Running head: UNDOCUMENTED AMERICANS 1

Undocumented Americans

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliations
UNDOCUMENTED AMERICANS 2

Introduction

Undocumented Americans refer to foreign-born people who lack legal rights to be in the

United States. This population of Americans comprise immigrants who arrived in the country

legally but overstayed their lawful residence and migrants who got in the country through illegal

crossings across the United States-Mexican border. Krogstad, Passel and Cohn (2019) state that

as of 2017, there were 10.5 million undocumented Americans, representing 3.2% of the total

population. The U.S. has continued to grapple with the issue of undocumented Americans as it is

one of the critical social problems facing the country. Arguments have been presented that

undocumented Americans threaten America’s security and affect economic development, but

Sherman et al. (2019) shows that the undocumented immigrants contribute to the economic

development of the country by working at high rates and making up to more than a third of the

workforce. In 2019, the Department of Homeland Security implemented a policy that directed

immigration officers to reject the application of immigrants who wishes to remain or enter the

country, thereby further complicating this social issue. While policymakers and human rights

activities have offered solutions to undocumented Americans, legal migration is the best

approach to resolving the problem of undocumented immigrants. Three strategies that Congress

should consider to grant legal status to undocumented Americans include expanding guest

worker expansion programs, legalizing undocumented Americans who have no criminal

convictions, and processing immigrants at ports of entry.

Guest Worker Expansion Programs

Economic opportunities and employment remain the leading cause of undocumented

Americans since most people want to access a better life that is lacking in their native countries

(Bier, 2019). As a result, immigrants are likely to overstay their visa or cross illegally to the
UNDOCUMENTED AMERICANS 3

country to access employment opportunities. Therefore, Congress should resolve this issue by

expanding or creating guest worker programs and channel undocumented Americans into legal

employment.

Legalization

Another solution is that existing asylum seekers and illegal immigrants should be granted

permanent legal status to prevent asylum seekers from becoming undocumented immigrants and

permit the family of legalized people to reunited legally (Bier, 2019).

Process at Ports

Lastly, asylum seekers should be processed at ports of entry to minimize humanitarian

and security challenges (Bier, 2019).

Conclusion

Immigrants are important populations to the economic development of the U.S. because

they make a third of the workforce, and they also take up jobs that natives are likely to take. As a

result, Congress should grant legal status to this population through expanding guest worker

expansion programs, legalizing undocumented Americans who have no criminal convictions, and

process immigrants at ports of entry.

UNDOCUMENTED AMERICANS 4

References

Bier, D. (2019). Legal Immigration Will Resolve America’s Real Border Problems. Retrieved 9

March 2020, from https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/legal-immigration-

will-resolve-americas-real-border-problems

Krogstad, J., Passel, J., & Cohn, D. (2019). 5 facts about illegal immigration in the U.S.

Retrieved 9 March 2020, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/12/5-

facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/

Sherman, A., Trisi, D., Stone, C., Gonzales, S., & Parrott, S. (2019). Immigrants Contribute

Greatly to U.S. Economy, Despite Administration’s “Public Charge” Rule Rationale.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Retrieved 19 February 2020, from

https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/immigrants-contribute-greatly-to-

us-economy-despite-administrations.