Benson 1

Sarah Benson
Meyer
Period 3
Senior Capstone Research
April 3, 2015
Immigration
Everyone has an ideal dream location to live, ranging from coastal lines to the
heart of the city throughout the different countries of the world . Following the depression
of the late 1800s, the United States experienced a large influx of immigration from
Southern and Eastern European countries, comprised of people who were in search of
somewhere they could call home. These immigrants were either escaping the trials of
religious, racial, and political persecution or being forced to migrate due to their labor
contract.
By the mid 1900s, the United States recognized these immigrants through The
Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, which abolished an earlier quota system
based on national origin and established a new immigration policy based on reuniting
immigrant families and attracting skilled labor to the United States . Spanning the
following decades, policies that were established in 1965 greatly changed the
demographic makeup of the American population, as they brought more immigrants to
the United States from countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as opposed to
Europe, where previous immigration was concentrated from .

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Due to the terrorist attack in 2001, known as 9/11, and the Homeland Security
Act of 2002, modifications to the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 were
necessary, however, they are basically the same policies currently governing the U .S.
immigration today, in the early 21st century. Contemporarily, immigration is a widely
debated issue in the U.S. While legal immigrants are beneficial to the economy, illegal
immigrants are willing to do the jobs that no one else will do . By providing a path for
amnesty, in-demand job vacancies can be filled, the economy will benefit, and by
promoting legal immigration, no laws will be broken .
The process of legal immigration requires that the immigrant must obtain a green
card, which is a permit allowing a foreign national to live and work permanently in the
U.S. After having a green card for 5 years, the holder may become eligible for
naturalization, which is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen in a country may
acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It is required that the applicant must be
18 years of age or older at the time of filing, having lived in the state for at least 3
months prior to filing, and plan to reside in the U .S. for at least 5 years following the
filing date. Additionally, the filer must must be able to read, write, and speak English and
be able to comprehend U.S. history and government. However, there are more cases
than this for needing to file for citizenship. For example, when adopting children from
another country, parents need to apply to have the child become a U.S. citizen, as they
are most likely considered a citizen in the place they are being adopted from. This, in
addition to the government in other countries, can be part of the reason an adoption
process can take years.

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Though the process may take time and be a bit frustrating to the filer, by
becoming a naturalized citizen in the U.S., those born in a foreign country can be
beneficial to the economy. Partnership for a New American Economy notes in 2012
that, "Over the last 15 years, while native-born Americans have become less likely to
start a business, immigrants have steadily picked up the slack . Immigrants are now
more than twice as likely as the native-born to start a business and were responsible for
more than one in every four (28 percent) U.S. businesses founded in 2011, significantly
outpacing their share of the population (12.9 percent) . This supports the claim that
lately, immigrants have been showing a more entrepreneurial drive than native born
Americans, which is benefitting the economy. Each year, more than $775 billion is
generated in sales by immigrant-owned businesses. In addition to that, more than $166
billion is paid each year to payroll. Immigrants comprise more than 16 percent of the
labor force, with a share of total output of about 14.7 percent in the years 2009-2011,
which exceeded their 13 percent share of the population. Those who come to the U.S.
through legal processes are actually helping the economy, not harming it.
The majority of the debate around immigration is focused on the illegal
immigrants. Many would like to see them deported, arguing that they are stealing
available job opportunities from Americans and are in fact not beneficial to the U.S.
economy. Others would push for a stricter regulation of the borders, preventing even
more from crossing illegally. While both of these concepts seem appealing, in reality,
neither are realistic.

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In the short run, it may appear that immigration is reducing, ever so slightly, the
native employment. This is because it takes the economy time to adjust to the new
immigration. However, in the long run, immigrants ultimately do not actually reduce
native employment rates. As for the concept of deportation, it is ultimately impossible.
Not only would it be more harmful to the economy, but there is more than 11 million
unauthorized immigrants residing in the U.S. However, these illegal aliens labor in jobs
that most Americans would never consider working. While they do consume goods and
services, it turns around and creates jobs while generating economic activity. Therefore,
removing them would reduce the number of workers, which in turn would reduce the
economic activity generated by it, reducing the number of jobs created. Additionally,
mass deportation would cost $285 billion over a five-year period and inaction has cost
more than $17.7 billion as of October 2014. A solution would be to give these illegal
aliens who are already in the U.S. and have established lives and families, a path to
amnesty, helping the country realize its economic potential.
The fact is that, today we are seeing immigrants developing roots in contrast to
the trends 50 years ago. They are having children which is contributing to their
numbers. By granting citizenship, it would create jobs and increase tax revenues adding
an average of 159,000 new jobs per year and formerly unauthorized workers would pay
an additional $144 billion in federal, state, and local taxes over a ten-year period. By
providing a path to amnesty, it would in turn allow them to work on the books and
contribute to social security. The question is, is this an appropriate approach to this
problem? What is being done to tackle this issue today?

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Obama has recently made a speech in which he announced a series of executive

orders that will protect 5 million illegal immigrants from being deported. Usnews.com
quotes him saying, There are actions I have the legal authority to take as president
the same kinds of actions taken by Democratic and Republican presidents before me -
that will help make our immigration system more fair and more just . This plan will
provide work documents for certain undocumented persons, including those who have
children who are legal residents of the U.S. However, this plan will not include protection
to those people who brought their children into the U.S. illegally. Republican lawmakers
and other conservatives claim that he doesnt have the authority to advance such
measures in the absence of congressional action. John Boehner, Speaker of the
House, comments, The American people want both parties to focus on solving
problems together; they dont support unilateral action from a president who is more
interested in partisan politics than working with the peoples elected representatives.
That is not how American democracy works . Many believe that the President's decision
to recklessly forge ahead with this plan to change the immigration laws ignores the
will of the people and flouts the constitution .
Obviously, there will never be a realistic conclusion on the immigration issue that
will satisfy everyone. This is why this topic is a widely debated social issue throughout
the nation. Eventually, action will have to be taken, but there is no guarantee that it will
be more productive than some of the attempts previous Presidents have tried . How
much is this issue really hurting the U.S. and how are we going to handle it?
Works Cited

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"Explaining Why Minority Births Now Outnumber White Births." Pew Research Centers
Social Demographic Trends Project RSS. N.p., 17 May 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"Facts About Immigration and the U.S. Economy: Answers to Frequently Asked
Questions." Economic Policy Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.
"How the United States Immigration System Works: A Fact Sheet." How the United
States Immigration System Works: A Fact Sheet. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"Immigration Is Good for the U.S. Economy." Reason.com. N.p., 21 July 2014. Web. 03
Apr. 2015.
"Is Obama's Immigration Executive Order Legal?" US News. U.S.News & World Report,
n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.
"Path to U.S. Citizenship." Path to U.S. Citizenship. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.
"Undocumented Immigrants (PPIC Publication)." Undocumented Immigrants (PPIC
Publication). N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"U.S. Immigration Helpful Facts." US Immigration Blog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr.
2015.
"5 Facts about Illegal Immigration in the U.S." Pew Research Center RSS. N.p., 18 Nov.
2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
"11 Facts about Immigrants." 11 Facts about Immigrants. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.