Immigration, Politics and Policy Contribution - Assignment Example

Policy contribution part 2 Abstract Many stakeholders in the United States hold varied opinions about the steps the government should take in order to correct the immigration situation in the country. Though they all agree, the government is failing in its obligation of keeping out illegal immigrants. There is no consensus on the steps the government should take to curb illegal immigration. Most of them agree that deportation, enforcement and the border fence are not enough to control illegal immigrants (Manhattan Institute, 2005). The latest proposal has been to reduce bureaucracy and allow illegal immigrants to stay in the United States as the illegal immigrants wait for their visa to be processed (Saenz, 2012). This proposal favors the Latino portion of the population who make up the highest number of immigrants from Mexico, but the government should consider many underlying factors, including the reasons for immigration and the effects on the United States’ resources. This paper will state an overview of reasons to consider when formulating an immigration policy; then propose a possible policy change and implementation plan using the fifth and sixth steps Jansson’s policy plan respectively (Jansson, 2010). Statement of the problem According to Guyette, Tavalin and Rooker (2012), the United States has historically attempted to control illegal immigration into the country by passing restrictive policies and increasing border security. These approaches have failed if the ongoing debate for and against illegal immigrants is gouge. Datas concerning illegal immigration is mostly hypothetical, since transactions concerning immigrants are mostly not recorded in any official documents. For instance, Barnes (2010) in his opinion claims that it costs each native household $ 1,117, per annum to support illegal immigrants, totaling to $113 billion a year for the whole nation. The influx of illegal immigration cases can be traced to a myriad of reasons, but the main cause in my opinion is the government’s inefficiency in enforcing its policies on immigration. Therefore, the country needs to refrain from a complete overhaul of policies and ensure enforcement of policies to reduce illegal immigration. The country can adopt a stable policy that can be monitored and improved continuously. Any policy proposal change should ensure accounting for all the positive and negative aspects of immigration, by being fair to illegal immigrants if the merits of having them in the country outweigh the disadvantages. An effective policy should contribute positively to various aspects of the United States society. It should be implemented and assessable. Immigration and politics The policy on immigration should limit the possibility of heightening corruption among political officers. The political officers should not generalize the issue of immigrants for political reasons, especially since 2012 is an election year (Schneider, 2012). Though these factors cannot be separated from each other, the policy should be aimed at achieving maximum control, which can be achieved if the policy become stabilized and free from loopholes. Stabilizing the policies can ensure that politicians do not use immigrants for political careers. It has been common practice, for political leaders to promise electorate changes in immigration laws, all though, I believe in essence these politicians usually do not have a special interest in the common good, as much as a quest for power. In this quest, all they have to do is to tell people what they want to hear and the politicians end up getting political mileage. For instance, some politicians who are not from southern states most affected by illegal immigration are highly vocal in their calls for action against illegal immigrants (Schneider 2012). However, none of these politicians tell their electorate if illegal immigrants provide any advantages to the country. All the political leaders want to do is to use the controversy for personal gain (Guyette, Tavalin, & Rooker, 2012). Depending on the effect the issue of illegal immigrants is likely to have on their careers, politicians have taken one of the two main stances in handling illegal immigration including granting amnesty to illegal immigrants, or deporting them, denying jobs and curbing any further immigration (Barnes, 20102). For instance, the California electorate has a significant fraction composed of immigrants from South America, which makes the governor reluctant to implement border enforcement as recommended by the president. In addition, since this is an election year, many see president’s attempt to ease regulation on immigration as a campaign ploy (Schneider, 2012). Immigration and Economy Illegal immigrants have both positive and negative effects on the United States economy, and any policy formulated should be based on the balance between these two factors. For instance, if illegal immigration hurts the economy, then it should be limited since the government of the United States is only responsible for its citizens. On the other hand, if immigration has a positive effect on the economy, then the proposed policy should reduce the limitation on immigration and encourage high rates of legal immigration. The policy should consider the effects of immigrants on national revenue, demand, labor, welfare, education and healthcare. Revenue Some sectors of the United States society blame illegal immigrants for failing to pay taxes, but the Congressional Budget Office (2007) states that over 6 million illegal immigrants file their annual returns to the Internal revenue service. The Congressional Budget Office (2007) asserts that approximately 50 to 70 percent of illegal immigrants pay taxes, with an estimate of $ 7 billion paid to social security. Moreover, the federal laws allow illegal immigrants to participate in nation building without fear of apprehension by limiting the IRS from sharing personal information of the immigrants with other state or federal agencies. Since the United States economy is the lifeline of so many people, then the proposed policy should not result in reduced revenue collection, especially if the revenue is greater than the costs of maintaining immigrants in the country. Demand The economy has undergone many changes in recent years, most of which have reduced the purchasing capacity of residents. This has reduced the collective market demand. Illegal immigrants serve as one of the agents of increasing demand and driving the national economy. The economy of the country becomes affected due to the migration of illegal immigrants to their country of origin. The economy becomes affected because the illegal immigrants provide services, and when they get deported, finding people to replace them takes time. Illegal immigrants contribute over $ 150 billion economic activity. If all immigrants were to be deported, then the country would lose $ 3,000 dollars per week per immigrant. It would jeopardize up to 8 million United States citizens’ jobs (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). Stakeholders should analyze if losing their benefits can be worth the venture of implementing a policy to limit the flow of immigration into the country. Labor According to Davidson (2006), illegal immigration do not have much impact on the availability of jobs for most Americans. However, they are in direct competition with high school dropouts for semiskilled and unskilled jobs (Mae, 2004). Since most of the United States population is educated, it is crucial for any new policy to consider the fact that the country may suffer a shortage of cheap labor for United States manufacturers, and a suitable option to their expensive resident’s counterparts. On the other hand, illegal immigrants have pushed the minimum wage for inexperienced laborers since they accept minimal salary packages. Hence, the relevant stakeholders (Borjas, 2004) become concerned. Policy proposal The government of the United States of America should change the immigration policy by lifting excessive restrictions, and allowing the illegal immigrants already in the country to have permanent residency. However, any illegal immigrant who has ever engaged in criminal activities should be deported. Advantages According to Koven and Gotzke (2010), illegal immigrants increase the profitability of investing in the United States, mainly due to reduction of costs of labor, which is the stimulus the economy needs on the road to recovery from the recession of early 2000s. Deportation and other restrictions imposed on illegal immigrants cause family separation that hurts many vulnerable groups like women and children (Saenz, 2012). Enabling immigrants to stay in the country as their papers get processed will alleviate this unnecessary suffering. This policy adjustment will also promote the spirit of America, which includes promotion of cultural diversity and encourages equal treatment of all humankind regardless of their country of origin. In any case, many legal residents in the country were at one time immigrants too (Tierney, 2007). Finally, reducing the limitation to immigrate will allow semiskilled laborers to immigrate legally, which may go along the way in reducing the incidence of illegal immigrants. Disadvantages The people of America must make some compromises, which are worth because the benefits outweigh the disadvantages by a large margin. For instance, the immigrants may cause a decrease in the minimum wage at first, but in the long run, things will change as the situation stabilizes (Tierney, 2007). In addition, before the economic benefits from increased immigration get noticed, the country will experience pressure on national resources, which may result to scarcity and increased prices (Clifford, 2007). However, since immigrants give more to the economy than they consume, the situation can be sure to improve in the long run. In conclusion, all the setbacks the country may encounter due to increased immigration may be temporary. It is necessary for the future of the country to be secured by making sacrifices at present. Policy Enactment Before Congress can decide what to do with immigration policy, research must be conducted to ensure that decisions made about immigrants are realistic based on the evidences. In addition, all stakeholders should be educated on the effects of immigration on daily life. This should include benefits and shortcomings. These stakeholders include the US public, eligible investors, immigrants, US trade unions, and researchers. In addition, they should be asked to give their opinion and feedback about the policy before it gets implemented. Things must be cleared up since researchers (Barnes, 2010) have convinced the public (Campo-Flores, 2010) that there are no advantages of having illegal immigrants in the country. For instance, evidence of the benefits of immigration should be collected and posted in accessible locations, to create awareness on the benefits and shortcomings of having illegal immigrants in the country. Every stakeholder should be encouraged to exercise due objectivity to enable the country to make the right decision on this controversial matter. The policy should be screened and modified by the government. The government professionals should calculate and predict the period within which the country will experience the benefits of immigration. Congress must debate the policy of immigration objectively, knowing that they were doing so for their country, and it may be the last line of guard against illegal immigration. Other stakeholders should participate fully in the implementation, with the knowledge that illegal immigration has benefits but implementing this policy gives the country a better shot at long-term sustainability (Tierney, 2007). Conclusion Illegal immigration has been an issue of concern for the country for many years, with various governments formulating policies. The main aim of which was to keep Americans in and out foreigners out. However, it may be time that the government changed tack and embraced the concept of immigration due to the benefits they bring in the United States. Therefore, the government should pass legislation that increases the volume of legal immigration, and take strict measures from within to control illegal immigration. Next, the government should start by educating all stakeholders and doing extensive research on the matter before implementing any policy changes. Finally, the government should monitor the effectiveness of this policy and make amendments where required, but in consultation with stakeholders. References Barnes, E. (2010). Illegal immigration costs U.S. $ 113 billion a year; study finds. Borjas, G.J. (2004). Immigration Policy: A proposal. Retrieved from http://cis.org/articles/2001/blueprints/borjas.html Campo- Flores, A. (2010). Why Americans think (wrongly) that illegal immigrants hurt the economy. Retrieved 13 March 2012 from http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/05/14/why-amaericans-think-wrongly-that-illegal-immigrants-hurt-the-economy.html Clifford, D. (2007). Immigrants and economy. New York: Pubmed Publishers. Congressional Budget Office. (2007). The impact of unauthorized immigrants on the budgets of state and local governments. The Congress of the United States: Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 13 March 2012 from http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/87xx8711/12-6-immigration.pdf. Davidson, A. (2006). Is illegal immigration an economic burden to America? Retrieved October 20 2012 from http://www.npr.org Fox News. Retrieved 13 March 2012 from http://www.foxnews/us/2010/07/02/immigration-costs-fair-amnesty-educations-costs-reform Guyette, E., Tavalin, F., & Rooker, S. (2012). A brief timeline of US policy on immigration and naturalization. Gathering and interactions of peoples, cultures, and ideas. Retrieved from http://www.flowofhistory.org/themes/movements_settlement/uspolicytimeline.php Jansson, B.S. (2010). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice. USA: Cengage Koven, G.S., & Gotzke, F. (2010). American immigration policy: confronting the Nation’s challenges. Louisville: Springer Publishers. Mae, N. M. (2003). The strange career of the illegal alien: Immigration restriction and deportation policy in the United States. U.S.A: Timers Publishers. Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. (2005). Earned legalization and increased border security is key to immigration. New York. Saenz, T. (2012). Illegal immigration. Retrieved on February 2012 from http://www. Abboutmittromney/htm Schneider, T. (2012). Illegal aliens. Retrieved March 2012 from http://www.gov/ag/illegalaliens.com Tierney, J. (2007). Immigration. 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