The Nation of Immigrants: Amnesty and Economy
The United States was built upon the ideas of freedom and equality when the first colonists came to North America. The first colonists were immigrants escaping religious persecution from European countries. Many decades have passed since the founding of the United States and now there is a rapidly growing economy that the U.S relies on to continue growing the nation. However,in recent years, debates of immigration policies,amnesty and the economy have risen that have cause concern. Immigration and economy have been topics that go hand and hand whenever policies and bills are proposed in order to limit immigration. Amnesty is a topic that continues to be a source of debate as it is a proposal that directly affects the economy of the United States. With amnesty, there is a high probability that the United States will gain a lot of benefits in the economy in the future despite some of the negativity it has received as well.
By providing amnesty to immigrants, it will cause a significant amount of tax revenue to be collected and go towards the government. Despite the many claims that many immigrants do not pay taxes and are depending on the welfare system, a majority of immigrants do pay taxes towards the government. It was reported in 2013 that 25.6 percent of immigrant with not legal status paid taxes and unauthorized illegal immigrant families paid an estimated 10.6 billion in state and local taxes in 2010 (Guskin and Wilson,103). The information is crucial as it showcases the contribution immigrants have been doing in taxes alone. With the tax revenue collected , the welfare and healthcare system will boost as there is more funds and larger budgets to help those in need. With the increase of funds, there is more stability and reassurance on the government systems. As well, this is just a percentage of the immigration population ,if given amnesty, there is a higher chance that immigrants will voluntarily file taxes as there's less of a fear factor of the possibility of being deported. The amount of revenue can be collected over time due to the long process and will cause a boost in the economy benefiting the citizens,
As well, amnesty will cause a large amount of labor force to be solidified into the economy, which will cause a boost in the agricultural/manufacture industry. In the year 2009, it was reported that 48 percent of the hired crop labor force were unauthorized workers and a majority of immigrants take up most jobs that native-born people or citizens do not wish to take on (Perry 113). These statistics are subject to change and there is a high possibility that the number increased as there is an influx of immigrants still arriving to the United States due to certain situations that involve war and terrorist attacks. This shows how immigrants are big part of keeping the agricultural and industrial businesses running. By allowing amnesty there is a higher chance that companies will be able to get more workers to help expand these companies. If these agricultural/business companies grow and expand into the market then the United States economy is being affected as there is a rise of capitalism . In doing so, the boost in the economy will be caused by the revenue made by agricultural and industrial companies as there is a large labor force available to them.
The idea of amnesty has long been a very controversial topic due to the worries many have over how it may cause more harm than good. This is due to how many citizens fear a rise of immigrants ,which can cause damage to the healthcare system and lower wages, since they can have access to the benefits the government program offers. The fear in this is aspect is reasonable;however, the idea that many fail to mention is that there is a small percentage of uninsured and undocumented people that have used these benefits as it requires certain documents. It is very unlikely that immigrants use the emergency room or healthcare system as much as citizens due to the fear of being deported or losing their jobs.(Guskin and Wilson 115) In addition, the fear of lower wages is very unlikely to affect native born people since immigrants have taken most of damage of low wages. Many immigrants have low wages due to the pool of available low wage work. Even Though the concerns are understandable, the effects do not directly harm citizens as much as immigrants.
The current economy in the United States has become stable in the recent years;however , due to the political climate and new bills/policies, there is a high chance that the economy will begin to decrease in recent years. The idea of amnesty to millions of immigrants is off putting to many citizens due to the process and revenue it will take to grant immigrants amnesty and citizenship. Even though the cost and process will be lengthy, the long term benefits will outweigh the current complications. The process will not be simple;however, if given the right policies and leadership, it can turn to be something that greatly benefits the economy in the near future. If not given the chance, there is a chance that the economy will continue in its current state and have a higher chance of it plummeting.