Does United States Immigration Policy Harm Domestic Workers?

¶ … United States immigration policy and how it impacts the domestic workers. The writer explores the policy and the issue of immigration in the United States. There were six sources used to complete this paper.

Does United States immigration policy harm domestic workers?

America has long been know for being the land of opportunity. For many years immigrants have flocked to the U.S. borders to begin new lives and build lives for their children. Millions of immigrants have come to America and started new lives living off of the fruits of their labor from working. In recent decades however, concern has developed about the number of jobs the immigrant workers perform. There have been many debates and discussions about the U.S. immigration policy and how it impacts domestic workers in this country. America is currently facing a dilemma. It has to decide whether its willingness to embrace immigrants is going to have a negative impact on the plight of the domestic worker.

The nation, and particularly the south east has seen a large influx of immigrant workers in recent years (Immigration, 2000). It has caused heated emotional debates around the nation as domestic workers struggle with a sluggish U.S. economy. They believe that the immigrant workers are taking jobs that could go to U.S. citizens.

But the debate on immigration goes beyond the emotional. The issues taking place across America and reach back more than 200 years because America is, and always has been, a nation of immigrants (Immigration, 2000)."

Immigration policies for workers in America continue to allow aliens to obtain jobs in this country. The laws are strict as far as documentation is needed, but illegal aliens continue to get positions in fields and other industries without having the right documents in their possession. In addition there is a new plan underway to allow amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens in this country who are working (Guest, 2004).

The following numbers help illustrate the problem with relying almost exclusively on enforcement to limit illegal immigration.

Between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. government increased the number of Border

Patrol Agents from 3,600 to 10,000. During that same 10-year period, illegal immigration rose by 5.5 million. Over the past four years alone, more than 1,300 men and women (and some children) seeking to work in the United States have died attempting to cross deserts, rivers, and mountains. The status quo is not acceptable. Largely absent from the debate over immigration policy is an understanding that the past use of legal visas greatly reduced illegal immigration into the United States (Guest, 2004)."

Most recently the president has begun to ask for laws that would allow illegal aliens to continue working in this country without penalty. According to the president such a program would allow the U.S. To reap benefits of taxes from those who had not been paying them in the past. While this is a good theory, there are many who believe it will actually provide amnesty to millions that are taking jobs from American residents and citizens.

The program, "Immigration Amnesty" calls for all workers currently in the United States, to be able to register and remain here without penalty or punishment for their past indiscretions as illegal workers. This proposed policy has caused an uproar across the nation as domestic workers, who have paid taxes, suffered layoffs and unemployment realized what the program means to them.

Those who advocate for immigrant workers allege the only jobs the immigrants are taking are jobs that U.S. residents do not want or need. For many years it was believed that the only jobs being taken by immigrant workers were those on farmland as planters and pickers. For a long time this many have been the case but more recently the jobs being taken by immigrant workers have branched out to include other industries.

Recently large companies have become the focus of news stories for their willingness to hire immigrant workers (Big, 2004).

One of the more publicized companies is WalMart. Walmart made international news when it was the subject of a raid for its illegal alien workers (Big, 2004).

Other companies have also been highlighted for their willingness to hire immigrants instead of domestic workers (Big, 2004). If millions of workers are allowed to work in this nation without going through the proper channels it is going to encourage millions more to arrive for the same purpose. This is going to take jobs away from domestic workers. The illegal aliens often send the bulk of their paychecks home to support the family members who remained behind. This means that domestic workers who could be making and spending money in this country are being deprived of that chance, and the immigrant workers are sending most of their money out of the country, so the economy will also suffer from the immigration policy being proposed.

President Bush and political insiders are again working to give amnesty to the 12 million illegal immigrants working in the United States. In his recent proposal, illegal aliens would live here as "guest workers" for up to six years. This at a time when 12 million citizens cannot find full-time work (Post, 2004). " six-year free ride for immigrant workers will impact more than the immediate immigrant worker. The lack of paid salary taxes, the lack of domestic spending and the blocking of both these things that domestic workers would provide had they had the jobs is going to further cripple the nation's already sluggish economic situation (Post, 2004). Over a lifetime the immigrant worker earns less than a domestic worker does so all the way around the nation loses out on domestic dollars being spent over a lifetime. http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/art/fig08.jpg

Chart 1. Earnings over the Working Life for Immigrant and Native Men

SOURCE: Adapted from George J. Borjas, Friends or Strangers: The Impact of Immigrants on the U.S. Economy, 1990: 114.

Those who advocate for the immigrant workers ability to remain in this country and work provide the following beliefs for their argument

Among AILF's fi http://www.ailf.org/ipc/ipf0902.aspndings:

Mexican Workers Are Integral to U.S. Economic Growth. The portion of Mexican workers in the U.S. workforce has doubled during the past decade, as they become more integral to the nation's economic growth. While other immigrant groups also perform these essential worker jobs, the size of the Mexican population makes its impact on the U.S. economy more quantifiable.

Mexican Workers Are Filling Needed Jobs in New Geographic Areas. Mexican workers are becoming increasingly important in locations throughout the nation not previously known for large immigrant populations, including southern states such as Mississippi and Tennessee.