On the Fence, Essay Example

Resolving the crisis concerning illegal immigrants in the US is an issue that requires attention considering that terrorists and criminals are on the increase. Much depends on the progress of the “pathway to citizenship” contained in the reform plans and enlighten of Americans on the immigration reform and the Dream Act. Illegal immigrants currently in America are likely to petition more and more of their relatives once the reform plan is implemented.

According to the proponents of the amnesty for legalization of immigrants, cheap manpower for the tough jobs is likely to be available on legalization of immigrants. However, from a different perspective, immigrants once legalized can compete for better jobs in the labor and out-compete Americans with low education levels. Legalization of immigrants is also likely to bring about benefits associated with programs of affirmative action. Discrimination will also be redressed and programs for guest workers made more effective.

Immigrants have in the past been documented to contribute significantly to the developments noted in the US. Binswanger for example suggest that great immigrants who have done significant inventions are evident in the US including Andrew Carnegie, Sergey Brin,  Alexander Hamilton, Alexander Graham Bell and Ayn Rand (http://www.hblist.com/immigr.htm).

However, the case is different for the poor people who lack health insurance and job security. Government officials fear that, this category of immigrants is likely to bring about significant strain in the social services provided by the government. Illegal immigrants are excluded from most benefits provided by the government and their legalization will open this eligibility thus causing significant strain.

Any plans of immigrants legalization is seen as a step of vindicating the law breakers. Some immigrants have been keen in all the relevant steps of immigration while others just flouted the relevant procedures. A policy that legalizes immigration thus accords equal prize for the two categories of immigrants and more illegal immigration will be encouraged for the people who were left back at home by those who broke the procedures.

Immigration policy is also likely to unfairly benefit illegal immigrants who decided to overstay their visas. Most illegal immigrants came as tourists and overstayed until their visas expired. There are no specifications in the policy addressing locating and consequent removal of visa overstays.  Abuse of tourism visa should be punishable and this is not provided for in the plan. Even after securing the border, temporary visa abuse will not end on condition that visa issuance is conducted with high degree of lax (http://www.hblist.com/immigr.htm).

According to the arguments presented by Binswanger, foreigners should be given the liberty to enter the US except the terrorists, criminals as well as people with infectious diseases. Every human being is entitled the right of entry as well as residency, but not citizenship, in any part of the world and immigration quotas should be abolished.

Foreigners should be accorded equal rights as the citizens. No crime is committed by a foreigner who sought an employment opportunity in another country. Everybody has a right for competition for position in the labor market. Buying and renting a house in any place is also a human right and foreigners should not be segregated. Business owners in America should also have the liberty of hiring the cheapest available labor (http://www.hblist.com/immigr.htm).

Immigration quotas is a means of excluding foreigners with lucrative businesses in the US such as purchasing houses, peaceful trading and doing other productive work that ultimately raises the living standards of all Americans. Consequently, both immigrants and citizens in America are treated as criminals by immigration quotas in a sense that exchanging values peacefully for mutual benefit is a destructive act. The government should appreciate the fact that jurisdiction does not imply ownership. In the country, there are private properties such as housing, jobs etc, but US is not a collective property with social ownership. Therefore, there is no moral obligation for the government to restrict entry of people in to the country while the private property such as jobs and housing in that country would appreciate the presence of these people for mutual benefits.

However, the rights of entry should not be granted to all people. A criminal for example should be restricted from accessing these rights because of his or her rejection of rights and involvement in brute violence leading to invasion of other peoples’ domain. Therefore, immigration policy should exclude criminals. The same case should apply for victims of infectious diseases which can lead to grave harm to other people in close proximity. Although such a person does not have a deliberate intention of harming other, the threat of harm is evident and objectively unavoidable. Such a person may be quarantined or kept away until such a time that the threat does not exist (http://www.hblist.com/immigr.htm).

While justifying the right of entry and residence, the question of morality and practicality of unlimited immigration comes in to focus. Effects of overcrowding and harming the economic well being of the citizens are unavoidable. Trying to be morally right means surrendering the interests of the citizens which is a situation interpreted as failure of understanding of the rights and the general moral principles (http://www.hblist.com/immigr.htm). The lucid moral principles shed light on acknowledgement of human being’s fundamental nature, living organisms with definite survival means. Man should live to self interest and it is unpractical and against ones interest to defy the nature of a human being.

From an economic point of view, encouraging immigrants will lead to loss of jobs of majority citizens. The implication of work however is wealth creation. The results are creation of goods and service delivery that ultimately increases wealth and improves the standards of living. Lack of wealth creation avenues does not necessarily result to unemployment. The causes of unemployment are interference by the government of the labor market and interference to the law of demand and supply.

With regard to the issues of welfare, immigrants are not motivated by welfare since PRWORA makes immigrants ineligible to welfare of any kind for a period of five years. In the issue of crime among the immigrants, it is generally accepted that, the rate of crime is low among the immigrants as compared to Native Americans. Identification of a safe city in American is done through evaluating the size of immigrant population. The larger the size of immigrant population, the safer is the city (http://www.hblist.com/immigr.htm).

On the issue of overcrowding as a result of immigration, it is observed that, no amount of immigration would result to overcrowding in America because the country is extremely under populated. On the other hand, higher density populations intensify division of labor leading to specialization of consumer products and wider jobs varieties. Immigrants are extremely valuable since they refresh the spirit of Americans by being ambitious, courageous as well as value freedom. Therefore, the benefits of immigrants are great and their entry should be encouraged

Works cited

Binswanger Harry Open Immigration >>http://www.hblist.com/immigr.htm<< accessed on 03/30/2014.

Dave Seminara Legalizing illegal immigrants a bad idea >>http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-08/opinion/ct-perspec-0208-immigration-20130208_1_illegal-immigrants-legal-status-guest-worker<< 2013, accessed on 03/30/2014.