The Negative Effects Of Immigration Reform In America

Immigration, as defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary as, “the act of coming to another country to live there permanently,” is rapidly becoming a controversial topic in the United States (“immigrant”). According to PBS, immigrants, most commonly migrating from regions in Latin America and Asia, are eager to cross the American border as they are often fleeing harsh governments or religious oppression and relocating in search of a better life for themselves, as well as their family. (PBS) The recent influx in immigration to the United States has caused Americans and politicians alike to reconsider immigration laws and lobby for immigration reforms. Both the Democratic and Republican party candidates utilized immigration reform in the 2016 election …show more content…
(Pew Research Center, Sarah Kehaulani Goo)” A majority of Americans claim the reason they advocate for immigration reform is due to the detrimental effect that immigrants have on the United States economy. However, though illegal immigrants impose a fiscal cost, illegal immigration surprisingly has a positive effect on the country’s economy when costs are efficiently allocated amongst federal, state, and local levels of the government (Illegal Immigration, Ramanujan Nadadur). Unfortunately, a plethora of American media outlets, such as Fox News or MSNBC, are funded by extremists on either side of the political spectrum, ultimately influencing the transparency and accuracy of the news. In a different Pew Research Center study, it was discovered that during elections, Fox News allots more air-time for the Republican candidate, while it is estimated that only about 3-6% of the Democratic candidate’s little coverage is positive. (Pew Research Center, Jesse Holcomb). A Buzzfeed study found that 38% of news from Republican affiliated sources is partially or totally false, while 19% of news from Democratic affiliated sources is partially or totally false (13:47, Last Week Tonight, President Elect-Donald Trump). Both of these numbers are …show more content…
David Cameron, former UK prime minister, once used the word “swarm,” a word most often used for describing a group of insects, to describe incoming immigrants (BBC News, “Swarm”). John Oliver, the host of the HBO original program, Last Week Tonight, responded to Cameron by saying “A swarm of anything sounds terrifying, no matter what it is. If hear that a lot of kittens are coming my way, I’m going to be delighted, but if I hear there is a swarm of kittens approaching, I’m grabbing a shotgun and getting to high ground (Last Week Tonight, Migrants and