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Valentina Rojas

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

UWRIT 1104

November 8th, 2017

Immigration Policies: The Ends Do Not Justify The Means

One day I arrived in this country, the land of opportunities. I was full of expectations, but

I certainly wasnt aware of what being an immigrant really means. I quickly realized that there

were a lot of people who either went or were going through the same situations as me: adapting

to a new culture, new system new ways of life. People that were as lost as me when we had to

take American History classes in high school, because it was clearly out of our areas of

knowledge. However, I was instantly amazed by the heterogeneity I was facing. It was fun to me

to know that I could be in a room with people whose families were from other parts of the world.

It wasnt until a few months later, when elections were around the corner, that being an

immigrant turned into something more than speaking another language and eating different kinds

of food.

Suddenly, I started to see in the news how the future of millions immigrant families was

being threatened, and how desperate they were to fight for an opportunity to stay in the country

that provided them with a better quality of life. I also started to pay close attention to my Twitter

and Instagram feeds, which became areas of debate where my Hispanic friends would have sorts

of arguments with my American friends. Do immigrants really affect the country negatively?

Could America prosper without immigrants? After learning that immigrants founded America in

my American History class, I was asking myself those questions and how ironic it would be if

both the answers were yes.

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A few months later our new president Donald Trump got elected. The country I made my

new home was now ruled by someone that planned millions of deportations, enhanced penalties,

ending birthright citizenship, abolishing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),

ending welfare to immigrants, building a wall around the borderall to make America great

again, and to protect American citizens and interests. Yes, being an immigrant turned into

something more serious, and maybe a little scary. Millions of people started to feel targeted,

worried about family, friends future.

Nowadays, economic prosperity apparently implies a radical change in immigration

policies, because the nation feels under attack and threatened by people coming from another

country. The newest concept of progress enforced mostly by our new President justify

some excluding or discriminatory actions towards immigrants. Even though it sounds familiar or

clich, the increasingly important role immigrants play in society is being ignored and

misunderstood. In addition to their impact on the economy, the enrichment of culture and the

growth of our capacities as a country are also a part of their positive impact. Thats why, some

politics regarding their access to the country and their eligibility to receive equal treatment by the

government should be considered unfair, having in mind that the nation should and could strive

to balance its goals and measures with fair and humanitarian rights.

To begin with, whether the effects of immigration are bad enough to implement and

defend severe reforms is debatable. Bryan Caplan, professor of Economics at George Mason

University and Senior Scholar at the Mercatus Center, specifically addressed those effects to

prove that they do not justify severe immigration restrictions. In his article Why Should We

Restrict Immigration, he proves that the most popular arguments used to spread anti-

immigration thoughts, being protecting American workers, culture, liberty, and property rights,
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are not as valid and strong as they seem to be. Critics can tailor the details to fit the magnitude

of the harm they believe immigrants inflict, he says.

Under open borders, low-skilled wages are likely to fall, and without immigration

restrictions, the supply of labor in the United States would rapidly increase. Defenders have a

strong point there, regarding protecting American workers. But most Americans are not low-

skilled. Over 87 percent of Americans over the age of 25 are high-school graduates (U.S.

Census Bureau 2011), and as Caplan stated, educated Americans are to become customers, not

competitors, of immigrants. Moreover, even if they increase the supply of labor, they would also

demand goods and services, which is a benefit for native economy.

On the other hand, physical skills may increase with immigration, but other skills like

language or communication, might decrease. It is possible to think that America has the potential

to offer plenty of opportunities and jobs with different requirements. In other words, the

economies of developed countries can adapt to the new forms of labor, and immigrants would

not substitute but complement native labor (Powell, 2010). At the same time, having more

available workers may lead to specialization, which doesnt sound like a negative effect having

in mind that, the more fine and deep is the division of labor, the more productive is the economy

(Boudreaux). Immigration might actually increase native wages if employers seek for labor force

with certain skills that people coming from the outside wont have.

However, even if immigrants did have a negative impact on native workers, there are

other alternatives that could be cheaper. For example, charging immigrants surtaxes and/or

admission fees, then use the extra revenue to compensate Americans.

Immigrants as a way to harm American culture is another strong and common argument

used to justify immigration restrictions. But again, some facts are being ignored. For example,
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America's top two cultural centers, California and New York, have the largest foreign-born

populations in the country- 26 percent and 20 percent, respectively (U.S. Census Bureau 2003).

Also, it is necessary to point out that one of the many benefits of diverse immigration is the

resulting reflection of that diversity in different cuisine styles. In fact, Bryan Caplan makes

exactly this point in the article mentioned before: immigrants causally improve at least one form

of culture prized by snobs and philistines alike: cuisine. And if were being honest, dont most

Americans care more about food than literature and museums?

States with less population of immigrants are most likely to be out of the places to visit

list of a tourist, and its not a secret that travel and tourism directly contributes more to GDP than

automotive manufacturing in every region of the world. By the same token, according to a

research from World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) undertaken by Oxford Economics,

after education, travel and tourism is the top job creator with an average of 50 jobs generated by

US$1 million in spend, and that is twice as many jobs as created by financial services,

communications, and auto manufacturing.

In addition to that, immigration allows us to open our borders to different cultures,

languages, and ideas. If we think about it, getting interaction with people from different cultures

within the borders of the US, in a highly globalized world, is certainly a positive aspect. Not to

mention that immigrants arrive with practices and knowledge from their homelands, all of which

deserve to be incorporated and valued. If restrictionists are worried about the nations progress, it

should be considered that immigration helps the country to recruit the talent that companies need

to prosper in the business world. It is important to remember that ex-president Obama advocated

the need for America to be able to retain more international students and engineers, in hope to

improve the software industry. Likewise, if restrictionists are worried about employment, it
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should be taken into account that employers might be seeking for people fluent in more than one

language. How could the US be exposed to other languages? immigration. Our own government

including the Department of Defense and the State Department rely heavily on skilled

multilingual individuals in order to accomplish critical work.

Then again, even if the positive impact that open border policies remains ignored, there

are cheaper and more humane ways to address cultural concerns than immigration restrictions.

For example, a test of English fluency or cultural literacy. But to be fair, if most Americans can't

name the decade of the American Civil War, or how many amendments there are, they shouldnt

expect more from immigrants.

Another key point is protecting American liberty by all means. Surely, defenders of

immigration restrictions worry about having to deal with the political views brought to the

country. Theyre afraid immigrants will gain enough power to affect the United States

democracy and put the country under bad policies, as if immigrants had a magic wand to change

everything as they desire. Understandable, but wrong. Actually, immigrants and their

descendants have lower voter turnout than natives (Cassel 2002). This is because of the existence

of status quo bias which is, according to psychologists, to have a strong tendency to favor

whatever already exists because it already exists. If human beings accept the status quo and the

status quo happens to be liberty, liberty wins by default (Caplan 2012). It makes sense to point

out that immigrants most likely come to the United States to escape the consequences of bad

governments and ways of life. They come to have a better future, therefore, its ironic to think

that they will try to recreate or get back to those situations. Instead, immigrants will accept and

try to adapt to the new American society, even if its hard.

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Simultaneously, defenders of immigration restrictions refer to the difference between

killing and letting die, in order to justify that immigrants should be prevented to come and use

American resources. As philosopher Michael Huemer (2009) explains:

Suppose that, through no fault of mine, Marvin is in danger of starvation. He asks me for food. If I refuse
to give him food, I thereby fail to confer a benefit on Marvin and, at the same time, allow Marvin to go
hungry. If Marvin then starves to death, those who accept the doing/allowing distinction would say that I
have not killed Marvin, but merely allowed him to die. And some believe that this is much less wrong than
killing, possibly not even wrong at all. But now consider a different case. Suppose that Marvin, again in
danger of starvation, plans to walk to the local market to buy some food. In the absence of any outside
interference, this plan would succeedthe market is open, and there are people willing to trade food for
something that Marvin has. Now suppose that, knowing all this, I actively and forcibly restrain Marvin from
reaching the market. As a result, he starves to death. In this situation, I would surely be said to have killed
Marvin, or at least done something morally comparable to killing him.

It is safe to say that there are employers that want to hire immigrants, and companies that

want to sell to them. What restrictions do is force those employers and companies to deal only

with people that doesnt represent any harm to the economy or to society in general. That does

not sound fair at all. As Bryan Caplan suggested in his essay, were trapping millions in Third

World misery because theres a small chance that free migration has very bad consequences.

In any case, it is proven that there are cheaper and more humane alternatives that could

satisfy both sides in the controversy of immigration. But even when a grand bargain (open borders

under restrictions) is proposed, many tend to go against it because it seems politically

impossible. Without a doubt, economic interests and the pursuit of prosperity is pushing those

alternatives back, but he country should ensure that new Americans can use their talents and gain

access to opportunities and help from specialized organizations or the government itself, to make

the way to progress possible. What few people know is that organizations advocating for

immigrants already exist, and they have good points and examples of how to take the most

advantage of immigration, instead of ending it. For example, the National Immigration Forum.
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Currently based in Washington DC, the forum is one of the nations most important

immigration policy organizations and has been present in almost every major legislative and policy

debate related to immigration. The Forum aims to create a better, more welcoming America that

treats all newcomers fairly and respects the rights of all. They state that immigrants play a vital

role in society, shaping culture and contributing to economic growth by spending money as

consumers, filling jobs, paying taxes and starting small businesses. With that in mind, the US

wouldnt be able to reach prosperity without immigrants.

When debating about immigration policies, I strongly believe that most of the difficulties

that new Americans are obligated to face are not being taken into consideration. It is not just about

not speaking fluent English. Its about the lack of knowledge of the functioning of local markets,

difficulties navigating the regulatory frameworks, access to capital, finding a job, lack of training

or experience in the U.S. labor market, the unfamiliarity with U.S. labor law, the lack of knowledge

about the documents they need to start their new lives in the U.S. and where to obtain them, the

lack specific knowledge about the rules attached to a visa category, or the rights and

responsibilities associated with their immigration status.

Under those circumstances, the National Immigration Forum fights for solutions or

recommendations that would help new Americans use their talents and reach their full potential,

boosting the nations economy and improving our society. For instance, expanding the services

of USCIS Office of Citizenship, improving the way government agencies deliberate information

to immigrants, ensuring that programs for small business owners include immigrants, and

supporting immigrant children in public schools. Once again, having the resources and better

alternatives right in front of our eyes should be the best argument against immigration policies.
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Considering some of the recommendations mentioned before would be cheaper and more humane

that building a wall in our borders, and could also upgrade the nations path to being great again.

In conclusion, even though our new Presidents goals might be positive and good for the

countrys future, it is possible to create a better, more welcoming America that treats all

immigrants fairly and respects the rights of all. It is possible to serve the national interest while

improving the immigration system, and creating opportunities for immigrants instead of limiting

their access to the country or kicking them out. The ends are not justifying the means. Being an

immigrant shouldnt be a reason to be scared or afraid, it should be something to be proud of.

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Works Cited

Bondreaux, Don. Supply and Demand for Labor Cafe Hayek, 27 April 2010,

cafehayek.com/2010/04/supply-and-demand-for-labor.html.

Caplan, Brayan. Why should we restrict immigration. Cato Journal, vol. 32, no. 1, 2012, pp.

5-24, econfaculty.gmu.edu/bcaplan/pdfs/whyimmigration.pdf. Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.

Cassel, Carol. Hispanic Turnout: Estimates from Validated Voting Data. Political Research

Quarterly. Vol. 55, no. 2, 2002, pp. 391408. Accessed 2 Nov. 2017.

Huemer, Michael. Is There a Right to Immigrate? Social Theory and Practice, vol. 36, no.3,

2010, pp. 24961. spot.colorado.edu/~huemer/immigration.htm. Accessed 2 Nov. 2017.

Powell, Benjamin. An Economic Case for Immigration Library of Economics and Liberty, 7

June 2010, www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2010/Powellimmigration.html. Accessed

16 Oct. 2017.

Valentina,

I like that your essay is engaging because youre talking about your experience.
Your organization of ideas is very good.
You could improve your work by adding more details and statistics.
I would like to know more about terrorism and how it is related to immigration policies.
Make sure your sources are complete.

I loved exchanging our EIP! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Rocio
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