Immigration in the United States

Immigration in the US
Name
Institution

Immigration in the US.
Journal Title: Immigration and Social Policy: New Interest in an Old Issue
The US population is rising faster than most western nations, which are trying to stabilize their population and estimate declines over the coming decades. The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 opened application process for Africans Asians and South Americans with the unintended effect of adding the number of unskilled immigrants coming into the country (Donovan, 2005, pp. 35-36; Press, 2006).
The increased level of immigrants was the result of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 which legalized more than a million undocumented immigrants. This legislation, however, tried to tighten law enforcement methods for following waves of illegal workers.
Various attempts have been made to reform immigration laws which included efforts to tighten the US -Mexico border, amnesty and criminal sanctions for undocumented immigrants. Immigrants from countries that are political enemies to the US are regarded as refugees.
The article has some advantages that I identified. Immigrants have higher entrepreneurial skills in startup businesses than natives and also possess a better tolerance for challenging industrial jobs. They also take jobs that need a lot of training longer than natives. About 5 percent of the workforce comprises of immigrants, who hold more than a quarter of the jobs in physically demanding and dangerous sectors such as cleaning and construction.

Immigrants also contribute economically and socially by creating new jobs in urban centers that would otherwise be deteriorated. Undocumented immigrants file tax returns more and pay for their medical treatment more than other groups that do not have health insurance.
Some of the disadvantages outlined in this article regarding immigration are; In the 1980s about half of the illegal immigrants exceeded the time their visas had allowed them (Simon, 1995). Mexican immigrants would be forced to return home due to a stricter border security and failure to maintain employment. A certain study conducted showed that it takes 15- 17 years for an immigrant’s income to match socially similar native levels (DeVortez, 2004). It is unfair that medical expenses for undocumented immigrants were not paid for by the government or the medical insurance groups. However, the government also lost since some risky construction jobs paid immigrants off the books, this made dangerous work more financially risky
I tend to disagree with the Simon Principle which states that immigration rate should be maintained high as long as it contributes to a beneficial impact on the economy. Simon specified that an immigrant family adds $2500 to funds that are used by native households, however, later data is inconclusive of this evidence.I do not like the fact that some of the enforcements to stop immigration were racist such as that of the Arizona state called Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) also focused on the organized movement of goods rather than that of people.
Immigration in the US is still a subject of intense debate and has had a significant effect on many areas of American’s life. Data collected by the census bureau shows that immigration added more than 20 million people to the US in the last decade. This has created challenges in schools, healthcare, and physical infrastructure. It is high time the government develops a better immigration policy.

References.
DeVoretz, D. J. (2006). Immigration Policy: Methods of Economic Assessment1. International Migration Review, 40(2), 390-418.
Donovan, T. W. (2005). Immigration Policy Changes After 9/11: Some Intended and Unintended Consequences. The Social Policy Journal, 4(1), 33-50.
Espenshade, T. J., Fix, M., Zimmerman, W., & Corbett, T. (1996). Immigration and social policy: New interest in an old issue. Focus, 18(2), 1-10.
Simon, J. L. (1995). Immigration: The Demographic and Economic Facts.