Illegal Immigration | Teen Ink

Illegal Immigration

May 31, 2022
By proldan BRONZE, Parsippany, New Jersey
proldan BRONZE, Parsippany, New Jersey
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

People face problems every day, like not having enough battery on their cellular devices, or struggling with a math problem. Although some, like the ones stated, are as small as an ant, others may be grievous. For instance, the worldwide virus, Covid-19. This disease has created countless problems that many are now forced to face and captured the government's attention. The federal government has made laws to restrict contact, they have enforced vaccines, and encouraged healthful habits. Evidently, while it is true that the government has always been involved in the lives of civilians to maintain order within the societies, some issues that the nation has faced have not been handled by the country properly. That is the case for one of Guatemala’s political conflicts. This conflict has spread so much fear that it engendered people to flee to other countries illegally. One case involves Leo, a normal boy, who escaped to the United States as a minor without a guardian. After the long, excruciating journey, he was finally reunited with his father after 14 years. Immigrants have sacrificed exceedingly and are bombarded by numerous challenges as soon as they step on the premises of the United States because of the American government’s bogus decisions. If immigrants were able to integrate themselves into our communities all of the inhabitants in this country would benefit; they are ordinary humans in search of a better life that can bring in ideas and cultures and increase the number of available laborers and workers. For the reasons stated, immigrants who are in the country illegally should be allowed to remain in the United States.

To commence, immigrants are ordinary people who pose no harm to Americans, on the contrary, they will profit Americans and our communities. To begin with, the article, ¨We Need to Reform the US Immigration System,¨ supports that “They extol the contribution that they have made and see no reason to penalize them for their attraction to a place where they may have a better life than the one that they left” (Barnett 2). This shows that there really is no reason for penalizing newcomers. These people are coming to the United States for a new beginning, they are contributing to our communities, why should we penalize them for it? For example, Leo, as mentioned before, sacrificed so much and left his life behind to escape a conflict that could have been deadly and that he had no control over. To emphasize, even when he arrived he was not disruptive, a robber, or mischievous as many may think. The article ¨Undocumented Population and Crime Rate¨ shows that "...there's no causal connection between immigration and crime in the United States¨( New York Times 1). Instead, he became a diligent student:  ¨’He is very motivated by the school, aspires to go to college, and wants to contribute to his and his father’s situation and his new country’ explains Carlos” ( Catholic Charities 2 ). This suggests that these people do not threaten America and can contribute to increasing the intelligent minds in our country and profit society. Moreover, as mentioned, many state that these immigrants will create plagues and cause unwanted situations. Research has shown that they do not report crimes, get vaccinated or significant medical attention, and facilitate documents because ¨Their behavior is governed by fear of being deported…[So if they could just be] Freed from the fears and stigma of illegality, these millions of people could become more productive citizens, able to participate in a much wider range of activities”( Barnett 3). This proves that if immigration became legal, immigrants would no longer live in fear and would be able to contribute to our societies more than they already have. In conclusion, immigrants do not harm America and can aid the public. 

Additionally, immigrants can integrate new ideas, knowledge, and cultures into our lives. To emphasize, immigrants have already increased innovation rates. Innovations are existing objects/ideas that have been manipulated and enhanced. One innovation is the iPhone. The new iPhones are better versions of the past phones. Iphones make life easier by providing a better way to communicate, learn, and find entertainment. More immigrants equals more innovations and as mentioned, more innovations will make the community stronger. To emphasize, the article, ¨Benefits of Immigration Outweigh the Costs¨ states ¨“...a pronounced trend since the 1990s, has been linked to innovation, specifically to higher patenting rates among immigrants¨ (Orrenius 4 ).  This once again shows that with immigrants our civilizations can flourish because they can project new innovations into our environments. Not only that, immigrants encourage native people to create innovations too (Orrenius 4 ). The main reason for this is that immigrants reach for higher occupations than Americans (Orrenius 4 ).  For example, Marison Conde-Hernandez, a high school student, created very ambitious plans for her future, she desired to attend Princeton University (Radelat 1). Minds like Marison Conde-Hernandez and many other immigrants would boost our economy now and in the future. Unfortunately, as she was an illegal immigrant she stood ¨…little chance of realizing her goals unless Congress changes immigration¨ (Radelat 1). In fact, 65,000 immigrants face this same conflict, compromising their futures forever (Radelat 1). This connects to the claim because if immigrants like Marison would be given the chance they could spread their culture, language, and knowledge through our homes making our societies more knowledgeable. To put it more clearly, ¨In 2002, the dropout rate for Hispanic high school students was 25.7 percent, according to federal education officials. That rate compared with 6.5 percent for whites and 11.3 percent for blacks”  (Radelat 1). This comes to show the effect that the government has on immigrants and how controlling and restrictive they are on them. In the end, Americans will also be badly affected because of the loss of knowledge that our society loses because of bogus laws.

Lastly, immigrants increase the number of eligible workers. To start, the article, ¨Benefits of Immigration Outweigh the Cons¨ declares that “Immigration fuels the economy. When immigrants enter the labor force, they increase the productive capacity of the economy and raise GDP. Their incomes rise, but so do those of natives.¨(Orrenius 3). GDP stands for Gross domestic product. This is significant because, with immigrants, our facilities can create and sell products at a faster rate benefiting our economies. To further prove my claim, research shows that many industries would plummet without these workers (Barnett 2). For example, the dairy industry of Vermont would obliterate without immigrants because it ¨…depends upon such workers” (Barnett 2). Additionally, research shows that one of the main reasons that immigrants are fueling the economy is because they move where workers are needed (Orrenius 3). For example, ¨During and after World War II, Mexican immigrants were instrumental in alleviating shortages arising from the war effort. During the oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was record migration to Texas. In the 1990s, it was the fast-growing South and Mountain West states that received immigrants, many for the first time” (Orrenius 3). This shows the commitment that these immigrants bring and how they occupy the required jobs that our economy needs to function properly. Overall, it is blatant that immigrants fuel our economy.

Overall, immigrants who are in the United States illegally should be allowed to remain because they are in search of a better life that can benefit society by bringing in ideas and cultures and increasing the number of available laborers and workers. Although many invalid accusations are made toward immigrants such as that they increase crime rates and damage our communities, research shows otherwise. Overall, it is evident that Americans will continue to hurt themselves if immigrants continue to be prohibited from entering the United States. 


The author's comments:

I wrote this piece as an 8th-grade assignment to emphasize the issue that illegal immigrants have to face. 


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.