Is Immigration Good for the American Economy?
A look at the current U.S economic problem
Tazmi Siddiquey
University of Michigan – Dearborn
Author Note
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tazmi Siddique, University of Michigan – Dearborn, 4901 Evergreen Road Dearborn, MI
(313) 409-3542. Email: [email protected]
Abstract
This paper illustrates the importance of immigrants living in the U.S. It is said that immigrants are one of the negatives sides to why some Americans are out of a employment. This paper will demonstrate that this claim is incorrect and that immigrants in fact have a very positive impact on our economy today. This paper will show there many different ways that our economy needs immigrants in order to grow and excel.
Introduction
Immigrants today have a huge impact on America; they revolutionized the cultural and economical views of our nation. Some claim that immigrants have a negative impact on our country for many different reasons, this is false. Immigrants are tax payers, consumers, producers, entrepreneur, and scholars. They are no different then you and I and equally contribute in our mission on strengthening America. I believe that immigration is a necessity to help our country flourish and that with it America can evolve and build strong bonds with other foreign nations.
Effects on the economy
Immigrants in America have a huge impact on the economy. It’s a very controversial topic that can be swayed either way. Some individuals believe that immigrants are hurting the American economy but this is false, they are actually assisting our economy in more ways then one. In fact, according to the Small Business Administration migrant workers are 30% more likely to start small businesses then the average American which in turn creates more jobs for the American population, thus, lowering the unemployment rate. (Bowles, 2009)
Finding a job nowadays is a very difficult task, not a lot of companies or organizations are always hiring and it is hard creating jobs due to our economic difficulties. Some people argue that immigrants are a nuisance and come to America to replace us as low-waged workers. But this argument can easily be discredited, every 100 H-1B worker, a non-immigrant visa in the United States which allows an immigrant to stay in the U.S. under employment due to specialty occupations, who came to the U.S. from 2001 to 2010 correlated with 183 new jobs for U.S. workers (Jacoby, 2011). In addition to this, statistics show that 25% of public U.S companies that were backed by venture capital investors were initiated by immigrants. These companies consist of Google, eBay, Intel, Yahoo!, and so on. (Furman, 2012)
Below is an interview conducted by me involving my dad and his time as an American immigrant and also about his views on how immigrants affected the economy:
Q: “What was it like when you first arrived here?”
A: “It was very different, everything looked so high tech and everyone was busy doing something. There was no time to sit around enjoying life because everyone was working.”
Q: “How long did it take you to find your first job? What was it?”
A: “It took me about two and a half weeks to find a job, I was willing to do anything because whatever I got was better then anything I would have gotten back home. I worked in a Coney Island and I started off as a janitor for a few weeks then become a busboy. They also made me clean the floor when I had time and the parts of the restaurant no one wanted to touch. It was such a filthy place, but I didn’t care I just wanted to get paid.”
Q: “Do you think migrant workers are essential to the U.S. economy?”
A: “I used to clean the dirtiest parts of the restaurant, I mean the absolute filthiest. I did it because I needed money. Money is essential isn’t it? So are immigrants. You think anyone that was born here would want to clean filthy toilets or mop up the dirty bathroom floor? I did that and I didn’t even get paid a lot, but I did it for the money so I could go buy food, cloths, and other things we needed. Where do you think the money I spent on these things go? To help this economy! A lot of business saved tons of money hiring people like me because we weren’t asking for much money, we took whatever we got and we lived with it.
The effects of illegal immigration
There are those who come here legally by following our step-by-step procedure and then those who come here illegally. The U.S. is home to approximately 11 million illegal immigrants today and of those 11 million illegal immigrants, 8 million are in the work force (Preston, 2011). Now what does this say about these individuals? Yes they came here illegally but they are working hard and doing there part to better the U.S economy. This proves that illegal immigrants are just as important as permanent residents and American citizens and that they should be allowed the same privileges we have, such as obtaining a drivers license. Each year undocumented immigrants with false Social Security numbers contribute roughly $7 billion to Social Security and almost $2 million to Medicare. Since most illegal immigrants come when they are young and working, they tend not to collect Social Security or Medicare for some years even though they are paying into the system due to payroll taxes. Most of these illegals were educated in their countries and now the American economy acquires the benefits of their hard work (Anderson, 2011).
Some individuals are quick to assume that undocumented immigrants don’t belong here because they do not posses the proper paper work that is required. Aren’t we home to those who seek liberty and happiness? In 2010, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed an immigration law where law enforcement had the authorization to confront any individual and ask them to prove that they are a legally allowed in the country. This kind of law in my opinion degrades our American beliefs and also suggests racial profiling (Campo-Flores, 2010). This claim suggests that even though these migrant workers are not typically allowed in the U.S. and a vast amount of individuals say they should be deported to their home countries, but yet we have no problem collecting various types of taxes from them that goes straight to things such as education, health care, and other services.
Illegal immigrants are not just illegal immigrants they are also tax payers, workers, producers, and consumers. These are also all types of contribution they help progress our economy. They help create jobs by starting business, they do the work that most American would hate to do and they do it proudly.
Throughout this paper, I have demonstrated that immigrants both legal and illegal are needed in this nation for it to prosper. There have been claims that oppose my argument stating that immigrants are leeches, sucking out the life of our economy and taking all our jobs due to their willingness to accept low wages. As shown in this paper this can effortlessly exposed, immigrants are contributing to the economy by paying taxes, starting their own companies, and creating new jobs. They are hard, respectable workers who are crucial for our economies up rise.
Reference
Hanson, G. H. (2007). The economic logic of illegal immigration. Retrieved from http://www.cfr.org/immigration/economic-logic-illegal-immigration/p12969
Furman, J. (2012). Retrieved from White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/07/12/ten-ways-immigrants-help-build-and-strengthen-our-economy
Henderson, N. (2006, April 15). Washington post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041401686.html
Campo-Flores, A. (2010, May 13). Why americans think (wrongly) that illegal immigrants hurt the economy. . Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/05/14/why-americans-think-wrongly-that-illegal-immigrants-hurt-the-economy.html
Bowles, J. (2009, December). Immigrant entrepreneurism: An engine for economic recovery. Retrieved from http://www.nycfuture.org/content/articles/article_view.cfm?article_id=1256
Jacoby, T. (2011, December 28). Most immigrants create jobs. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-h-b-visas-be-easier-to-get/most-immigrants-create-jobs
Anderson, D. (2011, October 20). Procon. Retrieved from http://immigration.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000788
Siddique,T (2012, November 30). Interview.
A look at the current U.S economic problem
Tazmi Siddiquey
University of Michigan – Dearborn
Author Note
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tazmi Siddique, University of Michigan – Dearborn, 4901 Evergreen Road Dearborn, MI
(313) 409-3542. Email: [email protected]
Abstract
This paper illustrates the importance of immigrants living in the U.S. It is said that immigrants are one of the negatives sides to why some Americans are out of a employment. This paper will demonstrate that this claim is incorrect and that immigrants in fact have a very positive impact on our economy today. This paper will show there many different ways that our economy needs immigrants in order to grow and excel.
Introduction
Immigrants today have a huge impact on America; they revolutionized the cultural and economical views of our nation. Some claim that immigrants have a negative impact on our country for many different reasons, this is false. Immigrants are tax payers, consumers, producers, entrepreneur, and scholars. They are no different then you and I and equally contribute in our mission on strengthening America. I believe that immigration is a necessity to help our country flourish and that with it America can evolve and build strong bonds with other foreign nations.
Effects on the economy
Immigrants in America have a huge impact on the economy. It’s a very controversial topic that can be swayed either way. Some individuals believe that immigrants are hurting the American economy but this is false, they are actually assisting our economy in more ways then one. In fact, according to the Small Business Administration migrant workers are 30% more likely to start small businesses then the average American which in turn creates more jobs for the American population, thus, lowering the unemployment rate. (Bowles, 2009)
Finding a job nowadays is a very difficult task, not a lot of companies or organizations are always hiring and it is hard creating jobs due to our economic difficulties. Some people argue that immigrants are a nuisance and come to America to replace us as low-waged workers. But this argument can easily be discredited, every 100 H-1B worker, a non-immigrant visa in the United States which allows an immigrant to stay in the U.S. under employment due to specialty occupations, who came to the U.S. from 2001 to 2010 correlated with 183 new jobs for U.S. workers (Jacoby, 2011). In addition to this, statistics show that 25% of public U.S companies that were backed by venture capital investors were initiated by immigrants. These companies consist of Google, eBay, Intel, Yahoo!, and so on. (Furman, 2012)
Below is an interview conducted by me involving my dad and his time as an American immigrant and also about his views on how immigrants affected the economy:
Q: “What was it like when you first arrived here?”
A: “It was very different, everything looked so high tech and everyone was busy doing something. There was no time to sit around enjoying life because everyone was working.”
Q: “How long did it take you to find your first job? What was it?”
A: “It took me about two and a half weeks to find a job, I was willing to do anything because whatever I got was better then anything I would have gotten back home. I worked in a Coney Island and I started off as a janitor for a few weeks then become a busboy. They also made me clean the floor when I had time and the parts of the restaurant no one wanted to touch. It was such a filthy place, but I didn’t care I just wanted to get paid.”
Q: “Do you think migrant workers are essential to the U.S. economy?”
A: “I used to clean the dirtiest parts of the restaurant, I mean the absolute filthiest. I did it because I needed money. Money is essential isn’t it? So are immigrants. You think anyone that was born here would want to clean filthy toilets or mop up the dirty bathroom floor? I did that and I didn’t even get paid a lot, but I did it for the money so I could go buy food, cloths, and other things we needed. Where do you think the money I spent on these things go? To help this economy! A lot of business saved tons of money hiring people like me because we weren’t asking for much money, we took whatever we got and we lived with it.
The effects of illegal immigration
There are those who come here legally by following our step-by-step procedure and then those who come here illegally. The U.S. is home to approximately 11 million illegal immigrants today and of those 11 million illegal immigrants, 8 million are in the work force (Preston, 2011). Now what does this say about these individuals? Yes they came here illegally but they are working hard and doing there part to better the U.S economy. This proves that illegal immigrants are just as important as permanent residents and American citizens and that they should be allowed the same privileges we have, such as obtaining a drivers license. Each year undocumented immigrants with false Social Security numbers contribute roughly $7 billion to Social Security and almost $2 million to Medicare. Since most illegal immigrants come when they are young and working, they tend not to collect Social Security or Medicare for some years even though they are paying into the system due to payroll taxes. Most of these illegals were educated in their countries and now the American economy acquires the benefits of their hard work (Anderson, 2011).
Some individuals are quick to assume that undocumented immigrants don’t belong here because they do not posses the proper paper work that is required. Aren’t we home to those who seek liberty and happiness? In 2010, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed an immigration law where law enforcement had the authorization to confront any individual and ask them to prove that they are a legally allowed in the country. This kind of law in my opinion degrades our American beliefs and also suggests racial profiling (Campo-Flores, 2010). This claim suggests that even though these migrant workers are not typically allowed in the U.S. and a vast amount of individuals say they should be deported to their home countries, but yet we have no problem collecting various types of taxes from them that goes straight to things such as education, health care, and other services.
Illegal immigrants are not just illegal immigrants they are also tax payers, workers, producers, and consumers. These are also all types of contribution they help progress our economy. They help create jobs by starting business, they do the work that most American would hate to do and they do it proudly.
Throughout this paper, I have demonstrated that immigrants both legal and illegal are needed in this nation for it to prosper. There have been claims that oppose my argument stating that immigrants are leeches, sucking out the life of our economy and taking all our jobs due to their willingness to accept low wages. As shown in this paper this can effortlessly exposed, immigrants are contributing to the economy by paying taxes, starting their own companies, and creating new jobs. They are hard, respectable workers who are crucial for our economies up rise.
Reference
Hanson, G. H. (2007). The economic logic of illegal immigration. Retrieved from http://www.cfr.org/immigration/economic-logic-illegal-immigration/p12969
Furman, J. (2012). Retrieved from White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/07/12/ten-ways-immigrants-help-build-and-strengthen-our-economy
Henderson, N. (2006, April 15). Washington post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041401686.html
Campo-Flores, A. (2010, May 13). Why americans think (wrongly) that illegal immigrants hurt the economy. . Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/05/14/why-americans-think-wrongly-that-illegal-immigrants-hurt-the-economy.html
Bowles, J. (2009, December). Immigrant entrepreneurism: An engine for economic recovery. Retrieved from http://www.nycfuture.org/content/articles/article_view.cfm?article_id=1256
Jacoby, T. (2011, December 28). Most immigrants create jobs. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-h-b-visas-be-easier-to-get/most-immigrants-create-jobs
Anderson, D. (2011, October 20). Procon. Retrieved from http://immigration.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000788
Siddique,T (2012, November 30). Interview.