Illegal Immigrants - Term Paper Example

Name Course Tutor Date Introduction Immigration the world over has been greatly enhanced by globalization. The advantages of immigration to a country are immense but the disadvantages have also been on the increase. Developed countries or those countries with better chances of flourishing have received the largest number of immigrants. However, some of the immigrants continue to overstay their visits while others come into the country illegally. The United States in particular has been a prime target for illegal immigrants. The constraints brought about by the new population include societal harmony and low wages among other problems. Deportation of illegal immigrants is a strategy employed by many governments to remove illegal immigrants from its territory. This process has, however, been faced with opposition and controversy has arisen with regard to the benefits of such deportation versus providing amnesty to the immigrants. This paper will argue that granting amnesty to illegal immigrants will be beneficial in the long run and should be supported by all people as a solution to illegal immigration. Advantages of Amnesty Revenue Most of the aliens living in a new country are always on the run from law enforcement agencies. This means that they work in areas unmanned by the police, use their wages in shopping malls only and they do not pay tax unless the tax is included in the item being bought over the counter. Providing amnesty to this group would ensure that they are employed in recognized sectors and they would be registered by the government. They would, therefore, be targets for taxation just like all other citizens in the country (Hobbs and Postings 229). This would lead to increased revenue for the state and federal government. In turn, this would lead to better service provision since the increased revenue pool provides funds for increased quality in services as well as reduced prices. In addition, tax compliance from aliens has been very low since they avoid any paper work that can get them caught. With amnesty, it is expected that compliance with tax regulations will increase and thus lead to increased revenues for the government. Amnesty would, therefore, be beneficial in the long run than deportation. Wages The movement from one country to the other, especially when the movement is illegal, is mostly prompted by unfavorable living conditions in the home country. In a bid to live better, people move to new countries in search of greener pastures. Without any papers or anyone to depend on, they find jobs in the informal sectors. They accept lower wages and this drives wages lower for the rest of the population. Granting amnesty to these aliens would, however, reverse the effect of low wages. With people having papers to search for jobs, they would be enrolled in union groups for workers and thus they would be entitled to the minimum pay set by the government. This would in turn mean that people will be employed and paid as per their skills and experience. Wages for this group would shoot to a level similar to that of residents of the country (Mastrianna 178). Legal immigrants earn better wages than illegal aliens and it would be logical that making the aliens legal would increase wages for them. The end effect is a sustained economy through sustainable wages for all people. Amnesty, with regard to wages, would provide leverage for the immigrants and inevitably lead to better wages in the country. Crime Supporters of deportation argue that crime in the country has been on the increase due to the illegal immigrants. Although it is logical to come to such a conclusion, it should be noted that such immigrants do not want to attract attention to themselves and this has led to their lower numbers in prison (Levy 34). Amnesty would provide police with better chances of fighting crime in the country. Registration is a vital part of the amnesty process and the government would possess information regarding the immigrants. Without amnesty, they remain at large and unknown thus limiting the power of the police in arresting or identifying them. As registered citizens, they would be easier to track and the police would not have a hard job finding and arresting them. Although registration offers a person with a right to citizenship, they remain under the law of the new country and they are observed for long periods to ensure they abide by the laws of the country. Immigrants would, therefore, fear to commit crimes as they would risk being taken back to their home countries. This would lead to improved security, cooperation with law agencies and lower crime rates. Labor Most of the immigrants will accept any job as long as it sustains them while they look for better chances (Porter). The immigrants provide labor to jobs that residents would not accept. This means that they bridge the labor gap that is left when people choose elite jobs and thus granting them amnesty would lead to a situation that allows for all labor levels to be filled. Deporting them would lead to labor gaps in the economy and this would seriously hurt the development of the country in many ways. Manual labor jobs are shunned by people due to their tedious nature and thus it would be important to understand the role played by the immigrants in the labor industry. Providing immigrants with amnesty would thus, ensure that labor gaps were not present and all work needed to run the economy would be present. It is vital to note that most illegal immigrants are unskilled and are, therefore, likely to accept these jobs (Ronay 61). The cost of labor is one of the determinants in prices of goods. The cheap the labor leads to lower cost of production. This in turn reduces the prices of items on the market place. With constant wages, this would mean an increase in purchasing power for the residents. The quality of life for people residing in the country would go up as they experience better prices for more goods. Granting amnesty to aliens would, therefore, lead to improved quality of life supported by lower prices of goods. Labor from the immigrants would lead to improvement in various aspects in the life of the residents. Their unskilled experience can also be put to use in the manual labor industry since it would provide this division with cheaper labor and most likely, more output. Reducing Immigrants Amnesty would provide the country with fresh talent and reduce the problem of illegal immigration. Most people come to look for greener pastures in the new countries. Some of them leave their families in their home country in the hope that they would find a better life that would be able to sustain the family back home. As immigrants, they work illegally, are paid minimal wages and they are unable to support their families back at home. This, inevitably, leads to more illegal immigrants into the country rather than slow down the influx. With amnesty, however, they will be able to earn better wages which will be used to support their kin and thus avoid the need for taking the trip altogether. A policy for reducing illegal immigrations should encompass the need to offer amnesty to all illegal immigrants through confrontation with the problem. By allowing them to have better jobs and thus better lives, this will reduce the number of aliens coming into the country. Consumer Pool Most businesses rely on the mass population for the consumption of their goods. Aliens may not be able to access the products of a company due to high prices or other constraints. Amnesty will grant them better jobs and pay which will lead to increased purchasing power. Businesses can flourish and be sustained by the new consumer base that is brought about by the immigrants. In other cases, some companies produce goods that have a small consumer base due to the nature of the goods provided. The immigrants can be an additional consumer group for such products and thus it is important to consider the benefits that would be brought about by the improvement in the consumer base for some goods produced in the host country. People, including residents, would lose their source of income if such companies were to shut down due to lack of consumers. It is important to consider the benefits of such a consumer market to the overall economic health of the country. The U.S., for example, has a large number of immigrants estimated at 12million. The amount of consumption realized from this group cannot be ignored and thus it reinforces the need to consider amnesty as a solution. Other Solutions Amnesty may not be the only solution to the problem of illegal immigrants. Other solutions include tightening border security to ensure that people do not get into the country illegally, detaining the immigrants and deporting them as well as selective deportation. All these measures can be a solution to the menace but amnesty remains the best solution as it will solve more than one problem at the same time. Deportation of aliens is an expensive task given the logistics involved (Faro and Walton 109). Getting the aliens and ensuring their proper deportation into their home country would require massive resources. These resources would drain the economy and put a burden on the tax payers. Considering the number of immigrants in a country like the United States, such an exercise would require millions of dollars. In addition, there is no guarantee that all immigrants would be captured in the round up process. This would mean that the effectiveness of the project, despite the amount of resources used, would still be questionable. Porous borders are the main entry points for illegal immigrants and it would be important that such an exercise be followed by measures that would ensure that the borders do not allow more immigrants. This would mean that the government would have to sink in more resources to achieve this goal. It should be noted that not all immigrants come into the country illegally and thus, eliminating the problem through deportation and closing of the border would still not achieve the goal of removing aliens. To this end, it is important to note that deportation may become a circular event with no meaningful results. This is, therefore, not the solution to the problem. Loss of Talent Immigrants bring in with them new talents that can be useful in the development of the country. Deporting them would lead to massive losses for the country in terms of resources. Skills possessed by this group would also be in limited supply and this would only serve to reduce the productivity of the country. Deportation, as advocated for by proponents of amnesty, would not achieve better results and its demerits far outweigh its advantages. Loss of such people leads to stagnation, labor shortages and other important aspects of the society. It would thus imply that deportation has few benefits to the economy and to society in general. Deterring the entry into foreign countries is a major point in the fight against the problem of illegal immigrants. As such, deportation can serve as a warning to all other people intending to come to the new country. This advantage of deportation is, however, watered down by the fact that without solving the source of the problem, it is bound to continue. Poverty in the home countries does not favor people to continue living there. To live better lives, such people will attempt all in their power to find greener pastures and this would lead to a cat-and-mouse game such that people will be deported as others come in (World of Information xi). Achieving maximum benefits can only be achieved through amnesty such that poverty will be eradicated in the home country through remittances to the home country by the aliens in the new country. The disadvantage with deportation is the one sided goal it achieves and the ripple effect it creates in the fight against this problem. Tolerance and cultural values are created when people of different cultures mix. This creates harmony in society and leads to a prosperous community. Immigrants interact with the local population and learn the new culture as well as teach others their culture. This leads to cultural diversity in the country which is a valued virtue in the hospitality of a country. The claim that immigrants erode culture does not hold ground since cultures evolve every day with people choosing the best characteristics in a given culture and incorporating it as their own. This leads to improved cultures in a country and thus, people can be able to adapt to new environments without problems. With globalization taking root quite fast, the ability to adapt has become a vital societal element and it is important that people learn this value. Demerits of Amnesty Encourage Illegal Immigration Amnesty for the immigrants will lead to increased immigrants in the country. Entering into foreign territory is a criminal act and it punishable by law. Allowing people who have come through illegal means to settle in the country and forgiving them for the acts can only serve to increase such illegal actions. Such an act rewards a criminal activity and promotes impunity in the country (Sklansky and Schoonmaker 136). In addition, people moving into the country come at different times and there are those who are legally living in the country as they look for citizenship. Allowing the illegal immigrants to become citizens and forgiving them leads to favoritism in the country. Those who toiled to come to the country feel disadvantaged and left out of a process they should have been involved in. Their hard work to gain citizenship may be seen as fruitless and this would lead to encouragement of people to move into the country. Since the illegal immigrants’ problem cannot be stopped suddenly, the continuous influx of people will continue and they may expect the same treatment as other immigrants before them. Jobs Illegal workers will now have a permit to compete for jobs with local residents. The law of demand and supply dictates that when supply outstrips demand, commodities become cheaper (Baumol and Blinder 66). In a similar manner, the availability of excess labor in the country will lead to reduced wages for the people in the country. The quality of life is determined by the purchasing power of an individual and lower wages only serve to diminish the purchasing power. Quality of life for residents is a central aspect for most governments and amnesty would take away this privilege. In addition, the available jobs will be up for grabs and local residents may be disadvantaged by this competition. Immigrants, in a bid to make ends meet, are likely to accept low wages and although manufacturers benefit greatly, this advantage may not be transferred to the consumers. In the long run, therefore, consumers and residents may end up suffering from the presence of amnestied immigrants. Social Services Social services are provided by the government and are financed through taxes. Illegal immigrants do not pay tax, are not registered and therefore do not enjoy such services. Provided with amnesty, they would be entitled to access such services. The increase in the number of people accessing these amenities would put a strain on the available resources and this would lead to reduced quality of services (U.S. Government Printing Office 99). Schools would be overstretched by the number of students and teachers will have to be employed to cater for the increase in the number of students. Hospital insurance would also have to be readjusted to ensure that funds provided by the government are enough to cater for all the people involved. Such strains on the resources would be disadvantageous to the local residents as competition for resources would come in. This is likely to lead to hostilities between the immigrants and the local residents and this would disrupt the harmony that exists in society. Amnesty would, therefore, not be beneficial and may in fact lead to negative ripple effects in the community. Culture and Values Most countries have a way of life that defines their every day life. An increase in the number of aliens can take away this culture and lead to erosion of societal values. Language is one of the many aspects that define a society and allowing foreigners, who do not speak the local language, to live in the country may lead to cultural confusion as well as language problems (Coates and Siavelis 172). To this end, granting them amnesty would lead only to the destruction of the values of the host country. Different cultures are separated by the limited interaction between people. As illegal immigrants, they maintain their culture and continue to grow it since they do not interact with local residents to the extent of learning the new culture. In addition, they may be unwilling to learn this new culture and this would lead to a country that has no particular culture and giving them amnesty does not guarantee that the immigrant will accept the new culture. To this end, amnesty brings in more problems, especially for the residents, and should, therefore, not be accepted as a solution to the illegal immigration problem. Counter Argument Defense Provision of social services to the amnestied immigrants cannot lead to a strain on the available resources. Funds from tax payers are used to improve and build new infrastructure to support the population. Illegal immigrants, in their unregistered status, do not pay taxes and it is thus important to note that they do not contribute towards the maintenance of the facilities. However, granting them amnesty will lead to their registration and thus increase the amount of tax collected by the government. This tax increment can be used to improve and build new infrastructure that will support the increased population. This means that amnesty will increase government revenue which is a vital aspect in the granting of amnesty. Increased revenue can be distributed by the government to areas that require more funding such as schools, employment of teachers and improvement of hospital services. Granting them amnesty would, therefore, lead to improved infrastructure and revenues which is a good thing for a country. Conclusion Illegal immigration has been a great problem for most countries, especially those that are well off. Several policies to curb this problem have been advanced by the government and other stakeholders. Deportation has been one of the few suggestions which have been opposed by other means such as amnesty. This paper intended to show that amnesty would be the best solution towards the problem of illegal immigration. The advantages of amnesty overshadow those of other suggestions and the government should put an amnesty policy in place to ensure that the process is carried out smoothly. The increased revenues from the immigrants, increased labor and possibility of curbing the problem from the source are just but a few of the advantages of granting amnesty. Counter arguments have been shown not hold much water and thus it would be in the interest of the country at large that such immigrants be granted amnesty. Works Cited Baumol, William J and Alan S Blinder. Economics: Principles and Policy. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2011. Coates, David and Peter Siavelis. Getting immigration right: what every American needs to know. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, Inc, 2009. Faro, Michael and Kevin Walton. Your Complete Guide to Green Card Lottery (Diversity Visa): Easy Do-It-Yourself Immigration Books - GreenCard. Campbell, CA: UNorth LLC, 2010. Hobbs, Guy and Heleina Postings. Live and work in Spain. Lanham: Crimson Publishing, 2008. Levy, Janey. Illegal Immigration and Amnesty: Open Borders and National Security. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2010. Mastrianna, Frank V. Basic Economics. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2009. Porter, Lakeisha. "Illegal Immigrants should not Receive Social Services." International Social Science Review 81.1/2 (2006): 66. Ronay, Maria. We Have to Change. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, 2010. Sklansky, David and Alan N Schoonmaker. Ducy?: Exploits, Advice, and Ideas of the Renowned Strategist. Henderson, NV: Two Plus Two Publishing LLC, 2010. U.S. Government Printing Office. Hearing in impacts of border security and immigration on Ways and Means programs. Washington: DIANE Publishing, 2006. World of Information. Europe Review. London: Kogan Page Publishers, 2003. Read More

Immigrants would, therefore, fear to commit crimes as they would risk being taken back to their home countries. This would lead to improved security, cooperation with law agencies and lower crime rates. Labor Most of the immigrants will accept any job as long as it sustains them while they look for better chances (Porter). The immigrants provide labor to jobs that residents would not accept. This means that they bridge the labor gap that is left when people choose elite jobs and thus granting them amnesty would lead to a situation that allows for all labor levels to be filled.

Deporting them would lead to labor gaps in the economy and this would seriously hurt the development of the country in many ways. Manual labor jobs are shunned by people due to their tedious nature and thus it would be important to understand the role played by the immigrants in the labor industry. Providing immigrants with amnesty would thus, ensure that labor gaps were not present and all work needed to run the economy would be present. It is vital to note that most illegal immigrants are unskilled and are, therefore, likely to accept these jobs (Ronay 61).

The cost of labor is one of the determinants in prices of goods. The cheap the labor leads to lower cost of production. This in turn reduces the prices of items on the market place. With constant wages, this would mean an increase in purchasing power for the residents. The quality of life for people residing in the country would go up as they experience better prices for more goods. Granting amnesty to aliens would, therefore, lead to improved quality of life supported by lower prices of goods.

Labor from the immigrants would lead to improvement in various aspects in the life of the residents. Their unskilled experience can also be put to use in the manual labor industry since it would provide this division with cheaper labor and most likely, more output. Reducing Immigrants Amnesty would provide the country with fresh talent and reduce the problem of illegal immigration. Most people come to look for greener pastures in the new countries. Some of them leave their families in their home country in the hope that they would find a better life that would be able to sustain the family back home.

As immigrants, they work illegally, are paid minimal wages and they are unable to support their families back at home. This, inevitably, leads to more illegal immigrants into the country rather than slow down the influx. With amnesty, however, they will be able to earn better wages which will be used to support their kin and thus avoid the need for taking the trip altogether. A policy for reducing illegal immigrations should encompass the need to offer amnesty to all illegal immigrants through confrontation with the problem.

By allowing them to have better jobs and thus better lives, this will reduce the number of aliens coming into the country. Consumer Pool Most businesses rely on the mass population for the consumption of their goods. Aliens may not be able to access the products of a company due to high prices or other constraints. Amnesty will grant them better jobs and pay which will lead to increased purchasing power. Businesses can flourish and be sustained by the new consumer base that is brought about by the immigrants.

In other cases, some companies produce goods that have a small consumer base due to the nature of the goods provided. The immigrants can be an additional consumer group for such products and thus it is important to consider the benefits that would be brought about by the improvement in the consumer base for some goods produced in the host country. People, including residents, would lose their source of income if such companies were to shut down due to lack of consumers. It is important to consider the benefits of such a consumer market to the overall economic health of the country. The U.S.

, for example, has a large number of immigrants estimated at 12million. The amount of consumption realized from this group cannot be ignored and thus it reinforces the need to consider amnesty as a solution.

Read More