Undocumented Immigrants Should Be Allowed To Have Better Opportunities
Many undocumented people come to the United States in search of many opportunities. They leave their country, their culture, their language, and their loved ones behind all for a better way of living. They risk getting hypothermia in the desert, dehydrating, or drowning in the Rio Grande River; “approximately 370 to 800 immigrants are dying every year in the U.S. territory while trying to cross the border”. Others can get kidnapped, tortured, raped, or even murdered. Indeed, others can get eaten by coyotes or bit by a snake and die after. They do not only risk their lives but also getting caught by ‘La Migra’ and end up in jail or deported. Every person who makes it alive has a story to tell. Not everyone is lucky enough to make it into the Unites States. Those who do, live with a daily fear that one day they will get detained and all their wishes will get taken away. These immigrants that risk it all to live the American Dream should be allowed to have better opportunities, to have a better living condition, and to not be separated from their families.
Immigrants should be allowed to have better opportunities like better education and sustainable jobs which in turn can help out the country. Education is essential when trying to be successful economically and socially, in today’s society. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to have an education due to circumstances such as money, transportation, or even lack of family support. Not every community around the world has enough funds to provide kids an education or even build a school for them. The challenges to education and life success are more severe for children living in the nation’s poorest rural countries. In a recent survey, it has been found that in Sokoto, Africa “just a handful of the kids have any chance of making it through to secondary education”. Children are barely getting any education, which can affect the knowledge of these kids and they are less likely to prosper with such low education. The Center for Universal Education at Brookings/ This is Africa Learning Barometer survey estimates that “61 million children of primary school age-one-in-every-two across the region- will reach their adolescent years unable to read, write or perform basic numeracy tasks”. Those million children that are staying behind in education are being blocked from progressing. Parents that were raised with low education or no education at all, do not want that for their children. They would like for their children to progress and receive the education that they were not able to receive when they were young. Therefore, undocumented people come to America in search of a better future for their children.
Some immigrants may not come in search for education, but for an opportunity of getting hired, instead. When arriving into the United States, many immigrants start working in low-paying jobs that many Americans do not want: farming, construction, restaurants, hotels, private homes. According to a report by New American Economy, “foreign-born workers are more likely to work unusual hours, such as, evenings, overnights, weekends, and ‘off’ days”. They have similar demographic characteristics such as location, transportation, education level, and have families just like native-born workers, but they prefer to work in order to have enough money to support themselves and their families. It gets to the point that “many industries rely heavily upon immigrants working unusual hours”. Without having people working unusual hours, businesses would go bankrupt. Putting in more hours and at a low-paying job, they provide cheap labor for many industries and keeps the American economy functioning. They start purchasing groceries, homes, vehicles, and many other things which help the local businesses economy and the economy of the country as a whole. They also pay taxes just like any other American citizen such as social security tax, property tax, federal and state income tax, sales tax, and so on. According to a U.S. census, “undocumented immigrants paid $11.7 billion in state and local taxes”. If they would be capable of having a secure legal status, they would more likely earn more and would contribute more in local and state tax paying increase by “an estimation of $2.2 billion”. The tax money that they are paying for can help their community by having libraries, schools, better law enforcement, public hospitals, community churches, construction, and so forth. Immigrants coming into the United States are not a “threat” as some Americans see it but a help to this nation. Deporting these illegal immigrants can cost the government trillion of dollars. According to a research at the Center for American Progress, it can take $4.7 trillion deporting 7 million undocumented out of 12 million. This will affect the economy of the country drastically. The debt will increase. The economy will no longer be strengthened without the participation of these people in the economy. Also, in order to detain all of the undocumented people, Congress will have to hire more ICE officers and that will also cost money. With all the research gathered, “overall, apprehending, detaining, processing, and transporting every undocumented immigrant outside of the U.S. it would cost between $400 and $600 billion.” This demonstrates that it would be more beneficial if the government lets immigrants work and study here in the country than deporting them.
Running away from poverty, communism, and violence, people come into the United States in the hope of a good life, so the United States should be a refuge. Some immigrants leave their native land because of lack of money. Without a sustainable source of income keeping up family basic necessities such as a home, food, and water, it becomes extremely difficult to live. The Central African Republic (CAR) located in the middle of Africa is considered to have the worst poverty rate in the world. In the year of 2008, “66.26 percent of the population was living at less than $1.90 a day”. If these people of CAR migrate to this country, they should be able to have their essentials in order to live a good life. Everything is expensive nowadays; families will not be able to provide their children nor themselves the enough food with that amount of money. The lack of nutrition can cause these people to become weaker or even die of starvation. In CAR, “nearly one-third of the population (1.3 million people) is food insecure, with 47.7 percent of the entire population undernourished”. Meaning that they are not eating enough to have a good health and condition. People do not only suffer of hunger, but some of these people also do not have a roof over their heads. Some live in the streets or homes that are not suitable to live in. Many of these houses get destroyed by the weather and they become homeless. Poverty can affect the people in many different ways causing them to feel frustration, sad, and hopeless. Everyone will like to prosper
Families are meant to be united, not separated. Children should not be punished for trying to find protection and a refuge from poverty. Separation from leaves children more defenseless to mistreatment and abuse Many immigrant families live with an everyday fear that one day they will no longer be together because someone will be deported. Some of these families have been having this fear for decades, others for less. They are terrified going to work, going to school, grocery shopping, being in the streets in general. That fear is affecting every part of the family’s lives. It causes anxiety, trauma, lack of motivation, and health problems. Pediatrician Ursula Pertl of Oceanside, California who about 40 percent of her caseload is Mexican or Mexican-American says that “kids are suffering from anxiety anout not wanting to leave their parents or being worried[about if they’ll still be there when they get home”.
Works Cited
- Borgen, Clint. “The Central African Republic's Poverty Rate.” The Borgen Project, Clint Borgen Http://Borgenproject.org/Wp-Content/Uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.Jpg, 31 July 2018, borgenproject.org/central-african-republics-poverty-rate/.
- “Immigrants as Economic Contributors: Immigrant Tax Contributions and Spending Power.” National Immigration Forum, immigrationforum.org/article/immigrants-as-economic-contributors-immigrant-tax-contributions-and-spending-power/.
- Jan, Tracy. “'They Said I Was Going to Work like a Donkey. I Was Grateful.'.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 11 July 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/07/11/they-said-i-was-going-to-work-like-a-donkey-i-was-grateful/?utm_term=.7384dd3128ac.
- Peña, Alex. “Migrants Face Higher Risks Illegally Crossing the Border.” NBC Latino, 20 Sept. 2012, nbclatino.com/2012/09/20/migrants-face-higher-risks-illegally-crossing-the-border/.
- “Trump's New Deportation Rules Could Cost the Economy Trillions.” ThinkProgress, thinkprogress.org/trump-cost-mass-deportations-f662977cb809/.
- Watkins, Kevin, and Kevin Watkins. “Too Little Access, Not Enough Learning: Africa's Twin Deficit in Education.” Brookings, Brookings, 28 July 2016, www.brookings.edu/opinions/too-little-access-not-enough-learning-africas-twin-deficit-in-education/.
