Illegal Immigration

Illegal Immigration

Illegal immigration is an ongoing problem, resulting in debate over whether it is good or bad for the economy. In order for the economy to grow and work together, jobs must be in abundance for the legal working class. Conflict theory suggests that illegal immigration drags the economy down by increasing the unemployment rate among legal citizens, while hourly wages decrease due to under-the table-pay to illegal immigrants willing to work for less.

The idea of illegal immigration being a positive for economic growth is farfetched, but is debated by many. Yes, it benefits companies that hire illegal aliens by allowing them to pay their employees less, but these employees do not pay taxes. These avoided taxes are a main source of income for the government, which plays a major part for an economy. An over looked statistic regarding illegal aliens is prison population. 25% of the prison population consists of illegal aliens. This problem costs the government money, resulting in higher taxes for those legal citizens who pay taxes. If taxes get higher for companies, staffing usually gets downsized. This affects the unemployment rate around the nation.

The national unemployment rate has increased drastically over the last six years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the unemployment rate in August of 2005 was 5.1%. This percentage has almost doubled since then. Especially from 2008 to 2010, increasing to 9.9%. Today’s rate is 9.1%. This has directly been affected by illegal immigration as a result of more lenient immigration laws. By laws being less harsh, and easier to get around, more and more illegal aliens freely enter the country. This makes it harder for legal citizens to get jobs. A tough job market with an increase in workers needing employment actively makes the unemployment rate rise. This causes illegal immigrates to be willing to take a less wage, as well as getting paid under-the-table. It can be considered a positive by cutting costs for employers, but in the long