Figueroa 1

Mauricio Figueroa

Mrs. Walker

ENGL 1302

13 October 2021

Immigration Has a Positive Impact in the United States

Madeline Albright was an immigrant from Prague who immigrate to the United States as

a child. Several years later, she became the first woman to be secretary of state. There are many

more examples of immigrants being successful and part of the United States History. So why

does most Americans hate immigrants? Many people have different opinions when it comes to

immigration. However, there are many facts that back up the positive impact immigration has in

several areas of the United States. Immigrants have a beneficial impact not only on the economy

but also on education and society. Immigration helps to grow the country. At the end of the day,

the United States was founded by “immigrants.” Without immigrants, the United States could

not be the same.

Immigration has been an important topic for a very long time. Immigration emerges from

a uniqueness between the countries the US will acknowledge as a foreign and who they accept to

live and work in their country. There are many reasons why immigration happens. Most

immigrants are trying to find new opportunities for them and their families. Many come

to the country as tourists and stay here, finding jobs and opportunities in order to have more

religious, economic, or social freedom. One of the most common problems immigrants face is
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the violence back in their home countries. These immigrants do not have a white or black

choice, about being illegal or legal.

Where do immigrants come from?

According to the U.S Department of Labor, half of the immigrants in 2020 are Hispanic

and one quarter come from Asia. Most immigrants come into the United States with their visa,

expecting to be here only for a period of time. A lot of workers stayed only for certain seasons

and then go back to their countries. The state with the most immigrants is California. Los

Angeles is known to be the second city with most Mexicans, falling behind Mexico City. This

gives an idea of how big and serious this is. According to the American Immigration Council (

),“The United States was built, in part, by immigrants—and the nation has long been the

beneficiary of the new energy and ingenuity that immigrants bring. Today, 14 percent of the

nation’s residents are foreign-born, over half of whom are naturalized U.S. citizens. Nearly 70

percent of all immigrants, who come from diverse backgrounds across the globe.”.

Immigrants being attacked

Even though many Americans complain about immigrants stealing their jobs, immigrants

also have to deal with many injustices. They do not get many rights. Yes, most illegal

immigrants do not pay taxes. But they are not getting any health or educational benefits.

According to D’Acosta, people complain against immigrants for taking a percentage of the jobs

available (3). What people do not realize is that immigrants generate more jobs than what they

take away. But how? According to the newspaper “The Hill”, “Decades of comprehensive

analyses show that immigrants improve the domestic economy and raise incomes for Americans.

They reduce unemployment and have little to no negative effect on the wages of native born
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workers. Skilled immigrants particularly benefit the economy as they raise wages for native born

workers. There are also six million jobs unfilled because of the lack of skills or because some

service and agriculture jobs are almost always filled by immigrants.”. Immigrants should be seen

as help from outside, and everyone should take an advantage from immigration. Immigrants are

not going anywhere, so why don’t obtain something positive out of it. “ Immigration fuels the

economy. When immigrants enter the labor force, they increase the productive capacity of the

economy and raise GDP. Their income rises, but so do those of the natives” ( Orrenius 1) . If the

income of the people from the United States raises, it is very clear to see how this effect is cause

by immigrants. Concluding that immigrants help to rise income.

The positive impact immigrants have in the United States is very underrated by most of

its citizens. According to the Center of Equality and Justice of the University of Kentucky,

immigration is one of the United States “most significant economic advantages.” Immigrants

help fill jobs that many native born Americans do not want to do. Most of these jobs include

physical jobs. Some of these jobs are construction, agriculture, cleaners, personal services, etc.

Throughout history, humans have seen that when they get too confrontable, stagnation

happens. Immigration has prevented stagnation, which means that whenever there are jobs

Americans do not want to do, immigrants fill these positions. If immigrants do not come into the

country and helped fill many labor positions. There could be a much higher possibility of

shortness in staff around the country. Leading then to stagnation and a probable fall in the

economy.

Negative numbers have been exaggerated

many social and political groups who exaggerate and make up numbers that don’t exist,

blaming the government or other organizations for the lack of security at the borders.. Many

Americans believe that immigrants take advantage of the-welfare state. However, as Nowrasteh

says,” legal immigrants have their welfare state until after 5 years in the United States. Illegal

immigrants do not get any welfare at all.” (1). Meaning that many false beliefs regarding a

negative thing about immigration is being exaggerated or just not well funded.

The American Civil Liberties Union say that “the U.S., like every country, has the right

to control who enters the country and to enforce the integrity of its internationally recognized

borders. It also has the right to deport persons in the country who are not authorized to be here.

However, the ACLU also believes that the power to exclude and deport must be exercised fairly,

humanely and consistent with the constitutional norms of due process and non-discrimination,

and believes that the government must comply with the legal and humanitarian principles of

international law that bind the United States.”.  showing how big of a necessity is to treat

immigrants with respect. They are humans beings and even though they do not come from the

same country or economic backgrounds. Does not mean they are worth less to be treated

unjustly.

Problems with immigration

Like any other topic, there are some negative impacts immigration has in the United

States. According to (Budiman, 1) immigration represents 13.5 of the whole population in the

United States. One six of this number represents the “legal” immigrants. Meaning that as the

number of immigration grows, also more illegal immigrants come to into the country. It can be

dangerous because it an get to a number where there would be too many people and not enough
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welfare and services for all these people. The government will have to take dangerous and strong

decisions regarding illegal immigration. Also, there is no way to measure immigration. Most

illegal immigrants come into the United States with a valid tourist visa and stay for more than the

six months allowed. The government has no numbers or a system in which they can identify if a

person leaves the country after the six months or not.

Immigrants bring a positive impact into the U.S. economy. They also have a positive

impact in society. Their presence provokes healthy competition, which has the effect of no

stagnation. And no stagnation is always good for the country. Immigrants should be understood

by what they really are, humans who are trying to get a better life and new opportunities for them

and their families. Everyone is different and no one is better. Americans need to be better

humans and treat others respectfully no matter where they come from.
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Works Cited

2020 - Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/forbrn.pdf.

Budiman, Abby. “Key Findings about U.S. Immigrants. Pew Research Center, Pew Research

Center, 22 Sept. 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/20/key-findings-

about-u-s-immigrants/.

Nowrasteh Alex, Cato.org, https://www.cato.org/blog/14-most-common-arguments-against-

immigration-why-theyre-wrong.

“Center for Equality And social Justice.” Immigrants Benefit the Community and Economy |

Center for Equality and Social Justice, https://cesj.as.uky.edu/immigrants-benefit-

community-and-economy.

D'Costa, Krystal. “What Are the Jobs That Immigrants Do?” Scientific American Blog Network,

Scientific American, 9 Aug. 2018, https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-

practice/what-are-the-jobs-that-immigrants-do/.

“Immigrants and the Economy.” American Civil Liberties Union,

https://www.aclu.org/other/immigrants-and-economy.

“The Positive Economic Impact of Immigration.” FWD.us, 16 June 2021,

https://www.fwd.us/news/immigration-facts-the-positive-economic-impact-of-

immigration/.
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Stephen Moore and David Simon, “Immigrants Do Not Steal Our Jobs, They Create Them in the

Economy.” TheHill, The Hill, 5 Apr. 2021, https://thehill.com/immigration/545572-

immigrants-do-not-steal-our-jobs-they-create-them-in-the-economy.

| By Arloc Sherman, et al. “Immigrants Contribute Greatly to U.S. Economy, despite

Administration's ‘Public Charge’ Rule Rationale.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,

15 Aug. 2019, https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/immigrants-

contribute-greatly-to-us-economy-despite-administrations.