Recent Trends in Immigration Law

Recent Trends in Immigration Law

Over the past thirty years, the number of illegal immigrants in the United States has risen from 3,000,000 to approximately 12,000,000. This is significant considering the increase in border protection and immigration control since 9/11. However, the current trends from new immigration laws center on two questions. What is the impact that illegal immigrants have on our current economy? And, what dangers do these people ultimately pose against national security?

Immigrants come to the United States for various reasons. One is for better employment. Many think that immigrants impact the economy by securing jobs that would otherwise be filled by normal citizens. The exact number of these jobs cannot be determined because the precise number of illegal immigrants in the country cannot be calculated. This has the potential to create a higher unemployment rate in the indigenous labor market. However, there is a counterpoint to this situation. While illegal immigrants take jobs away, they still participate in the marketplace by buying products and services. Thus, through their involvement in the marketplace and through their demand for goods and services, jobs are created to meet the needs of the immigrant community.

There is also an assumption that undocumented immigrants do not pay income taxes and should not be allowed to participate in government-funded programs. However, many undocumented immigrants use false identifications and do have taxes withheld from their paychecks. They also pay sales tax for purchases they make. Therefore, many undocumented immigrants are actively contributing to the government-funded services they are using.

Many business owners object to taking these workers out of the U.S. marketplace. They claim that eliminating undocumented workers from the country will have a negative impact on the economy. Business owners maintain they would not have the workforce necessary to carry out their...