As the 2016 Presidential election heats up people tend to hear immigration come up as a key topic for discussion. One might think that in a nation made from immigration this question would have a simple answer, but it doesn't. Some believe that immigration only hurts the U.S., and causes a disruption to the economy by taking away jobs from native born citizens. Others argue that immigration helps to stimulate the economy, and keeps the "American Dream" alive. Growing up in the Washington D.C. area this is a subject that was heavily debated. The population there has experienced a huge influx of immigrants from the areas of Central America, South Asia, and Eastern Asian countries. In that situation it is easy to see what immigration is doing for this country. One can see the children of immigrants working hard in school to gain the higher education, and opportunities that their parents brought them to the U.S. for. On the other hand not every immigrant has that same drive. Some seem to just be living off the benefits that everyone who lives in the U.S. is entitled, and not contributing to the welfare to the country. This paper will investigate the true impact that immigrants have on this country. 

Most immigrants to the U.S. come here to find work that can't be found in their home country. Politicians right now are trying to decide whether or not they should continue to have immigrants work towards citizenship, or distribute work visas that could be renewed and allow them to live here without being actual citizens. Having immigrants work towards becoming full citizens is the current policy that the U.S. has and would be very easy to continue. However, this is not always what those coming here are seeking. The alternative would be to just give out work specific permits, but not allow them to be citizens. This fix is a good solution in theory, but many oppose it because it allows for the creation of a "second class" citizen. Doug Bandow offers a look inside these two view points as someone who has been an assistant to President Reagan in foreign policy. The knowledge on the subject he provides gives a neutral viewpoint into the positives and negatives of each possible decision that congress could make. The information is presented in a way that shows how complex the issue at hand is.

A complaint that many Americans have is that immigrants are taking away jobs from American citizens. A closer look into this reveals somewhat of a different story. By looking at the figures many immigrants are only taking jobs away from those in the country who are the poorest, and have little effect on those at the top. Immigrant workers should be seen as a benefit to the U.S. labor market and not a drain. Their effect on labor in the U.S. is actually to fill in the undesirable jobs that many Americans won't take. Along with that evidence shows that many aren't taking jobs when the economy is stagnant rather they tend to leave during poor economic conditions. The author Griswold brings a point of view of an economist to the subject of immigration. Since the author has a focus on world economics he may have a bias towards immigration being a help on the scale of the world economy. 

In another look on the impact that illegal immigrants have on the economy one can see the drain that they create from the use of government social programs. Most make up the lower class of the American population which are the ones who the government spends money on to keep financially solvent. What is really being looked at here is that over a long period of time immigrants are taking more money from the U.S. than they are helping to gain for the country. The cost could be up in the trillions for the actual cost to keep immigrants in the country. The author Byron York allows for an opposing viewpoint on the economic impact of immigration. He has experience as a political columnist for several newspapers, however most of his work favors the right wing. The problem with this is that the conservative viewpoint on immigration is very biased towards keeping the border closed.

Whether or not immigration is a good thing for the U.S. is a question that does not have a simple answer. There isn't just one particular facet to consider when looking at how immigration effects America. One has to consider many factors such as social, and economic impacts that they have. Another major consideration is how to view the ones who are coming in just for work in and not for citizenship. Should people coming here have to work towards citizenship or can they simply be workers. Due to the polarizing nature of this question it is hard to find unbiased opinions especially along political lines. Democrats tend to favor a lenient immigration policy while Republicans prefer tighter immigration restrictions. 
