The Necessity of Immigration Reform

Illegal immigration has been a widely discussed topic in politics in the US. Some argue that
immigrants are necessary as they take the jobs Americans do not wish to take, and therefore should
be given permission to stay in the country.

One of the main arguments against illegal immigration is that there will be fewer jobs left
for the Americans as they demand higher salaries compared to the illegal immigrants and it is only
beneficial for the companies, rather than the country as a whole.

Another argument is that illegal immigrants have a negative effect on the economy as they
do not pay taxes and taking take benefits they do not deserve. However, in a study conducted by the
Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), it was found that illegal immigrants do pay taxes,
with an estimate of $10.6 billion in 2010, meaning they are paying an average of 6.4 per cent of
their income. To compare they found that the top 1% paid 5.6% of their total income in taxes, thus
undocumented immigrants actually pay more in taxes compared with their income, than their
counterpart.

A third reason for legalising illegal immigrants is that everyone deserves equal rights as
human beings. Many people migrate from their own country to the US because they seek better
opportunities, freedom, and rights.

Although there are arguments for punishing immigrants that come to the US illegally, there
is a lot of evidence to attack these, and in support of arguments for why it instead should be
legalised. Contrary to common belief they do pay taxes, meaning they have rights to the same
benefitsThese are all reasons that supports the legalisation of illegal immigrants.