Immigration is one of the topics that consistently resurfaces in politics and is a significant contributor to the country’s current state of division. As much as I do not like the state of the United States right now, this country has brought so much opportunity, safety, less inequality, cheaper goods and more respectful people not only for me but for nearly 55 million people that are foreign-born individuals, including naturalized citizens, green card holders, temporary visa and undocumented. Yet for a country that claims liberty and justice for all, it continues to criminalize people for seeking a better life. The U.S spent decades destabilizing parts of Latin America, then punishing them for fleeing the conditions that they helped create. If we want to discuss fairness or the “right way,” then we should not code for who we want here and who we don’t. I believe that history will look back on the way that we treated all kinds of immigrants in this country the same way we looked back on segregation and internment camps, or anything unjust that we once thought was “just the law.” The same nation that benefited from colonization now punishes migration.
“They are all criminals.”
Undocumented immigrants are not criminals. According to federal reports and immigration research, visa overstays make up a large portion of the overall undocumented population. Still, it is not a crime, but rather a civil offence, meaning it is not punishable by the criminal justice system, such as jail or prison. While I believe that serious crime should be the focus of immigration enforcement, strong data from the American Immigration Council says that people who are making a new life in the U.S commit fewer crimes and less frequently end up in prison than those who are U.S.-born citizens. In fact, the national crime rate has dropped significantly, decreasing by 63.3 percent from 1990 to 2022, despite the immigrant population tripling between 1990 and 2013. Showing that immigrants are actually committing fewer crimes than non-immigrants.
“Why don’t they come the legal way?”
The idea of a “right way” to immigrate has always been a moving target. Before 1924, the United States had open borders, which allowed many Americans’ ancestors to enter the country without a problem. Today, the path to citizenship is extremely hard and takes a huge amount of time and money. Each year, the number of immigrants granted visas is strictly limited, with only about 100,000 people nationwide allowed to enter through specific visa programs. Even then, cases to earn a visa must go through federal immigration systems, where proceedings can take nearly a decade to resolve. Not everyone is even allowed to apply immediately; many must first wait years to have the opportunity to present their case.
“They are stealing our jobs and raising our taxes.”
We have all heard the claim that immigrants are “stealing jobs,” but this argument is based on the misconception that the job market functions like a game of musical chairs. In reality, immigrants do not displace hardworking U.S citizens. Instead, the workplace has expanded by bringing in more chairs because of them. Immigrants are concentrated in low-wage, labor-intensive jobs that many Americans are unwilling to take even during periods of economic downturn. A bigger workforce means more consumption, more demand, more jobs. It is also essential to recognize that immigrants pay taxes and make significant contributions to the economy. Undocumented individuals alone pay billions of dollars each year using ITIN numbers; they contribute more than they actually receive. Studies show that mass deportation would severely harm the U.S. economy, costing nearly one trillion dollars. The country would lose approximately $100 billion in tax revenue while saving far less in government spending, since undocumented immigrants are excluded mainly from programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Research also indicates that for every one million people deported, roughly 90,000 U.S. citizens would lose their jobs, and wages for remaining workers would decline. So, no, it is not the immigrant who exploits you to earn minimum wage, but it is the billionaires who keep stealing from our labor and benefiting from fear while blaming the vulnerable.
End Note
This is not a time to under-react. With the recent events of ICE, the violence scale has gone so far up to the roofs, with human consequences treated as collateral. It is important to speak up for all the people being mistreated and killed.
