Celestino 1 Ulises Celestino Proff.

Martinez CAS114 A 28, November, 2013

Is Illegal Immigration a Problem or a Benefit to the U.S.A? It has become evident that the number of illegal immigrants entering the United States is increasing rapidly. A study conducted by Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. demonstrated that, approximately 11.7 million illegal immigrants were residing in the United States as of March 2012, a figure that indicates an increase from the 11.5 million that lived in America in 2011, and the 11.3 million that took up residence in the country in 2010. (CBS D.C.). This statistic may be interpreted in many ways. Two opposing sides have been generated, with much controversy the question arrived, is illegal immigration having positive effects on the U.S or is illegal immigration having negative effects on the U.S.? Economic status is a huge topic in the United States; the question then a-rose is the abundance of illegals bad or good for the U.S. economy. Is a large demographic of outsider and American citizens considered a downfall? With more spending and commercializing the U.S economy grows and expands its wealth. Illegal immigrants pay taxes as well as every American citizen does. According to Fields of Tears, an article based on the conditions and the lifestyle of illegal field workers, The workers picking grapes with this correspondent got $8 an hour. (Arvin and Watsonville). The labor of illegal immigrants is cheap for many reasons. The fact that illegals are illegal makes them more vulnerable to situation, where their legal status may get them deported, means that farm owners and other company owners can take advantage of their labor, thus resulting in lower income. Besides the cheap labor, illegal immigrants contribute to the

Celestino 2 economy with their everyday purchases. This includes things such as the money they spend on food, as well as the money they spend on clothes and other life necessities. All of the money spent benefits American businesses, and the tax money charged benefits the American government. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Illegal aliens come to the United States to take jobs that offer them greater opportunity, and they are often welcomed by U.S. employers who are able to hire them for wages lower than they would have to pay to hire U.S. workers. (AFAIR) Annually, more and more undocumented students enter universities and attend public and private schools. According to Statistic Brain, a website used to calculate statistics and accurate numbers, there were 0.18 % undocumented students in the University of California system, 0.83 % in the California State University system, and 1.17 % undocumented students in the California State University system (Statistic Brain). With such large variety in ethnical and cultural diversities growing in universities, students will be able to better their interaction skills with people of diverse backgrounds. Children in public schools may then be able to interact at young age with children of different cultures and backgrounds, thus leading them to a more open mind in their future when it comes to interacting with others. Jean Snell, clinical professor of teacher education at the University of Maryland, believes cultural diversity enhances the school experience, too. There is a richness that comes from students working side by side with others who are not of the same cookie-cutter mold," she notes. (Snell) Undocumented people may contribute to the economy in many different ways; their work ethics may have the potential to create jobs, these jobs will then benefit the U.S public. The dollars spent by them may also benefit many American business owners, according to Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano of Bocconi University in Italy and Giovanni Peri of the University of

Celestino 3 California, Davis, hiring immigrants even for low-wage jobs helps keep many kinds of jobs in the United States, the authors say. In fact, when immigration is rising as a share of employment in an economic sector, offshoring tends to be falling, and vice versa, the study found.( Peri, Ottaviano) Jobs are highly sought-for in the U.S, and any factors that help generate jobs are crucial in todays economy. With the work amount for offshored workers dropping, there are fewer jobs left for immigrants and more jobs made for the American public thus; undocumented are competing for job amongst them, rather than taking jobs from the American public. According to the Washington State Budget and Policy Center, 11.2 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States are already taxpayers who are financially contributing to the communities where they live and work. (Washington State Budget and Policy Center) This means that the undocumented in the U.S are in fact paying taxes. The large amount of tax dollars being produced by them are greatly increasing with more and more immigrants entering the U.S annually. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy stated that, Undocumented immigrants currently contribute significantly to state and local taxes, collectively paying an estimated $10.6 billion in 2010 with contributions ranging from less than $2 million in Montana to more than $2.2 billion in California. This means these families are likely paying about 6.4 percent on average of their income in state and local taxes. (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy) This leads to a well-being in government funds benefiting not only the American public, but the illegals as well. Along with the beneficial aspects of illegal immigration, come numerous amounts of flaws with illegal immigration in the U.S. Despite the cheap labor offered by the illegal demographic in the U.S there is still much speculation upon whether it is right or wrong for Americans to perform in these acts of dishonestly. This employment is illegal under a law

Celestino 4 enacted in 1986, but some employers ignore the law and hire illegal workers in the underground economy. As said by the Federation for American Immigration Reform. This type of employment and conduct may cause a huge downfall on the American economy. This might seem like a pro for the American economy but acts of dishonestly may cause issues regarding income of U.S dollars. Although a diverse America is wanted and accepted in America, the number of illegal immigrants entering the United States is negatively affecting the economic aspect. According to the Center of Immigration Studies, Immigrant households with children used welfare programs at consistently higher rates than natives, even before the current recession. In 2001, 50 percent of all immigrant households with children used at least one welfare program, compared to 32 percent for natives. (Center of Immigration Studies) This shows that although there is diversity cause by illegals in the U.S, the undocumented are costing money. According to IMMIGRATION AND THE WELFARE STATE, by Griswold, Daniel T, Undocumented immigrants imposed 1.5 percent of medical costs while accounting for 3.2 percent of the population. (Griswold). Not only are illegals taking from government food benefits but also taking from Government health benefits. Illegals in the U.S may help generate many jobs; however, according to Are illegal immigrants taking away Black jobs? By Ingram M.L. New Pittsburgh Courier "The Center for Immigration Studies, through a Census Bureau derived report concluded any negative effect from immigration will fall on the 26 million native-born workers in the U.S. who already have the lowest wages and highest unemployment," (Ingram). Undocumented in the U.S are taking jobs from those whom are native-born in the U.S.

Celestino 5 All Americans, or everyone earning a salary, must pay taxes in the U.S. Many undocumented people in the U.S, however, are not paying their share of tax correspondence. Although many do, they are not doing it in a legal way. According to Do Illegal Immigrants Pay Taxes? by Ph.D. Roy Germano, They get on the payroll by using fake or fraudulent social security numbers or social security numbers of the deceased, which are easily available from counterfeiters for a couple hundred dollars. A growing number of undocumented immigrants now file their income taxes using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs (Germano) this is dishonest and may cost companies millions of dollars. Illegal immigration is a fundamental factor in U.S. economy and well-being. Immigrants offer many benefits to the country in many aspects. It has become a necessity and an essential to keep the U.S moving forward. There is too much benefit that can be lost due to a lack of illegal immigrants. Illegal immigration should be appreciated and more action should be taken upon legalizing certain illegal immigrants.

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Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. Study: Number Of Illegal Immigrants Living In US Rises To 11.7 Million. WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP). September 25, 2013 11:44 AM. Web

Arvin and Watsonville. They came to America illegally, for the best of reasons. Field of Tears. Dec 16th 2010: 1. Web

Passel, Jeffrey S. and D'Vera Cohn, "Unauthorized Immigrant Population: National and State Trends, 2010," Pew Hispanic Center, February, 2011. Web

Immigration Policy Center, College Board Advocacy. Date Verified: 7.3.2012: Undocumented Student Statistics. Web

Snell Jean. A growing trend. How important is cultural diversity at your school? No Date Provided. Web

Cowen, Tyler. How Immigrants Create More Jobs. The New York Times. October 30, 2010: October 31, 2010, on page BU6 of the New York edition: Web

Pfingst, Lori. Undocumented Immigrants Pay Taxes Too. Washington State Budget and Policy Center. Jul 10, 2013 08:40 PM. 1. Web

Celestino 7 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Undocumented Immigrants' State and Local Tax Contributions. http://www.itep.org/immigration/. Web

Camarota, Steven A. Welfare Use by Immigrant Households with Children. A Look at Cash, Medicaid, Housing, and Food Programs. April 2011. 1. Web

Griswold, Daniel T. "IMMIGRATION AND THE WELFARE STATE." Cato Journal 32.1 (2012): 159-74. 2 Dec. 2013. ProQuest. Web.

Ingram, M. L. "Are Illegal Immigrants Taking Away Black Jobs?" New Pittsburgh Courier: 1. Apr 2006. 2 Dec. 2013 ProQuest. Web.

Germano, Roy. Do Illegal Immigrants Pay Taxes? How they pay. February 28th, 2011 Last updated Aug. 24, 2012. 1. Web