The Economic Effects of Legalizing the Undocumented Population
Colton Davis
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Author Note
This paper was prepared for English 102, taught by Professor Morris.
The Economic Effects of Legalizing the Undocumented Population
Illegal immigration has become a controversial issue in the United States for many reasons. Debates often intensify significantly following a hardship of some kind. These hardships can be either economic or social, including crime and acts of terrorism. 9/11 had a noteworthy impact on the views of illegal immigration in the country. Many citizens began to call for reform in the government’s immigration policies. This issue began to be amplified again during the last presidential election. This opened the minds of many on how important the issue is and the impact it has on the country. The current policies of the country regarding immigration are unclear and disordered. Right now, in the United States of America, there are over an estimated twelve million undocumented immigrants (Hoekstra & Orozco-Alema, 2017). This number is continuing to rise at a constant rate and affecting all aspects of society.
These effects include both the social and economic conditions of the United States. Immigration increases the diversity of people and their cultures in the United States. Many people have opposed the introduction of new immigrants as they fear that it was a threat to the national identity of the country (Payan, 2016). Another social implication is the occasional introduction of crime into the country, including drug trafficking and gang activity. The presence of illegal immigrants has affected the economy of the United States both positively and negatively. Some advantages to the presence of illegal immigrants is that they often work in fields that many citizens deem undesirable, such as construction, hospitality, and agriculture. These jobs are necessary to be filled for the United States, regardless of their desirableness. Undocumented immigrants are often hired for little pay and limited or no benefits allowing for businesses to drive their prices down. However, there are also disadvantages to the present undocumented population.
On the other hand, illegal immigrants are known for causing decreased wages and costing the government a large amount of funding. The wages of citizens are harmed by illegal immigrants because they are ultimately competing with the wages of the illegal alien getting paid below the minimum wage. Undocumented immigrants have used government programs without paying a correct amount of taxes, creating an economic burden on the country. Their use of the government’s healthcare and education are examples of the programs in which they are taking advantage of. The government also has funded detention facilities to incarcerate the illegal immigrants. The funding of the government due to illegal immigration has become a large part of the budget of the United States. Local and federal taxpayers have helped fund these programs in which the undocumented immigrants are using.
The presence of illegal immigrants has become a main topic of our current politics because of the effects they have on each citizen’s life. Many have begun to look for solutions to improve the economic state of the United States, including deporting the illegal population and legalizing the undocumented population. Deportation is often viewed as undesirable to the United States economy as it would be costly, as well as decrease the amount of people in the workforce. Payan (2016) described deportation as impractical because it will create a lasting negative impact on the economy and it goes against the humanitarian rights that the United States has always held in their reputation for proper morals. Giving amnesty to the current undocumented population can be desirable to the United States as it provides economic benefits. Legalizing the population in the United States can be beneficial to the economy of the country as well as the individual citizen. The major economic problems surrounding illegal immigration can be addressed and solved through a legalization process. Amnesty can increase the wages of citizens, create a more distributed local and federal tax, and decrease the population of those incarcerated in the country. The idea of legalizing the undocumented population has been implemented by the government in the past and has shown the positive economic effects of an amnesty program.
The United States implemented the Immigration Reform and Control Act (1986) in which it legalized the undocumented population at the time. This act was ultimately enacted to control illegal immigration without harming the current economic state. According to Orrenius and Zavodny (2012) approximately 2.7 million undocumented immigrants were legalized through IRCA. There were many economic benefits because of this act. This act proved to have a wage increase, a decrease in deficit caused by illegal immigrants, and a decrease in those that were incarcerated in the country. IRCA failed to decrease the number of illegal immigrants entering the country, but laid the foundation for current immigration controls, such as the amnesty aspect. The evaluation of the effects of IRCA will show correlation to an amnesty action that would be taken today. The present government of the United States often fails to accomplish anything because politicians want to stay loyal to their own respective political party. Both parties offer beneficial aspects to the country, but their loyalty results in a strict opposition to the opposing party. This lack of listening and cooperating with the opposing side has caused an absence of progress. During the time of this enactment, Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States. President Reagan was a Republican who is often characterized as the first modern conservative. He went against some of the ideals of his party when he signed this act. However, he still included some aspects of his party’s platform, creating a bipartisan act. His actions proved that taking into consideration the other party for the betterment of the country can be productive, as well as beneficial.