Illegal Immigration issue

Illegal Immigration issue

            The issue of illegal immigration has been changing in terms of perception over the years. Initially, immigration was seen as a way of providing humanity and support to people who have been disadvantaged by unrest in their countries. However, economic conditions have changed, and countries have started preferring less number of immigrants. Generally, countries have been coming up with strict regulations to reduce the number of immigrants, although the results have not been desirable. Immigrants have been finding ways to access the countries illegally since the legal processes are marred with inconsistencies and unnecessary regulations. The benefits of immigration have, however, not changed with the change in perceptions by recipient countries. Economies have been growing significantly due to the advantages that have been associated with illegal immigration. Illegal immigration has more pros compared to the cons argued by authorities that have been against the leniency in policies allowing for immigration.

Immigrants contribute positively towards the growth of the economy through the provision of labor. One of the arguments by anti-immigration advocates is that illegal and undocumented immigrants lead to unhealthy competition in the workplace (Hjarnø, n. p). However, the claim is countered by the fact that illegal immigrants are interested in unskilled and low-level jobs. Native citizens generally lack interest in unskilled labor, and immigrants bridge the gap. Labor-intensive fields such as agriculture are in high demand for less-skilled labor, and native citizens cannot provide sufficient labor to fill the gap. Therefore, illegal immigrants come in as an alternative to the growing labor gap for the fields. Companies have been on the benefiting end of the immigrant crisis because, in the end, the immigrants provide labor that would not be found from the natives, or would be expensive to source from foreign countries. Moreover, illegal immigration offers a ready market for goods and services hence a significant boost for the economy.

Illegal immigrants are not only job seekers and fortune pursuers but also consumers. A growing economy needs an active consumer base for sustainability. Illegal immigrants provide a market to products and thus are required for the economy. The critics who argue that immigration leads to an additional burden on the economy fail to consider the need for a growing consumer base (Marchetti, Sabrina, and Anna, 227). Besides, an economy where consumers are less than the produced goods and services can grow. The immigrants should, therefore, be embraced to give the economy the highly-needed producer-consumer balance. When immigrants purchase products, the impact is felt by the producers. Also, the benefits enjoyed by the producers do not change depending on whether the purchaser is documented or undocumented. The fact that critics of immigration overlook are that immigrants, regardless of their documentation status, contribute positively to the economy.  Moreover, most developed countries such as the US are struggling with low birth rates, and immigration is essential in improving the population of the countries.

Lower birthrates are a cause for concern for most developed countries since economies have been struggling. Economy growth depends on the population both for labor and the market. When the population growth is slow, the economy struggles in that the production process lacks a sufficient workforce and where production is high, the goods and services do not have sufficient market. Besides, developed countries such as the US have been struggling to keep their population growth rates high. Most residents in the developed countries are a bus with their careers and prefer raising little or no children, which affects the population growth rate of the countries. Therefore, illegal immigrants appear as an immediate solution to the challenge of low population growth. Besides, critics who base their arguments on the population burden overlook the negative impacts of low population growth. Moreover, illegal immigrants have proved to be potential job creators against the argument that immigrants lead to high unemployment rates in their host countries.

Critics of illegal immigration argue that unemployment can be attributed to weak immigration policies that have allowed more immigrants into the host countries. Also, the additional spending by the government has been blamed for leading to less funding on employment-creating ventures. However, the argument fails to incorporate immigration as a way of providing solutions for unemployment. One of the solutions for unemployment is creating more employment opportunities both for immigrants and native citizens. Entrepreneurship has come out as a way of creating job opportunities and saves countries from the need to create formal employment from the government agencies. Illegal immigrants engage in entrepreneurship activities and end up creating employment both for the native and immigrant populations. Therefore, illegal immigrants contribute positively to attempts to provide solutions for unemployment by engaging in employment-creating ventures. Generally, illegal immigration should not only be viewed from the negative perspective and be viewed from its contribution towards providing employment. Moreover, the government relies on taxes for the funding of projects, and immigrants participate positively in the payment of taxes.

The payment of taxes is essential for the funding of developmental and other projects by the government. The government depends on taxes from citizens and pays little attention to direct investments that may otherwise be used as a source of revenue. Furthermore, the taxes needed by the government come from different avenues that include taxes on businesses. Therefore, immigrants are actively involved in tax-paying activities and are positively contributing to the development of economies in their host countries. The payment of tax should not be overlooked because the government would not function effectively if taxes are not paid. Furthermore, the payment of taxes does not depend on the status of documentation of the payers, and thus illegal immigrants should not be overlooked in recognition of taxpayers. Moreover, social security funds are benefiting from the contributions of undocumented immigrants.

The operation of social security funds depends on the balance between contributions and claims for compensation. Generally, social security agencies are sustainable if the contributions remain higher than the expected claims for compensation (Hoekstra, Mark and Sandra, 230). Illegal immigrants have been said to be contributing to social security funds but are making fewer claims. The balance has remained healthy owing to the contributions of people who have been blamed for a long time as the source of challenges facing the host countries. However, the claim that immigrants are a source of challenges should be termed as an excuse for not taking responsibility. Native citizens blame immigrants for the challenges that should instead be addressed by the government. Therefore, illegal immigration plays a positive role in the sustainability of social security funds and not a burden, as critics argue. Moreover, illegal immigration has provided solutions for the increasing demand for high paying jobs hence low production costs.

Demand and supply are essential aspects of the economy and the workplace. Illegal immigrants have impacted the demand and supply for employees. Companies have been struggling with high production costs due to a lack of sufficient labor (Majumdar, 20). However, the availability of immigrants to occupy low-level positions increases the demand for high-level jobs lowering the cost of labor. Therefore, companies benefit from cheaper labor from the high demand for jobs. Generally, the production process is improved as companies invest more in productive ventures instead of spending unnecessarily on the search for labor. Also, the supply of ready labor saves on time that could be spent looking for laborers. Generally, illegal immigrants are beneficial to the production sector.

In sum, illegal immigration has more advantages compared to the cons argued by authorities that have been against the leniency in policies allowing for immigration. Firms have been on the benefiting end of the immigrant crisis because, in the end, the immigrants provide labor that would not be found from the natives, or would be expensive to source from foreign countries. The rate of population growth in developed countries is also another factor that makes illegal immigration beneficial. Moreover, illegal immigration has provided solutions for the increasing demand for high paying jobs hence low production costs. The time spent in the search for labor is always costly, and the availability of ready labor is beneficial to the production sector. Generally, illegal immigration is beneficial, and the disadvantages put forward by critics of immigration overlook the benefits of immigration on the economy.