As the 2016 Presidential election heats up the question of immigration tends 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 United States, 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. For one who has grown up in the area 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 in the country 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 to America 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. This article comes from Forbes.com which is business and political oriented magazine that uses trusted writers and sources to create their content. The author Doug Bandow offers a look inside these two view points as someone who has been an assistant to President Reagan in foreign policy. His knowledge on the subject provides a neutral viewpoint into both the positives and negatives of each possible decision that congress could make. His analysis of the situation facing congress makes it clear how complex the issue at hand is. 

Many Americans complain that 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. Though they still do takes jobs away from Americans the effect is negligible in the grand scheme.  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. An economist's view on the immigration is important, because it allows for factual information about the effects it has on the United States economy. 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.  The source of the article is from an online database, which confirms that it is a trustworthy piece 

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 provides viewpoint on the negative impact of immigration on the U.S. economy. He has experience as a political columnist for several accredited 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 has a positive or negative impact on the American economy is a complex question. With a lot of positives and negatives that immigrants have on the economy it can be easily argued how useful they are to the United States. One main agreement amongst the sources collected are that immigrants fill many jobs in the country. The disagreement comes in when considering if what they're doing is a good or bad thing. The perspectives of the two pro-immigration articles reflect the tone that this report will have. This research question should be defined even further into what jobs immigrants fill, and including exact figures on fiscal effect of immigrants.

