The Benefits Of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

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"Low skilled immigration greases the wheels of the U.S labor market," economist George Borjas accurately describes 21st Century America. Today, our country is a diverse nation filled and dependent upon immigrants, whether they are properly documented or not. The United States benefits from all immigrants, both legal and illegal, but there are Americans who object the idea of illegal immigration. There is a common perception that illegal immigrants are sucking up the benefits of the government and taking American's jobs, but the reality is that America is benefitting more from illegal immigrants because they are contributing immensely to society. Since illegal immigrants contribute to America by paying taxes, working hard- labor jobs, and restricting…show more content…
To put this into perspective, according to Hinojosa-Ojeda's The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, "the budget of the U.S Border Patrol has increased by 714 percent, from $326 million to $2.7 billion in 2009." Moreover, "the cost ratio of Border Patrol apprehensions has increased by 1,041 percent, from $272 in 1992 to $3,102 in 2009." In addition, "the number of Border Patrol agents has grown by 390 percent, from 3,555 in 1992 to 17,415 in 2009" (Immigration Reform). The statistics are showing that as the U.S increases spending on immigration enforcement, the cost of capturing an illegal immigrant sky rockets while the number of agents America hires blows up the charts. As a result, the "budget for U.S. Customs and Border Protection has in total increased by 92 percent from $6.0 billion in 2003 to $11.3 billion in 2009" (Immigration Reform). Now with America increasing its spending, there should be cutbacks to the number of illegal immigrants pouring into America right? It is the exact opposite. According to Ojeda, "the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States has roughly tripled in size over the past decades, from an estimated 3.5 million in 1990 to 11.9 million in 2008" (Immigration Reform). With all the money America is spending to restrict illegal immigration, the number of immigrants are not decreasing. In fact, the number of immigrants is rapidly increasing. America's illegal immigration system as of now is completely useless as the numbers show that illegal immigrants are still sneaking into this

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