Alright, so now that we've briefly discussed the pros and cons of the immigration debate, I'd like to openly express my opinion on illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is a "neccessary evil" in our society today. After all, aren't we all immigrants? When the Mayflower arrived to North America in 1620, the pilgrims inhabited "The New World". The fact is, there were already Native Americans living in North America. Our country was founded by men who traveled across the world, in search of new opportunities for a better life, much like the immigrants of today.
Illegal immigrants come to the United States, as previously stated, in search for job opportunities and ways to improve their standard of living. There are many resources in the United States that these immigrants are not able to access in their country. Everyday items that we as Americans take for granted, these people see as a luxury. Running water, electricity, a multi-room house, and shelter are just a few examples. The poorest of conditions in the United States haven't even begun to graze the surface of the severity of the living conditions in other countries. Immigrants also come to the United States in search of a better education for their children. The public school system in the United States provides an opportunity for children to get a good education and go on to be successful later in life.
Let's examine our everyday lives and our interactions with immigrants throughout our daily routine. The grocery store, agricultural centers, nursing homes, construction sites, cleaning services are all filled with immigrants doing work for low wages thus benefitting society. Indeed, some sectors of the economy might have a hard time functioning without illegal workers. Brendan Flanagan, director of legislative affairs for the National Restaurant Association, insists “Restaurants, hotels, nursing homes, agriculture — a very broad group of industries — are looking for a supply of workers to remain productive,” he says, because in many parts of the country, native workers aren't available at any price.
So, if you ask me about illegal immigrants, I'd say they benefit our economy in many ways and we are in turn helping them as well. They come here in search for a better life, risking their lives just to cross the border. Immigrants introduce new culture and a new language that will inspire Americans to educate themselves to better communicate.
Illegal immigration is obviously a problem with no clear solution. It's something that is going to happen, regardless of the border enforcement and any other means to stop immigrants from coming to the United States. If you ask me, immigrants are essential to the growth, development, and economic prosperity of our country.
2 comments:
Although I agree with the fact that illegal immigration was necessary when founding the United States and bringing settlers to our nation, where do we draw the line to how many is too many? If we continue to allow immigrants to come to the United States, won't we become over crowded extremely quickly? Also, when illegal immigrants come to the United States to work, they usually get paid substantially less than minimum wage because they are not citizens and are unable to benefit from the law that they must get at least $6.15 an hour. They are also subjected to harsher working conditions and often work very long hours. How do you suggest we go about getting all of these illegal immigrants counted for in order for them to receive the justice of fair pay and even fair working conditions.
Tarheelborn50,
You bring up many of the topics that are going to be discussed in my next post. I realize that our country cannot support an infinite number of immigrants and that currently our immigration policy is not very effective. Illegal immigrants still enter our country daily in search for a better life. While they arrive in America and are paid less than minimum wage, it is substantially more than the pay in their own country. In countries with extreme poverty, workers are paid less than $2 a day. I do agree with the fact that our immigration policy needs to be modified and the exploitation illegal immigrants needs to be stopped.
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