Immigration Myths - Essay Example

However, no politician has offered a strategy that is suitable to the majority of Americans because the issues are complex as are the answers. There are reasonable counterarguments that can be made contradicting these viewpoints concerning the immigration debate, an aspect the article does not acknowledge.

The first ‘myth’ Cole points to is that ‘America is being overrun with immigrants’. “Much of the anti-immigrant fervour is directed against the undocumented but they make up only 13 per cent of all immigrants residing in the United States and only one per cent of the American population” (Cole, 1994). This number appears small and consequently insignificant but even if this number is taken as an irrefutable fact, it is somewhat dated. This percentage should be significantly increased since the article’s publication. In addition, due to the massive numbers of illegal aliens coming across primarily the southern border each year, this percentage has grown. Cole did not consider projections to, for instance, 2020, which would undeniably cause concern for those on both sides of the immigration debate. The deluge of illegal immigrants has and still yet causes substantial social, economic, and physical difficulties for legal residents. Numerous polls show that most American citizens, including Mexican Americans, want the government to put a stop to the surge of illegal aliens spilling over the border.

The second ‘myth’ is that illegal immigrants are taking Americans' jobs. Cole claims, “There is virtually no evidence to support this view, probably the most widespread misunderstanding about immigrants” (Cole, 1994). In his article, Cole reminds us that when the Europeans immigrated to America, the industrial revolution was in full swing.  These immigrants were needed to fill the industrial jobs which served a financial need in the country. These immigrants were employed therefore could successfully make their new life while America benefited due to the seemingly endless supply of labor coming into Ellis Island making it the most mechanized and economically prosperous nation in the world. The industrial revolution is over and has been for many generations. Today many American jobs are being shipped overseas. Employment is not as abundant but the number of immigrants sure is.

The third ‘myth,’ “immigrants are not a drain on society’s resources” may be the most obviously misleading of Cole’s statements. In years past, immigrants to America were less likely to collect welfare than persons born in America. This arrangement has changed drastically over the past several decades. Welfare use is three times higher among illegal immigrants who were granted amnesty compared to the rate for US-born citizens. Today, immigrant families are about 50 per cent more likely to collect federal benefits than persons born in the US. Additionally, “immigrants are more likely to adapt their lives to rely on the welfare system and studies have shown the longer immi­grants stay in the US, the more likely they are to be on welfare” (Rector, 2006). Illegal immigrants exhaust social services, $2 billion in hospital care, $2 billion from food aid programs and $2.5 billion from Medicaid. “States along the southern border pay out hundreds of millions of dollars every year providing social services for illegal aliens” (Hess, 2007).

Cole’s fourth ‘myth’ that the “aliens refuse to assimilate” (Cole, 1994) is true but is not a new phenomenon. Italian and Polish immigrants that settled in neighbourhoods labelled ‘Little Italy’ or ‘Little Warsaw’ during the period of European immigration that occurred a century ago are prime examples. Jewish immigrants also grouped in tight-knit communities (Hirschman, 2005). It takes a few generations for those foreign cultures to completely assimilate.

In Cole’s final ‘myth,’ that “non-citizen immigrants are not entitled to constitutional rights” he counters by stating, “Our government has long declined to treat immigrants as full human beings, and nowhere is that more clear than in the realm of constitutional rights” (Cole, 1994). This may be his most convincing argument but it seems counterintuitive to make a case for the rule of law in defence of those illegal immigrants who have already broken the law when they came into the country. Additionally, a significant number break more laws while in the country including murder, theft, selling drugs, rape, etc. “No system depending on a strict regard for the rule of law can treat law-breaking so casually” (Erler, 2004).