#2 Pros of undocumented immigrants in the United States The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 22 percent of construction workers are foreign born, with 2. 4 million immigrants working in the sector of construction, the largest source of jobs for immigrant labor. Jerry Howard, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, estimates that 25 to 30 percent of those working in resident construction are immigrants, though no one knows how many are here legally.Some economists say that if immigrant workers weren't present, rather than native-born workers getting better wages to do the same jobs, many jobs done by immigrants might not get done at all.
If immigration reform pushed wages higher for lower-skilled workers, which would probably stop many average Americans from hiring household help they can now afford. The same is true for some manufacturers a
...nd service sector employers as well. Illegal immigrants seem to have very little impact on unemployment rates.Undocumented workers certainly do take jobs that would otherwise go to legal workers.
But undocumented workers also create demand that leads to new jobs. They buy food and cars and cell phones, they get haircuts and go to restaurants. On average, there is close to no net impact on the unemployment rate. Some economists argue that not only do U. S.
consumers benefit from lower prices as a result of the low wages most immigrants are paid, but that the availability of lower-wage labor helps create more work for higher-skilled, higher-paid workers who are generally native born.Cons of undocumented immigrants in the United States Since undocumented workers generally don't pay income taxes but do use schools and other government services, they are seen a
a drain on government spending. Nearly 26 million legal and illegal immigrants settling in the United States since 1970 cost taxpayers a net $69 billion in 1997 alone, in excess of taxes those immigrants paid. This represents a cost of $260 in additional taxes paid by each U.S. resident or $1,030 in additional taxes paid by each family of four.
This cost is a substantial increase over the net immigration costs of $65 billion in 1996, $51 billion in 1994, $44 billion in 1993, and $43 billion in 1992. During 1996, approximately 2. 3 million predominantly low-skill American workers were displaced from their jobs due to the continued heavy influx of immigrant workers since 1970. Taxpayers paid more than $15. 2 billion in public ssistance for those displaced workers in 1996, including Medicaid, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), unemployment compensation, and food stamps. As politicians and activists raise the pitch of their arguments to stop illegal immigration at the border, scant attention has been paid to the legal loopholes that make it easy for employers to hire undocumented immigrants, creating an irresistible economic pull that undermines border enforcement.
The loophole has given rise to a thriving black market in counterfeit and occasionally stolen or borrowed immigration papers, Social Security cards, state driver's licenses, state ID cards and other documents, which are sold by word of mouth, at swap meets and even on street corners in some U. S. cities.
Citations
- Davidson, Adam."Q&A: Illegal Immigrants and the U. S. Economy. " 30 Mar 2006.
- National Public Radio. 18 Oct 2008 ;http://www.npr. org/templates/story/story. php? storyId=5312900;.
- Isidore, Chris. Illegal workers: good for U. S. economy. " 01 May 2006.
CNNMoney.com. 18 Oct 2008 <http://money. cnn. com/2006/05/01/news/economy/immigration_economy/index. htm>. "Mass Immigration Cost American Taxpayers $69 Billion Net and 2 Million Jobs in 1997."
- American Dream essays
- Barriers To Entry essays
- Capitalism essays
- Central Bank essays
- Compensation essays
- Consumerism essays
- Economic Development essays
- Economic Growth essays
- Economic Inequality essays
- Economic System essays
- Economy essays
- Employment essays
- Export essays
- Finance essays
- Free Trade essays
- Gross Domestic Product essays
- Human Development essays
- Income Inequality essays
- Industry essays
- Inflation essays
- International Business essays
- International Trade essays
- Macroeconomics essays
- Materialism essays
- Max Weber essays
- Microeconomics essays
- Minimum Wage essays
- Monetary Policy essays
- Monopoly essays
- Pricing essays
- Profit essays
- Recession essays
- resources essays
- Taxation essays
- Trade essays
- Unemployment essays
- Warehouse essays
- World economy essays
- Human Migration essays
- Illegal Immigration essays
- Immigrants essays
- Migration essays
- Refugee essays
- Accountability essays
- Accounting Software essays
- Accounts Receivable essays
- Auditor's Report essays
- Balance Sheet essays
- Cash essays
- Cash Flow essays