Sunday, April 30, 2017

Illegal Immigration: Not an Economic Debate


Check out this article by Jason Welker about the Economics of Illegal Immigration. It is a refreshing take on an issue that has gotten a great deal of publicity recently. What are your thoughts after reading the article? Is this different from what you have been hearing from both the Republicans and the Democrats lately? Leave your comments before Sunday at midnight.


65 comments:

  1. I agree with him the right wing constantly berate immigration saying we're allowing criminals in and free loaders. But the majority of immigrants are hard workers people willing to give their all for a better life. People constantly say to many workers is bad for the economy but in an economy where there's jobs the majority of the population doesn't want to do, bringing in outside help could solve that problem.

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  2. Kylee Brouwer
    2nd period

    I believe that Welker is really stating that immigration is a topic of economic efficiency. Some would say that this movement of population was the better efficiency of American government structure, business and capitalistic free enterprise. Although, I do believe that some one wants to better themselves in America, they need to do it legally.

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  3. Carina Hung, Period 6

    After learning that the amount of illegal immigration has decreased over the years and that there are more immigrants are leaving the country than entering it, it appears that the lack of immigrants, contrary to the opinions of the Republicans, does not make America or its economy better off. 8 million jobs have been lost, but illegal immigrants do not stay to snatch the next open position up from legal Americans. It is only when there are positions not filled by already-settled Americans when illegal immigrants come. When illegal immigrants fill positions at lower costs, citizens get to pay lower prices for products they buy. In an economical stance, making it easier to legally immigrate, which Democrats tend to support, is more beneficial to the country.

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  4. Arij Moiz
    Period 2nd
    Personally as an immigrant, I don't see a problem entering a foreign land legally but entering illegally causes problems with US laws since there's no documentation allowing them to follow the US Law or pay taxes.However, if we think economically we are getting a labor work forces that are willing to work under minimum wages or unpleasant jobs to survive. Democrats believe that we should enable children of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

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  5. Stephanie Urbina
    Period 6
    Personally i have already known that immigrants that are leaving the country is higher than immigrants overall entering the United States do to Spanish Speaking news that they always talk about immigration and that is what my family always want to know about since that can be anyone that they might know. Republicans have never, in my opinion, supported anything involving immigrants. Their plan causes more jobs to get lost and basically overtime, the economy goes down drastically.Democrats try to help immigrants especially with children since they see that they are trying to help their child with a better education even though some people call it a "anchor babies" However, In economic terms, increased immigration allows the United States to have a comparative advantage in the production of a broader range of goods and services than it would have without immigration.

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  6. Jason Bailey, Period 6

    It's a firm fact that economically immigration is fine. Of course, immigration isn't just an economic issue - it is a moral, NOT CULTURAL, issue as well. Many American citizens firmly - and without reason - believe that immigrants are destroying the American culture, but that simply is not the case. However, many Americans are justified in believing that it is unfair that a person who came here legally is in the exact same economic circumstances as someone who came here illegally.

    But the solution is not to deport everyone here illegally and make them come back legally. Economically, that will be a huge burden on our businesses and our bureaucracy. Logically, that just seems stupid - why kick them out and then bring them back in, acting like nothing happened? Instead of deporting the people who are already here illegally, we should accept our failures to monitor the border and let them stay. We should focus on securing our border for the future and not on the past. Ultimately, moderation is best for immigration - not excessive conservatism nor liberalism.

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  7. Hannah Abie
    Period 2
    Immigration, from an economic point of view, is just the flow of labor from one region to another.I do believe that immigration would greatly help the American economy. Increased immigration allows the United States to have an advantage and a wider range of products.

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  9. Period 2

    Immigration in the economic view is leverage for any economy. You have more input of labor available and more opportunity for further differentiation of services. I think the focus on illegal activity from immigrants should be equivalent to the focus on citizen illegal activity. Immigrants should not be seen as a public threat. My thoughts are that politics are making the issue seem like a big deal that determines the fate of America. It is very different from what I am hearing from Dem and Reps because I rarely heard any numbers being presented. But in the article it said immigration rates fell 67%. It just seems like Trump is just using "rising immigration" to push whatever superiority agenda he has.

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  10. Jane Hua
    Period 6

    It is interesting to see how the topic of “illegal immigration” is often blown out of proportion by the media and political leaders. According to this article, the entire situation is simply ironic because immigration rates have fallen rapidly in the past few years. From an economic standpoint, right wing arguments of “illegals” bringing crime and contributing to unemployment among American workers is unjust. Based on the fundamental characteristic of “free market,” the flow of labor between two countries should not be regulated by the government. The author uses an interesting analogy between the flow of illegal immigrants and osmosis. Allowing “illegal immigration” across the "semi-permeable" border of Mexico into the United States will simply “balance” the concentration of labor between the two countries. Banning “illegal immigration” will not allocate more American jobs or stop the flow of capital to countries like Mexico. Lastly, from an economic standpoint, if jobs are forced to stay in America, they'll get done at a much higher cost, increasing prices for the American people.

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  11. Aubriana Mc Dermott
    Period 6

    We have heard many times from Republicans that the immigrant were causing power wage rates because they're willing to take super low wages. As said in this article that is not true at all. The wage rate going down claim is not supported by an evidential claim because there is none. Immigrants, illegal or legal, are actually good for the economy because it gives us a comparative advantage and widens the economy. I think this article should be given to much of the opposing politicians to educate them and shut down their unsupported opinions.

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  12. Jada Turner
    Period 6
    Undocumented workers certainly do take jobs that would otherwise go to legal workers. But undocumented workers also create demand that leads to new jobs. They buy food and cars and cell phones, they get haircuts and go to restaurants. So I feel illegal immigrants actually help the economy rather than hurt

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  13. In order for the "invisible hand" to work properly, the government should not interfere with the economy, and this includes border control. Why does the U.S. government halt illegal immigrants from crossing our borders? The main reason is due to the belief that aliens are sucking up a significant amount of limited jobs available that should be reserved for U.S. citizens only. However, the aliens are able to accept these jobs with ease since they are willing to work hard a lower price than the Americans. In their home country, generally, there are fewer opportunities, thus working in America at a low wage is still higher than back home. Allowing illegals to cross our borders will teach the native born Americans to work harder and improve our standards to look for higher paying jobs, thus promoting a competitive market.

    6th

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  14. 6th Period
    Illegal immigrants are paid lower wages than American citizens, so it doesn't make sense to me that the low wages in the US would signal to illegal immigrants not to come, especially since they will still be making more than they would in Guatemala or Mexico. Also, American unemployment rates do not accurately reflect illegal immigrant unemployment rates becausre illegal immigrants are more willing to take lower paying jobs that Americans would refuse to take.

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  15. Tracy Colbert
    2nd period
    Migration, no matter how controversial politically, makes sense economically. Both high-and low-skilled workers who migrate bring benefits to their new home countries by increasing income per person and living standards. The article not only helps with those points but proves them too.

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  16. Drew Garza
    Period 2

    After reading the article, my opinion regarding migration comes from both sides of the spectrum. On one hand, I think immigrants to the United States promotes a better economy as most immigrants work jobs that others are unwilling to work, and at a lower pay, creating a larger profit for American industries. However, at the same time, an influx of illegal immigrants takes advantage of government programs aimed to support low-income citizens with an increase of pregnancy just to benefit from the government support. So, migration as far as people coming to the US ultimately helps and hurts the economy in different ways-it just depends on how it's looked at.

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  17. Janelle
    Rodriguez
    2nd period

    Immigrants are essential to our community because they work the jobs that most Americans are not willing to work, they are also willing to work for a smaller wage, this can both boost and hurt our economy. It can hurt it because of the money not being documented and thus no taxes are gained from illegal immigrants. Illegals are people to and they're just trying to send back money to their families, but I don't think it's good to have illegals because essentially we're taking only the brightest of the immigrants and the ones who can work, leave the children and sick people in the other country they left behind, making that unemployment to increase. It will be a never ending cycle of unemployment and immigrants should stay in their countries but stronger countries like the US should help them out more.

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  18. This article allowed me to understand both sides of immigrants. I believe that immigrants make the economy better because they take the jobs that no one else wants and does these jobs at low wages this allows for the economy to grow. But the downside is that the illegal immigrants often times bring illegal drugs and have criminal backgrounds. Another negative factor is that these immigrants take advantage of the Healthcare and government funded programs that raises taxes.

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  19. Taylor Mott
    Period 6

    Immigration even illegal immigration improves economic efficiency, because immigration is simply the flow of labor from one geographic region to another. Immigration improves economic efficiency because the increased supply of labor allows the US to have the comparative advantage in the production of a broader range of goods. This is because the more people there are to work, the more skilled we will be at a variety of different things. Therefore, from an economic standpoint more immigration should be legalized because the more immigration that occurs, the more our economy will grow.

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  20. Jason Welker provided a good understatement of both sides of illegal immigrants coming into the united states and how their immigration actually assists or improves our economic efficiency. Illegal immigrants do not pay taxes which hurts the united states but they work at jobs that no body wants to do for lower wages. because they work for less than the average american worker it benefits and helps the economy reach economic efficiency.

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  21. Meyer Wilson
    Period 2

    This article begins with the introduction of the fact that America began off of the entrances of immigrants into the country. Today the word "immigrants" have a negative connotation. Yet immigrants actually are helping us more than some think. Economically they are a positive factor. Although they bring in illegal contraband and increase crime rates they take the bottom level jobs for smaller pay therefore contributing to our economy. It hurts and helps to U.S: in many different ways.

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  22. Period: 6

    Many of the illegal immigrants work jobs that nobody wants to do
    and have really low wages. So they are helping the economy by contributing their work. The number of immigrants entering the U.S is decreasing which means that those jobs will be left for other people to do and forcing people to work for lower wages.

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  23. May Liew
    Period 2

    Americans have always had the idea that illegal immigration is a bad thing because of what is being said by politicians. As of recent, you always hear Trump saying that in order to prevent jobs being taken from the citizens, they need to be more strict on border control. Reading this article made me realize how even politicians can be flawed in their logic and how economics is not as straightforward as it seems to be. This article explains that the price of goods can even be increased if we prevent immigration, thereby invalidating the reason to prevent immigration in the first place. Politicians know that most citizens don't understand this concept, so they're just saying what the people want to hear. If someone were to explain that immigration doesn't necessarily mean less jobs for the american people, the public can be swayed into thinking the right way and the economy would improve because of it.

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  24. Sarah Rassam
    6th Period

    After reading the article, I think both sides to immigration have pros and cons. Immigrants should be encouraged to come to the United States if they're coming for the right reasons, such as for a better and safer environment for them and their kids as well as for work purposes. Not only do some immigrants do jobs that Americans might not do, but also help build the economy. However, there are many issues that come with illegal immigration. First off, they might be taking opportunities that legal citizens should be granted. Thus, I believe citizens should actually have priority when it comes to opportunities. In conclusion, I believe immigration has its pros and cons depending on the situation and will continue to be a major source for debate in politics.

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  25. Christopher Yee
    Period 6

    Illegal immigrants actually help the economy because they work for lower wages. Americans complain about not being able to find a job, but that is because they either do not want to work for the lower wage jobs or could not find a decent job on their own. Illegal immigrants do not have an advantage with finding jobs. Trying to prevent illegal immigration would cause more conflicts and cost more money such as building the wall. Immigrants are trying to find a better life and they had to leave everything behind to do so. Sending them back would not be economically efficient because the labor the provide helps produce more goods and services at a lower cost. Republicans do not support immigration because they want to preserve land their to be strictly Americanized whereas Democrats are fine with immigration because minorities are usually Democratic. Illegal immigration should not be debated because of economic reasons.

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  26. Neelam Patel
    Period 2

    I believe that Walker is stating that immigration is really necessary and effective overall. He stated that as of right now illegal immigration is viewed as a bad thing because people think they are purposely taking the jobs of American citizens but I believe it is somewhat a good thing because it shows diversity. He also says that immigration rates have fallen rapidly.

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  27. Hunter Bergfeld
    Period 2

    I do agree with Walker's thoughts on immigration and that it is a needed factor for the economy. I agree that the reasons that most people don't like immigration are non factors and immigration needs to be seen in a different, more positive light. I do think that America's immigration policy should be changed. I think that illegal immigration is unfair but I think that is the fault of the American immigration process for being so challenging.

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  28. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry I had to PG my comment a bit, got a bit too feisty

      Delete
  29. Joel George
    Period: 2nd

    Firstly, I don't think I've been this happy reading an article for a very long time. Finally an intellectual who understands the need of immigrants in America, albeit, I'm sure there are many others, but this is the first one I've read about.
    As you know, both Republicans and Democrats love to tackle the topic of immigration. Both parties tend to take sides depending on their voter demographic and due to this, they make false promises and shout half baked truths. The biggest problem with both elective parties is that they are simply not looking at the big picture, in fact they don't even realize that they're staring at a blank wall. The problems they talk about like "Americans losing their jobs" or "our tax payer money being given to non tax paying illegals" is simply small dilemmas they like to bring up to either rile up a group of economically educated hicks or to use as justifications for their actions. The problem they should be taking about is "what will happen if we lose our immigrants?"
    This is not just about losing the people who work jobs that no one else wants to do, this is about losing people who very indirectly keep our economy stable. As Mr. Welker mentioned in his edit, immigrants (especially the illegal variety) tend to work for much lower wages than Americans do. This means that they bring in the same revenue as the average blue collar worker but they earn approximately 40-50% less! If that's not economic efficiency then I don't know what is?!?! While it's true that they use emergency medical services without paying a single penny, so do 50 million other poor Americans. There's no way to work around the system that America has set up, our country helps low income families and illegal immigrants tend to usually be from low income families. Try to understand that this is because of how low they get paid. While one would think that this balances out the economy, it's actually beneficial, the influx of immigrant workers who work for so cheap keeps labor cost to a minimum and keeps our products cheap. In turn, more people buy more of our stuff and this we get increased capital.
    Don't get me wrong, I'm against illegal immigration (well to a point), but immigrants, illegal or not, are extremely beneficial to our country. So we shouldn't be keeping people out by building walls or deporting them like our autistic, piss poor excuse of a president proclaims. Instead we should make it easier for immigrants to come to America, we should try to speed up the process, be a little selective, and try to get the best immigrants we can. We can start this process by first de-vilifying the use of the word "alien", it's an adjective used to identify, not an insult meant to repress others...
    I'm happy to learn from Jason Welker that more immigrants are leaving this country than getting in. Multiple times I've gotten in arguments with people who despise illegal immigrants because of a myriad of reasons and every time I had to either leave the argument or remain silent at their unreasonable statements because I wasn't knowledgeable enough on the topic. This article has given me both a renewed interest on the topic of immigration and more facts to retort with when faced with racist ducks like Ms. Porter.

    Thanks for the read Mr. Pye ^_^
    Goodnight

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  30. Bryan Pulliam
    Period 4

    Most people view immigrants as criminals because of what our president says about them. The thing is that majority of these so called criminals are actually hardworking people. They take other peoples jobs because they are more committed than the formal employee that use to work before them.

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  31. A lot of times, the argument against immigration is that immigrants, illegal or not, will take jobs meant for American citizens. The article does a good job of debunking that statement and emphasizing the economic importance of immigrants. What the right wing as well as the left wing does not mention is that if the flow of labor is cut off due to government intervention, then people will find jobs elsewere and the United States will have an increase in unemployment. The point that the article makes is that there are important reasons to discuss laws about immigration, however the economy is not a valid one.

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  32. Edwin Cabrera
    6th Period

    I think illegal immigrant laws should be relaxed and in fact generally be easier for illegal immigrants to obtain US Citizenship. I work with and am friends with illegal immigrants and they are some of the hardest working people I have ever met in my life. They struggle daily to provide for their families, put in 100% work for perhaps 50% regular pay. They take up the jobs nobody wants - which is perfect since these jobs usually are the baseline backbone for the economy. Americans do not want these jobs, so who else is going to happily accept them? These people wouldn't hesitate for bottom-line jobs like this. In fact, they'd work harder than anyone else to move up that chain. Illegal immigrants provide the fuel for the economy whether we like to believe it or not.

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  33. Alexus Guevarra
    2nd period

    I 100% agree with Jason Welker's perspective on immigration and their standpoint in the labor and free market system for America. The article acknowledges the impact of immigrants and how they complete the flow of labor from one market to another. Making it hard to prevent immigrants from crossing borders will do little to protect American Jobs. "If Americans want more jobs to be done in America, then they should embrace those who are willing to do them, otherwise those jobs can be exported to where the wages are lower and people are willing to do them. "

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  34. Period 2

    The article pretty much solidified my previous beliefs anyways. I know well and good that the vast majority of illegal immigrants come here because of the unstoppable turmoil in their native countries and they just want to work and earn a decent living. From an economic standpoint, they favor us tremendously. They provide us services that many citizens aren't willing to "stoop down" to, and any income they receive is spent on American goods and such.

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  35. Prasun Dhawan | Period 2

    Although I agree with the economic perspective that Jason Welker gives, immigration is a slightly more complex issue. Yes, immigration (legal of illegal), form an economic standpoint, is needed and can only positively affect the domestic/global economy. But, as far as government is concerned, having large numbers of illegal immigrants makes national security and documentation hard. Thus, I believe that the problem is not necessarily illegal immigration. Rather, the issue is figuring out how to keep access to America relatively open, but ensure that all entering are documented. All in all, I think the issue of immigration is a complex one but Jason Welker's perspective is definitely valuable...especially considering neither sides of the political arena understood this perspective (or chose ignorance).

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  36. Ronak Patel
    Period 6

    Immigration has long been an ordeal for many Americans. My parents are immigrants, legal that is, who came here with nothing. Now they are doing well in life and still want to grow our business. I believe that the immigration of people from countries help our economy. The illegal immigration is caused by the difficulty of becoming legal in this country. In addition, the work ethic of these immigrants tends to be be better than some Americans. This is most likely the source of the hostility that comes from people who are against immigrants.

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  37. Mervin Cherian
    Period:2

    This article does a good job in showing the importance and the need for immigrants. Some of the laws and regulations that some of these states have passed in order to contorl illegal immigrants is just outrageous. One such is if you suspect someone of being an illegal immigrant you have the permission to see if he is an illegal immigrant. How do you determine if he is illegal? It just does not make sense. I believe there is a need for regulations on immigration but it should not be done irrationally and in a childish manner. Immigration has largely helped America rather than hurt it. It has led to countless business starting in America and the spread of ideas. These ideas and business help spark new jobs. Overall immigration is a good thing.

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  38. Heather Bennett
    I agree with this article. The positive outcomes of immigration outweigh the negatives. The common misconception that immigrants take jobs away from American citizens is not true. Immigrants usually accept jobs that most Americans are not willing to take. Because these people are so desperate for work, they take jobs with ridiculously low wages and little to benefits. For example, some immigrants take dangerous construction jobs for $5/hour with no medical coverage. So if the worker falls off of a roof, he is left with a broken back and no job. A simple way to stop illegal immigration is to stop offering jobs to immigrants that come here. But business owners won't do that because they thrive off of cheap labor.

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  39. When immigrants come to America, they are not all thinking of the economical benefit, or the social benefit they will possibly get when coming here. They are are seeking a better life, they do not want to be part of some positive or negative impact of the economy, but if they must they will work in order to cause less problems for the rest of the citizens of the United States. Illegal immigrants are just the same, some may pose threats to the well-being of others, but others may not; those others just want to live better lives in a land that has been propagating for decades of how free and sound it is for anyone who wants to change their lives.

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  40. Tolu Ojo
    6th Period

    Most immigrants that come to America don't come here wit the intention of destroying the country, they are simply seeking a better life for themselves and their family. With that being said, I think it's very ironic how immigration has declined significantly over the years, as said in the article. Politicians have us believe that the immigration problem is crazy out of control and destroying our country every second we don't do something to fix it. While I acknowledge that there should be thins done about the inflow of illegals, we should also focus on the important of immigrants as a whole. Legal immigrants bring their knowledge from their countries in order to help the US, just like Albert Einstein during WWII. We need immigrants to come into America to do the jobs that most Americans are unwilling to do. That is not meant to insult anyone, but as a whole, immigrants will take a lower pay cut than an American citizen would. Immigration is the basis of what our society is, a melting pot of several different cultures. If politicians weren't involved in the issue of immigration, I doubt that the issue would be this controversial today.

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  41. Humdaan Balagamwala
    Period 3

    I believe that immigration is important and is apparently vital to the growth of our economy. Most Democrats and Republicans make the issue about the idea of letting illegals in to the country. It seems that since they are illegal they are losing out on tons of benefits that they would receive had they come in to the country through proper channels. In a sense they continue to take a burden, as they receive no benefits and live under the fear of being deported. The article discussed many good points as, they are mostly equal to lower class Americans, except they receive none of the benefits legal Americans receive. Even if they were legal, their low salaries would require them to pay no taxes. The fact that they are illegally here also prevents them from being guaranteed minimum wage. I believe that we should try to make it easier for potential illegals to come to America, as they would add the same benefits, but wouldn't have to live illegally. Even if that would cost the government more, at least we wouldn't have to listen to the uneducated complain.

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  42. Saniza Sunesara
    period- 6th

    Lot of the illegal immigrants work jobs that no one wants to do or the ones that have lower wages. The number of immigrants entering the United States is decreasing, so Americans would have to do the low wages jobs or no no one would do them. Immigrants illegal or not are beneficial for the unites State's economy, in fact more immigrants are leaving Unites States then entering which just means that those jobs will not be filled at it is going to bad for our economy. We shouldn't deport any immigrants, we should change the rules so we can get the best immigrants.

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  43. Zoe Leibowitz
    Period 2

    I think the article put things into perspective because I don't think I've ever been told in my life that immigration was actually decreasing. I think politicians, whether they be Democratic or Republican, have either stated that immigration was increasing, or said certain things about immigration to make people think as such. I also think that most people tend to forget why people immigrate and automatically assume that people who do immigrate to the US want to reap the benefits of our country without any work, which, for almost every immigrant, is not true. All immigrants want to do is seek a better life here, or simply make a better life for themselves, but people still continually view immigrants so negatively. What I think is most astonishing is that almost everyone living in this country or their family was an immigrant at some point, just like immigrants entering the US today.

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  44. Doris Chien
    Period 2

    The topic of immigration is extremely controversial nowadays. After reading this article, I still cannot pick a side. Being an immigrant myself, I can understand all the typical reasons why people come to this country...to start a new life, to have freedom of speech, to support a family, to gain opportunities, etc. But obviously, with anything positive always comes with a downside. The influx of illegal immigrants is a crucial issue that is very difficult to take care of. I think if the government can find an issue to this, there would be less issues with immigrants.

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  45. Kody Ngo
    Period 6

    “Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.”
    -John F. Kennedy, A Nation of Immigrants

    This quote by JFK truly defines America and how immigrants have impacted our nation. The United States is truly a nation of immigrants, in fact my parents are refugees to the United States from The Vietnam War. I truly believe that while the United States is a nation fabricated by immigrants, I believe that Americans are justified in believing that it is unfair that a person who are legal immigrants are in the same economic circumstances as someone who immigrated to the United States illegally. I find that it is a complete waste of time and resources in trying to deport illegal immigrants that already reside in the country, rather focus more resources on securing the border and refining the process of immigrating into this country.

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  46. Sean Liu
    Per. 6

    Politicians these days, both Republicans and Democrats, tend to focus more on the down sides of having immigrants in the United States and the public seems to neglect the benefit that can be brought by the legal immigrants. We see social and economic issues caused by the illegal immigrants on social media and news everyday. There is no doubt, that illegal immigration will harm our society in many different ways. However, the idea of immigration itself is beneficial and is what made our country the United States of America. We should view immigration as opportunities and new resources that contribute to our country's development. And not solely focus and dislike immigration while it is done illegally.

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  47. Sarah Johnson
    2nd Period

    Immigration no matter the circumstances improves economy because immigrants can take jobs others are not willing to work at lower wages and less benefits. It's has been on the minds of many American citizens wheather the entry of immigrants both legal or illegal are truly helping or harming our economy. After reading this article it shows that immigration is actually decreasing across the US. Many also forget when stating that immigrants are taking away jobs that theses are the exact jobs citizens are turning down due to the high demand in physical or demanding labor with low wages as the American sense of entitlement comes in to play forcing many to hire illegal immigrants. So are immigrants really hurting our economy or are we to blame?

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  48. Period: 6
    My thoughts after reading this article is that immigration is not bad. We as a country need the types of labor immigration provides as there are jobs no one else would take. Also, immigrants only allow the government to be richer with more taxes and more money from the people. Immigration allows for the flow of ideas and money, I would say that illegal is bad for the most part but do not stop all of immigration.

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  49. Joel Sibi
    Period 6

    This article opened my eyes to see how the common thinking of immigration issues is not as it seems. The politicians all portray immigration as a rising problem which needs to be stopped. However, illegal immigration is something that's on the decline and often times when we think of illegal immigrants taking job opportunities, its likely they're only getting the low pay jobs. Immigrants illegal or otherwise are for the most part only looking for a way to better their lives however possible and they work hard to do so as well. I think immigrants are a integral part of the society we've grown accustomed to and the removal of them will surely cause a significant change to society.

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  50. Period 2
    This article is somewhat the same to certain things i have read before and although some people will agree many of the right wing will keep giving the same argument. the flow of immigration helps the economy, but it's easier to blame social problems to the immigrants that have no voice. They have used immigrants as scapegoats again and again whenever there is a crisis, turning a blind eye to the real problem, and i don't think their stance will change.

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  51. Rushil Mistry
    Period: 6th

    The politicians now a days take immigration from a political stand point and don't look at illegal immigration from an economic stand point. Because of this most of the politicians don't want illegal immigrants coming since they increase the crime rate and the drug rates as well. But from an economic perspective having illegal immigrants come in the U.S. actually help both the economic of our country and the other country and therefore from an economic point of view it is very good. With reading this article I realized how much illegal immigrants are helpful and not just a bad influence.

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  52. Period 4

    Immigration, as i gathered from this article, is a highly complex issue, more complex than media and parties make it out to be. I feel as though media and their 'blank and white' methods of approaching issues have perpetuated the polarization of society's views on issues. Immigration, as the article suggest, is not always negative and in a way we depend on the balance it provides us. Political parties often oversimplifies issue to appeal to the masses, but this practise perpetuates the public's ignorance about the benefits of immigration that could out weigh the obvious issues it brings.

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  53. I think this article was very interesting regarding the the conceptual and economic aspects of immigration. I thought the comparison of immigration to osmosis was also note worthy and enjoyed the overall presentation of the authors thoughts.

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  54. Period 4

    The media usually goes by how immigration is a bad thing and how everything that has to do with immigration is controversial. This article however decided to take things to the next level and explain he truth. In no form of social media ever, do they talk about how immigration is decreasing and how detrimental it is for our country. This article however, tends to put things into a different perspective. Actually, according to the article, more immigrants are leaving Unites States then entering. This just means that the now empty jobs will not be filled, thus worsening our economy. Immigrants should be let in and respected in the country, because they better America and everyone in it.

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  55. I found this article to be an interesting take on the issue of illegal immigration. Viewing immigration as a tool for economic efficiency is a great way to put it however for our economy to be fully efficient, immigrants must come in legally to ensure they also become tax paying citizens.

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  56. Asare Dua
    Period 4

    The article basically states the argument i have made for immigrants coming into the united states. This country was built upon the hard work from immigrants. They constantly come here from war torn countries to have a better life. They often work for less money and work in tough long hours to experience the American dream. From an economic stance, immigrants add to the economy as they pay sales taxes and work for lower wages. There is a myth that immigrants take american jobs, but in actuality immigrants do the work Americans don't want to do.

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  57. Hareem Farooq
    Period 6

    After learning that instead of the popular belief of illegal immigrants entering the country, where the numbers have decreased, there is actually more immigrants leaving the country, I think the author is right as to say that we should not focus on the immigrants who are already here but making immigration easier and the border more secure instead. I also still believe immigrants are helping the economy more than actually hurting it. These are the people that are willing to do jobs many others will not or cannot do, everyday jobs that we need for our society to function. Many people should remember that while they talk about the many American jobs being taken away.

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  58. Michael Rosario

    Period 4

    I've always believed even before reading the article that immigration whether it be legal or illegal can net positive benefits to the host country. If anything the article itself confirmed my beliefs that the immigration issue that politicians say is affecting america greatly are greatly exaggerated. I whole heartedly believe that the leaders of today are simply unfit and are moving too slowly in an ever changing world and are simply out of touch with what the people want. Education of the public and honestly by our politicians is key to the hopefully continued development of this country

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  59. Jacob Gassmann
    Period 2

    The argument made in this article is one I've seldom seen before. I have heard bits and pieces from either side but never truly looked at how they are compared. Many valid points are made from how this country is basically built on immigrants to how it is hypocritical to think they are the only ones taking advantages of American benefits when some of our own citizens are in the same sitsuation of taking what they can get because they're so low. Mr Pye doesn't read these. Humanity is a waste and the only species that saves the weak. While immigration can be viewed as an issue, there is definitely a correct way to go about it. My mother and her family came here as immigrants (w/ the exception of a few of her siblings born here) but coming from humble beginnings-- it's weird how the perspective is changed when money isn't that big of a part in the debate/standpoint.

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  60. Priyanka Ranchod
    Period 6

    After reading this articles, I believe that Weber sees immigrants as having both a positive and negative attribution to the economy. In regards to the positives, immigrants usually end up taking the jobs that other citizens refuse to do. In addition, these immigrants do the jobs at a significantly lower price. On a negative side, illegal immigrants hours and association does go unnoticed and undocumented and thatch be a negative thing for the economy.

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  61. Robey Lukose
    Period 2

    As an immigrant myself who has lived in 3 counties, I do not find any wrong in moving from a county to another in search for a better lifestyle. I believe it is a person's right to attempt to find a better living and they should do what it takes. Sure, illegal immigration is bad and is banned for certain reasons but it is not as crucial as the political parties make it to be. Illegal immigration has cut down by a large percent even in the last couple decades. However, having these illegal immigrants who have to work for a living help fun back into the economy and government through the goods and services they provide and purchase! This article helps give in insight to this situation and goes into detail about what it is.

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  62. Regardless, immigration is an economically efficient tools for countries to take advantage of. However, although a raised revenue is guaranteed by the net amount of immigrants, it is more important for these immigrants to become legal in order to pay taxes that will increase economixnefficiency Even more. As an immigrant who has moved a number of times between different countries, it is fair to say that each time I have become an addition to a country legal or not, I have helped in funding the economy. Therefore, this article was an interesting read to see how immigration has positive effects on economies globally.

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  63. Athul Johnson
    Period 6
    Personally as an immigrant I feel like this topic is not that big of a deal. I agree with this article because these people are helping out economy. They do the jobs that no one wants to do. Without them we wouldn't have half the roads, houses, or buildings we have today. Some illegal immigrants are very intelligent so they can also help this nation educationally and technologically as well. To solve this issue I think the immigration process should be made easier so that less people will come illegally and this would be a method to control the issue. I think the democratic party's view point on this issue is less strict and I like those policies better.

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