The Political Effects of Migration

               To all the aspects of migration, there are positive and negative viewpoints. Mothers are forced to choose between living in poverty with their children or leaving their children in hopes of a better life. The political side of migration seems to be just as paradoxical. Migration is beneficial to America because it fuels the economy through providing cheap labor. In the 1970s, the benefits of immigration outweighed its costs. Currently, however, migration is costing the United States’ government money since most migrants do not pay taxes but are using government services. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, in 2002 nationwide, households headed by illegal immigrants used 26.3 billion dollars in government services yet only paid 16 billion dollars. According to the National Resource Council, average nonimmigrant households in California paid $1,178 more in instate and local taxes than in the value of services received, whereas immigrant households paid $3,463 less. Additionally, the surge in immigrants is causing deterioration of public services, such as in schools, hospitals, or jails because most migrants are paid under the table and therefore are not taxed. Migration is creating a wider gap between the rich and poor in America: for the rich, they provide cheap labor, but for the lower classes, particularly native-born minorities, the migrants take their jobs.

               After reading these statistics, I was against migration because it seems to be just costing the United States more money. Eventually though, I realized the statistics weren’t just numbers; they’re people. America’s ten billion dollars isn’t going to waste but helping families like Lourdes and Enrique’s. Because the United States has the resources to help these families, it is our duty to do so. For example, I was inspired by the residents of Oaxaca and Veracruz who gave food and clothes to the migrants though they hardly had enough for themselves. Basically, if poor residents can help the migrants, so can a country with resources as abundant as the United States’. Additionally, the economies of these Latin American economies depend on the cash flow of immigrants sending money home from America. For example, this cash flow makes up fifteen percent of El Salvador’s gross domestic product and is Mexico’s second largest contributor to the economy. If we began turning away the migrants, it would only worsen the poverty in their home countries. Even though the migrants are essentially costing the United States ten billion dollars a year and causing unemployment, I feel that is morally right to allow these migrants into our country in hopes of providing them with a better life.

               Do you feel that the politically negative impacts of migration outweigh America’s moral duty to help these migrants?