Illegal Immigration Pros Archives

Illegal Immigrant Pursuit of a Higher Education

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Educating Illegal ImmigrantsThe Urban Institute estimates that 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools each year. In most respects, these young people are already important members of our society. After completing an education in our primary schools, they envision their futures here and internalize American values. They also represent a considerable number of our population.

Rather than valuing them as important societal resources, current policies restrict their options and curb their potential. Without full legal rights, these graduates are barred from the very means that have ensured high levels of economic and social mobility to other immigrants throughout U.S. history. The undocumented students’ efforts to adapt and contribute economically are met with legal obstacles. Their situation is made even more difficult by confusing and conflicting laws that allow them to legally attend U.S. schools, but deny them opportunities to work, vote, receive financial aid, and drive in most states. This denial is enough to set them on a path of poverty and frustration.
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The Unauthorized Choice of Illegal Immigration

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Immigation Wait Time

The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that as of March 2010, 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants live in the U.S., and about 7 million of them migrated from Mexico. Why do so many Mexicans choose to illegally immigrate to the U.S where they are often treated with contempt and disrespect? And, if they really want to come to the U.S., why don’t they play by the rules and enter legally? Why do so many choose to make the grueling 4-day journey though the Arizona desert that involves very real risks of dehydration in 115-degree heat and rape at the hands of human smugglers? Read the rest of this entry

Legalizing Marijuana Would Reduces Crime, Increase Tax Revenue and Ease Illegal Immigration Concerns

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Legalizing Marijuana Reduces CrimeLegalizing marijuana, while controversial, would be a step in the right direction and would ease prison overcrowding, reduce illegal immigration, and have the potential to greatly increase tax revenue. Yet despite these obvious advantages, the United States and many other countries still dole out harsh punishments on even the most casual users of marijuana. This is a policy that must come to an end.

Decriminalizing marijuana would help increase the amount of revenue on hand in several ways. First off, the resources used in fighting the so called “War on Drugs” would be greatly reduced. Second, legalized marijuana purchases would provide additional revenue in the form of sales tax. Third, companies that grow and distribute the marijuana would in turn provide even more tax revenue as well as much needed jobs. According to Jeffrey A. Miron in his report titled “Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition in the United States,” over $2.4 billion in tax revenue would be generated by the sale of marijuana, and other research estimates are even higher. Read the rest of this entry

Weighing Illegal Immigration Pros and Cons

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Justice RenderedHave you ever wondered, how important is to know the right facts regarding this very serious issue of illegal immigration? Wrong perceptions and information about this cause can create more troubles for the country and can affect the life of US citizens badly. It thus becomes imperative for you me and the authorities to weigh illegal immigration pros and cons before giving any sort of conclusion. Empathizing with the severity of this issue, this page has formulated and evaluated all the aspects of illegal immigration. Whether it is regarding those highly debated illegal immigrations pros or the facts that lies on the other side of the coin, everything has been synopsized here.

There are only a very few illegal immigration pros but they too fail miserably to justify such illicit intrusion and then later creating a havoc in the country. There are so many illegal immigration cons to justify that illegal immigration never benefits any country and must be impeded by the government at any cost. Now that you are not oblivious to this, why don’t you weigh illegal immigration pros and cons separately, understand the intricacies involved in both and then take a stand on this issue? For easy reference, both illegal immigration pros and cons are discussed separately in the following sections of this write up.

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Tax-Paying Illegal Workers Contribute to the Economy

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PRO-IMMIGRANT RALLYPeople who push for more and tougher anti-illegal alien laws often assert that undocumented workers in the US pay no taxes yet receive a disproportionate amount of support from federal and state relief programs. Nothing could be farther from the truth. One of the biggest illegal immigrations pros is that these workers do in fact pay taxes but do not, as a whole, take part in such programs.

Despite the popular misconception that illegal aliens do not pay taxes, the truth is that the Internal Revenue Service gathered almost $305 million in taxes in 2001 from people who filed using an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). The ITIN is a special number given to those who do not have Social Security numbers but need to file taxes. That is what illegal aliens commonly use to pay their taxes.

Of course, undocumented workers are also paying sales taxes whenever they buy something, just as legal residents and citizens do. They also pay $7 billion in Social Security taxes every year even though they cannot benefit from Social Security programs. In reality, Social Security is kept afloat and working to a certain extent through the contributions of illegal immigrants.

The idea that illegal aliens are getting food stamps or benefiting from Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security programs is also untrue. Undocumented immigrants are barred from taking part in most federal, state and local aid programs. Some exceptions: illegal workers do benefit from free public schooling for their children and are eligible for short-term disaster relief.

Immigration Reform Sign on 4th Street

So what are some other illegal immigration pros?

These workers contribute to the American economy by complementing rather than replacing the US workforce. In many areas of the US there is a shortage of labor for low-paying or unskilled jobs. These are the jobs commonly filled by illegal aliens (most of whom are from Mexico), freeing up the local labor pool for better paying jobs.

Even with the recession, for example, Texas business owners state that it is still quite difficult to hire labor for certain tasks. To cite another example, Arizona lettuce farms will need 40,000 people to hand-pick their produce each year – a huge labor force that the area simply doesn’t have if the owners only look for local workers.

Some even say that if there were no undocumented workers available in the US, many businesses that need a large labor force would be forced to move their production overseas.

Unauthorized workers therefore contribute to the local labor force in a complementary way. Rather than replacing the local labor pool or competing with locals for jobs, the illegal workers make possible the affluent lifestyle of the local residents.

The real question is whether the illegal immigration pros outweigh the cons. Regarding the labor force, illegal workers also play a big role in providing a readily available work force for local businesses. As far as taxes and benefits are concerned, the picture is quite clear. Unauthorized workers pay more in taxes than they take out in the form of government services, due to their ineligibility for most services.

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