Immigration Problems in the United States - Essay Example

Immigration in the United s has been taking place for several decades. The population comprises of both legal and illegal immigrants. Debates abound on how the immigrants impact the US economy. According to Fandl (2007), there are over nine million undocumented immigrants living in the United States and they account for nearly 5% of the total US labor force. There are almost 10 to 11 million illegal migrants who perform crucial jobs in the economy. According to the Pew Hispanic Research Center 24% of all farm jobs, 17% of cleaning jobs, and 27% of butchery jobs are performed by illegal migrants (Powell, 2006). While some argue that the migrants are adversely affecting the economy as the inequality between the rich and poor has widened, it is strongly believed that any reforms to drive these migrants would disrupt the economy as the wages would rise and both the employers and the migrants would suffer. Immigrants and low-skilled immigrant workers are concentrated in a few states and in those states, in a few metropolitan areas (Chiswick, 2006). Immigrants are usually drawn to expanding cities particularly to cities with historical enclaves of earlier immigrants (Card, 2007). There is an unbalanced skill distribution and it has been observed that high-immigration cities have more low-skilled people in their local population. America is not being overrun by immigrants. The immigrants residing in the US make up for only one percent of the American population. Besides, the migrants do not enter the country illegally. Most enter legally but overstay on student or visitor visa (Cole, 1994). This only demonstrates the flaws in the US administration. Moreover, immigrants do not fill jobs but create jobs. They do not take the jobs from the Americans and there is no evidence to support this view. In fact the immigrants start their own businesses and employ both immigrants and natives. Chiswick argues that immigrants are localized and concentrated in certain areas but the jobs that migrants perform are still being done in other areas or states and a large number of these low-skilled workers are native to the United States (Chiswick, 2006). The census of 2000 shows that males between 25 and 64 years employed that year, of those with less than a high school diploma, 64% were born in the US and 36% were foreign born. Even those that have graduated from high school have not acquired any other skills essential for higher earnings and there are no low-skill jobs that American workers would or would not do. This only corroborates with Cole’s opinion that migrants do not take up the jobs of the Americans. As the American economy demands cheap labor, if the flow of illegal immigrants is controlled, it would adversely affect the American jobs and businesses (Fandl, 2007). Americans would not opt for these jobs or even if they do, they would demand higher wages which would affect the profitability of the organizations and eventually the economy of the country. Without low-cost workers these jobs would be sent overseas and outsourcing would increase. In the process the US businesses would become less competitive due to higher domestic labor costs. Outsourcing and shifting jobs overseas would reduce the jobs available for the US citizens. Thus this would affect both the employers and the migrants. Chaswick contends that as the number of low-skilled workers has increased because of legal and illegal immigrants, it has contributed to the stagnation of wages for all such workers. The purchasing power of the low-skilled families has declined while the purchasing power of the high-income families has risen implying that there is income inequality thereby widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Fandl (2007) however confirms that the maximum immigrants to US have been from Mexico and they have helped the US economy take a lead in the industrial revolution by keeping labor costs low In fact as the prices of the goods and services produced by the immigrants have been reduced and both the rich and the poor consumers have benefited. The reverse would happen if the migrants are driven out. If there were fewer migrant low-skilled workers available, the wages would increase. As low skilled workers are cheaply and readily available, businesses are not making efforts to introduce technology that is available. Even jobs like mowing the lawns would attract teenagers or housewives as the wages offered would be high in the absence of low-skilled migrant workers. The frequency of mowing may be reduced to offset rising labor costs; the frequency of changing sheets and towels could be reduced for the same reason. However this does not reduce the total cost of the service. For the same cost the frequency and quality of service is reduced, which ultimately affects the employer. Hence, reducing the frequency of services to offset costs is not a solution as the native will not work at the wages that immigrants are willing to work at. Immigrants are a net benefit to the economy because as per the 1994 Urban Institute report, “immigrants generate significantly more in taxes paid than they cost in services received” (Cole, 1994). Immigrants also have a favorable effect on the overall standard of living. Initially when a new wave of migrants arrives, and if they are mostly undocumented and uneducated, the state may have to bear substantial costs but on a long-term perspective the benefits derived from migrants is undeniable. It has also been found that immigrants have less adequate access to formal medical care but at the same time, the immigrants experience much lower mortality than the US born citizens from several major causes of death (Singh & Siahpush, 2001). This pertains to all major diseases connected to heart or cancer or even from liver cirrhosis, pneumonia and influenza. The cause for low mortality and better health is that the immigrants have more of the favorable behavior and the social support characteristics that are conducive to positive health. A significant number of immigrants that live and work in the U.S. and that pay taxes, have not committed any major crimes (Fandl, 2007). They desire to continue to live and work in the US and such amendments would greatly help not only those immigrants but the country as well. If they are offered a clear and effective mechanism for legalizing themselves, it would prevent the jail and detention facilities from overflowing with illegal immigrants who are charged for not having proper documentation. It can thus be concluded that immigrant flow in the US has not adversely affected the economy. It has not even led to serious health problems. While initially they may cost the state substantially but their presence gives long-term benefits to the country. They help to maintain quality service at low wages. They take up jobs that an average American would not. In fact they even employ the Native American as many migrants start their own businesses. In the areas where the migrants dominate, in the absence of the migrants, the employers would have to outsource the job, which would adversely affect the company. The migrants contribute to the economy by way of paying taxes and they demand or receive back much less in services. Reducing the frequency of services to offset the rising costs is no way to tackle the issue of wages. There is no increase in income inequality. On the contrary, the migrants have helped to keep the prices of goods and services low for the end consumers of all income groups. Hence any attempts to drive the illegal migrants would adversely impact the economy and both the employers and the migrants would suffer. The solution lies in the right administrative framework to legalize their status. Card. D 2007, How Immigration Affects U.S. Cities, Centre for Research and Analysis for Migration, Retrieved online 27 November 2008, from http://www.econ.ucl.ac.uk/cream/pages/CDP/CDP_11_07.pdf Chiswick, BC 2006, The Worker Next Door, The New York Times, Retrieved online 27 November 2008, from http://dajaeg.people.wm.edu/research/chiswick-op-ed.pdf Cole, D 1994, The New Know-Nothingism: Five Myths about Immigration, Retrieved online 27 November 2008, from http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~shagin/44fivemyths.pdf Fandl, K J 2007, Immigration Posses: U.S. Immigration Law and Local Enforcement Practices, Retrieved online 27 November 2008, from http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=kevin_fandl Powell, B 2006, How To Reform Immigration Laws. Retrieved online 27 November 2008, from http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1696 Singh, G & Siahpush, M 2001, All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality of Immigrants and Native Born in the United States, American Journal of Public Health, vol. 91, no. 3. Read More