steven Palidda, a member of the Anthropological Sciences Department at the University of Genova, brings up the point that “the continuation of the illegal workforce is vital to the America economy: newly arrived immigrants fill the gap left by others…” (Palidda 3). Here, he explains how illegal immigrants help society run efficiently by doing what others do not want to.
The problem with this viewpoint is that there is no such thing as an unwanted job. Not only are there low-skilled Americans willing to fill these spots, there are also immigrants that enter the nation legally that would be willing to have those jobs. Dennis Jacobe, Gallup’s chief economist, claims that it is not fair to allow illegal immigrants to simply enter the nation for work when there is a long list of individuals trying to legally enter the nation (Jacobe para. 4). The so-called “unwanted” jobs are not reserved for illegal immigrants so it is unjust to say that group of individuals should be allowed to unlawfully come to America to “fill the gap.” |
"It's too Expensive to Send them Back"
Cornelius et el, scholars of comparative migration and Mexican politics and development, state that border enforcement spending increased tenfold over 20 years (Cornelius 51). This reiterates the fact that illegal immigration is a persistent problem and a seemingly endless source of expense to the nation. Ryan Vetter, graduate from California State University San Marcos with a Bachelor of Arts in History, wrote an article for the Independent Voter Project to put the cost of border protection into perspective. He provides the estimate that "approximately $12 billion from United States tax payer money went into border security in 2013" (Vetter para. 1).
Although this may seem highly expensive, it is important to understand that the sole purpose of border security is not to prevent illegal immigration: they are also responsible for other tasks such as inspecting the import of weapons, drugs, and regular immigrants. Yes, a significant sum of cash does still go towards preventing illegal immigrants; however, some of this money would otherwise go towards federal aid. Displaced low-skilled American workers will need monetary help from the government because of the low wages that are a result of the exploitation of illegal immigrants. |