Name and author
The name of the article to be critiqued is, ‘The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States’. The article was published on December 2009, and Gordon H. Hanson and the National Bureau of Economic Research are the authors.
Research Questions
Although the current article lacks clearly stated research questions, nonetheless, the authors have posed two questions at the recommendation section of the paper, which are meant for policymakers. These questions are: 1) “Are unauthorized immigrants important to the US economy?”, and 2) “Would reducing low-skilled immigration be good for the United States?” (Hanson & National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009).
Hypotheses
One of the hypotheses that have been supported by the article is that policymakers across the political spectrum are convinced that the high level of illegal immigration experienced by the United States is indicative of the prevailing immigration policy regime. The authors further hypothesize that low-skilled foreign labor are able to enter into the united states through unauthorized entry.
Before 2006, the US Department of Homeland Security had not tightened interior enforcement and for this reason, there were many illegal immigrants moving into the country, especially on the Mexican-America border (Hanson & National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009). The addition of illegal immigrants into the United States’ labor force increased the country’s productivity process.
On the other hand, there is a drawback to such a system in that the government has a limited control over national borders. In addition, illegal immigrants are also likely to be faced with abuse and insecurity. Another hypothesis that has been proposed by the authors of the article is that the reason why we have many illegal immigrants in the United States is because they have a higher chance of earning more money here than would have been the case in their home countries (Camarota, 2003).
In addition, because the United States Immigration Department does not allow them to enter into the country through the legal channels, they have no choice but to come here illegally (Hanson & National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009).
The authors also argue that in case the United States decides to eliminate or regulate illegal immigration by enforcing tougher immigration rules, business owners in such labor intensive sectors as construction, restaurants, agriculture, food processing, cleaning services, lodging, and building and maintenance would be the greatest losers. This is because most of the illegal immigrants find work in such industries.
So what questions
The authors have tried to argue that even after the current recession having somewhat slowed down, we should brace ourselves for an increase in the number of illegal immigrants into the United States. Once the country’s economy resumes, we are likely to witness resumption in the high levels of illegal immigrants.
The authors further argue that the current legal mechanism that deals with low-skilled immigration cannot address the changing demands for labor in the US economy (Passel & D’Vera, 2009). Foreign workers can only enter into the United States legally by either securing a temporary work permit, or a green card.
Seeing that the incidences of illegal immigration are increasing every other day and there are only a handful of legal entry channels at the moment, the pressure is now on Washington to see to it that they have resolved the immigration problem in the country, once and for all. President Obama has already committed himself to ensuring that this problem is addressed, sooner rather than later (Hanson & National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009).
An enforcement strategy can only be executed through legislation in order to prevent employment of illegal workforce and overcome illegal immigration in the future.
Another strategy to overcome the problem of immigration into the United States that has been proposed by the authors is the adoption of a different accommodation strategy whereby the united states would not only legalize immigrants who are in the country illegally, but also in the establishment of expanded legal options so that in the future, prospective migrants can be absorbed legally into the United States.
Is the study unique in any way?
The current study is unique in that it has brought forth the suggestion that illegal immigration into the United States has not been unregulated wholly. Towards this end, the authors have tried to show how the US government has had a contributing role towards the inflow of illegal immigrants into the country by discouraging the recruitment of illegal workers and by enforcing the borders.
The article further shows that although enforcement plays a key role in the illegal migration patterns, on the other hand, the authors have tried to show in the long run, illegal immigration is mainly a response to the changing macroeconomic system not just in the United States, but also in the home countries of the illegal immigrants (Hanson & National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009).
This is an important observation made by the authors because it shows that a change in the macroeconomic system of a given country could also affect the economy of the United States economy due to shift in the labor force. The authors are also trying to show that in the long run, enforcing illegal immigration may prove to be expensive, in comparison with the potential gains for the United States government, in case they decided to eliminate restrictions to the entry of illegal immigrants.
Main points
The high immigration levels observed in the United States reflect the prevailing immigration policy regime (Koslowski, 2005). The authors of the article further note that as the number of illegal immigrants increases their contribution to the American labor force increase, with the illegal workforce mainly finding work in the construction and other low- end jobs.
Nonetheless, illegal immigrants only impact dismally on the economy of the United States. Through legislation, enforcement strategies aimed at preventing illegal immigration can be enforced, while the enforcement of accommodation strategies would help to divert the flow of illegal immigrants into the US into expanded and legalized options.
Literature review provided
The literature review of this paper mainly dwells on the economics and policy aspects of illegal immigration. In this case, the authors note that unauthorized immigrants form a larger portion of the low skilled labor force found in the United States. The authors have tried to argue that the reason for the high number of illegal immigrants is due to lack of jobs in their home country and hence the need for greener pastures in the United States.
The authors have supported their positions with arguments from other scholars (for example, Smith & Edmonston, 1997; Borjas, 2003; Passel & D’Vera, 2009). Although the current global economic crisis has also affected the rate of inflow of the illegal immigrants, the authors see it as a temporary move and once the situation normalizes, we are likely to see an increase in the number of illegal immigrants.
Although there are high numbers of illegal immigrants in the United States they do not have a major impact on the US economy. The authors have also tried to show how expensive enforcement against illegal immigration can be, when compared to what we stand to gain by doing away with illegal entry. In undertaking the study, the authors wished to assess the economics as well as the policy that appertains to illegal immigration in the US.
Do the study’s findings support the authors Goals or Thesis?
The authors have succeeded in their goal because they have clearly shown that unauthorized immigrants act as ready human resources in labor intensive filed such as the construction industry.
According to the authors, the reason why it has not been easy to act on illegal immigration is because of the underlying economic truth that although illegal immigration has been put to task in the United States, it has benefited employers in the country a great deal, more than even the current system of legal migration. This is in addition to division among the political elite regarding the same issue.
Conclusion
In concluding their article, the authors have argued that by enforcing the inflow of immigrants into the United States, the sectors that required high labor input such as the construction industry, and which happen to be the chief beneficiaries of illegal immigrants would suffer, and this could hurt the American economy.
Strengths and weaknesses of the article
One of the strengths of the article is that it has provided the gains and losses of illegal immigration. The article has also apportioned blame on the US government for its failure to control illegal immigration. However, the authors of this article have chosen to rely on secondary data only and this limits the choice of the areas of research in future studies.
Reference List
Borjas, G. J. (2003). The Labor Demand Curve Is Downward Sloping: Reexamining the Impact of Immigration on the Labor Market. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118, 1335-1374.
Camarota, S. A. (2004). The High Cost of Cheap Labor: Illegal Immigration and the Federal Budget. Washington, DC: Center for Immigration Studies.
Hanson, A. G. H., & National Bureau of Economic Research. (2009). The economics of illegal Immigration in the United States. Retrieved from https://gps.ucsd.edu/_files/faculty/hanson/hanson_publication_immigration_illegal.pdf?_ga=2.113840903.1057523305.1560237705-2035716933.1560237705
Koslowski, R. (2005). Real Challenges for Virtual Borders: The Implementation of US-VISIT. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
Passel, J. S., & D’Vera, C. (2009). A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States. Retrieved from Pew Hispanic Center website: https://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/04/14/a-portrait-of-unauthorized-immigrants-in-the-united-states/
Smith, J. P., & Edmonston, B. (1997). The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.