Ethics and Undocumented Immigrants

There are many issues in the United States. Some of them are more distraught than others. One issue that has recently had a lot of controversy would be immigration laws. Should we put a stop to immigrants coming over United States boarders? Should the immigrants already in the U.S.A. be allowed to stay? These are some questions being asked by today’s society. Immigrants are not all bad; some are very useful to the United States. In society today, it is easy for some people to find issues with immigrants in America, but people also need to remember America was formed by immigrants.

Illegal immigration is the migration of people across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. Some countries have millions of illegal immigrants. Immigration, including illegal immigration, is overwhelmingly upward, from a poorer to a richer country. The easy definition of an undocumented immigrant is someone who was not born in the United States and therefore has no legal right to be or remain in the United States. Not all undocumented immigrants snuck across the border illegally. Although it is hard to get an accurate number on the amount that did, some undocumented immigrants originally came here legally as tourists or some came on a temporary visa and just did not leave. The reasons on why they decided to stay and not go back to their countries are numerous. Some immigrants come to the United States to work and escape the poor economy in their country, while others come to be with their family. Whatever the reason may be, at the end of the day they all come here to achieve the american dream.

Many of the undocumented immigrants have both successfully and unsuccessfully tried to find different ways to migrate into the United States. They have traveled by swimming across borders, driving, trafficking, from many underdeveloped countries around the world like Mexico, Cuba, Africa, and many others. Many have become part of such a vulnerable population because they have come to the United States to seek a better life for their families, the healthcare, job opportunities, as well as having been in the united states and staying past the time allowed on their visa.

Undocumented immigrants are foreign nationals who entered the United States without authorization or entered legally but remained in the United States without authorization. However, undocumented youth and students usually have no role in the decision to come to this country. They are usually brought to this country by their parents or relatives, generally due to economic hardship and they have spent more years in the United States than in their country of birth. (Baum, Flores, 2011) Over the years, undocumented immigration has grown tremendously in the United States. “Among the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants, a

One of the biggest benefits of having undocumented workers is, that they work for decreased wages. This positively affects both employers and consumers. By hiring undocumented workers, employers are able to decrease labor costs due to the fact they are able to pay workers less. The agriculture, construction, restaurant, and hospitality industries are especially reliant on undocumented workers to provide cheep labor and to fill in the large number of low-skill, low-paying jobs. With the decrease in operational costs, companies are able to offer products and

There has been a long standing debate that Immigrants are taking jobs away from the American people. Immigrants do not have to pay taxes, they get all the overtime and send all their money home instead of boosting our economy. These are some of the misconceptions that are backing the theory that immigrants are taking our jobs. The most astonishing amount of people being affected by immigration includes the poor, and uneducated; as well as the need to fix an immigration system, that is weak.

Americans believe that illegal immigrants are freeloaders they come to the United States to use our Social Services. Let’s define Social Services, “organized welfare efforts carried on under professional auspices by trained personnel (dictionary.com, 2011, para.1).” Examples of Social Services are Housing which is Government subsidized and public housing, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Food Stamps/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid and Medicare, and Social Security Payments for the elderly, disabled, qualifying children of the deceased, etc. Illegal immigrants do not qualify for these social services, because they do not have a social security number. Illegal immigrants contribute to the economy of

Mexicans are hard workers and often work for less pay than Americans are willing to accept. There are approximately 8 million illegal immigrants working in the United States. Mexicans are usually are employed in construction, natural resources, maintenance, production, transportation, farming, and moving material jobs. On average, an immigrant has a household income of approximately $37,390 compared to a natural born citizen’s average household income of $54,565. Many immigrants work harder than Americans and receive less pay. Hiring Mexicans can save American employers due to the fact they do not have to pay higher wages and do not have to provide benefits. Because two-thirds of Mexican immigrants do not have a high school education, American employers do not pay them the same

Anthropologist Leo Chavez presents a very descriptive and detailed account when he wrote Shadowed Lives, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICAN SOCIETY it takes readers into the lives and experiences of illegal immigrants. Chavez is detailed within the book points are placed regarding people's choice to migrate as well as their stories of crossing the border into the United States We can learn a lot from Chavez's book, making distinct opinions on immigration itself, and the difference in immigration culture after migrating.

than the Americans and can be paid “under the table”. They will do the dirty jobs for less than minimum wage to support their families. Another argument is how immigrants overuse welfare in this country. All unauthorized immigrants don’t have legal access to the welfare reforms. But immigrants make a large contribution to Medicare and Social Security when

The US labor force would not survive if it was not for illegal immigrants. If there were no illegal immigrants our labor force would decrease by four percent (Isidore 5). “We could not have grown as much as we did in the 1990s if we did not have immigrants… our growth would have been slower (Isidore 5).” Having illegal immigrants in our labor force increases the amount of resources we have, which increases the amount of production in the country. “Some economists discuss that not only do U.S. consumers benefit from lower prices as an outcome of the low wages most immigrants are paid, but that the convenience of lower-wage labor helps create more work for higher-skilled, higher-paid workers who are generally born in the US (Isidore 14).” Illegal immigrants are opening up higher wage jobs, because they take over the lower wage jobs. Many immigrants take jobs in the field of construction, agriculture

Immigration. A controversial topic that continues to divide the nation. An undocumented immigrant is an individual who resides in the United States without the proper legal permission. Undocumented Immigration has been a staple in Republican political campaigns, who often use fear-mongering tactics to scare the public into fearing these people. The government even shut down as the Democrats and Republicans were unable to reach an agreement. However, providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants is favored by the majority of American Citizens and research shows that they help the American Economy, and lower the national crime rate well below the current statistics.

12). A 2007 study on immigrants in Arkansas found that the total economic impact of Arkansas’ one hundred thousand, fifty one percent undocumented, on the state economy is nearly three billion dollars (Willis par. 5). Texas comptroller study found that the one million four hundred thousand undocumented immigrants living in Texas in 2005 contributed 17.7 billion dollars to the state economy (Willis par. 5). Illegal immigrants also take low paying jobs. Most Americans do not like to wash dishes, bust tables, and mop floors, but those are jobs that need to be done. Employers always have trouble finding regular employees to do that kind of work, which is also usually low paying. Americans are not willing to work them whereas the illegal immigrants are. When businesses have trouble filling positions of low skill jobs they only have two choices, raise the wage rate high enough to fill jobs or eliminate positions (Gheen par. 14). Businesses must then raise the prices of their items to make up the difference. Higher prices that the customers of those businesses will end up paying for. Illegal immigration also improves the overall image of America. No other country in the world has the diversity of races,

Immigration as an ethical dilemma has attracted decades of debate. It is an ethical issue

Illegal immigrants have always been a problem for the United States. Entering the country illegally can result in deportation back to their native country. The majority of those that enter the country illegally are here to find a better future. As more and more undocumented immigrants pour into this country, stricter laws are being passed which in terms becomes a controversial issue.