Illegal Immigration & US Economy - Research Paper Example

? Illegal Immigration & US Economy Immigration restructuring is one of the most conflict-ridden concerns confronting U.S. officials. The increase in the figure of illegal immigrants in the United States during the last 10 years, which is five million to twelve million, has led to apprehensions regarding the effects of illegal immigration on earnings and public investments, as well as the possible safety risks caused by illicit entrance into the country. During the previous year only, the heads of New Mexico and Arizona have affirmed a “state of emergency” over illegal immigration, and President Bush signed into rule the ‘Secure Fence Act’, which sanctions the expenditure of 1.2 billion US dollar for the construction of a 700 miles long barrier next to the U.S.-Mexico border (MacDonald et al, p. 75). A study (Bacon, p.88) declares that growing illegal immigration would possibly cause a ‘net drain on the U.S. economy’. As a result of solid increases in high school completion rates, native-born U.S. human resources with lesser schooling levels are ever more difficult to find. However, these employees are a significant component of the U.S. economy. Between 1969 and 2009, the contribution of working-age native-born U.S. inhabitants with less than 12 years of education decreased from 40 percent to 12 percent (Bacon, p.109). Overseas, low-skilled employees are plentiful. For a 25 years old person, with 9 years of schooling, moving to the United States would raise his wage from 2.5 US dollar to 8.50 US dollars per hour, adjusted for cost of different life styles in the two countries. Although the net economic impact of immigration on the U.S. economy may be little, the gains to immigrant family units from moving to the United States are huge. Two third of legal immigrants - that is, 50 percent to 70 percent of current total immigrant inflow - are not likely to undergo civic inspection. In accordance with the general assumption of people, legal immigrants have a positive effect on nation’s economy whereas illegal immigrants have negative effect. Irrespective of the differences in the legislative body, majority of individuals believe that United States economic welfare will improve only if the number of illegal immigrants decreased. From an entirely economic point of view, the best immigration strategy would admit those whose talents are in shortest supply and whose tax inputs are as large as achievable. United States can get the maximum possible raise in revenues by hiring immigrants in scarce professions, irrespective of their skill level. In the United States, scarce employees would incorporate not just highly learned persons, for instance, the computer programmers and engineers employed by quickly growing technology industries, but also low-skilled employees in manufacturing, groceries preparation, and cleaning services, for which the supply of U.S. local labor has been declining. In either case, the national manual labor market for these recruits is rigid, in the sense that U.S. incomes for these professions are high as compared to incomes abroad (Chomsky, p. 109). Illegal immigration has apparent flaws. The constant increase in number of illegal immigrants can become a threat for the state of law and can also deteriorate the government’s capability to impose laws on labor market. This increase in number also place United States at the higher risk of terrorism, even though no illegal immigrant is ever charged for terrorist activity. Huge inflows of illegal foreigners also lighten up the dedication of employers to U.S. labor market associations and form a population of employees with restricted upward mobility in addition to a doubtful place in U.S. society. There are several reasons to be worried about increasing levels of illegal immigration. Yet, it is important not to lose sight of the reality that illegal immigration has an apparent economic sense. It gives U.S. companies the types of human resources they would like to have. If policy restructuring does well in making U.S. illegal immigrants more like legal immigrants, regarding their skills, timing of arrival, as well as work-related mobility, it is likely to lower the national welfare instead of raising it. During their attempts to get power over illegal immigration, legislative body as well as the government needs to be cautious that the economic costs do not surpass the assumed advantages (Bacon, p. 186). An invasion of illegal immigrants carries high economic costs by decreasing domestic incomes and increasing expenditures on public services, for instance, health care and schooling. A study (Bacon, p. 51) finds out that during the year 2008, illegal immigrants got 10 billion US dollar more in government gains as compared to what they compensated in taxes, a value equal to 0.2 percent of U.S. gross domestic product during the same year. With illegal immigrants forming 6 percent of the U.S. labor force, U.S. occupants would get a surplus from illegal immigration of more or less 0.04 percent of gross domestic product. By joining these two figures, it seems that as of 2008 illegal immigration generated an annual income loss of 0.08 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. For more than a decade, the net influx of illegal entrants has been more or less 500,000 persons every year. Yet, it is merely during the last one or two years that legislative body has felt obliged to reconsider this concern. Illegal immigration is a continual happening to some extent for the reason that it has a sturdy economic basis. Low-skilled employees are more and scarcer in the United States, while still abundant in some other parts of the world. Stopping illegal immigration, without forming other opportunities for legal entrance, would conflict with market forces that drive for moving workforce from low productivity and low earnings nations to the low productivity and low earnings U.S. labor market. To trim down the demand for illegal immigrant labor, a fresh visa program would have to take off existing positive aspects of illegal immigration. Companies would have to be capable of appointing the types of employees they want (MacDonald et al, p. 94). Illegal labor has continuously discovering ways into the country. As legislative body once more struggles with immigration restructuring, one would expect that it would take notice of the failures of IRCA by devising a framework that agrees to the active contribution of legal immigrant employees in the U.S. economy. Or else, the United States is expected to find itself with even bigger illegal residents in the recent times to come. Works Cited Bacon, D. Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants. Beacon Press, 2009. Chomsky, A. "They Take Our Jobs!” and 20 Other Myths about Immigration. Beacon Press, 2007. MacDonald, H., Hanson, V. D. and Malanga, S. The Immigration Solution: A Better Plan than Today's. Ivan R Dee, 2007. Read More