Understanding Illegal Immigration

Bob Marley said, “Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life.” Those words set precedence to some of the most fundamental principles that our nation was built upon. Immigrants who fought to set themselves free of dictatorship built this nation. The sentiment however has long since changed. While Illegal Immigrants is considered a threat to our national security and economy, Illegal Immigration has been beneficial in the United States. America can attribute a large share of its labor workforce from undocumented foreigners. Illegal immigrants also add cultural enrichment to our country. Lastly, immigrants contribute to our economy. Over half of American citizens see illegal immigration as a threat to their economy. “A majority (56%) of Americans simultaneously say that illegal immigrants hurt the economy by driving down wages for many Americans (Survey: Citizenship, Values, and Cultural Concerns: What Americans Want From Immigration Reform).” They perceive undocumented workers as leeches stealing our money. Anti-immigration advocates also contend that illegal immigrants are hurting our economy by draining our resources. “All the law enforcement, detention and deportation has to add up to something. Just think of where else we could be using that money (Parker).” They feel money spent on services that provide illegal immigrants aid is a resource being wasted. In addition to our economy being threatened, anti-immigration advocates believe illegal immigrants are a threatening our national security. Since the wake of 9/11 Americans lost their sense of security. These advocates worry that allowing foreigners into our country makes us vulnerable to vicious criminals who want to breech our line of defense. The American public attributes the influx of drugs and weapons to the influx of illegal immigrants. Politicians against immigration campaign that Amnesty for illegals pardons them from the violence and crimes that they commit, which inevitably weakens our national security. The belief that immigrants cause a threat to our national security and economy has led to divide amongst Americans. Those American’s who push against immigration reforms fail to see that illegal immigrants have proven to add substantial benefits to our country. A large portion of America’s labor comes from illegal immigration. A look into our countries past and present proves that the United States owes its industrial infrastructure to the labor provided by illegal immigrants. In the 19th century, immigrant workforce labor steered the industrial revolution. “The industrial revolution affected the immigration to the United States greatly. Between 1890 to 1919 the growth in the industry attracted many newcomers because of the job opportunities. Cheap labor was in fact in high demand (Sandler).” Fast-forward to the 21st century and those facts still reign true. Businesses in the United States still rely heavily on unskilled laborers. “The immigration may be illegal, but the persistence shows that our laws are flawed, that they fail to recognize our economy's need for cheap labor (Steffy).” Illegal immigrants fill the billion-dollar labor gap that is crucial to this countries ability to function. To eliminate this factor from the equation would result in extreme labor shortage. Immigrants are the ones filling the jobs that seem less than desirable to most American citizens. Immigration plays an essential role in enriching this country with cultural diversity. An array of nationalities is dispersed all over the United States. Mixtures of Italian, Hispanic, German, Asian, African and European cultures can be found state by state. A society that accepts cultural diversity has a better chance of enriching the world with innovative creativity. If we lived in societies populated only by one race, walls of prejudice and racism would keep us separated. The diversity illegal immigrants bring