GALE Opposing Viewpoints In Context

The database, GALE Opposing Viewpoints in Context, is a peer reviewed database providing an overview of illegal immigration, the act of entering and residing in a country without the proper legal visas or documents. Currently, the United States of America (USA) has the highest population of undocumented workers in the world, estimated at 10 million residents (GALE database). Illegal aliens enter the USA in several ways, including but not limited to sneaking across the border without any documents, stowing away on ships, entering the United States (US) with fraudulent documents, or staying after the permitted time on a temporary legal visa. Nearly half of the illegal immigrants in America arrived legally with temporary visas and then overstayed
their visas (Eichenwald). Of the approximately 10 million illegal aliens in the US, roughly two thirds came from Mexico (GALE Database) while many of the other illegal immigrants come from Central and South America, China, India, the Philippines, and Korea. Supporters of Illegal Immigration argue that law abiding illegal aliens should not be deported from the USA because they contribute to the economy and society. Opposition argues that illegal immigrants pose a safety threat to national security and use up resources, especially ones for the criminal justice system. The recent influx of illegal immigrants causes the debate over undocumented residents to be all the more intense and relevant in today’s politics. The conflicting sides argue about the allocation of resources in regards to illegal immigration and whether undocumented residents have positive or negative contributions to the economy.
The database, GALE Opposing Viewpoints in Context, details why the deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants from The United States of America should be halted in the article, “Illegal Immigrants Should Be Put on a Path to Earned Citizenship.” The article, through statistics on the number of illegal immigrants deported and budget of the two immigration enforcement agencies, argues that the current laws for detaining and deporting illegal immigrants leads to racial profiling, distrust and fear of the police, unnecessary separation of families, and economic harm.
It states the [Barack] Obama administration has “deported 1.5 million additional immigrants, including a total of 409,849 in fiscal year 2012—the highest number of immigrants ever removed from the United States in a single year.” The article argues that is partly due to the dysfunctional immigration and police system that allows “low-level arrests as a basis for initiating deportation” which causes the detention and deportation of hundreds of thousands of long-settled and hard-working immigrants in addition to distrust and fear of local police. Furthermore, the two agencies in charge of immigration enforcement spent $17.1 billion in fiscal year 2012, which amounts to billions of dollars spent of deporting people who have not committed crimes and are contributing to America’s prospering economy. The article’s proposition is that America benefits from illegal immigrants and deportation of law-abiding immigrants is
deleterious to our economy and communities.
The database, GALE Opposing Viewpoints in Context, suggests illegal immigrants are using up The United States of America’s criminal justice resources and those convicted of crimes should be deported in the article, “Illegal Immigrants Pose a Safety Threat and Drain Resources.” Through statistical evidence from the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program and Federal Bureau of Prisons, the article argues that illegal immigrants account for a disproportionately large percent of prisoners and deplete the already scarce criminal justice resources at state and federal levels. In many states, like California, Arizona, and New York, the share of illegal immigrants in their prison populations is larger than the estimated share of the illegal immigrant population. Furthermore, the article also includes the cost of incarcerating the 55,000 criminal aliens in federal prisons, which is estimated at $1.5 to $1.6 billion per year. The article’s proposition is that illegal immigrants have detrimental effects on the public safety and criminal justice resources in America.
The conflicting sides debate about the United State’s allocation of resources in regards to illegal immigrants and whether they are beneficial or detrimental contributors to the economy. However, undocumented residents and workers add more to the economy and finances than they take away. Proposed solutions such as building a wall or deporting more illegal immigrants are not pragmatic or viable solutions to the United States of America’s current situation. Allowing illegal immigrants to stay is beneficial to the US economy because they increases skilled worker’s wages, contribute to social welfare funds, and mass deportation wastes tax dollars.
Undocumented workers have a positive net contribution to government revenue. Though they lack official documentation, illegal immigrants still contribute to Social Security through payroll taxes using special taxpayer I.D. numbers that allow them to have credit scores or false security numbers. In fact, “undocumented workers pay about $15 billion a year to Social Security through payroll taxes” (Davidson). The Internal Revenue Service grants illegal immigrants taxpayer I.D.s and allows faulty Social Security numbers to be used because this is a large source for payroll taxes. However, the lack of proper identification prevents illegal immigrants from using many of the social welfare programs available to other citizens and so undocumented residents only take out around $1 billion every year. Overall, it is estimated that undocumented workers have contributed up to $300 billion, or around 10 percent of the Social Security Trust Fund (Vargas). Additionally, providing amnesty to undocumented residents and workers would generate a larger income for the Social Security Trust Fund. Illegal immigrant’s net positive contributions to government funds show how they benefit the economy.
Illegal immigrants increase the wages of skilled workers in complementary jobs. In states with large populations of undocumented immigrants, the economy’s productivity augmented because the skilled workers made more money and worked more. In these states from 1990 to 2007, legal skilled workers in the complementary jobs saw an increase of up to 10 percent because of undocumented workers (Davidson). In fields such as construction and agriculture, basic tasks are performed by undocumented works that take lower wages than skilled workers which lowers the overall cost of production. It also allows companies to hire more workers of all levels for projects. Undocumented workers bring many beneficial effects to the economy like growth in productivity and boosts to legal workers’ pay in complementary jobs. The United States of America is excessively spending money on mass deportations of undocumented residents. In the fiscal year 2012, a record number of 409,849 illegal immigrants were deported (GALE Database). Many were dangerous criminals convicted of homicide, sexual offenses, or drug-related crimes, but hundreds of thousands had no committed no crime other than entering the country without legal status (Fitz). A vast majority of these deportees have family in the United States and children who are citizens which means the government unnecessarily separated thousands of families that had been living in the US for several years. Furthermore, the government spent $17.1 billion on the Immigration Enforcement agencies in fiscal year 2012 (Fitz). The US government is draining taxpayers’ dollars to deport innumerable hardworking and harmless people who deserve the opportunity to earn legal status or even citizenship. Recently, opposition to illegal immigration has proposed deportations and building a wall across the United States’ border with Mexico; however, these methods are not pragmatic, effective, or frugal.
Simply building a wall will not prevent illegal immigrants from entering the US because almost half of the undocumented residents entered with a legal visa. Once they were established in their new homes, they overstayed the visa and joined the 11 million undocumented residents in the United States. In order to deport all illegal immigrants, the government would need to allocate $420 billion to $620 billion and around twenty years to the endeavor (Borderline Insanity). Additionally, building and maintaining the 1,933 mile wall to deter illegal immigrants from entering or reentering the US would cost around $150 billion (Borderline Insanity). This money would be far better spent on internal affairs or reforms on the Immigration Policies instead of building an ineffective and expensive wall around the US-Mexico
border. Undocumented residents and workers have a positive net effect on the United States economy and government revenue. Through the resulting increase in skilled workers’ wages and their contributions to payroll taxes and the Social Security Trust Fund, illegal immigrants are helping America pay for the social welfare programs available to citizens. The US would save billions of dollars each year by not deporting hardworking and inoffensive residents that actually help the nation. Despite the opposition’s claims that building a wall is the best solution to illegal immigration, statistics show this would be a costly and ineffective method. The current US immigration policies should be reformed to allow opportunities for law abiding undocumented workers to gain a legal status and continue advancing America.