Criticism on "Illegal Immigration"

   Mr. Garcia gives his opinion about the issue of illegal immigration that occurs in the United States of America and how illegal immigration actually helps the U.S. economy and that it brings other benefits such as culture and diversity. Illegal immigration is a topic that I can relate to in that many people from my culture, Filipinos, are struggling with immigrating to the United States. Many of these Filipinos end up taking work visas and/or student visas to come to the U.S., but after their visas are up, some of them end up staying in the country illegally. Though I can sympathize with the argument that immigrants bring a cultural and diversity aspect to America, I do believe that one should become a citizen of the United States the legal way, instead of dodging the federal government process and exploiting loop holes in the system.

Mr. Garcia backs his argument that people complain that illegal immigrants do not have to pay taxes and that if the United States Government would give these illegals green cards that it "would have contributed an average amount of  $34-$47 billion in the next decade." There is this view that illegal immigrants do not hurt the economy but facts point that illegal immigrants who take jobs actually undercut and under wage the job market in America. According to The New York Times, in their article titled "Do Illegal Immigrants Actually hurt the U.S. Economy?", labor economists have concluded that undocumented workers have lowered the wages of U.S. adults without a high-school diploma — 25 million of them — by anywhere between 0.4 to 7.4 percent.  

Being a citizen of the United States has many benefits and freedoms. It is only right that people from other countries wanting to live in the U.S. should become a citizen. By becoming a part of the system, I personally believe that people are able to have a greater voice in American society, but not saying that those outside the system don't have a voice...Theirs is just a lot smaller because of certain barriers they face. Illegal immigration is one of those issues in America that has been in the spotlight for many years, but if we continue to allow it to happen, what will become of the citizens of the country? Will we have our rights taken away so that those outside the system may prosper? It is a hard stance, but by following the process set by our government officials, we as a nation are able to set fair and balance laws and policies...Otherwise, what is the point of being a citizen of the United States?