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Schalee Frasier
English Comp. II
Professor Benjamin Ondieki
6 March 2016
Immigration
At some point in the not so distant past every individual within the United States was an
immigrant. The predominant European colonization of the United States did not begin until the
mid-16th century and prior to this time, the indigenous peoples were the main inhabitants. There
were no regulations associated with one relocating to the United States at that point in time;
however, as the government slowly began to form, so did the strict stipulations associated with
immigration. Today, it is estimated that 11.4 million illegal immigrants currently reside in the
United States and the publics view on this matter is variable (Cobas, Duany, and Feagin 16). As
such, it is necessary to perform a critical analysis of the issue of illegal immigration to formulate
a more appropriate response towards the issue. With that being said, the purpose of this paper is
to elucidate on illegal immigration and argue in favor of the practice. This will be accomplished
by reviewing relevant peer-reviewed literature that lists the benefits and detriments of
unauthorized immigrants.
The United States is founded upon the notion of amnesty where individuals can seek
refuge within the United States to be awarded the fundamental human rights that they may lack
in other regions. An individual has the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the
United States; however, this natural law is not necessarily attainable in other countries. As such,
illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay within the United States to seek a better life for
themselves and their families.
According to Newman and Woolgar (2013), illegal immigrants are beneficial to the
United States economy, as they are willing to complete jobs that naturalized citizens do not
desire. For example, an illegal immigrant is seeking refuge within the United States to increase
their livelihood. As such, they are willing to obtain any form of employment that will allow them

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to ensure their freedom. Illegal immigrants are willing to complete manual labor that a large
proportion of the United States is unwilling to pursue. Therefore, illegal immigrants are
beneficial to the economy, given that they are willing to complete the backbreaking work that
drives Americas underbelly.
In contrast, Newman and Woolgar (2013) reported that illegal immigrants have the
capacity to negatively impact the economy. Illegal immigrants must be provided healthcare and
other basic necessities when absolutely required. Usually, these individuals are unable to
compensate the government for these expenditures, thereby decreasing the viability of the
economy. Also, an illegal immigrant does not pay taxes and therefore, the government is unable
to acquire the necessary capital for all operations. It should also be mentioned that Newman and
Woolgar (2013) indicated that many illegal immigrants send money back to their home nations,
which reduces the amount of monies redistributed into the economy.
If the influx of immigration is not carefully maintained by the government, then it was
reported that the number of individuals seeking refuge within the United States would
significantly increase (Newman and Woolgar, 2013). This is the result of the United States fair
democratic processes and the freedom that each citizen is awarded. There is a possibility that too
many immigrants relocating to the United States would negatively affect the well-being of
naturalized citizens. As such, the United States government is less willing to pass immigration
laws that transform an illegal immigrant into a naturalized citizen.
In conclusion, it was shown that there are many facets associated with illegal
immigration. Although multiple relevant detriments of illegal immigration were presented, it is
obvious that the benefits greatly outweigh these arguments. In fact, the opposition arguments
presented above would be eradicated if illegal immigrants were granted citizenship. Illegal
immigrants are simply seeking a better life for themselves and their family and it is unfair for the

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United States government to decline them this human right. As such, illegal immigrants should
be awarded naturalized status to allow them to enjoy the freedom all Americans possess.

Works Cited
Cobas, Jos A., Jorge Duany, and Joe R. Feagin. How the United States racializes Latinos: White
hegemony and its consequences. Routledge, 2015.
Newman, Debbie, and Ben Woolgar. Pros and Cons: A Debaters Handbook. Routledge, 2013.