“I will build a great wall on our southern border and I’ll have Mexico pay for that wall,” said Donald Trump as the crowd chanted, “Build the wall!” The presidential nominee received backlash from that comment, and was labeled as a racist by the media. But is it really a bad idea? The influx of illegal immigrants coming into the United States has led to an increase in government spending, and the upsurge of violent crime in some states. There are about 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country, and it is rapidly becoming a burden on our economy. Illegal aliens work for low wages, lowering the chances for an American to get the same job. People argue that immigration provides cheap labor, which is true, but it contributes to the high
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According to the Pew Research, “the number of illegal aliens in the workforce is at 8 million out of an overall population of 11.2 million illegal aliens” (Passel & Cohn). Those 8 million jobs can be given to legal residents in low income neighborhoods, and help decrease the unemployment level. Immigrants provide cheap labor and, “the willingness of foreign workers to accept lower wages because of their illegal status acts to depress wages and working conditions for all workers in that occupation” (FAIR). This causes the existing workers to leave, and find another job. Undocumented workers lower the wages, which restricts Americans chances to get jobs that pay well. The increasing demand for cheap labor allows illegal immigrants to get jobs easily, while Americans in low income areas struggle to …show more content…
George W. Bush, Ben Carson, and many others also share a similar stance on immigration. Yes, it is true that they do jobs Americans will not do, but blaming Americans for this is gratuitous. In fact, “illegals do work that American 's cannot do because Americans must adhere to minimum wage and labor laws” (Coffey). Cheap labor leads to an overall drop in wages, which decreases the popularity of that occupation. They stay away from those jobs not because they want to, but they are forced to. A favorite claim among critics is that jobs occupied by illegal immigrants are unpopular amongst Americans. However, their argument is false, Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, “65.8 percent of 5.38 million workers in cleaning and maintenance jobs are native-born workers” (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Statistics show that Americans will do any job, if paid
According to the Pew Research, “the number of illegal aliens in the workforce is at 8 million out of an overall population of 11.2 million illegal aliens” (Passel & Cohn). Those 8 million jobs can be given to legal residents in low income neighborhoods, and help decrease the unemployment level. Immigrants provide cheap labor and, “the willingness of foreign workers to accept lower wages because of their illegal status acts to depress wages and working conditions for all workers in that occupation” (FAIR). This causes the existing workers to leave, and find another job. Undocumented workers lower the wages, which restricts Americans chances to get jobs that pay well. The increasing demand for cheap labor allows illegal immigrants to get jobs easily, while Americans in low income areas struggle to …show more content…
George W. Bush, Ben Carson, and many others also share a similar stance on immigration. Yes, it is true that they do jobs Americans will not do, but blaming Americans for this is gratuitous. In fact, “illegals do work that American 's cannot do because Americans must adhere to minimum wage and labor laws” (Coffey). Cheap labor leads to an overall drop in wages, which decreases the popularity of that occupation. They stay away from those jobs not because they want to, but they are forced to. A favorite claim among critics is that jobs occupied by illegal immigrants are unpopular amongst Americans. However, their argument is false, Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, “65.8 percent of 5.38 million workers in cleaning and maintenance jobs are native-born workers” (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Statistics show that Americans will do any job, if paid