Celia de la Cruz Perez

ECON 2020
Term Paper

Immigration Policies in the U.S.A.

Immigration is a phenomenon that has been taking place in almost every country in the
world, and since thousands of years ago. Even our ancestors migrated to improve the quality of
their lives. However, nowadays and especially in the U.S.A., immigration and its policies have
become a very controversial topic. This is because while some people believe that a reform in the
U.S.A immigration policies is needed, while taking into consideration the immigrants rights and
how they can help grow the country, others believe that immigration should be cut out
completely because it can only damage the countrys economy. So, in this paper, we will talk
about the different points of view about immigration policies and reforms in the U.S.A.

Americas immigration system is broken. Too many employers game the system by
hiring undocumented workers, and there are 11 million people living in the shadows. Neither is
good for the economy or the country. President Obama is eager to work with both the House and
the Senate on a comprehensive solution to immigration reform, similar to the bipartisan
legislation that passed the Senate in 2013. (whitehouse, 2015) As the previous president of the
United States of America Barack Obama said, there is a clear problem with the actual
immigration system and its policies. Nowadays, millions of undocumented people are coming to
the U.S. to try to find a better life. The problem is that even though some of them pay taxes, the
vast majority dont because they are working illegally in the country. In addition, many

employers rather hire undocumented workers instead of U.S. citizens because they can pay them
a lot less for the same job. As a consequence, the economy and employment rate of the U.S is
being negatively affected, meaning that a change on the immigration policies needs to be done in
order to protect the countrys economy, but also the rights of those who are undocumented. But,
how can those two things be accomplished without harming each other? Can we protect the
U.S.A.s economy while protecting undocumented peoples rights? How is that going to help the
U.S.A.s economy?

Barack Obama proposed several policies with the objective of regulating immigration
and protecting the countrys economy. Some of those policies are: create provisional legal status
for those who qualify, combat fraud, toughen security checks for those trying to apply for
permanent residency or citizenship, etc. The reason why Obama and his supporters believed that
those policies would help the economy, while giving opportunities to those who came to the
U.S.A to improve their lives is because:
-

These actions will increase the productivity of American workers, in part by allowing
undocumented workers to come out of the shadows and find jobs that better match their
skills and potential. This shift of workers across occupations will also allow more native
workers to specialize in the tasks best suited to their abilities. These effects are likely to
lead to wage increases for all workers. (whitehouse, 2015) If undocumented workers
were given equal rights, employers would no longer be capable to illegally hire them and
pay them less than the minimum wage. As a result, undocumented workers would be able
to find jobs that suit their skills and education, improving the quality of work which
would directly improve the economy.

CEA estimates that by 2024 annual wages for native workers will rise 0.3 percent, or
approximately $170 in todays dollars. CEA also estimates that the Presidents actions
would neither increase nor decrease the likelihood of employment for native workers.
(whitehouse, 2015) If this specific policy took place, American citizens would no longer
have to compete against undocumented workers to find a job because employers would
have to pay the same salary to immigrants and to American citizens. That would lower

the unemployment rate of American citizens.

A bigger economy will reduce the deficit. As the economy grows so do tax revenues,
requiring the government to borrow less to finance government operations. (whitehouse,
2015) Also, those who once were undocumented workers and did not pay taxes, now they
would be required to do it and punished for not doing it just like any other American. All
that money collected from taxes would reduce the deficit of the U.S.A.

However, not everybody is accepting of Obamas proposal for the immigration policies
reform. The now president of the U.S.A., Donald Trump, completely disagrees with Obamas
point of view because he believes that immigration is causing the downfall of the U.S.A.s
economy. So, in contrast to the data offered by Barack Obama, president Donald Trump provided
on his webpage the following data about the negative consequences of immigration on the
countrys economy:
- The actual immigration policy is costing the U.S.A. about $300 billion every year, which is
one of the reasons why the president thinks a reform is needed as soon as possible.
-There are around two million illegal criminals living in the U.S.A. as for today, which not
only makes the country unsafe, but it also costs a lot of money to keep them incarcerated,
investigate them, etc.

- 62 percent of households headed by illegal immigrants used some form of cash or non-cash
welfare programs, like food stamps or housing assistance. [Center for Immigration Studies,
Sept. 2015] (donaldjtrump, 2016) What that means is that 62% percent of undocumented
households dont have enough funds to support themselves and their family, which lead to them
seeking for government assistance.
So, because of those and some other reasons, president Donald Trump believes that a reform of
the immigration policies must be done as soon as possible. Some of the key points of that
reform are:
-

Turn off the jobs and benefits magnet. (donaldjtrump, 2016)

That is because Donald Trump defends the fact that undocumented immigrants come to the
U.S.A. in search of jobs. So, if the government ensures that jobs are restricted to U.S.A.

citizens and legal aliens, that will stop the affluence of undocumented immigrants.
Move criminal aliens out day one, in joint operations with local, state, and federal law
enforcement. We will terminate the Obama administrations deadly, non-enforcement
policies that allow thousands of criminal aliens to freely roam our streets. (donaldjtrump,
2016)

In conclusion, both Barack Obama and Donald Trump believe that a reform of the
immigration policies needs to take place urgently. However, we can also see how there is a clear
contrast and even contradictions between their proposals and their interpretation of the problems
of the actual immigration policies. This is because as mentioned before, immigration is a very
controversial topic which can be seen from many different perspectives but at the end, I believe
that immigration policies have to protect the country while taking into consideration the lives and
rights of humans no matter their race, citizenship, or religion.

Works Cited

Trump, D. J. (n.d.). Immigration. Retrieved November 23, 2016, from

https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/immigration

H. (2015). How Would Immigration Reform Help the U.S. Economy? Retrieved
November 23, 2016, from http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/11/01/how-would-

immigration-reform-help-the-u-s-economy/
Streamlining Legal Immigration. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2016, from
https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration/streamlining-immigration
Immigration and the Economy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2016, from
https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration/economy