Jaramillo 1

Daniel Jaramillo
Ms. Acevedo
English 12
December 6, 2016
No One is Illegal
Undocumented immigrants have been the backbone of the United States for many
centuries, but recently there has been many policies put in place to prevent immigration and have
created a stigma about immigrants. The undocumented have been a vital part of the United
States; in every aspect of economy. However immigrants are seen as the threats that take
citizens jobs because people dont see all the economic positives that immigration has been
bringing for many years. The immigration system needs be fixed immediately to allow more
immigrants to enter this country and be given the basic human rights. Immigrants need access to
medical care and labor laws. Immigration has been a controversial topic of debate for years and
recently laws to enhance border patrol and deportation have been on the rise.What the U.S.
government fails to realize is that by cutting off the flow of people getting into this country
means there will be a slower economic growth in the United States. To correlate The U.S. is
known for the American Dream because of its economic opportunities. Immigrants come here
for the very reason that their homelands do not provide the same opportunities that the U.S. has
to offer. Undocumented Immigrants should be allowed into the United States and receive
benefits like any other citizen because they add to the economy by creating jobs, paying taxes,
and doing back breaking jobs that others do not want to do.

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Immigrants in the United States play a major role in the economy. They have been
positively increasing the growth of the U.S.s economic status. This is an important role due to
the reason that there is many policies that enhance border patrol that cost the U.S. millions
annually. The US Immigration website states that [border Security] includes various expenses
such as the cost of deploying 1,200 National Guard troops to the border, which is $110 million
per year, the average salary of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent (US
Immigration). The amount of money being used to stop immigration should be given back to the
communities .The U.S. government pays a large amount of money trying to prevent immigrants
from getting into the country , but in reality immigrants should be embraced to enter the country
because it benefits the economy. The more immigrants are allowed into the United States and
given the rights and benefits just like any other citizen then the more revenue will be produce.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission states Nationally, there are over three million
Hispanic-owned companies with over $500 billion in revenue(SEC). These businesses are
owned by foreign born citizens which shows how much they give back to this country. The
revenue made plus taxes paid is a reason why undocumented people should be given the same
rights because they help the U.S. grow like another citizen would and might even do more than
native born citizens. Giving Legal status would bring only positives to the U.S.

When talking about the benefits immigrants bring to this nation people tend to overlook
it, but when analyzing it more closely one can see the benefits that they bring outweigh the
negatives. The American progress states the benefits if the undocumented immigrants in our
nation were granted legal status today and citizenship in five years, the 10-year cumulative

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increase in U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP, would be $1.1 trillion. This means if
undocumented people already living in the country were to be given citizenship rather than being
targeted as illegals that need to be deported, then the economy could get untapped revenue
flowing through the system.To further this evidence the cost to deoport every immigrant and the
U.S. will be debtful.The American Progress calculated that [d]eporting the entire undocumented
population would cost $285 billion over a five-year period. Meaning that it will be beneficial if
the government changed their legal status rather than gathering them up and deporting them. If
immigration laws and policies were to be reformed properly the U.S. would be able to build a
better and stronger nation.
When debating whether foreigners should be allowed into the U.S. people typically say
that immigrants take up jobs, money, and absorb plenty of government support. This argument
against immigration is commonly used by people who aren't aware of the actions that
immigration can do to a country to make it bloom. The Infowars website states that Illegal
immigrants generally dont pay taxes. The vast majority of illegal aliens would never even dream
of paying income taxes, but Mexicans living in America send billions upon billions of dollars out
of the United States and back to Mexico every single year Illegal aliens illegal aliens pay next
to nothing in taxes, they have no problem receiving tens of billions of dollars worth of free
education benefits, free health care benefits, free housing assistance and free food stamp
benefits(InfoWars). These statements are false because there is evidence that shows how
immigrants can positively grow the economy. People who are anti immigration tend to use this
main argument to try and disprove the correct statistics. InfoWars which is a trusted source
claims immigration without any evidence The White House Blog agrees and states these small

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[immigrant owned] businesses generated more than $776 billion annually(Furman). These
businesses are providing the U.S. plenty of taxable money and yet the U.S. government is trying
to cut this flow of growth with their policies of flawed immigration .These statistics show how
immigrants that are documented have made a high amount of revenue for the United States. Not
only do documented immigrants create a large sum of money for the United States, but so do
undocumented immigrants. The American Immigration Council calculated that undocumented
immigrants in California have paid $3.1 billion in taxes just this year(The American Immigration
Council). Meaning that they pay to support benefits they cannot even receive and should be
receiving.This disproves the argument that illegals don't pay taxes and that immigration is the
positive that The United States need.
Another positive immigration brings to the U.S. is the demand for higher level jobs which
in turn means higher levels of pay. The White House website agrees thats Immigration boosts
earnings for American workers. The White house states [i]ncreased immigration to the United
States has increased the earnings of Americans with more than a high school degree. Between
1990 and 2004, increased immigration was correlated with increasing earnings of Americans by
0.7 percent and is expected to contribute to an increase of 1.8 percent over the
long-term(Furman). This means immigrants that come to the United States without a prior
education or low educational background and do the jobs American citizens dont want to do.
With all low level jobs being occupied will force others to further their education to get better
paying jobs. This matters because Education and money will be increased for American Citizens
if more immigrants are allowed to enter the country .The smarter citizen and increased money a
country has will allow it to progress and become a stronger nation all due to immigrants both

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documented and undocumented. A solution to help undocumented immigrants in the U.S. have
better opportunities that has been recently introduced is The Dream Act.
The DREAM Act which stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors
Act gives opportunities to undocumented students to attend colleges and pursue
careers(American Immigration Council). The American Immigration Council states that There
are an estimated 1.9 million undocumented children and young adults in the United States. Due
to the Dream Act undocumented young people will be given a chance to have careers such as
future doctors, nurses, teachers, and business owners. Not only are these jobs good to have but
will create taxable income. A study conducted by UCLA states estimates that the total earnings
of DREAM Act beneficiaries over the course of their working lives would be between $1.4
trillion and $3.6 trillion. This large sum of money is beneficial for the United States and proves
that giving undocumented immigrants benefits such as being able to attend a college will boost
the economy. Another concern that has the U.S. citizens worried about the DREAM act is the
possible tax incline, but as the American Immigration disproofs this by stating that it would
actually save the taxpayers money. DREAM Act would reduce deficits by about $2.2 billion
over the 2011-2020 period." Lower deficit means the government will spend less money in the
long run while investing into the future of these young undocumented immigrants. This is one of
the working policies out of all the broken ones
To fix broken policies for an undocumented immigrants to become a productive member
of society the government would need to overhaul the whole system for a fixing. The way the
system works to immigrate is a complicated and tedious task that can take up to 5-10 years as to
coming undocumented which is life risking but a high chance to get into this country without the

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extensive wait time. This is why there is a high amount of undocumented to documented
immigrants ratio. In the the government tried to stop immigration flow by cutting off all
assistance to undocumented immigrants. In data source titled The Economics of U.S.
Immigration Policy it states In 1996, the federal government reduced immigrants eligibility for
public assistance and tightened policies regarding unauthorized immigrants. Not only did this
backfire on the economy but it restricted immigrants from being productive members of society
because there was no support on them being here. With these kind of policies in place there are
stigmas created for immigrants.
With these stigmas people start to believe that immigrants are the bad people the United
States doesn't need. Americans start to believe immigrants bring nothing but trouble and cost to
the United States more than they actually produce. The Infowars website states young illegal
immigrants end up in gangs. U.S. authorities say that there are now over 1 million
member...Latino gangs made up primarily of illegal aliens are responsible for much of this
violence(InfoWars). These thoughts are creating a form of discrimination and barriers that hold
a certain prejudice against immigrants. This is harmful for immigrants to strive and prosper the
American Dream when they're under constant racist attacks. These statements made by infowars
are untrue because of its bias by calling them illegal and the logical thinking that an
undocumented immigrants wouldnt risk being deported so they wouldnt commit any crimes.
The American Progress shows a study done by the Immigration Policy Center as evidence that
immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated and commit crimes. The study conducted by the
Immigration Policy Center states incarceration rate for immigrant men ages 18 to 39 in 2000
was 0.7 percent, while the incarceration rate for native-born men of the same age group was 3.5

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percent(CAP Immigration Team). This debunks the statements said by the Infowars websites.
Not only do immigrants not committing crimes at the same high rate a native born would, but are
not using up tax money from being put into the prison system. The immigration policies created
these prejudiced mindsets and will starts to decrease once undocumented immigrants are
authorized to enter.
In conclusion, The United States has been growing economically due to undocumented
immigrants creating jobs, paying taxes, and creating a demand for citizens to get higher level
jobs. Undocumented Immigrants need to be provided the benefits they deserve to receive.
Undocumented Immigrants creates billions of dollars in revenue yearly from pay taxes and
owning businesses. If they were give a citizenship the money produced by them would turn into
trillions annually. Undocumented immigrants pay more money than they receive back in
benefits. They deserve to have protection under labor laws without being exploited, access
medical care, and education. The only way this nation can grow is if undocumented immigrants
were given citizenships. The amount of the undocumented population given an opportunity to be
a greater citizen they already are will bring lots of fortune to the United States. We can not move
forward without bringing our immigrants with us no matter where they might come from these
foreigners live and die to for the American Dream.

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Works Cited
Adding Up the Billions in Tax Dollars Paid by Undocumented Immigrants. American
Immigration Council, 28 Sept. 2016,
www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/adding-billions-tax-dollars-paid-undocu
mented-immigrants.
Aguilar, Luis A. Speech. SEC.gov, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 18 May 2013,
www.sec.gov/news/speech/detail/speech/1365171515736.
By, the CAP Immigration team. The Facts on Immigration Today. Center for American
Progress, 28 Oct. 2014,
www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2014/10/23/59040/the-facts-on-i
mmigration-today-3/.
Furman, Jason, and Danielle Gray. Ten Ways Immigrants Help Build and Strengthen Our
Economy. The White House, The White House, 12 July 2012,
www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/07/12/ten-ways-immigrants-help-build-and-strengthen-o
ur-economy.
Infowars. 18 Facts Prove Illegal Immigration Is Absolute Nightmare For U.S. Economy.
Infowars, 11 May 2011
www.infowars.com/18-facts-prove-illegal-immigration-is-absolute-nightmare-foru-s-economy/.
The Costs and Benefits of Border Security. The Costs and Benefits of Border Security,
www.usimmigration.com/cost-benefits-border-security.html.

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The DREAM Act: Creating Economic Opportunities. American Immigration Council, 20 July
2016,

www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/dream-act-creating-economic-opportuniti
es.
Orrenius, Pia M, and Madeline Zavodny. THE ECONOMICS OF U.S. IMMIGRATION
POLICY
Authors. 2012, THE ECONOMICS OF U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY Authors,
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pam.21653/full.

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