Immigration reform has been an important and relevant topic in the upcoming presidential election. Conservative politicians believe that as a country we must get rid of the current amnesty program that was proposed by President Obama and deport all illegal immigrants because they are stealing American jobs, don't pay taxes, and are criminals. On the other hand more liberal politicians believe that deporting 11 million illegal immigrants isn't the answer, costing an estimated 600 billion taxpayer dollars. However, most immigrants aren't unlawful and are valuable assets to our workforce. If our country adopts a fair and smart immigration reform plan that deport all criminal undocumented immigrants and make those who haven't committed crimes receive a background check, learn English, and pay back all taxes owed, and then let them work legally, the country's economy would benefit greatly and generate a large amount of revenue.

Throughout the country there seems to be several negative stigmas perceived by large amounts of people about undocumented immigrants. One of these stigmas is that undocumented immigrants don't pay taxes. But, according to an article recently published by the International Business Times called Immigration Reform 2016: More than $11B in Taxes are Paid by Undocumented Immigrants Each Year, the article states that " ...  undocumented immigrants' contributions account for about 8 percent of local income taxes. By comparison, the nation's wealthiest 1 percent pay 5.4 percent of local taxes. " If illegal immigrants are providing more taxes than the wealthiest 1 percent why should all of them be deported and not just those who have been unlawful during their time here? This shows how undocumented immigrants are actually a valuable assets to the country regarding income taxes despite the assumptions that they don't pay taxes. Also, these numbers don't account for those who haven't or don't consistently pay their income taxes. So if law abiding immigrants are given the chance to legally work in the nation if they pay all taxes owed, then they would account for much more than 8 percent of the nation's income taxes. If the United States establishes a fair and smart reform policy that gives all law abiding undocumented immigrants the opportunity to legally work if they pay all of their income taxes, then the country would collect a large and sustainable amount of money that would boost the economy and help paying off national debt.

Although a beneficial immigration reform policy with the ideas stated previously would immensely benefit the country others disagree. For example, Donald Trump, the current leading Republican candidate in the upcoming presidential election stated that he would send all undocumented immigrants back to Mexico because they are stealing jobs and are "criminals, drug dealers, and rapists"(Editorial Board). In addition Trump was questioned about the immigration plan dubbed 'Operation Wetback' that took place during the 1950's. Under President Dwight Eisenhower more than 1.3 million immigrants rounded up in the United States were loaded onto trains, buses and planes and deposited deep in Mexico's interior to prevent them from slipping back across the border (Editorial Board). Although many believe that this was a 'shame use chapter in American history' Trump stated that Operation Wetback was 'effective' (Editorial Board).  Additionally, Trump also stated that he would create a "deportation force" to deport the estimated all 11 million undocumented immigrants back to Mexico and secure our borders by building a wall.  Creating a deportation force and deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants by bus, train, or planes would cost the country billions of dollars. Although, many Americans agree with plans similar to Trump's the reality is that it won't make America great again, it will only hurt the country even more. He claims that building a secure border will only cost 8 billion dollars. But the trade deficit that it would create between the United States and Mexico will also be an additional minimum of 50 billion dollars. Although a beneficial immigration reform policy must include a way to reduce the amount of immigrants entering the United States, building a wall is not beneficial to the nation's economy. The United States would accumulate much more debt if the wall is built not only from the cost of building it or from the trade deficit it would create, but also from the 8 percent of income tax deficit that would be created from deporting all 11 million immigrants.  Comparatively an article published by The Atlantic called, Immigrants in the Workforce, State by State and Industry by Industry, states that undocumented immigrants make up 17 percent of the nation's workforce. If the United States were to deport 17 percent of its workforce there would be a massive problem throughout the country because the majority of illegal immigrants work in the service, construction, production and repair, and agriculture industries. This means that many businesses and farms would be short staffed and run into the possibility of shutting down their establishments. The state that would suffer the most from this problem would be Texas. According to an article published on the American Immigration Council website called "Texas: Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Innovation, and Welcoming Initiatives in the Lone Star State." , "From 2006 to 2010, there were 256,849 new immigrant business owners in Texas, Furthermore, from 2007 to 2010, immigrants in Texas founded around 31.3 percent -- almost one in three -- of all new businesses in the state".  Not only would over a quarter of a million Texan businesses suffer but the livelihood of the immigrants who owned the businesses and their families would also suffer. Conservative politicians must understand that the act of deporting all 11 million immigrants alone would be costly and unbeneficial for the nation's economy. The only thing the United States would be doing by following a conservative immigration plan similar to Trump's would be creating an unnecessarily expensive increasing  national debt, destroying or creating short-staffed businesses, and ruin the lives of millions of immigrants.

Moreover, another negative effect that these conservative immigration reform proposals and their supporters have is that they tend to often objectify undocumented immigrants only seeing them as stealing American jobs. But realistically most of them are just people who want to provide a better livelihood for their families and believe that coming to America will give them the work opportunities that they would never be able to get in their own country due to very low wages. For example, the current minimum wage in the United States varies between each state and ranges from 7 to 10 dollars an hour. But this isn't the case for Mexico. In parts of the country where pay is better (i.e. urban zones), the minimum salary for Mexicans is 70.1 pesos ($4.35) per day (Woody). Although some may argue that the cost of living in Mexico is cheaper than the United States this isn't always the case. According to The World Bank Database it is recorded that about 51 percent of the entire population of Mexico lives in poverty. And although things may be slightly cheaper in Mexico working 4 dollars a day isn't enough for a family in most cases and the only option they have left is to seek jobs and a better life in the United States. But if America adopts a smart and fair immigration policy that includes a better and more efficient work visa system, then not only would it benefit the nation from taxes but it also gives the Mexican people an opportunity for a better livelihood. What also isn't taken into account is that undocumented immigrants go through painful journeys and risk their lives to come into the United States and work to send money back to their families. I know the reality of these hardships from personal experience because I grew up in a household where most of my family were illegal immigrants and they had to go through an excruciatingly hard and painful journey. For example, my mother was eighteen years old when she crossed into the United States. She did this because she was the oldest of 7 siblings and my grandparents were going through a terrible financial crisis. Her plan was to come work in the United States, live with a relative in San Diego, and send the majority of the money she made back to Mexico City to provide a better life for her family. But unfortunately she had to cross the Jacumba Desert to enter the United States. She ran the risk of being lead into the desert by an unknown guide with a group strangers to come into the Unites States and make sure that her family didn't have to go another day without eating. Her group ran into many difficulties throughout the dessert such as heat exhaustion, dehydration, wild coyotes, and people armed with guns and although not everyone from her group made the journey her determination got her through the dessert. She then worked two jobs for six years and sent most of her paychecks back to Mexico. My parents, uncles, and rest of my family all went through similarly dangerous journeys just to provide for their loved ones back home in Mexico. Now they are all American citizens and are either successful businessmen or college educated. Adopting a fair immigration policy with an efficient work visa program would grant undocumented immigrants the ability legally work in the United States while boosting the nation's economy without having to risk their lives. 

In conclusion, a fair reform policy is needed to resolve the nation's growing immigration problem. After all, as citizens of the United States it is our duty to make sure of this. To make America truly great again we must partake in the upcoming presidential elections and advocate to the candidates running to help adopt a plan that will boost our economy by creating more jobs and receiving more taxes from undocumented immigrants. And to avoid another undocumented immigrant problem as big as the one today we must find a beneficial and cost-effective way to secure the border. The United States cannot afford to adopt a reform policy that will dig the country in a deeper financial hole by unnecessarily spending money on building a ridiculous wall that will create a massive trade deficit with our neighbor country Mexico. This doesn't mean citizenship or residency should be granted to undocumented workers currently living in the United States but a new reform policy should give current immigrants living in the nation the opportunity to pay back their taxes and work legally. Additionally to be successful, America's new and fair reform policy must include a jointly created work visa policy with the Mexican government allowing Mexican the Mexican people the opportunity to work in the United States to provide for their families in Mexico. Ultimately we cannot repeat the embarrassing mistakes that President Eisenhower did during his presidency. The inhumane act of deporting 11 million people on buses, planes, and trains and separating them from their homes and their families isn't the solution. Instead we must look at undocumented immigrants as hard working people and fellow workers that will benefit our country and not just as criminals that are here to destroy America.

