In the past ten years one of the most talked about and debated topics has been Latin American immigration into the United States. American citizens and politicians tend to discuss illegal immigration more than legal immigration. This is due to the fact that a great deal of problems arises from illegal immigration. However, if Americans worked to fix the unsystematic legal immigration system in the United States it would decrease illegal immigration and the problems that accompany it. Many citizens are concerned, if we were to let more immigrants into the country legally would it harm or benefit our country? Although there are many people that would argue that immigrants could cause a multitude of problems to the United States, it is obvious that through simple research one can see that there are more pros than cons to increasing Latin American immigration. Streamlining legal immigration would have positive effects on businesses, the global view of America, American culture, and most importantly the economy. 

Most Americans don't realize how convoluted the immigration system is. I often hear Americans say "why can't they immigrate the legal way?". It sounds so simple but it's not. There is no 'line' because the only people allowed to immigrate are immediate family members of a US citizen, highly skilled professionals that are requested from an American company, or political or humanitarian refugees. The rest of the people are left to fend for them selves. On top of that, the ones in line still have to wait years to actually obtain a visa. Each country is only allowed twenty five thousand visas per year, no matter the country's size. So for example, a larger country like Mexico is only allowed to administer the same amount of visas as Aruba. Clearly, that doesn't make logical sense. According to "Work Permit Law" this "prevents any one nationality from dominating American immigration patterns." The public should know that the United States legal immigration system is one of the most outdated, complicated, and confusing immigration systems in the globe. 

It is a common misconception that Latin Americans "take" jobs from hard working American born citizens. I often hear "less-skilled American citizens earn less money and have fewer job opportunities because they must compete with immigrants in the job market" (Joe Messerli). On the contrary, immigrant workers don't compete with skilled workers. Instead, they often complement them. Companies often use immigrant workers to take care of more mundane and routine tasks so that their more skilled workers can focus on what they do best. In the long run, the more skilled workers made more money and worker more hours than those of their non-American peers. The idea of immigrants taking lower paying jobs because they're uneducated in turn results in a higher demand for native-born college educated employees is not true. In fact, the education level of immigrants is almost equal to those of American citizens. According to Professor Peri at UC Davis "immigration cannot explain the observed increase in the relative wage of college-educated workers versus high-school graduates observed in the 1980s and 1990s, simply because it did not much affect that relative supply". Peri also states Immigrants "tend to work as farm laborers, construction workers, roofers, drivers, food preparers, housekeepers, and caregivers for children and the elderly. (While) Similarly educated natives, on the other hand, tend to work in jobs that require more intensive communication and interaction skills; they are cooks, construction supervisors, farm coordinators, and clerks." It is becomes apparent that immigrants and American natives do not often compete for the same jobs because they do not possess the same skills. Immigrants contribute different assets to a company and allow it to thrive in productivity and economically. 

Another misinterpretation about immigrants is that companies hire them because they are cheaper, but this is far from the truth. Companies hire immigrants for a multitude of reasons. Immigrants are far more willing to move in order to find jobs than natives. Because immigrants smooth out booms and busts, this stabilizes the economy. Immigrants have also made household production services such as cleaning and gardening more affordable, which most Americans don't want to do. This allows more native born Americans (especially women) to join the labor force and increase their hours. Lastly, highly educated immigrants are huge assets to American companies because they contribute to innovation. According to Professor Giovanni Peri, "One-quarter of the U.S.-based Nobel laureates of the last 50 years were foreign-born, and highly educated immigrants account for about one-third of U.S. innovation." (The Economic Benefits of Immigration) Because they didn't receive the same education and upbringing as United States Citizens they can contribute more out of the box concepts to companies. Clearly, companies don't just hire immigrants because they will work for cheaper pay but because they are sometimes more qualified and better suited for a job than a native born citizen. 

Most Americans (especially politicians) worry about the impact America is making on a global scale. Throughout the history of our country we have strived to be an open and welcoming country. However, global media is now starting to portray us as the opposite. During a TEDx Talk, Andrea Guerrero, brings light to the fact that one in ten Americans are new immigrants and that is the lowest percentage of new immigrants that we've ever had. One hundred years ago twice that amount of people were new immigrants. One of the most important parts of Guerrero's speech highlights that although we may come from different countries with different upbringings and traditions most of us share a common value: Treat others the way you want to be treated. She suggests that we break the cycle of mistreatment to immigrants and honor our shared values by putting ourselves in immigrant's shoes. Imagine if you lived in a country that was in control of what you said or what religion you practiced? By fixing our flawed legal immigration system we could better our image on the media around the world and change the lives of those who really need it. 

Many people say influx of immigration is ruining America's culture. But where do these people think American culture came from? America was founded on immigrants. It was these immigrants that brought over their traditions and culture that formed the culture we call 'American' today. The best part about American culture is that it is constantly evolving. Joe Messerli, who writes for BalancedPolitics.org, states that:

"No country in the world has the diversity of races, religions, languages, and cultures. America is called the great "melting pot" because we bring together all sorts of people around the world. Diversity brings more tolerance for people that are, on the surface, different than us. It introduces new ideas, new perspectives, new music & food, different customs, new forms of entertainment, diverse strengths & skills, and a host of other advantages". 

If people were to really sit down and think about it, the most enjoyable American traditions we can thank immigrants for (i.e Halloween and Christmas).

The biggest misconception about immigrants is that they have a negative effect on the economy. Yet, through a small amount of research I have found that this is not the case at all. According to the IRCA more legalization would create "a level playing field and fair competition for U.S. workers, improve the earnings of law -- abiding companies, increase the tax revenue of local, state, and federal governments, and free local police to return to crime prevention, crime solving, and building safe communities". In Walter Ewing's article "The Cost of Doing Nothing", If California were to increase legalization, "the wages of unauthorized workers would increase by $26.9 billion, generating an additional $5.3 billion in tax revenue and creating 633,000 new jobs." The American Action Forum reports that an immigration reform would "raise GDP per capita by over $1,500 and reduce the cumulative federal deficit by over $2.5 trillion over 10 years". On top of that, although "apprehensions for crossing the border illegally stand at a quarter of what they were a year ago" the government spent 18 billion on border enforcement in 2012 which is more money spent than on all the other federal law agencies combined. Professor Peri's article "The Economic Benefits of Immigration" said it best, "If Congress can set political bickering aside and pass this reform, certainly the U.S. economy would benefit, its citizens would be better off, and the country's immigration system would finally be ready to meet the needs of the 21st century". These numbers are astonishing and would drastically change America's economy for the better. 

So what are we doing to change this problem? Of course everyone knows that the Obama administration has been working at an immigration reform. The white house website states that Obama wants to streamline immigration by keeping families together, eliminate red tape for employers, create start up visas for entrepreneurs, create new visa categories, encourage integration and more. Even though Obama has made some changes in our immigration system it is going to take years and perhaps decades to fix our flawed immigration system. Essentially, it is up to the public to see these changes through because not only does immigration stimulate the economy, benefit businesses, alter the global view of America, and expand diversity, immigration exemplifies what our founding fathers wanted for our country; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

 

 
