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Eric Hernandez
Mrs. Funk
Inquiry Skills 13
29 April 2014
The Effects of Illegal Immigration on the Economy
While these low wage workers add little to our economy, they come at a great cost,
because they are not economic abstractions but human beings (Malanga). Recently, the
problem of illegal immigration has entered the political spotlight and is now all over the news
and media. Because of this many questions have been asked frequently concerning the major
impact this situation has on our nation. There is one important aspect of this situation that many
people seem to miss and that is the overall and many effects that the problem of illegal
immigration has on our nations economy. Many studies have confirmed that the impact that
illegal immigration has on our economy is harmful and negative. Although illegal immigration
affects many aspects of American lives, illegal immigration has an overall negative effect on the
nations economy because of its effects on the federal budget and deficit, the minimum wage and
unemployment, and the different cities and states which house the illegals.
The Federal Budget and Deficit
In recent years the federal budget has been greatly affected by the rising population of
illegal immigrants. The budgets deficit has increased drastically because of the taxes from the
households headed by illegals. According to a recent study by the White House on the benefits
of an immigration reform, the federal deficit has risen by nearly 850 million dollars because of
the imposed taxes which are paid modestly (para.7). Using this information, one can see that
illegal immigration does not help the federal budget and instead harms it adding more pressure to
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the already fragile economic state of the country. This limits the budget of the federal
government giving them less opportunity and resources to aid the economic status and fund its
many projects and organizations. The Center for Immigration Studies found that illegals
imposed more than $26.3 billion in costs on the federal government but only paid $16 billion in
taxes which creates a fiscal deficit of almost $10.3 billion (para. 2). This shows that illegal
immigrants can access many government and public services, regardless of their status, which
the state and federal governments have to pay. But, because of their low income and immigrant
status, the taxes they pay cannot make up for the burdening costs they leave behind. These costs
do not only include taxes but other federal services as well. The Colorado Alliance for
Immigration reform analyzes that the high cost of illegals affects Medicaid, treatment for the
uninsured, food assistance programs, the federal prison and court systems and federal aid to
schools (para. 30). Then, because of this, illegal immigrants leave a large gap on the nations
budget and a huge increase on the deficit.
The Role of Illegal Immigration on the Minimum Wage and Unemployment
Furthermore, another economic development has been the problem of the minimum wage
and unemployment but this is also greatly affected by the rising population of illegal immigrants.
A New York Times Reporter, Eduardo Porter, stated that there is scant evidence that illegal
immigrants have caused significant damage to the wage of American workers ("Cost of Illegal
Immigration May Be Less Than Meets the Eye"). This is ultimately false because immigrant
workers do not have a good education because they mostly come from poor nations, so they
usually fill the low wage labor jobs which are usually not pursued by Americans. Vernon Briggs,
a researcher in the Center for Immigration Studies, found that 57 percent of adult illegal
immigrants have not finished high school and another 24 percent have only obtained their high
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school diploma (para. 4). Because of the educational status of these immigrants they usually
work for low amounts of money resulting in many companies hiring illegals for cheap labor.
Moreover, education is not the only aspect which affects the market in which these immigrants
work in. Since illegal immigrants come from foreign countries they do not have a complete
understanding of the English language or may not have on at all. Walter Coffrey, a historical
writer, describes that when low wage workers fill the market the amount of pay goes down, this
especially damages Americans as workers (para. 3). Recently, many protests have broken out
over the minimum wage but the public does not realize that illegal immigration is a cause as to
why the minimum wage has lowered. Also, because cheap labor dominates the market
Americans cannot find jobs in the low wage market making the unemployment rate rise. Vernon
Briggs also found that in February 2008 the national unemployment rate for adult dropouts was
7.3 percent and the overall national unemployment rate for adults was 4.8 percent (para. 6). This
information illustrates that illegal immigration is a major cause of the negative effects on the
minimum wage and the unemployment rate and this has caused a major downturn on the
economy and uprisings from concerned American citizens.
The Different Effects Illegal Immigration has had on Cities and States
Illegal Immigration has also taken a toll on, not just the federal government, but also on
cities, states, and their political structure. The different services provided by the state and city
have been affected the most by this problem. The Congressional Budget Office concluded that
as costs keep piling up states find little to no solutions in order to minimize or compensate for
those costs (2). State and local governments do not have the freedom to constrain costs and
spending on these programs because they are demanded by the federal government and as the
immigrant population increases states must continue to spend money on the services provided.
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Some of these services include hospitals, medical care, and education. The Colorado Alliance
for Immigration Reform explained that some emergency rooms have had to close as some
hospitals have had unreimbursed costs of $200 million and tax-paying American citizens have
been denied medical care as illegals fill the emergency room (para. 21). This adds to the fact that
illegals harm the different services provided by the city and state but also denies other people
their rightful care because of the increasing demand and overwhelming care the illegals need.
Another impending problem with illegal immigration is the idea of anchor babies. The 14
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amendment grants citizenship to all children born in the United States of America and since
these immigrant mothers come and have children in the states they cannot be deported and are
granted permanent U.S. residency. The Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform found that in
1994, California delivered 74,987 babies from illegal mothers which resulted in costs of up to
$215.2 million which the state of California had to pay (para. 15). Then, because of this, the
state incurs more costs and cannot relieve itself from them since it must pay and grant residency
to these immigrant mothers. Another major service which has been drastically affected by the
wave of illegal immigrants is the education system. According to the Congressional Budget
Office, educating immigrant students who do not understand or speak English incurred 20 to 40
percent more costs than educating those who were naturally born (2). The Colorado Alliance for
Immigration reform details this further. It acknowledges that illegal immigrants who attend
grades K-12 cost states $7.4 billion annually (para. 16). This information shows that, while
illegal immigration is a problem which affects the nation and federal government as a whole, the
effects of illegal immigration are seen predominantly in state and local governments as well as in
the population and services provided.
Positive Developments and Solutions
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Subsequently, while illegal immigration is a problem which is still at large, there have
been many positive developments concerning the wave of illegal immigrants. Gary Becker, a
reporter for the Huffington Digest, evoked that movement of Mexican illegal immigrants from
Mexico to the U.S. has been a net total of zero or less for the last few years (para. 1). This
development has been a relief on the U.S. economy and a major aid to the country of the United
States. Moreover, Gary Becker also portrays that the flow of Mexican illegal immigrants has
slowly dried out because Mexicos growth rate is larger than that of the U.S. and 80% of its
exports go mostly towards the United States (para. 7). This is the predominant cause of the
slowing of the movement from Mexico to the United States. The federal government is also
trying to come up with a solution to deal with the existing immigrants in the United States. The
White House made recent study on the benefits of a Comprehensive Immigration Reform and
identified that U.S. debt would fall by 3%, $850 billion dollars would be deducted from the
federal deficit, and the United States economy would grow by 5.4% (para. 7). This amplifies the
fact that a Comprehensive Immigration Reform is a good solution to deal with the existing illegal
immigrants.
Lastly, while Illegal immigration is a rising national problem which is the subject of
many political debates, illegal immigration affects the economy in a negative way because of its
different effects on the federal budget and deficit, the minimum wage and unemployment, and
the local cities and states which have a large population of illegal immigrants. This information
is not new. Illegal immigration is a situation which needs to be resolved but the American
population looks away rather than facing the problem and finding a solution. The economy is
already in a fragile state and the problem of illegal immigration worsens and deteriorates the
economy. If the people do not act soon then soon enough history may repeat itself.
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Works Cited
Becker, Gary S. "On the Border, New Realities: Recession Helped Slow the River of Illegal
Immigration. Demography and a Stronger Mexican Economy May Keep It from Rising
Again." Hoover Digest 3 (2013): 79. Gale Power Search. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Briggs, Vernon M. "Illegal Immigration: The Impact on Wages and Employment of Black
Workers." Center for Immigration Studies. Center for Immigration Studies, Apr. 2008.
Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Camarota, Steven A. "The High Cost of Cheap Labor." Center for Immigration Studies. Center
for Immigration Studies, Aug. 2004. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Coffrey, Walter. "How Illegal Immigration Harms the Economy - Tea Party Tribune." Tea Party
Tribune. Tea Party Tribune, 17 June 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
"Economic Costs of Legal and Illegal Immigration | CAIRCO - Colorado Alliance for
Immigration Reform | Issues Legislation Projects Research." CAIRCO. Colorado Alliance
for Immigration Reform, 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
The Impact of Unauthorized Immigrants on the Budgets of State and Local Governments. N.p.:
n.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/87xx/doc8711/12-6-
immigration.pdf>. Paper from the congressional budget office, had multiple authors and
resources
"Is Illegal Immigration an Economic Burden to America? - Illegal Immigration - ProCon.org."
ProConorg Headlines. N.p., 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
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MacDonald, John M., and Robert J. Sampson. "Dont Shut the Golden Door." The New York
Times. The New York Times, 19 June 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Malanga, Steven. "How Unskilled Immigrants Hurt Our Economy." City Journal Summer 2006:
n. pag. Rpt. in Illegal Immigration. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2007.
Current Controversies. Gale Power Search. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Porter, Eduardo. "Cost of Illegal Immigration May Be Less Than Meets the Eye." The New York
Times. The New York Times, 15 Apr. 2006. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
"White House Report: The Economic Benefits of Fixing Our Broken Immigration System." The
White House. The White House, 10 July 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.