Why Americans Think Immigration Hurts the Economy - Essay Example

According to Campo-Flores, Americans argue that immigrants are bad since they create an influx in the workplace. Moreover, the undocumented immigrants strain public services in places such as hospitals, jails, and schools (2010). Though the overall influence of undocumented immigrants is positive, the benefits and costs are disbursed in an uneven manner. For instance, businesses and employers, particularly in agribusinesses benefit the most from immigrants’ low-cost labor, making other sectors to complain about the impact of immigrants in the country.

In addition, though consumers acquire goods and services at grocery stores cheaply, most of them fail to understand that immigrants make the greatest contribution. The author makes these points because the negative perceptions towards illegal immigrants are concentrated among the low-skilled natives. They suffer from foreign labor competition, leading to reduced wages, particularly among American high-school dropouts. In this case, the best way to address this issue is not to eliminate immigrants, but to encourage Americans, particularly those who feel threatened by foreigners to boost their and skills in the labor market.