Thompson 1

Alexis Thompson
John Visnaw
Writing 121 Research Paper
24 October 2016
Does illegal immigration have a detrimental effect on American economics?
I believe illegal immigrants are bad for the United States and our economy, Markita Payton
said. They dont pay taxes and they take jobs from the American people. I dont believe so,
Makenzie Heath said, I dont think they bother our society at all. Theyre just like us, the only
difference is that they came here illegally. Well, I said, Ive actually been doing a bit of
research on this topic. Since illegal immigration has been one of the most mentioned problems in
the 2016 election I wanted to know exactly how does illegal immigrants affect the American
people. During my research, I came to the conclusion that illegal immigrants dont have a
detrimental effect on American society and that they actually contribute to our economy. How
so? Payton asked. Let me explain, I stated.
Immigration in the United States dates back to the late nineteenth century. Immigrants were
universally known as being good for business. During this time the United States was growing at
a very fast pace and its economy was flourishing, so there was an endless demand for laborers. If
the government couldnt prove that you were a criminal, anyone was free to come to the United
States without having to become a citizen until 1875 (Brief). In 1875, a federal law was passed
which prohibited the entry of convicts and prostitutes. President Chester A. Arthur banned
almost all Chinese immigration to the United States in 1882, and shortly thereafter barred

Thompson 2
paupers, criminals and the mentally ill from entering. There were now distinctions between legal
and illegal immigration. Before this, immigration was barely regulated ("End").
This was the beginning of many laws and regulations that restricted immigrants entering the
country illegally. In the next 20-30 years, many more laws will be introduced to stop illegal
immigrants from entering the United States, but nothing will change. Despite all of this,
immigrants were arriving on U.S. shores in full force from all over the world, and by 1920 nearly
13% of the United States population was foreign-born (Brief). After 1920, majority of the
illegal immigrants that entered the United States were Mexican. Mexicans then became the
backbone for this countrys agriculture industry, becoming a valuable asset to the United States
(Brief). Illegal immigration does not have a detrimental effect on American economics
because they contribute to the economy by adding to the work force and paying taxes.
For many years now, Mexicans have illegally crossed the border into the United States. The
reasons for the high rate of immigration from Mexico include the close proximity of Mexico to
the U.S., and the noticeable difference in the quality of life between the two countries ("Illegal").
Since the 1980s, the United States saw a significant increase in illegal immigrants from Mexico
(See Figure 1). About 1 in 4 foreigners in America are here illegally and that 62 percent of them
come from Mexico through America's most porous border (Bedard). Once a Mexican immigrant
successfully cross the border into the United States, they generally have one main goal; to have a
better life. Most illegal immigrants come to the United States to live what Americans call the
"American Dream." For many, just gaining employment at a low wage job in the United States
provides a much higher standard of living than in their home country ("Illegal").

Thompson 3

Figure 1. Illegal Immigration, Population Estimates in the United States, 1969-2014 - Illegal Immigration - ProCon.org. ProConorg Headlines,
immigration.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceid=000844.

Many individuals come from small poverty-stricken towns in Mexico and are paid so low that
they cannot afford to cover the necessities. Mexicans who live in smaller towns tend to be
employed in the agriculture sector or try to set up a small business in order to make a living. The
average Mexican wage is about $4.15 an hour and those in the agricultural industry make even
less ("Illegal"). Living on this wage alone makes it difficult for families to survive. Thus, many
Mexicans find the neighboring United States to be extremely attractive. Once they reach the
United States, they first aim to make enough money to send part of their earnings back home to
their family and their second goal is to bring more family members to the U.S. ("Illegal"). Illegal
immigrants come to the United States to take jobs that offer them greater opportunity, and they
are often welcomed by the U.S. employers who are able to hire them for wages lower than they
would have to pay to hire U.S. workers ("Immigration Issues"). Even though this is cheaper for

Thompson 4
the employer, it is illegal under a law enacted in 1986 but employers hire illegal immigrants
anyway. Because there is no requirement to verify documents presented by workers, employers
can easily evade compliance ("Immigration Issues"). Because employers hire illegal immigrants,
they tend to depress wages and working conditions for all workers in that occupation, making
employment in that sector less attractive to U.S. workers who have other options. Not many
employers are willing to employ undocumented immigrants, so those immigrants must take the
only jobs offered to them which are low paying jobs that are unattractive to American society
anyway. Only by enforcing the immigration law against employment of illegal alien workers can
this spiral to the bottom be broken and employers forced to restore wages and working
conditions to levels that will attract U.S. workers and legal foreign workers ("Immigration
Issues").
Illegal immigration helps the United Sates economy in several ways. Immigrants contribute to
the United States by adding value to the U.S. economy not only as taxpayers, but as workers,
consumers, and entrepreneurs as well. However, Americans believe that undocumented
immigrants are exploiting the United States' economy. Americans believe that illegal aliens cost
more in government services than they contribute to the economy, which is not the case. The
Congressional Budget Office in 2007 answered this question in the following manner: Over the
past two decades, most efforts to estimate the fiscal impact of immigration in the United States
have concluded that, in aggregate and over the long term, tax revenues of all types generated by
immigrantsboth legal and unauthorizedexceed the cost of the services they use (Illegal
Immigrants). By adding a significant number of people to the U.S. population, immigrants
create a larger workforce in the U.S., which means a larger economy. In the fourth quarter of
2015, immigrants accounted for 16.9 percent of those in the labor force. If we make the standard

Thompson 5
assumption that labor accounts for 70 percent of GDP and the economy totaled $18 trillion in
2015, then immigration may add $2.1 trillion to the U.S. economy (Impact). Economist James
S. Holt made the following statement to Congress in 2007: The reality, however, is that if we
deported a substantial number of undocumented farm workers, there would be a tremendous
labor shortage. In terms of overall numbers, The Department of Labor reports that of the 2.5
million farm workers in the U.S., over half (53 percent) are illegal immigrants. Growers and
labor unions put this figure at 70 percent (Illegal Immigrants). The total goods and services
that illegal immigrants consume through their paycheck, plus all that they produce for their
employers, is close to about $800 billion dollars (Is Illegal).
Not only do immigrants add money to the nations GDP by working and buying goods and
services, as well as producing them, but they also contribute to the economy by paying taxes.
According to ITEPs estimates, which do not count federal taxes, undocumented immigrants
paid $11.6 billion in state and local taxes in 2013. This includes: $7 billion in sales taxes, $1.1
billion in income taxes, and $3.6 billion in property taxes (Adding). If illegal immigrants are
paying $11.6 billion dollars in taxes while they still are undocumented just imagine how much
tax revenue they would bring in if they were all legalized (See Figure 2).
Legal status enables immigrants to get better jobs and earn higher incomes, which increases
the amount they pay in taxes. So now, instead of a small amount of the illegal immigrants paying
taxes, all of them will be paying taxes, which results in more tax revenue at all levels of
government. ITEP estimated that if all undocumented immigrants had LPR status today, their
state and local tax contributions would be $2.1 billion higher than they actually arefor a total
of $13.8 billion. This includes: $7.6 billion in sales taxes, $2.2 billion in income taxes, and $4
billion in property taxes. The largest increases in tax revenue resulting from legalization would

Thompson 6
be in California, Texas, New York, and Illinois (Adding). LPR is a lawful permanent resident
who has been given this status by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.

Figure 2. Undocumented Immigrants' State and Local Tax Contributions | The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The Institute
on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), www.itep.org/immigration/.

In 2012, researchers at the Cato Institute estimated that a mass deportations policy would
reduce economic growth in the United States by approximately $250 billion per year. Therefore,
it would be more beneficial to the U.S. if they made every illegal immigrant in this country legal,
so they can contribute to growth of the economy even more, rather than spending money on
deporting them as well as losing $250 billion dollars every year from the loss of their
contributions.
In conclusion, illegal immigrants are not detrimental to American economics. Many
Americans look at illegal immigrants as bad people who take jobs from the American society
and benefit from the United States government without contributing to anything. However, with

Thompson 7
the research and facts above, you can see that illegal immigrants not only contribute to the
economy, but is a very essential part of it.

Thompson 8
Works Cited
"Adding Up the Billions in Tax Dollars Paid by Undocumented Immigrants." American
Immigration Council. N.p., 28 Sept. 2016. 27 Oct. 2016.
Camarota, Steven A. "The Impact of Large-Scale Immigration on American Workers." Center for
Immigration Studies. Center for Immigration Studies, 16 Mar. 2016. 27 Oct. 2016.
Davidson, Adam. "Is Illegal Immigration an Economic Burden to America? - Illegal Immigration
ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., 30 Mar. 2006. 27 Oct. 2016.
Goodman, H. A. "Illegal Immigrants Benefit the U.S. Economy." TheHill. N.p., 04 Feb. 2016.
27 Oct. 2016.
@VISANOW. "A Brief History of Illegal Immigration." VISANOW Global Immigration. N.p., 15
July 2015. 27 Oct. 2016.
"Illegal Immigration from Mexico." Illegal Immigration from Mexico. US Immigration Support,
2012. 20 October 2016.
"Immigration Issues." Illegal Aliens Taking U.S. Jobs (2013). Federation for American
Immigration Reform, 2013. 23 October 2016.
"End Illegal Immigration." History of Illegal Immigration in U.S. William Gheen, 11 Apr. 2012.
26 October 2016.
Payton, Markita. Personal Interview. 1 November 2016.

Thompson 9
Heath, Makenzie. Personal Interview. 1 November 2016
Merino, Noel. Illegal Immigration. Farmington Hills, MI, Greenhaven Press, 2015.
Dudley, William. Illegal Immigration: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA, Greenhaven Press,
2002.