Immigration is the act of human beings or animals moving and settling in a nation or region to which they are not native. Normally, immigration is facilitated by factors such as temperature changes, breeding, economic and political pressures, family re-unification, natural calamities, poverty or voluntary wish to change one’s abode.
The rise of the number of immigrants poses a great problem to policy makers in any given country. The US has for example had the number of illegal immigrants increase from 5 to 12 million over a period of 10 years. The effects of illegal immigration have led to a rising public concern, with regard to salaries, public finances and potential security threats. This paper focuses on the analysis of the public opinion concerning immigration in the US and its various effects.
In spite of the disparity of opinions in the congress, there is a strong agreement that if the US could simply minimize the rate of illegal immigration in the country, either by converting them into lawful residents or dissuading them at the border, the country’s economic standards would be improved. According to politicians, an increase in the number of illegal immigrants is highly likely to destabilize the law of the land, as well as disrupt the government’s planning and implementation of the labor market laws.
Critics argue that the massive inflow of labor from other countries is a threat to the low learned Americans. However, average research has shown that immigrants are less schooled than native-born Americans. Another alarming issue is that an increase in the number of illegal immigrants from Mexico and other countries exposes the US to terror attacks.
Illegal immigration provides the US industries and merchants with the types of laborers they want during peak labor demand seasons. The immigrants from the neighboring states provide cheap labor for the industries. For instance, the economic downturn in Mexico over recent years has facilitated the influx of immigrants into the US. This has provided the US with a majority of unskilled labor force to work in the industries.
Moreover, rapid advances in new technology have increased demand for highly skilled labor. With the increased implementation of Information Technology in many institutions, there is a high demand for IT professionals and expert technicians. Despite the fact that the USA has a large number of graduates from the various fields, many people from different parts of the country continue to move into the US to meet of increased demand for IT experts.
The issuance of green cards and momentary visas for persons willing to work in the US has made it possible for such experts to move into the country. However, due to the long queues and legal procedures in the immigration department, many people are forced to enter the country illegally.
In general, immigration helps in increasing America’s revenue. This mainly occurs as the immigrants continue to use the country’s local resources such as schools, hospitals, financial institutions and means of transport and communication.While the aggregate impacts of illegal immigration are small, the intensity of the public debate about the economic impacts of immigration is not a reflection of its aggregate consequences.
Businesses have been found to be the greatest benefactors of immigration, a major reason why a large number of business owners believe that the positive effects of illegal immigration outweigh the negative ones.
Conclusively, illegal immigration should not be viewed only on the negative side, but also in terms of its positive implications to the economy. The public should not only condemn the states that are more anti-immigrant, but should also call for all facilitating stakeholders, such as industries and businesses, to fight illegal immigration.