Illegal Immigrants

For years now, the issue concerning illegal immigrants in the United States had been the subject of a heated debate. It has not only polarized Americans but has even elicited some rather emotional reactions from some sectors of society.   There are those who favor granting legal status to illegal immigrants. Some, however, vehemently oppose the idea, claiming that legalizing undocumented aliens could be the worst catastrophe that could happen to the United States of America. A review of the arguments presented thus far, however, would lead one to the conclusion that the best bet for the country would be to grant legal status to the illegal immigrants now residing in the country. In the first place, these people – some of whom have already been in the country for more than two decades – have been great contributors to the economy, performing jobs that White Americans either do not want or cannot fill. As Griswold (2004) said, the economy of the country is endlessly creating low-skilled jobs which could not be filled by American workers. He cited two reasons: first, Americans are getting older because of a rather low population growth rate, and low-skilled jobs usually demand younger, hardworking, manual workers; second, Americans, who have lately become better educated, are now going for the high-skilled, higher-paying jobs, leaving not enough manpower to tend to the low-skilled jobs. Even American businessmen appreciate the availability of these illegal immigrants for such low-paying jobs. Another argument in favor of legalization is its humanity and kindness. Once these people acquire legal status, they could work for better economic condition. Their legal status would enable them to move freely and look for better jobs which would enable them to acquire more benefits like health insurance and pension plans. In other words, legalization would eventually humanize these illegal immigrants. After what they have done and continue to do for the national economy – doing the dirty jobs that Americans simply cannot do – they certainly deserve to be treated like human beings (Griswold, 2004). Reference Griswold, D. (2004). Legalization is the way. Cato Institute. Retrieved November 8, 2007 from http://www.cato.org/research/articles/griswold-041024.html