Immigration Issue In The United States
Introduction
The American society is deeply affected by various issues, as with various immigration policies and immigration. Over the past few decades, the United States has been accommodating an overwhelming number of both illegal and legal immigrants. These include those who arrive into the country either from within or outside the stipulations that govern the permanent immigration system. The prevalent issue, however, is the number of immigrants that flood the country illegally. Meissner et al. (2017) posits that U.S. receives close to 1.8 million illegal immigrants annually. It is no surprise, that way back before his inception into office, the current president, Donald Trump, made clear of his intention on taking a tough stance on the issue. It was in fact, the rallying agenda of his presidential campaign, the major focus, until date, of his administration. Even more precise, he has tried to install various changes to the current system, ranging from building the border wall to sharp cuts in legal affairs. In this sense, this essay will take an in-depth analysis of the immigration issue in the country and the potential effects it poses on the economy.
It cannot be doubted that the full extent of Trump’s ambitious promises are far from being realized. However, while setting the changes in constant motion, it is appropriate to highlight the economic impacts that immigration, especially illegal immigration, poses on the country. According to Pierce et al. (2018), the most dominant impact of immigration that always seems to spark off a lot of contentious discussions is expenditure. In a similar vein, Maha & Maha (2010) opine that “with the increasing share of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. population, researchers and economists’ attention has turned over the increasingly Hispanic migrant impact on the economy, especially education expenditures” (pg. 7). In fact, it accounts as the largest U.S. government spending. This is attributed to the fact that the government has to bear both fiscal and administrative responsibilities of providing free education (tuition fees) to illegal immigrants’ children. This ranges from kindergarten up to their graduation from high school institutions. These acts follows the 1982 Supreme Court that held that all States are subject to mandatory provision of free education to every child, regardless of their racial and immigration status (Pierce et al., 2018). Studies suggest that as of 2017, children from illegal immigrant families aged between 5 and 17 years work at the American public education system. Similarly, another three million children with illegal parents have gone forth to benefit from free education (Meissner et al., 2017).
Another issue that stems from illegal immigration, and threatens to cripple the American economy, is the case of medical expenditure. Maha & Maha (2010) posits that “the probability that legal or illegal Hispanic immigrants receive health insurance is lower than among the U.S. citizens” (pg. 8). It is no surprise that free public clinics and free emergency rooms are constantly flooded by immigrants with their effort of accessing quality healthcare. In most instances, the government tends to subsidize health care, but only with a specific degree of complexity. This services are offered irrespective of the status of the person accessing healthcare and their possibility of paying. More staggering statistics suggest that the government allocates close to a sum exceeding 200 million dollars for the purpose of treating illegal immigrants within major states including California and Arizona (Ragsdale, 2017). Additionally, there is constant hostility between American natives and illegal immigrants along the notion that the latter are enjoying various services, healthcare included, without necessarily feeling the burden of paying taxes as most citizens do. In a similar sense, other states see various immigrants who work on temporary basis being exempted from Medicare taxes and social security (Nicholson &Team, 2017).
Law enforcement expenditures have to account for the largest government expenditure on the issue of immigration. These costs are mostly allocated on necessary means of strengthening measures that try to combat the issue. It includes strengthening security in the U.S.-Mexico border, maintenance and insurance of the costs for a quality inmate life or other correctional facilities, and also law processes and legal procedures when dealing with illegal immigrants. Meissner et al. (2007) puts it better when he laments that in the State of Colorado, as of 2007, the government “spent 245 million dollars for illegal immigrants applying penalties” (pg. 27). These expenses range from the costs of investigating offenders, maintaining prisons, trials, and orphanages.
It would be appropriate to highlight that perhaps the most beneficial effect of immigration, from an economical perspective, is that illegal immigrants, Hispanic immigrants especially, according to Maha & Maha (2010), occupy most labor market positions. The downside however, is that most White Americans would never accept working in such positions. Moreover, most illegal Hispanic immigrants tend to provide such services at the lowest wage rates possible, which then excludes them from paying social, state, medical, and federal taxes. It is no surprise that over the years, there have been hostile reactions towards this phenomenon. These reactions refer to the possibility of lowering labor prices, and that illegal immigrants can only work at lower wages. As a consequence, they decrease the level of competitiveness on the labor market. However, this according to Nicholson & Team (2017) may be beneficial to various consumers and firms across the country. In other words, a low labor cost is much easier to purchase and for consumers, it theoretically means that they are purchasing the product at a lower price. Additionally, companies that pay lower wages to their respective employees means they are subject to lower taxes and a corresponding higher profit (Nicholson & Team, 2017).
The United States has for long been deemed as the land of milk and honey, the land of endless opportunities, the land where people can ‘easily’ realize the promised American dream, the land where “prospective immigrants can achieve prosperity and upward mobility” (Abramitzky & Boustan, 2017, pg. 1). Nothing can be taken away from this notion. In fact, opportunities are endless in the United States and there are no limits on the amount of money one can make, regardless of their immigration status. However, both past and present evidence suggests that there is no consistency with this dominant perception of the American dream, where in most instances, immigrants arrive penniless and eventually catch up with their native counterparts (Pierce et al., 2018). In fact, data suggests that even past immigrants till date have never caught up with natives. In addition, “long-term immigrants in [all periods of time] have experienced occupational or earnings growth at around the same pace as natives” (Abramitzky & Boustan, 2017, pg. 2).
Conclusion
United States has for long, and will continue to host a lot of immigrants, whether legal or illegal. However, it is important to note that illegal immigrants are not trying to invade the country. On the contrary, they are trying to follow the laws of the labor market and chasing their American dream. Additionally, they also do not operate unless they can gain access to certain services including education and healthcare. There is no way they can cripple the U.S. economy since they operate under the lowest wages. Undeniably, there is a huge influx of illegal migrants, especially from neighbouring countries that needs close attention. Moreover, they also offer a huge burden to the government from different perspectives, including them being exempted from paying taxes. What is evident, is that this issue has for long, proved that it requires significant attention from the government.
References
Abramitzky, R., & Boustan, L. (2017). Immigration in American economic history. Journal of economic literature, 55(4), 1311-45.
Maha, S. S., & Maha, L. G. (2010). The impact of illegal immigration on US economy.
Meissner, D., Meyers, D. W., Papademetriou, D. G., & Fix, M. (2007). Immigration and America's Future: A New Chapter. Geo. JL & Pub. Pol'y, 5, 473.
Nicholson, M. D., & Team, C. I. (2017). The facts on immigration today: 2017 edition. Center for American Progress.
Pierce, S., Bolter, J., & Selee, A. (2018). US immigration policy under Trump: Deep changes and lasting impacts. Retrieved on January, 11, 2019.
Ragsdale, S. (2013). Immigrants in the United States of America. Advances in Historical Studies, 2(03), 167.
