Immigration.

Immigration.

Immigration has become one of the most controversial political issues in the last few decades. Policies have been enacted to address the various challenges surrounding immigration. In the last Presidential election in the United States, immigration become an important policy issue for debate. Every politician had his or her strategy to deal with illegal immigration in America. However, recently, the debate became more intense when the Trump’s administration started implementing the “Zero Tolerance” policy. When people read and see children being separated from their mothers, or children being kept in cages in the name of implementing the “zero tolerance” policy, it stirs strong emotions. However, when trying to contextualize the issue or having discussions about whether immigration is good or bad for the country, feelings or emotions are often not enough to convince people, especially with many misconceptions and myths surrounding the subject. People are divided as to whether countries, especially the United States, should restrict the entry of immigrants. An objective evaluation and assessment of the subject highlights the need for countries to allow immigrants into their borders. They improve economies, flee from war and violence, and pay more money to the government than they receive.

Contrary to the misconception that immigrants come to America to lower wages and take jobs from American citizens, they help in growing the economy by creating jobs for American citizens. Many Americans have been made to believe that immigrants come into the country to take jobs from them. However, according to a study by the Cato Institute, immigrants creates jobs for other immigrants and the American people (…). They move to growing regions where they help in strengthening and growing the economy. The evidence provided by the study indicate that immigrants help in achieving higher economic productivity by providing better educated workforce, bringing more innovation, providing better matching skills, and greater occupational specialization. For example, immigrants hold jobs that are considered crucial for the growth of the economy. According to (…), immigrants without a four-year degree makes approximately 11% of the total number of workers in the U.S. But, they dominate the sectors that are considered crucial for the economy (see figure below). This demonstrate how important immigrants are, and the contribution they make to the economy. With their contribution in the crucial sectors of the economy, countries should not restrict their entry.

Most immigrants flee from war-torn countries in search of peaceful and politically stable countries. Normally, these immigrants are the victims of war. They find themselves submerged in a political battle between the political classes. Also, with the rise of terrorism, there is need to consider the plight of innocent civilians who find themselves in the middle of terrorism. As part of fighting terrorist activities around the world, countries should consider the plight of those that are left homeless as a result of terrorist activities. For example, in Syria, Iraq and Iran, terrorism has left many families homeless. The environment created by terrorists in these regions is not bearable for any human being. As such, countries should consider giving people from these war-torn areas second chances in life. Like any other citizens around the world, they deserve to raise their children or grow up in a peaceful and stable environment. Therefore, restricting the entry of these individuals should be considered inhumane.

There are also misconceptions that immigrants in America take advantage of the welfare system that is meant to help the American people. Americans believe that they benefit from the welfare program and fail to pay their fair share to the government. However, the facts presented by (…) do not back this argument. Instead, it demonstrates how immigrants pay to the government more than they receive as benefits. In a report presented by (…) in 2010, it was highlighted that undocumented or illegal immigrants in America pay taxes amounting to $90 billion while only receiving benefits amounting to $5 billion every year. From this statistics, it is clear that immigrants do not take care of the welfare system. In fact, they pay more in taxes. This shows that arguments against immigrants are sometimes misconceptions. Immigrants pay tax to the government, which helps in the running of services such as welfare programs. Therefore, they are an important part of any country.

Nonetheless, some arguments against immigrants are valid. With the increase of terrorist activities, it is important for every country to restrict entry into their borders. After the 9/11, America is justified to restrict immigrants from entering their borders. The restrictions are focused on identifying the possible terrorist coming to America. In short, restrictions are justifiable if it is a matter of public policy. The government has a responsibility of protecting their borders and ensuring its citizens are safe from external or internal threats. Terrorism is both an internal and external threat to the national security. When preventing terrorist from entering the United States, restricting entry of immigrants is justifiable. Therefore, even though immigrants help the economy grow, restrictions are also important in ensuring the security of the borders.

Conclusively, immigration will continue to be a controversial topic for years. Every political party has their way of dealing with the issue of illegal immigration. This has led to endless debates between those that support the “zero tolerance” policy and those that advocate for human and moral ways of dealing with the issue. The fact remains that America is still the target of many immigrants. In this regard, it is important to look at the misconceptions and understand the benefits immigrants bring to the country before labelling them,