Isabella Stark

Mr. Lucy

AP Language and Composition

19 December 2022

The Anti-Immigration Movement

Immigration. The term holds a variety of connotations from resentment to stoking hope.

While some Americans associate immigration with workforce competition and rising crime rates,

others view immigration as the opportunity it is to fuel the country’s economy. Since the early

19th century, immigration has been a major controversial issue in the United States, and the

arguments surrounding either side have primarily remained constant. The case against

immigration focuses on the threat that immigrants pose to those who are already American

citizens, such as an increase in crime due to the rise in immigration, the decrease in American

wages, or the loss of citizen jobs on account of immigrant labor. Although an influx of

immigrants may lower wages for competing workers in a specific area, the anti-immigration

movement is not justified as immigrants grease the wheels of the labor market, creating a net

gain in job opportunities along with an increase in economic output, and they are far less likely

to commit crimes which lowers the country’s crime ratio.

Immigration creates a net increase in jobs, facilitating economic growth and providing

more opportunities for native-born citizens. People who leave their country generally fall into

one of two categories: Low-skilled workers who wish to leave their unfavorable circumstances,

or high-skilled workers who desire better job prospects. Since the 1990s, the United States has
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seen a pronounced trend in the immigration of high-skilled, talented laborers, a phenomenon

known as ‘Brain-gain’. This trend “has been linked to innovation, specifically to higher patenting

rates among immigrants. . .because they are concentrated in STEM occupations where there [are]

lots of [research and development] and entrepreneurial activity” boosting native innovation as

well (Orrenius 1). Immigrants also make up about 40% of the United States Ph.D. holders and

44% of the States’ medical science doctors, providing care for American citizens that they would

be without otherwise (Walla 1). If not for immigrants, there would be a significant deficit in

American healthcare and scientific research, making it more difficult to get a doctor’s

appointment, lab work to be done, and new pharmaceuticals to be released. But this just

represents those on the higher end of the spectrum. Low-skilled immigrants play an important

role in America’s economy as well. Their labor reduces production costs and increases the output

of goods; this greater output increases the demand for other, higher-skilled workers, reducing

inflation and allowing the prices of consumer goods to decrease. For example, consider that

“immigrant workers account for over 30 percent of the construction workforce (Siniavskaia 1).

They tend to pursue jobs in the construction industry that require less training and education but

are areas where the industry has its largest labor shortages—such as painters, drywall installers,

and construction laborers—filling a gap in the market. Additionally, immigrant labor has

complemented native-born laborers by allowing them to move into the labor force. The increase

in housing construction has raised the demand for higher-skilled construction workers and has

provided families with access to low-cost child care. All of this is to say immigration drives the

everyday life of American citizens.

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Opponents of immigration posit that immigrants, especially those who are

undocumented, are more likely than U.S. native citizens to commit crimes and that in being so

they pose a threat to the safety of natives. But there is little evidence to support these claims. In

actuality, research overwhelmingly shows that immigrants are less likely than natives to conduct

violent and property crimes and that areas with more immigrants have “similar or lower rates of

[these] crimes than areas with fewer immigrants” (Adleman et al. 1). As immigrants can face

deportation after committing criminal acts, they generally work to fly under the radar in order to

keep their new life secure. This means following American laws. Though some do commit

crimes, immigrants are human and one cannot reflect on the entirety. The truth is that a native

citizen of the United States is more likely to commit a crime than an immigrant is, so the

prejudice many hold against them is unwarranted. Understandably, though, many are more

concerned with their wages being lowered due to immigrants who are willing to work for less.

But, when the facts are considered, it is not native citizens who should be worried. “Research

suggests that previous immigrants suffer more of the adverse wage effects than do natives,” and

that competing workers’ wages generally fall only until the economy adjusts to the new labor

inflow (fwd.us 1). And while the economy adjusts, workers with complementary jobs benefit,

making money due to these lower wages, and consumers benefit from the lower prices of the

services that immigrants produce. Furthermore, immigrants, particularly recent arrivals, are

typically of working age, meaning that the costs they impose on the United States are relatively

small as most are not reliant on services such as social security or medicare, and their workloads

help to pay for native’s needs. Immigrants added $2 trillion to the United States' gross domestic

product (GDP) in 2016 and even more in recent years. (Upenn.edu 1). With these arguments
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disputed, there is no possible justification for the anti-immigration movement.

Immigration. The term carries with it millions who work hard, who strive to make a

better life for themselves and, in turn, every other citizen of America. Regardless of their skill

level, each immigrant abandons what they’ve come to know and love in hopes of a chance- a

chance to have a better life, a chance to make something of themselves. When they reach the

states, low-skilled workers fill jobs that most Americans would see as beneath them or not worth

the effort for the modest wages. High-skilled laborers work to improve the quality of life of

countless people. They increase the number of jobs available, decreasing native unemployment

and increasing America’s gross domestic product by trillions of dollars, working to pull the
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country out of debt. In all honesty, it is the native citizens of the United States who should be

grateful to the immigrants, for keeping the country safer and more prosperous. There is no

question whether the anti-immigration movement is justified or not. In the end, America was

built by immigrants and it is immigrants today who sustain the country.

Works Cited

Adleman et al. Urban crime rates and the changing face of immigration: Evidence across four

decades. 2017

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://doi.org/10.1080/15377938.2016.1261057&sa=D&source=

docs&ust=1671457508601055&usg=AOvVaw29Vj4BtIwyPOITS9i13gXK

Fwd.us. Immigration Facts: The positive economic impact of immigration Immigration and

Immigration mythbusters: Addressing common misconceptions. 2020

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

Orrenius, Pia. Benefits of immigration outweigh the costs. 2016

https://www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/north-american-century/benefits-of-immigration-outweigh-cost

s
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Upenn.edu. The effects of immigration on the United States’ Economy. 2016

https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2016/1/27/the-effects-of-immigration-on-the-unit

ed-states-economy

Siniavskaia, Natalia. Immigrant workers in the construction labor force. 2020

https://www.nahb.org/-/media/AB588638C9F7423DBDB19165B51E5B90.ashx

Walla, Scott. The economics of immigration: A story of substitutes and complements. 2014

https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/page1-econ/2014/05/01/the-economics-of-immigration

-a-story-of-substitutes-and-complements

Bersani B. E. (2014). An Examination of First and Second Generation Immigrant Offending

Trajectories. Justice Quarterly (31)2, 315-343