Introduction
There are various reasons that make a person to traverse a border illegally into the foreign territory or overstay their visa. Such a person goes by various titles like an illegal immigrant or illegal alien, undocumented immigrant, unauthorized migrant, and so on (US Immigration Support, 2012). Commonly, the reasons given for such illegalities include the need to reuniting with their families, running away from war or prospects of war, job seeking, seeking political asylum, and seeking for medical attention (Phil for Humanity, 2013). This essay seeks to prove that it is proper for such people to enjoy welfare programs in the United States of America.
Significance of Immigration
Each human being has something to offer to society. Illegal immigration has its demerits and merits. America should closely monitor all immigrants and utilize the potential that these people have. Such people are usually qualified for various fields in the labor market and given a chance; they can contribute to the economic growth of a country like the United States of America. However, measures must be in place to deter criminal elements among the immigrants so that security remains uncompromised. It is common knowledge that terrorists may take advantage of immigration to perpetuate their fight against the United States of America.
The state should draft legislation that enables immigrants to acquire a legal status so that these people contribute to the government’s revenue through paying of taxes. Illegal immigrants cannot pay taxes since they fear that doing so would expose them, and this would probably lead to prosecutions and deportations. Such legislation would assist in vetting so that people who are an asset to the United States of America get absorbed into various areas for nation-building.
Recently, the government in the United States of America drafted an Immigration bill that would see many illegal immigrants acquire citizenship status. Such a bill is very significant and debating it within the shortest time possible would ensure that immigrants start paying for privileges that they currently enjoy without contributing to government revenue through evasion of taxes — those opposed to the billing demand that the government deports all illegal immigrants to their home countries. Deporting illegal immigrants would be too costly for the government. The number of illegal immigrants stands at eleven million people.
Politically, immigrants are a great force. It is in the public domain that people of Hispanic origins significantly contributed to Presidents Obama’s election and consequent re-election. As such, immigrants deserve better treatment. For the illegal immigrants, the government should act decisively and reap from the potential contributions within the immigrants.
In the health sector, foreign nurses account for more than twenty percent, and this is very significant because they bring with them the skills needed for the aging populations in America. Such nurses are relatively younger, and this means that they can serve the nation for a longer period (Kenny, 2013). Nurses trained in the Philippines, for instance, are famed for giving the best care to patients. As such, foreign nurses become instrumental in sustaining the life of so many Americans (Kenny, 2013).
The technological field is set to benefit from immigration. In 2006, foreigners in the United States of America got recognition as inventors and co-inventors. Twenty-five percent of all patents in America belonged to them. Also, twenty-five percent of companies formed between 1995 and 2005 hired foreign professionals to the positions of either economist or chief technologists (Kenny, 2013).
Concerning aging populations in America, immigrants may help in bridging the number of the young population needed in American for future endeavors in the country. When such a population is recognized as American, it will greatly assist the country in providing future labor needed in the country (Kenny, 2013).
Immigrants have had a positive bearing on the economy of the United States of America. In other words, immigration is closely intertwined with an increase in wealth. This arises from the fact that the US has an economy that generates more than enough job opportunities for the Native Americans (Immigration and America’s Future: A New Chapter, 2006). As such, immigrants provide the much-needed supply of labor in the United States of America. Such labor is usually cheaper than that offered by Native Americans.
America has been able to maintain a competitive edge courtesy of immigrants. Immigrants play very significant roles in crucial fields related to science and engineering (Immigration and America’s Future: A New Chapter, 2006). It is on record that half of those who joined engineering graduate studies in the US were immigrants in 2004 (Immigration and America’s Future: A New Chapter, 2006). The US has no option but to keep attracting and assisting immigrants to enrich the economy as they are always among the best and brightest in the face of tight competition by China and India (Immigration and America’s Future: A New Chapter, 2006).
Immigration enhances entrepreneurship, as the probability of immigrants engaging in self-employment is quite high. For instance, the number of enterprises owned by people from Hispania “has grown at three times the national average” (Immigration and America’s Future: A New Chapter, 2006). It is common knowledge that such establishments are bound to create employment for the population in America, and this contributes to economic growth. Also, “one-quarter of Silicon Valley start-ups were established at least in part by immigrants, including Intel, Sun Microsystems, and Google” (Immigration and America’s Future: A New Chapter, 2006).
Dynamism is a prerequisite to any state that seeks to entrench itself in the global system. Immigration is one of the driving forces of this dynamism. This dynamism manifests in food eaten in America, forms and places of worship, entertainment as well as sports (Immigration and America’s Future: A New Chapter, 2006). Immigrants have excelled in areas like estate management, theatre, and military service to name but a few (Immigration and America’s Future: A New Chapter, 2006).
Conclusion
With this in mind, the question remains as to what should be done about the illegal immigrants in America. Having seen how useful they are and can be to the welfare of the US, it is up to the government to assist them through welfare programs and assist them to be proper US Citizens (Moffet, 2013). If anything, they become more important to the economy when they attain legal status since they start paying taxes.
References
N.A. (2006). Immigration and America’s Future: A New Chapter. New York: Migration Policy Institute.
Kenny, C. (2013). Small World. Web.
Moffet, D. (2013). New Immigrants Assimilating Into U.S. Society. Web.
Phil for Humanity. (2013). Illegal Immigration.
US Immigration Support. (2012). Illegal Immigration.