How Immigration Has Been Beneficial to the United States

Illegal Immigration has been Beneficial to the United States

Immigration has been a point of concern for successive governments within the United States for a very long time. While several actions have been taken to prevent illegal immigration, such steps have been insufficient in conclusively addressing illegal immigration. The opponents of illegal immigration have argued that illegal immigrant place strain to the economic systems of the United States. They argue that since such immigrants are not accounted for in revenue allocation, they strain several other governments departs that do not have resources to cater for their needs. Moreover, such opponents argue that illegal immigrants also pose a security threat (Solano-García, 2008). However, illegal immigrants equally offer an immense contribution to the economic and social well-being of the United States. Therefore, illegal immigration has been greatly beneficial to the economic and social welfare of the United States.

First, illegal immigrants have contributed to economic growth and development of the United States. Such immigrants continue to offer cheap labor to American firms and businesses. Many restaurants have leveraged on the cheap labor provided by such immigrant in maximizing their profits (Bchir, 2008). Other small and medium-size enterprises who would have otherwise not afforded formal American labor have equally leveraged on the provision of such cheap labor to grow their businesses. Consequently, the existence of illegal immigrants has largely facilitated the growth of small and medium enterprises within the United States. The ripple effect of the growth of such businesses owing to the existence of illegal immigrants has been an increase in the tax revenue generated from such businesses (Solano-García, 2008). Moreover, such businesses have subsequently grown to the level where they can employ many documented immigrants and the citizens of the United States. As such, illegal immigrants have greatly contributed to the economic growth as well as the sustainability of the United States economy.

Secondly, illegal immigrants have greatly helped in offering services for homes and in neighborhoods that would have otherwise not been accessible or too expensive without them. Many gated communities have employed illegal immigrants to cut their lawn and clean such neighborhoods. Moreover, many families have employed such immigrants to take care of their homes and children while they are away from home. Such services would have been very expensive without the presence of illegal immigrants (Figgou, 2015). Consequently, illegal immigrants have contributed to enhancing the social well-being of Americans within their neighborhoods and in their families in a way that would have otherwise been impossible without them.

There is a common misconception that illegal immigrants are a security threat to the United States. This misconception is misinformed because of a few illegal immigrants that have been engaged in criminal activities or have been members of a criminal gang. However, a larger percentage of American citizens have engaged in criminal activities and equally pose security threats to fellow United States citizens. As such, it is unfair to judge the entire illegal immigrant population because of the activities conducted by a few members of this population group. Majority of illegal immigrants are seeking better employment opportunities as well as a safe and secure place to live (Djajic, 2015). As such they are kin on avoiding any illegal activities that would create an attraction of the security agencies to them.

In conclusion, the illegal immigrants have great economic as well as social benefits to the American community. Such benefits far outweigh the potential threats that such immigrants pose to the economy and security of the United States. While this paper does not advocate for illegal immigration, it advocates for a structured way of legalizing illegal immigrants in order to leverage the numerous advantages they pose to the country.

References

Bchir, M. H. (2008). The effect of mode four liberalization on illegal immigration.  Economic Modelling, 25 (5), 1051-1063.

Djajic, S. (2015). Immigration, Illegal, Economic Impact of.  The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism,  1-9.

Figgou, L. (2015). Constructions of ‘Illegal’ Immigration and Entitlement to Citizenship: Debating an Immigration Law.  Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology,   26 (2), 150-163. 

Solano-García, Á. (2008). Legal or illegal? Preferences on immigration.  International Journal of Social Welfare,   18 (4), 395-406.