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Nathaly Salinas
Dr. Victor Streeby
Composition II
August 8th, 2016
Is Illegal Immigration a Threat for the United States?
Immigration is a hot topic for politics these days since it is really common to hear
about this when presidential election is around the corner. It is well known that the
United States is the place where everybody decides to come because here people can
find one of the strongest economies in the world. As it has been said before one of the
biggest problems that many Americans have against Latin American people is that they
believe immigrants are stealing their jobs. There are some other arguments about that
illegal immigrants are harming the economy of the United States. We can see this in
Alex Nowrasteh's article called "The Best Argument Against Immigration" when he is
claiming that "States with greater immigrant populations in 1990 had less economic
freedom in 2011 than those with fewer immigrants" (Nowrasteh). What is weird about
this is everyone knows, even people from here, that most Latin people work in any job
they can because for them it is a necessity; no matter if they get paid less, they do it
without saying a word. There are also other circumstances where people claim that
foreign-born people don't want to learn English. Americans have been really strict with
this since English is the first language here but they don't give the chance to them to
learn it. The United States has become one of the most diverse countries in the world.
So, who are Americans to judge what Latin people should speak or not. Either way, it is
really good for immigrants to learn the language since it is a good way to fully develop in

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this country. As a college student, foreign-born person, this topic is really interesting
since it is important to show why should be easy for the people who want to become a
productive person for his family.
Rodman D. Griffin gives an introduction to this controversial topic in his article
called "Does it damage the economy and strain social services?" which says
America is a land of opportunity, built with the contributions of immigrants
from all points on the globe. Yet according to public opinion polls, roughly
two-thirds of Americans now believe the United States is being overrun and
overburdened by the recent waves of newcomers. Most of the ire is reserved
for those who enter the country illegally, the majority of whom are Mexicans.
Recent efforts to staunch the flow -- by passing tougher immigration laws and
tightening enforcement along the U.S.-Mexican border -- have proved futile.
Illegal immigrants seem increasingly willing to take great risks and withstand
terrible hardships to come to the United States -- and to accept low wages
once they're here. But contrary to popular perceptions, most experts say
illegals probably are not a net drain on the economy. (Rodman)
The author is trying to persuade people to understand why illegal immigrants do
what they do. They are not coming because they want to abandon their families; they
are coming here to provide them a better future. Griffin is explaining that immigrants go
through so many things in order to get into the United States. Illegal immigrants are
putting their life at risk since they have to go through the desert or even travel through
the sea. It is noteworthy to mention all of the emotion that the families go through since
they don't have any idea where their relatives are until they get to their destination.

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According to Rodman's article "Foreigners unauthorized to work in the United States

can be found in restaurant kitchens, garment factories, tomato fields, parking garages,
and taxicabs, or pushing brooms and performing a host of other menial tasks whose
common features are long hours and low pay" (Rodman). It is really heartbreaking to
see the conditions where these people are working. Most of them are treated in the
worst way possible. People can even see kids working in these places because either
they don't have family or their family is making them work in order to have another
income. Therefore, Americans cannot say that Latin American people are stealing their
jobs since they wouldn't work in this kind of job because they would complain about it so
that's why owners prefer to hire people who don't have paper who are the same illegal
immigrants. There is this book called "Immigration and Americas Future: A New
Chapter" by Spencer Abraham, Lee H. Hamilton and Doris M. Meissner in which they
are talking about the benefits of receiving immigrants. In the authors words, in the 90s
there was "growth in the US labor force came from new immigrants" (Spencer, Hamilton
and Meissner, 14). This means the United States is growing in productivity compared to
Asia and Europe which are the ones that are always competing with the United States.
It is noteworthy that America is not composed only by the United States but is mainly
the pillar which upholds the economy of the whole continent.
On the other hand, there are some of these Americans we have been talking
about who think that Latin American people are doing nothing but helping this country to
become a better place to live. As U.S. Attorney General, William P. Barr said once
"immigration helped make this country great" (Rodman); however, at the same time he
thinks that "as we welcome people in the front door ... we see people crashing

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through the back door and the back window, violating our laws, flouting our sovereignty
and ignoring our process" (Rodman). These words make a lot of sense since this
happens in our daily lives. If we are letting someone take advantage of ourselves, why
wouldn't other people take advantage as well? This kind of situation could be controlled
or avoided if they could let in people who want to be productive in this country without
any impediment and with the better conditions possible as if they were citizens.
Immigrants might think that why they would respect U.S. laws if they can even respect
theirs as human beings. As an example when immigrants get caught while they are
trying to get into the United States, U.S. migratory authorities treat them as if they were
the worst criminals in the world, which is not a correct judgment at that time because
they don't know everybody's criminal record. Obviously, there is a possibility that these
people who are getting in are here just to cause problems as they used to do in their
own countries.
Actually, there are some Americans who think Latin American people are just
here as a threat for the country; not only economically talking also because according to
these people we are all criminals. In fact, there was an article written by Jim Meyers
called "16 Reasons Donald Trump Is not Wrong on Immigration" in which Meyers is
suggesting that Illegal immigrants bring crime to the United States by showing some
sort of information which say that "According to the Center for Immigration Studies, 57
percent of the 76 fugitive murderers wanted by the FBI in 2009 were foreign-born. The
Center also disclosed that in Maricopa County in Arizona, 22 percent of felons are illegal
immigrants" (Meyers). It would be the same thing if some American man comes to any
Latin American country and people start to think and assume as soon as he says he is

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from the United States that he is a serial killer. American people would be offended by
this and they would speak up for their rights to be treated as a human being without
judgment. So, why is Illegal immigrant's situation different? Why do American people
judge other people by where they come from? Immigrants are not all the same; it has to
be accepted that yes, there are a lot of criminals these days in these countries but there
are also good people who want to be accepted in this country without judgment.
In fact, there wouldn't be illegal immigrants if U.S. authorities would give the
opportunity to these people to show what they have to contribute to the United States.
Recalling "Immigration and Americas Future: A New Chapter" book there are some
other benefits other than the contribution immigrants make to the United States.
Everyone know that the skills of a person are not measured in where they came from
but as reported in Spencer, Hamilton and Meissners book most of the people who
enroll here in the United States the engineering program were half people from another
country. In Michael S. Teitelbaum's article called "The Myth of the Science and
Engineering Shortage" claims that "The United States has long suffered from
widespread shortages in its science and engineering workforce, and that if continued
these shortages will cause it to fall behind its major economic competitors" (Teitelbaum).
The author continues saying that "these workforce shortages are due mainly to the
myriad weaknesses of American K-12 education in science and mathematics, which
international comparisons of student performance rank as average at best"
(Teitelbaum). So, that's why Latin American professionals have been called since there
is a lack of scientists and engineers in the United States.

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Everyone knows that the United States is the country where you can find one of
the most prestigious educations in any area, that's why people from all over the world
come to find the best education. It is different if you study in your own country, you can
develop yourself and become the best professional but if you get a US degree you will
be seen as the best because as it is the best is also the hardest. If English is not your
first language, it would also give you a hard time while understanding. The presence of
immigrants also gives a new opportunity to the US born people to know other cultures
which gives a better perspective of the world. Also, know more about other cultures give
people general knowledge which might eventually help in life.
Despite these benefits of having immigrants in the US, there is a part of the first
chapter in "Immigration and Americas Future: A New Chapter" that talks about the
challenges which are related to illegal immigration. The book mentions that this type of
immigration might create insecurity for the United States but what if there is a possibility
that most of them are really good workers; good people who are helping to the U.S.
economy to grow since they consume goods from the United States once they start
living here. Let's put it in this way; immigrants bring their savings and start to spend it on
things like a place to live. They also will need eventually to get food and other basic
needs. Once they get a job, they will need to transport themselves to their workplace
and so many other things they will eventually use in this country. So, in other words, the
immigrant population is a really good thing for the United States since they are using
goods from here so it is a contribution for U.S. stores or enterprises. It is noteworthy to
mention also two good examples of insecurity and lack of basic needs in Latin
American. According to a U.S. Department of State, El Salvador was considered one of

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the most dangerous places to travel in 2015. "The current murder rate in El Salvador is
among the highest in the world, an annual rate of 103.1 murders per 100,000 citizens
for 2015. In comparison, the U.S. rate is 4.5 per 100,000" (El Salvador Travel Warning).
This is worse than it seems in the news since every family is threatened by these
groups. Their main target is the youth since they are the most vulnerable sector of the
population. Young people are joining to gangsters due to social problems. Most of the
members have problems at home or maybe they are just not doing well in school so
they find an easy way to get money. At some point, mostly when they are in jail, these
people start to think about what they have done with their life and even with their
families life and try to leave these groups which at this point is impossible because the
majority end up dead. For that reason, the United States authorities should see these
kinds of situations which are bringing people not only from El Salvador but all Latin
America countries where all these people want to escape from. It is really sad to watch
the news and see that there have been more murders which imply not only the death of
bad people who are part of these gangs but also the lives of so many innocent people.
There is another common factor for people to come to the United States which brings to
the other example it was mentioned before. Venezuela is a country where it is really
difficult to live and people are looking for better life conditions. You barely can find
something to eat; even if you find something to buy, you can't afford it. In Richard
Washington's article "Maduro's approach to Venezuelan crisis is not fixing the problem"
he cites the International Monetary Fund who said that Venezuela has "an
unemployment rate of 17 percent in 2016 and nearly 21 percent next
year"(Washington). This organization also said that "The annual average of inflation in

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Venezuela is projected to reach 481 percent in 2016 and a staggering 1,642 percent
next year"(Washington). All of this might give an idea what all these people are living
through. People are so desperate to come to the United States because even though
they might have the chance to come legally, most of the time this cant be possible due
to all the requirements that US authorities have implemented in order to become a US
resident or even to come as a tourist.
It is also important to say that laws become stricter as the population of illegal
immigrants increases and U.S. authorities take away their support to future immigrants
who want to come to the United States legally. For example, it is really difficult to get a
permission to come here even as a tourist if you are from a Latin American country. It
depends on the situation or relationship each country has with the United States. In fact,
"Immigration and Americas Future: A New Chapter" says that there must be a change
in rules. The authors suggest that with this change will "increase the numbers of
workers admitted legally and then effectively and credibly punish employers who
continue to hire unauthorized workers" (Spencer, Hamilton and Meissner, 19). This
obviously would make it more difficult for future immigrants to work since it would be
difficult to come illegally it won't be a reason for this entire population to come if they
wont find a job. On top of what was mention before this book is suggesting that
employer enforcement should be implemented which implies a better control of a
correct order of documentation.
It has been questioned if all these new rules that the U.S. government wants to
implement will work effectively. I strongly believe if a country does not have the same
opportunities than others it is because of their rulers and the people who vote for

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candidates who promise something and at the end they don't do anything for the good
of their country. Jobs and security are the main factors of immigration and the United
States has been dealing with this for a very long time but that should give a clue of what
is happening in Latin America which is not a really good situation. The U.S. government
should give more humanitarian protection which is something Latin American people are
looking for these past years. It is really sad to see that all these countries are falling
down over the years with the lack of basic needs and violence and trying to escape from
their hometowns; leaving everything that they used to know and loved behind just for
looking better living conditions. All human beings in the world have the right to seek for
a better life for themselves and the people who they love. It is cruel sometimes to see
everything that people suffer in the struggle to survive in their own country and
moreover in a strange place it is doubly difficult; however, if people work hard and apply
with all their being, the result will be still satisfactory despite all the people who are
against it.

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Works Cited
Abraham, Spencer, Lee Hamilton, and Doris M. Meissner. Immigration and America's
Future: A New Chapter: Report of the Independent Task Force on Immigration
and America's Future. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2006. Print.
"El Salvador Travel Warning." U.S. Passport and International Travel. U.S. Department
of State, January 15, 2016. Web. 31 July 2016.
Griffin, Rodman D. "Illegal Immigration." CQ Researcher 24 Apr. 1992: 361-84. Web. 8
Aug. 2016.
Meyers, Jim. "16 Reasons Donald Trump Is Not Wrong on Immigration." Newsmax.
N.p., 2015. Web. 09 Aug. 2016.
Nowrasteh, Alex. "The Best Argument Against Immigration." FEE Freeman Article. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2016.
Teitelbaum, Michael S. "The Myth of the Science and Engineering Shortage." The
Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 09 Aug. 2016.
Washington, Richard. "Venezuela Is on the Brink, and the 'Maduro Approach' Is Not
Working." CNBC. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016.