GRANTING ASYLUM TO UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS

Research Paper: Granting Undocumented Immigrants Asylum

Tafadzwa Ryan Nemarundwe
Globalization 137G
Portland State University

Introduction
Granting asylum to undocumented immigrants has given more people an incentive to illegally
remain in the United States (Dinan. S, 2015). The asylum system should be ended to deter illegal
immigrants and push more immigrants looking to work in the United States to do it through the
already established legal routes and apply for visas, and later on, citizenship.

Research Process
The research done on this topic was conducted through three methods. The first was by
reading scholarly articles online. This yielded the best results as it provided useful information as
well as revealed the opinions of other scholars. Knowing the opinions of other scholars on both
sides of the issue is necessary in forming an unbiased opinion of your own. Finding articles of
both sides of this issue was very simple as there are a multitude of people on both spectrums of
the argument on granting asylum.

The second method was through searching for statistics on asylum and undocumented on
credible and government websites. This provided numbers that could be used to support the
argument against granting asylum. Some statistics are slightly outdated and could be somewhat
inaccurate due to the constant movement and attempts of undocumented immigrants. Although
they are not exactly accurate, these statistics are the closest thing to the actual numbers. The

statistics are not nearly as useful as the scholarly articles, but none the less they are still helpful
in supporting the argument against granting asylum.

The third method was reading online articles on non-scholarly websites such as news
websites. These were at times extremely opinionated and biased. Some websites were very
conservative and against asylum, while others were very liberal and advocated for granting more
undocumented immigrants asylum. Some of these websites were also misleading and provided
biased statistics. Although biased, if both sides are explored, it would give you a good
understanding of the pros and cons of granting undocumented immigrants asylum.
Some of the issues revealed were undocumented immigrants being unable to attain
medical insurance; undocumented immigrants not having social security numbers and being
unable to find legal employment; and undocumented immigrants possibly causing a rise in
criminal activities in the country.
The first issue, being unable to attain medical insurance, seemed like quite a serious issue
due to how frequently people become ill and experience some kind of accident (Viladrich. A,
2012). While medical insurance to be a basic right for everyone to freely have, the main reason I
did not pick this issue was because a large number of undocumented immigrants do not have
insurance due to financial constraints and being unable to signed up for the affordable care
act(ACA). While one might argue that undocumented immigrants should be granted asylum so
that they can sign up to the ACA and get insurance, this would mean more hospitals and clinics

would have to be built to accommodate for increases in population, which would affect taxes,
which undocumented immigrants do not pay(not including sales taxes).
The second issue, undocumented immigrants being unable to find legal work, is major
issue because jobs are the simplest way to earn money, and if one was unable to find
employment they might turn to illegal means (Eduardo Porter, 2005). This would be working for
people that would pay them in cash and not report to the government. This means that neither the
employer nor the employee would have to pay taxes. This has a detrimental effect to the
economy and throws off employment statistics.
Being unable to find legal work could also lead undocumented immigrants to partaking in
organized criminal activities. Although this could be a major issue, there was not enough
research and data on this issue and so I chose to focus on undocumented immigrants not paying
taxes and possible detrimental effects to the economy, as well as how this affects their lives in
more than just one way.

This issue is related to globalization due to people migrating from one nation to another,
but not taking the appropriate steps to be able to remain and live in that country legally. This is
an issue that not only the United States faces, but other first world nations as well. Nations such
as the United Kingdom, Australia and Spain, have had a history of issues with undocumented
immigrants and have taken appropriate measures to deal with it. Australia for example, instituted
mandatory detention of all caught illegal immigrants, which heavily deterred illegal immigrants
from entering the country (Paul Maxwell, 2014).

This topic, undocumented immigrants not paying payroll taxes, relates to my debate topic
in that it supports the idea that undocumented immigrants should not be granted asylum because
they leech off society without paying taxes to support the society, and thus should be deported.
There are legal routes that immigrants can take to move to, and remain in this country.
I am advocating for undocumented immigrants to be deported out of the country if
caught, because not only do the majority not pay taxes, but granting them asylum would
incentivize more immigrants to illegally stay in this country (Dinan. S, 2015). Dinans article,
focuses on how Latino immigrants are becoming a problem, especially children. They have been
misled to believe that if they were able to somehow make it into the country, they would
eventually be granted asylum and could remain in the country. The government has to spend
even more funding on border patrol to deter the increasing number of illegal immigrants from
South American nations.
Having more and more people immigrate to the United States illegally in hopes of
eventually being granted asylum would mean more people living off society without paying
taxes, and lead to the United States having the same issue that Sweden faced, rising
unemployment rates sparked by increasing numbers of asylum seekers(Brett Line and Linda
Poon, 2013). High unemployment rates would mean more people would be on unemployment
benefits and food stamps, which could lead to an increase in taxes.

There were about eleven and a half million illegal immigrants in the United States in
2013 (Jens Manuel Krogstad and Jeffrey S. Passel, 2014), and if the government does not put a

stop to granting asylum to undocumented immigrants, then the number of undocumented

immigrants will continue to rise. About fifty-nine percent of undocumented immigrants are
Mexican (Demographics of Immigrants in the United States Illegally, 2014), which has forced
the government on putting even more funding into border patrol.
The United States has the largest percent of its population as illegal immigrants compared
to other nations. The latest statistics indicate that three point eight percent of the United States
population is made up of illegal immigrants (Illegal Immigration around the World: 13 Countries
Compared to the United States, 2014). They also hold a large percent of legal jobs in the
workforce while remaining undocumented. Those are jobs that currently unemployed citizens
and legal residents could have (Demographics of Immigrants in the United States Illegally, 2014)
(Mosisa. A, 2013). Citizens and legal residents are also likely to pay taxes more than an
undocumented immigrant.
Undocumented immigrants that do pay taxes, do not receive their social security, nor can
they apply for Medicaid (Eduardo Porter, 2005). So even if they do pay taxes of some form, they
do not receive any benefits from it. As Porter said,

As the debate over Social Security heats up, the estimated seven million or so illegal
immigrant workers in the United States are now providing the system with a subsidy of
as much as $7 billion a year. While it has been evident for years that illegal immigrants
pay a variety of taxes, the extent of their contributions to Social Security is striking: the
money added up to about 10 percent of last years surplus - the difference between what

the system currently receives in payroll taxes and what it doles out in pension benefits.
Moreover, the money paid by illegal workers and their employers is factored into all the
Social Security Administrations projections.

It is clear that the undocumented immigrants that do pay taxes, contribute a large amount, and
this is a solid argument for granting asylum to undocumented immigrants. The problem though,
is that a lot of these taxes are taxes such the sales tax, or bottle tax.
Undocumented immigrants usually have substandard living conditions, inadequate
nourishment, and suffer from exploitive labor conditions and social stressors. This makes them
more susceptible to illness and other health concerns, but due to being undocumented, they
cannot seek medical attention for these issues (Viladrich. A, 2012).

Conclusion
Immigration is a huge topic for U.S policy makers, particularly the granting of asylum to
undocumented workers. Providing asylum to undocumented immigrants only gives an incentive
to people outside the country looking come to the U.S illegally for work. This causes other
problems, such as undocumented workers being paid in cash allowing them to avoid taxes, and
also allowing employers to exploit and underpay them. Another issue is that undocumented
immigrants have an extremely difficult time getting medical insurance. The asylum system
should be ended to deter illegal immigrants, and push more immigrants looking to work in the

United States to do it through the already established legal routes and apply for visas, and later
on, citizenship.
Before this research paper, I was in favor of granting asylum to undocumented
immigrants, and even now I still am. Although it did not change my views, the paper taught me
the importance of considering both sides of an argument, even if you do not agree with the
opposing side.

References:
Dinan, S. (2015, April 6). Illegal immigrant children surge across border at highest rate since last
summers peak. Retrieved April 17, 2015, from
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/6/illegal-immigrant-children-surge-acrossborder-at-/?page=all

Mosisa, A. (2013, July 1). Foreign-born Workers in The U.S. Labor Force. Retrieved April 6,
2015, from http://stats.bls.gov/spotlight/2013/foreign-born/pdf/foreign-born.pdf

Viladrich, A. (2012, March 1). Beyond welfare reform: Reframing undocumented immigrants
entitlement to health care in the United States, a critical review. Retrieved April 17, 2015, from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611003510
Zuckerman, S., Waidmann, T., & Lawton, E. (2011, October 1). Health Affairs. Retrieved April
6, 2015, from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/30/10/1997.short

How An Undocumented Immigrant Can Get Asylum in The U.S. - AllLaw.com. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/canundocumented-immigrant-get-asylum.html

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Maxwell, P. (2014, June 26). Illegal immigration A global problem - Borderzine. Retrieved
May 4, 2015, from http://borderzine.com/2014/06/illegal-immigration-a-global-problem/

By Brett Line and Linda Poon, National Geographic PUBLISHED June 30, 2013. (n.d.).
Immigration Policies Around the World. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130630-immigration-reform-world-refugeesasylum-canada-japan-australia-sweden-denmark-united-kingdom-undocumented-immigrants/
Krogstad, J., & Passel, J. (2014, November 18). 5 facts about illegal immigration in the U.S.
Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/11/18/5-facts-aboutillegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/
Demographics of Immigrants in the United States Illegally - Illegal Immigration Solutions ProCon.org. (n.d.). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from
http://immigration.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000845

Illegal Immigration around the World: 13 Countries Compared to the United States - Illegal
Immigration Solutions - ProCon.org. (n.d.). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from
http://immigration.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=005235

Porter, E. (2005). Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security With Billions. Retrieved
from http://bradleybaptist.org/cms/uploads/ethnic/resources/08 Immigrants and
Immigration/Illegal immigrants bolster Soc Sec w billions.pdf

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