The Social and Economic Benefits of an Immigration Reform

Race and Ethnicity in the United States Dr. Carl Paris John Jay College of Criminal Justice Immigration reform has been a cornerstone on the last three presidential campaigns, on Bush’s second term and on both of Obama’s. It has the power to turn around an election because it would automatically grant the Hipic vote to the candidate that commits to the best plan.

At this moment, an immigration reform would bring great improvement in the economic status of the United States bringing a bigger workforce nd an increase in population that would mean bigger revenue for the government. Along with the economical capacity that approving an immigration reform, it also brings a wave a culture that would enrich the basis of the foundation of the United States, diversity. An immigration reform can open the doors for many professionals that could refresh the ideas of the United States and provide with a different perspective of the solutions out there for the problem we face.

An immigrant is defined as a person who leaves his home nation and goes to a foreign one, usually ermanently, in search for an improvement. There are a lot of push and pull factors that encourage someone to leave their homeland. Economic difficulties, religious or ethnic persecution and political unrest are some factors that push immigrants from their nations, for example, some immigrants from Syria can flee their country in fear of a civil war pushing them to another country.

The perceptions of a better life ahead or a desire to Join their family abroad are factors that pull immigrants to other nations, for example, a Mexican immigrant that leaves her country to reunite with her usband in the united states now that he has established himself better . The economic status in the United States is a shaky one at this moment. The government has had to force itself into shutdowns because they cannot come to an agreement on how to invest tax money more efficiently.

This in turn affects the vast population of the country, which is composed of the middle and lower classes. Budget cuts have been made that affect public assistance programs, schools and national agencies and security. The unemployment rate continues to be above 7% without any signs of going below that and it ncreases to 1 % tor people between the ages ot 1 There are over 40 million immigrants according to the Census in 2010, plus an estimate of 12 million undocumented immigrants that reside in the United States without proper documents.

Each fall down on one of these three categories: naturalized citizens, foreign-born people who went through a congress mandated process to become a citizen of the united states; travel/working visa holders, foreign- born who undergo a process predetermined by their nations to be able to travel outside of their country; an undocumented immigrant; people who gain access not hrough the proper measures of the law, like crossing the border without papers or overstaying their visas, and are, therefore, breaking it. All of the people above have one goal in mind and is to provide a better life for themselves and the people they care about.

This aspect of life, immigration, has been the cornerstone for many civilizations in the past and it still remains as such. Such a high rate of immigration has been due to the great chain immigration. The first people who immigrate pave the roads for those who follow, usually family members. They in turn tell the next group who come and so on. The current immigrant population is composed of Latinos from South America and the Caribbean and Asia along with traces of Europe and the Middle East. Illegal immigration poses a problem to United States and its people.

Millions of illegal immigrants are “taking” the Jobs where an American could have thrived and are getting paid less for it and therefore are desirable to business owners. Also, being that these immigrants are undocumented they are evading tax collection, which hinders the country. Something must be done to prevent this. There is a list of measures being taken right now. Most are highly inefficient and costly; hey may even be on of the reason why our economy is dwindling. One of them is that federal officials trying to track the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants and the approximately 5 millions who overstayed their visas.

This in turn is an impossible task with a highly expensive bill; expensive is not favored by the major public. The search and deportation could cost over a whopping $200 billion, not included the man power of law enforcement that would be used for such a task force diverting them from more important duties. A study by the Bipartisan Policy Center that an immigration reform could carry a 4. percent increase in the United States’ economy and reduce the countrys deficit by $1. 2 trillion in a period of 20 years . Opening the doors for immigrants could help the United States attract individuals with proper skills.

These incoming people, hard-working as they are, would not be taking Jobs from the non-immigrant American as common speculation suggest. Instead, they would man the positions that no one else wants like cleaning toilets in a hotel or picking fruits in the agricultural field. Immigrants do not compete against the native-born American for Jobs instead they complement each other because mmigrants take the low-paying Jobs that American would reject or not apply to. An increase in population would mean a larger contribution to government revenue, which can be used to fund programs for better education and protect our nation more efficiently.

An increase in government revenue can also alleviate the tax percentage that an individual pays back to the IRS. Immigrants that come from with enough resources can establish small businesses and create Jobs. By the increase of diversity, there will be an increase in consumer market. The bigger the population means the higher the demand. Higher demands mean higher production ot itterent goods and services allowing the way for businesses, big and small, to grow and thrive. Immigration is one of the aspects that have greatly shaped the United States for over 400 years.