Illegal immigration, right or wrong? Some say it helps our economy because the “tedious” jobs are taken. However, others will argue that it damages our society because more and more Americans are forced out of jobs. More than 21 million illegal immigrants slide past border patrol each year and enter the US unknown. Of that, 10 million take US jobs and put our citizens out of work. For more factual numbers on illegal immigrants go to: http://www.immigrationcounters.com/
On the other hand, illegal immigrants are boosting our economy. In one article it states that, “"Without the immigrants, we would have a decline in labor force of 3 to 4 percent." The Bureau of Labor Statistics, “estimates that 25 to 30 percent of those working in resident construction are immigrants.” So if we completely cut all their jobs, won’t our economy suffer? CNN says yes. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2006/04/12/johns.if.illegals.went.away.cnn?iref=videosearch%20.
Also check out this other article from CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/01/news/economy/immigration_economy/index.htm
Now it’s up to you to decide which is more important. Do illegal immigrants hurt our economy, or do they enhance it?
On the other hand, illegal immigrants are boosting our economy. In one article it states that, “"Without the immigrants, we would have a decline in labor force of 3 to 4 percent." The Bureau of Labor Statistics, “estimates that 25 to 30 percent of those working in resident construction are immigrants.” So if we completely cut all their jobs, won’t our economy suffer? CNN says yes. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2006/04/12/johns.if.illegals.went.away.cnn?iref=videosearch%20.
Also check out this other article from CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/01/news/economy/immigration_economy/index.htm
Now it’s up to you to decide which is more important. Do illegal immigrants hurt our economy, or do they enhance it?
25 comments:
Illegal immigrants hurt our economy completely. In fact, just plain immigrants hurt our economy. They constantly worm their way into our society to earn money and ship it back to their families back home. Yes, I understand they are seeking better opportunities here in America, but so is everyone else. Over a year ago my dad was laid off from a job he worked at for over 16 years! The reason? More and more immigrants were coming to work (and were hired) because they demanded less money for the same amount of work. So of course they would want to pay less to another person if they had to. But even when my dad was looking for a job, he kept receiving phone calls from people of different ethnicity. Is this what our country has come down to? Should we really put other countries before ourselves, when in fact our own country is suffering?
I agree that illegal immigration hurts our economy. Hard working americans wanting to earn a living are dropped everyday for illegals. I completely disagree with knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. People these days let greed get in the way of the law. Company owners could care less, just as long as they make a profit. Illegal immigration numbers are increasing but we haven't really made any headway to stop it. I would let someone have my job if they legally crossed the border and could do the job more effectively than I, but this is never the case. Immigrants enter illegally and take jobs for the sole fact that they ask for a smaller salary. Illegal immigrants need to be found and deported not given a job and a new place to live. Just because you're having a hard time finding work and earning money doesn't mean you break the law.
I, as a business owner, would be unable to hire a cheaper man that cannot do a good job at what he does. However, if that man can do the same quality job for half the price, I'd have to wonder why im hiring the other guy. How can an illegal immigrant require so much less money? does he eat less expensive food, or live in a less expensive house? Maybe the appropriate question is, why does everyone else charge so much more? the previous comment said, and i quote, "People these days let greed get in the way." is this why americans charge way more than everyone else to do the same thing? look at the tag on your shirt. It probably says made in china, or japan... How many of your tags say Made in america? Its gotten to the point that buying it overseas and shipping it here is cheaper than just buying it here. you also seem to be under the impression that american businesses are "giving immigrants a job and a new place to live" this is not the case. they apply for jobs and hunt for jobs, most of the time, jobs not being done in the first place. Illegal immigrants are not out to get our current employees of the nation, they simply wish to join them. they have no inside access, or shortcuts to getting a job, they are simply more dedicated to getting one than the average american in today's world.
I don't believe illegal immigrants "hunt for jobs" and are "dedicated" in their search. Many times they have friends that have illegally crossed or family members that are already here that line up jobs before they even arrive. See.. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,191889,00.html .The fact of the matter is that they aren't just joining the work force. Usually there's a person who gets dropped because of their hiring and the illegals will work lower than the required minimum wage. If I were a business owner I would love to have new workers that would ask for less money, but not ones who have just become law breakers. Many of the illegal immigrants don't just cross the border so innocently. Many will take drugs across for a smuggler who will in turn, give them shelter and cover from border patrol with safehouses. Immigrants are shot and killed in America over the drugs they smuggle. See.. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/10/eveningnews/main582791.shtml. I agree that these immigrants are seeking a job and are in need of money, but bringing drugs with you and causing violence in the country you're entering is even more unacceptable than just simply crossing.
immigrants have no more connections than anyone else in todays economy. Everyone has their little hookups, the only difference here is that you are calling out this particular group of people. Shouldn't we be more concerned about kicking out the lazy immigrants than the ones that make life in america better.(by that i do not mean everyone, but the general population.) It seems to me that it is much easier to blame the immigrants in all of the scenarios that have been presented for me. B.Brown, please do not think im insulting your father here, but why blame the immigrant for your father's loss of a job? It was his company's decision to fire him. troy porter, you speak of how drug dealers use them as transportation across the border, but is it not the drug dealers offering the immigrants a better life? Would you not take it? Immigrants are being offered jobs, and taking them... Oh what jerks! they should know to refuse those jobs so a lazier american citizen can accept them(maybe) because thats the right of the american citizen; the american citizen that is born with the rights, given them for free. I cannot take credit for something i didn't work for, so I cannot put myself above an illegal. If anything i would put him in higher regards than i would myself, because at least we know he had to work to get where he's at today...
Illegal immigrants are causing for economy to go into a downfall. I respect, legal immigrants because they worked there way here and they deserve a place in America. They respect how much a dollar is worth, and truly here for a reason and did it legally. But on the other hand, I think that illegal immigrants are wrong and they should just go back to where they came from. They are only making America worse. Illegal immigrant will cause the economy to go down because they take it back to their families in México and not used here in the USA.
Most workers in America had to go and get an education to get where they are today, and when illegal immigrants come into play they are stealing money but also, opportunities. I know they are grabbing what they can get but still it's WRONG because it's illegal and they weren't professionally trained for the job they just took up an opportunity. Why would you say that illegal immigrants worked harder to get here. They did illegally. So that’s harder?
In another case, “a single smuggler allegedly earned $900,000 over 15 months placing 6,000 migrants in jobs at Chinese restaurants across the upper Midwest”. It's really true, I mean go walk in the mall... Who are the people cleaning up after you? Foreign people/or immigrants. How many of those janitors do you think are illegal immigrants?
Look at this site.....http://www.immigrationshumancost.org/text/crimevictims.html
Some immigrants don’t come over with good intentions. Some of them causes crimes of death. Some illegal immigrants are here searching for a job but look at how many innocent people were killed by them. It's not right to let a killer into the country. I mean most of them are harmless but why risk that chance?
here's another site...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/07/eveningnews/main4000401.shtml
Many children are born here and their parents are illegal immigrants. They get a free c-section due to emergency Medicaid but people in America living here legally have to pay for that themselves. That's not fair to American people because they are putting illegal immigrants over an American. And the immigrant was basically handed free money. Illegal immigrants are here for a good reason but they are bringing down our economy.
People either say that illegals help or hurt our economy, and the truth of the matter is that it is both. They boost our economy as far as production, but the illegal immigrants take away the jobs of LEGAL citizens. Sure they work for less pay and pay taxes legally, but is that right that a illegal person pay money to a country that is NOT theirs? With each passing second, our country is losing over a $1000! In just the time I wrote this, over $100,000 was wired to Mexico (looking at a site that was given in post). That's outrageous!
Having wrote my persuasive research paper on this topic and having read the book "Dead In Their Tracks," I completely agree that illegal immigrants are bringing down Americas economy. The government recently put out stimulous checks into independent tax payers hands to help boost our economy. The question is, why did are we in such debt? It's not because of the war we are currently in. The truth is right in front of our eyes. Our government has to pay for illegal immigrants medical care, disability care, prison payments, and we give them work. Contrast to what Mark said previously, if I were a business owner, I would not hire an illegal immigrant because ultimately it will hurt my business in the long run. If there were less illegal immigrants then our economy would boost dramatically, resulting in a boost in my business. It is a proven fact that 75% of illegal immigrants in America take a trip back to Mexico to help support their families. If all this money is leaving, then our economy's exchange rate is going down while theirs is going up.
According to the results on my research paper:
- 10 Americans are killed everyday by illegal drunk drivers
- 7 Americans are molested by illegals everyday
- 19 illegal immigrants run from the cops everyday
- 16 major drug deals happen everyday involving illegal immigrants
There is no possible way illegal immigrants could boost our economy by offering to work for a few dollars less after all of this.
I understand why illegal immigrants are here; they are in need of money and are seeking opportunities to living a well balanced life. Aren't we all though? Is it really fair that Americans have to pay taxes to our government and the illegal immigrants don't? If you live in one country where you make your earnings, you should have to pay taxes. It's the same as if I were to vacation in Mexico or Paris; I would still have to pay taxes on necessary items. They shoud not be limited because they are an immigrant.
First off, Mark is right. I shouldn't be mad at the illegal immigrant for taking my father's job, when I should be mad at his company. Think of it this way. You work and work and work to make a living and provide a comfortable place for your family. Then one day its crushed, taken away in an instant because an immigrant comes in and demands less money. This is ridiculious. All that schooling and education it has costed to get where you are seems like a waste of time and money. Exactly, what's the point then?
Although I completely disagree with the comment that says,"they should know to refuse those jobs so a lazier American citizen can accept them(maybe) because thats the right of the American citizen;the American citizen that is born with the rights, given them for free." Not every American citizen is lazy. Many people have worked as hard as they can to reach full success. And all of a sudden you want to call them lazy? No. In today's world its compared to a student achieving outstanding grades. I know I work so hard to receive my grades because neither one of my parents were a "complete genius" so I was not born to be a genius either. In life I am not handed things, maybe as others are, I have to work hard to reach them. So is it really fair that if you work hard at a job you are replaced with an equally smart immigrant that requires less money?
I agree with the previous comment that says it both hurts and helps our economy. It depends on who you are looking at. Of course it helps the business owner/company that is paying their employees less. But what about the people who are no longer with job because of them?
It's hard to read some of the previous comments and read phrases refering to illegal immagrants as a different ethnicity. America is a melting pot. Everyone here was at one time an immigrant. Many illegal, but now that your family is established here, simply because you were born on American soil, they can't kick you out now. It's not a person's choice where he or she is born. I don't think our world should have these strict borders. Those crossing the border are so mistreated if caught. Someone previously commented that border-crossers don't work hard and just use their connections. I believe that they DO work hard. They risk so much in hope for a better life. Here in America we are given so much. Honestly, I'm totally not pro-america...but I do realize that Mexico and other countries are way worse off than us. The people suffer and are desperate. I think we should offer illegal immigrants a chance to become legal before screwing them over. America is supposed to welcome everyone. Then why do we welcome groups like "The Lost Boys" but screw over other needy groups? Possibly because it's not getting us as much publicity...?
I think that illegal imigrants are both helping and hurting us. Most immigrants that come here are wanting better jobs. They take the jobs that many americans would not want such as janitors or construction workers. If they were hurting our economy then why is it that if we didnt have them the economy would decrese about four percent. If they were hurting us then wouldnt they economy increase if they left? I think sometimes, however, that they put people out of jobs. If i was an employer i would chose someone who requested less money than a person who requested more if they had they same qualities. So many people are loosing jobs to that.
Immigrants are not spurring an economic downfall. The current dispute in Iraq is causing a recession, or downfall. How have legal immigrants worked harder than illegals? I am a legal immigrant today, and I haven't worked at all to be so. I am a legal immigrant because a long time ago my ancestors did the same thing that modern-day illegals are doing today. It is also extremely stereotypical to say that the "janitors" are illegals, but I, in light of changing my blogging technique, will leave that alone. You also blame the immigrant for being used as a smuggling tool. We brag constantly how we are the best country to live in, and we are... so do you think he(or she) might have heard that as well? One bad deed for a better life... I'd take it. As for saying that because one immigrant commited a murder, we shouldn't let any in, I disagree. Cameron(and Myself)are nowadays a near daily class disturbance, but it would be unreasonable to reprimand the entire class for our actions, wouldn't it?
As far as saying that americans deserve a job because of the level of education they've received... well, my dad dropped out and got his GED when he was 16. What is the standard level of schooling for americans? now take that number, and now find the standard level of schooling for americans working on constructions sites, and other manual labor jobs. That is however beside the point. Just think of how hard you work in school, all of you. Most of you work pretty hard, but every now and then a natural born genius comes along, does no work at all, and leads his high school class. Should he get paid less money than the average hardworker? Maybe so, but he's not going to... How is your situation different?
I believe that Mark is right when he says that we can't blame all illegals for the wrongfull actions of others. However, illegal immigrants are the major source we are in debt, unemployment rates are low, and crime rates are up. To rid of this problem we need to go straight to the source. Taking into consideration that we can't deport just the "bad" illegal immigrants, we need to start deporting all illegal immigrants. After we do this, I strongly believe that our economy will come out of a recession. This will cause our war efforts to be much easier because we will have the supplies and focus we need. If at all possible, I think it would be a great idea to offer temporary citizen passes so illegal immigrants could come and go as we please. This will also cause our unemployment and crime rates to go down.
Whether illegal immigration is right or wrong, it's going to happen. And I strongly agree that they are more dedicated to get a job and make money than most Americans. They are working to keep their families fed, and offering less pay for the same work is a quick way to do it. Even if someone isn't an illegal immigrant, but offers less pay, they will be the first to get the job if they can do the same work. So it doesn't take an immigrant to do that. But whether or not they help the economy is another story. America is already heavily populated, and the millions of immigrants every year don't help. But from so many people spawn so many needs. So the more people, the more jobs, and the more people to do the jobs. And an illegal immigrant is the same as a legal immigrant, they just get in faster and are beaking the law. If the immigrants can work hard enough to get the jobs for quality of work or less pay, then good for them. You just lost a possible job to a smart immigrant. It's survival of the fittest. Even if they do hurt the economy, they aren't leaving any time soon.
i really dont mind illegal immigration.To me it all depends on their motives. If the immigrant is trying to save up money to send for his family, that's okay.If they are simply trying to obtain a decent life then its okay. I believe that if americans were in their positions than we would do whatever was necessary to make sure that our wives/husbands and kids have a decent life. Yeah it would be good for them to become legal but sometimes when people are just tired and desperate they take things into their own hands and do whatever is necessary. As for the economy i think that it hurts it but not to a great extent. The war (or should we even call it a war?), the useless fighting in iraq is hurting the economy even more. So why should we be worried about something so small when we have an even bigger issue ahead of us?
I agree with the comment about being more concerned about the lazy immigrants rather than the hardworking ones. We should not use immigrants as our scapegoat for our problems. Let's get one thing straight, not all immigrants are bad. Just like here, there are bad people and good people. Check out this link of a victim of discrimination. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/02/15/lawrence.hispanic.harassment.cnn?iref=videosearch I think it is human nature to go where work is available. If someone wanted to escape poverty, they would do anything to get money, even break the law. Remember in class when we had a survey about the breaking the law? Well majority of us said we WOULD break the law for something we believe in.
I agree with Georges comment on how their are bad citizens living in the United States and almost every illegal immigrant comes here to escape poverty. If you can pay an illegal immigrant to work for much less than a citizen, why not? And how can a country that was built on people revolting against unfair laws and poverty turn away humans that are struggling? I don't understand how we as a country can do this. And it’s not like you can just tell them to get a green card because it’s not as simple as it sounds. We also can’t really complain about U.S. workers loosing their jobs when almost all of the large manufactures and businesses are being shipped to Asia. In my own opinion we should keep all business here in the states and have the workers work here. So is it illigilies hurting us or is it ourselves?
The fact that illegal immigrants are here makes a lot of cense. They need money, and they get what they want; easily to. I understand that business men want the cheapest men to get the job done, but how does the minimum wage fit in here. Are the illegal immigrants affecting this.
Check out think site to see when illegal immigration and minimum wage intersect.
http://www.fee.org/publications/the-freeman/article.asp?aid=7019
There are several sides of this argument and the arguer has to understand all to make a strong point.
I thought it was cool how Jake talked about how else they affected Americans
-10 Americans are Killed everyday...
Overall I think to keep allowing illegal immigrants into the country, needs to be stopped. There are too many negative effects from them.
Imagine you're an immigrant, trying to make a future for your. You have kids to feed and you need to find good paying work SOON. Now you have two options, make a run for the border (risking being shot or imprissoned) or wait months, maybe years to get the neccessary paperwork. What are you going to do? It's not fair that we make illegal immigrants out to be bad people, they're just trying to get through life like any of us. They see a chance and they go for it. Quite frankly, I'd do the same thing. I don't think they're bad people because they try to make a better life. They're Humans, just like any of us.
AND they aren't the only thing effecting our ecconomy. (Just look at gas prices)
Even if illegal immigrants are human being looking for a better life and escaping poverty…why can‘t they just follow the laws. I mean really how hard is it to become a legal citizen? Many immigrants can come in to the United states and become legal, then why can't these illegal immigrants take the time out to make themselves legal then risking their life each time the cross the border? I understand that they are doing it for a good reason but, then it would lead on for generations of crossing the border. My parents had to worked hard to make it over to America and make themselves legal citizens. They could wait, why can't illegal immigrants? People from different countries are willing to do anything to get to America. The United States may seem like a place of opportunities but our economy is falling and illegal immigrants are a factor to that, next to the war in Iraq. If our economy keeps falling then there would be less opportunities for all people.
it is a lot easier to blame your problems on others... the illegals seem to be a scapegoat to cover the fact that we are fighting and losing money in the war. when the war had the popularity it once did, the illegal immigrant situation was nonexistant. were illegals still coming in? yes, but we had a reason to be losing money, so it was no big deal. now that we just want out of the war, and away from further debt, we are counting every lost penny... except for those that are still being spilled over in iraq. we complain about the amount of money leaving the US to mexico, at the same time our government is rebuilding an entirely different country across the globe. at least the illegals are working for our money...
Absolutely they hurt our economy! They steal our jobs! I am sure that the 3 or 4 percent of illegal jobs would quickly be filled by people that need the work. If people dont work then they cant spend their money which would 1. boost the economy because people are spending money and 2. because the money would stay in the country and not be sent over seas! The border patrol should really do a better job!
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