Immigrants. The minute this word pops up, dutiful taxpayers cringe, clutching empty pockets as close as possible in the hope of relief from these invading foreigners that leech of off their hard earned dollars. Meanwhile, employers giggle with glee as they accumulate profits from this new cheap labor force that complies to grueling conditions with wages that American citizens would otherwise scoff at. With this divided audience, the US government is left to decide whether they wish to please the common American or benefit the economy by loosening current immigration restrictions.

Well, even from the time of our colonization of North America three hundred years ago, we had no problem expressing our territorial nature towards foreigners. First it was the Asians after the Gold Rush of 1849, then the Latin Americans, and now we’ve got basically anyone from anywhere knocking at our doors asking to become a citizen of the United States.

Examining this issue is the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonprofit organization determined to create databases that help explain the rising trends of immigration and their effects within households and the economy. Daniel Costa, one of EPI’s current researchers concluded that the “U.S. immigrant population stood at more than 41.3 million, or 13 percent, of the total U.S. population of 316.1 million. Between 2012 and 2013, the foreign-born population increased by about 523,000, or 1.3 percent.” By being such a significant part of the population (numerically), the effects that immigrants have on society have become amplified and more drastic. With this exponentially growing trend of rising immigration rates, long term problems are already becoming evident. Overpopulation is a key limiting factor that affects how the government makes their decisions regarding immigration legislation. With overpopulation comes increased competition for jobs, nativist emotions between immigrants and native-born citizens, along with unbearable financial strain on the economy that could potentially lead to another economic collapse. Let’s just say that if the US reaches its carrying capacity, then everything else goes crashing down in a domino effect.

These effects can also be tracked down into every American home. Many of aforementioned statistics do not, however, account for the numerous illegal immigrants that occupy the United States. The White House home page, a government made website that discusses the effects of immigration on the US economy mentioned that illegal immigrants constitute approximately 56 percent of all immigrants residing in the US. This means that of the 41.3 million immigrants that are in the US, over half of those people rely on other taxpayers to help with their financial constraints along with medical aid. So basically, the money that US-born families earn to go towards food, housing and education instead goes to newcomers that keep coming in rising numbers every year.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform released an article in February of 2011 that discussed “The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers.” As the title itself suggests, undocumented immigrants have become one of the primary reasons why US citizens are required to pay such unbelievable expenses that do very little to their own benefit.
The article goes on to specify how “illegal immigration costs U.S. taxpayers about $113 billion a year at the federal, state and local level… The annual outlay that illegal aliens cost U.S. taxpayers is an average amount per native-headed household of $1,117.” All of their health care and educational needs are compensated for by taxpaying American citizens, the remaining costs are made up by the government, an annual cost of about $113 billion. As the years go by, these costs compile to become our national debt. These costs continue to rise as Medicare and school districts require more funding, thus raising taxes, to maintain the same quality of care and service to the public.

Although much of the evidence gathered by scientists and researchers suggest that closing American doors would be the best way to reduce the unemployment rate and the national debt, there is equally substantial evidence pointing to the stimulatory effects that immigration has on the American economy. After all, weren’t all “Americans” (aka British colonists) immigrants themselves just a short three hundred years ago?

Jason Forman, a CNN journalist, also the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, narrows down his view of how immigration promotes a dynamic economy. In his article, “The Truth about Immigration and the Economy,” Forman argued that “immigration would grow the American economy as a whole, raising the level of GDP by at least 0.4% -- equivalent to an additional $90 billion of output in 2024.” With this new abundance of money, the government would be able to reduce the national debt or invest in other public projects that would accommodate the rising number of immigrants (such as strengthening their financial aid sector). Not to mention, an increase in Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, also reflects improving living standards within American homes. With more cash in their wallets, Americans of all origins are able to afford better food, housing and healthcare that would otherwise be too expensive.

Immigrants also contribute directly to the innovation and entrepreneurship that Americans value so highly. In a magazine article written by Bill Shea and Dustin Walsh, the positive outcomes of immigration and its long term benefits are examined. Shea and Walsh go on to mention the statistics regarding the academic careers and pathways that immigrants decide to take and concluded that “according to the National Survey of College Graduates, immigrants represent 29 percent of scientists. They also represent 50 percent of PhDs working in math and computer science occupations and 57 percent of PhDs working in engineering occupations.” With so many new immigrants making their way into professional white-collar jobs, innovation and technological advancements have reached an all-time high. With so many more brains working together, Americans and immigrants are able to make remarkable discoveries in terms of cancer, the environment and, ultimately, our universe as a whole.

So, yes, we’ve laid out all the evidence that says immigration further strains the national debt and relies heavily on average taxpayers, but on the other hand, the rising number of foreign-born individuals within the United States has actually boosts the dynamism of the economy while increasing the GDP and the innovative nature of Americans. Ultimately, immigrants inspire other native-born Americans to contribute to the advancement and modernization of life in the United States while maintaining an inclusive attitude towards those of other nationalities. Still, the government has yet to decide if they wish to foster and revitalize immigration or to close it off and separate America from foreign grievances. With all of this, I hope that when considering new legislative action for immigrants, the government remembers their own origins as immigrants and allow others to share this sacred land of liberty, democracy and opportunity.