Kaustubh Patel

Class: CST 110 M-W

9.30 - 10.45

Alan Campbell, PhD

Limit On Illegal Immigration

Immigration has been a touchstone of the U.S. political debate for decades, as

policymakers must weigh competing economic, security, and humanitarian concerns. President

Donald J. Trump was elected on pledges to take extraordinary actions to curb illegal

immigration and prevent terrorism, including controversial plans to build out the border wall with

Mexico, deport millions of undocumented immigrants, and temporarily ban Muslims.

What is the immigrant population in the United States?

Immigrants comprise about 14 percent of the U.S. population: more than forty-three million out

of a total of about 323 million people, according to Census Bureau data. Together, immigrants

and their U.S.-born children make up about 27 percent of U.S. inhabitants. The figure represents

a steady rise from 1970, when there were fewer than ten million immigrants in the United States.

But there are proportionally fewer immigrants today than in 1890, when foreign-born residents

comprised 15 percent of the population.

In 2017, Customs and Border Protection reported a 26 percent drop in the number of people

apprehended or stopped at the southern border from the year before, which some attribute to the

Trump administration’s policies. At the same time, arrests of suspected undocumented

immigrants jumped by 40 percent.

How do Americans feel about illegal immigrants? Stay or deport?

In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in May, a solid majority (72%) of Americans –

including 80% of Democrats, 76% of independents and 56% of Republicans – say undocumented

immigrants currently living in the U.S. should be allowed to stay in this country legally if they

meet certain requirements. Last year, we asked a follow-up question of those who opposed

granting legal status to undocumented immigrants: Should there be a “national law enforcement

effort to deport” all immigrants here illegally? Just 17% of the public overall favored such an

effort, including about a quarter (27%) of Republicans.Undocumented immigrants take jobs that

Americans won’t do. They pay taxes—Social Security withholdings they’ll never see again, sales

taxes when they buy food or clothes, property taxes whether they own or rent, even income taxes

using an ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) if they want to be able to apply for a green

card one day. They keep ranches and farms humming along, which allows the owners to pay

taxes and pump money into the economy when they buy goods and contract for services. They

keep hotels and restaurants profitable, which allows those businesses to hire more people—

including U.S. citizens, who then pump their paychecks into the economy. Most of all, they keep

afloat the American household by cutting lawns, cleaning homes, and tending to children so that

men and women can spend more time working outside the home and contribute to the nation’s

productivity.

Undocumented immigrants bring hope, optimism, perseverance, and a ferocious work ethic.

They become devoted to this country for giving them a second chance, so much so that they’ll

watch their children go into the military. They defer gratification, save for the future, and trust in

a better tomorrow. They maintain close-knit families, raise children to respect teachers and other

authority figures, and fill the pews in churches from Los Angeles to Boston. They start

businesses that pay taxes, employ people, provide goods, and revitalize entire communities left
for dead by native-born Americans. Lastly, they help keep the entire Social Security system

afloat by handing over payroll taxes that go to support retirees—many of whom want them out of

the country.

Bibliography:

For it :
https://www.thedailybeast.com/yes-america-benefits-from-all-immigration-legal-and-
illegal
https://immigration.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000789
https://www.forbes.com/sites/modeledbehavior/2017/09/23/the-term-illegal-immigrant-
is-fine/#62e86bfe818c
https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/203984-illegal-immigrants-
benefit-the-us-economy
https://www.npr.org/2018/05/02/607652253/studies-say-illegal-immigration-does-not-
increase-violent-crime

Against it:

1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_illegal_immigrants_in_the_United_S
tates
2) https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/trump-clinton-immigration-economy-
unemployment-jobs-214216
3) https://www.city-journal.org/html/how-unskilled-immigrants-hurt-our-economy-
12946.html
4) https://www.npr.org/2018/06/22/622540331/fact-check-trump-illegal-immigration-and-
crime
5) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/48375839_The_impact_of_illegal_immigration
_on_US_economy

Work cited:

1) https://www.forbes.com/sites/modeledbehavior/2017/09/23/the-term-illegal-immigrant-
is-fine/#62e86bfe818c
2) https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/203984-illegal-immigrants-
benefit-the-us-economy