Immigration Impact on U.S Economy

Immigration has been one of the most controversial topics in the United States, especially during this year due to the presidential elections and the political views of the candidates. Many Americans oppose immigration because of the belief that there is a negative economic impact caused by a decreased availability of jobs for American-born workers. Additionally, there are widely held theories regarding the utilization of American resources, such as United States government welfare benefits, by immigrants. Many argue that the immigrants also bring a criminal element that may have long-term economic and societal consequences. On the other hand, many view the economic and social impact of the immigration as positive. Many immigrants come to this country in search of the American dream built on strong work ethics and an intention to offer their family the economic stability that was not available in their country of origin. Most importantly, many immigrants perform jobs that Americans would not routinely consider. The majority of immigrants have backgrounds that are from low-income families, and as a result, there is an increased motivation to succeed in an effort to provide for these extended families.

A mistake people often make when referring to immigrants, is that they categorize all as undocumented individuals, which is incorrect. Immigration is composed of everyone that enters this country, legally or illegally, with the intention to live in the country. In the journal article “Immigration Benefits America” by Steven J. Gold, he commented on the views of David Stoll when wrote that contemporary immigrants, “threaten national unity, obscures Americans citizens’ obligations to one another and will shortly change the US into a minority-majority society.” (Gold, 2009). He also mentioned that since immigrants are poor and powerless they are often taking advantage by coastal elites, who are motivated by economic self-interest, by exploiting the low cost of labor...