Jorge Quezada

80563808
11/01/15

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RWS 1301: Immigration report

Jorge Quezada

Abstract
Immigration has been an issue all over the world ever since the
establishment of countries and borders in general. It is something that
is so different all over the world and there are many extremes and
differences between immigration systems. For the case of Mexico and
U.S there is a long shared area of land with a long enclosed border
shielding Mexicans out of the U.S. There are many questions of
whether it should exist and whether it is effective or not. People are,
have and will continue to cross the border be it legally or illegally. Lots
of them coming to seek a better opportunity and not to rape and
commit crimes. This is something that people tend to misjudge, the
fact that not all immigrants are criminals. There are many intricacies
within immigration and there is no full proof way of dealing with it.

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RWS 1301: Immigration report

Jorge Quezada

Introduction
In the US today there are approximately 5.6 million Mexican immigrants living
here, according to Pew research center. There exists a 1969-mile long border between
Mexico and U.S and for many years there has been a great debate over many aspects of
this issue. There are many dynamics to consider on the topic of immigration. Such as
does it really affect current citizens and how are the relationships between immigrants
and native residents. Do they indeed bring a positive or negative economic impact to
the U.S ? There are many perspectives that this can be looked and many factors and
implications that need to be addressed. This report will contain current numbers of
Mexican immigrants, reasons for immigration, their actual impact, and addressing of
current controversies.

Push and pull factors/numbers of immigrants

Firstly we must look at reasons why people from Mexico want to
leave and come to the U.S. as well as how many of them actually do.
Mexicans make up almost 50% of the total number of undocumented
workers in the U.S says Krongstad from a report from think tank. Since
Mexicans make up something like 17% of the total population in the
U.S, we need to examine why it is that people migrate to the U.S. To

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begin with Mexico has had a long history of violence and was once the
most dangerous place outside of declared war zones.

Figure 1

With high homicide along with poverty and lack of jobs these 3 factors
are enough to push many people to want to come look for a new
opportunity in the U.S. Notwithstanding of the fact that there is a much
higher chance of employment and overall just a better place to live or
raise a family. Why wouldnt people want to come and try for a better
life? Just like the Irish fleeing from famine in the 1850s and Chinese
coming to look for jobs in the gold rush, Mexicans too want a new start
and a better life. Is there a difference between the type of people that
come or is everyone an equal human being in the eyes of the law?

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Economics of immigration
Mexicans have been coming into the U.S since the late 1800s and will keep
coming most likely based on trends by the Center for American progress. They also
conclude that illegal immigrants according to many research teams are have a positive
impact rather than a negative economically speaking. There has been no evidence of high
numbers of criminal activity within these undocumented immigrants. In fact they pay
billions in taxes each years just like the rest of the populous. Regardless you cannot
generalize the whole population as hardworking and good there are many Mexican
criminals that come into the U.S but overall the good outweigh the bad.

The economic journal of literature also states that Mexican immigrants have the same if
not better educations prior to coming to the U.S than local citizens on average. They also
said that children of these illegal immigrants tend to do better or have better jobs than
children of non-immigrant parents. So with Mexicans bringing predominately good
things to the U.S and in fact literally costs money to hinder or constraint the number of
immigrants coming in why is it that the U.S continues to expand on immigration control?

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There is also the cost of deportation, which again according to The Center for American
progress, which they estimate to be above $23000 to deport a single person and around
18 billion annually, spent on immigration and border control. With all this spending on
keeping people out and also a record low level of captures at the border, it doesnt make
much sense to keep trying to keep illegal immigrants out or more so is there any point in
trying to do so?

Borjas in the Economic review also claims that immigrants do, choose the jobs that other
people (non-immigrants) would not want to do i.e. the hard labor and low paying jobs.
However the center for American process states that less than 1 out of 5 illegal
immigrants live in poverty. Signifying that although they do not earn as much as nativeborn citizens they are not poor or fighting to survive like other popular misconceptions
have suggested.

Conclusion and Recommendations

In conclusion there will be people coming from Mexico into the U.S for as long as we
live. The geography of the 2 places will always facilitate that and benefits from the U.S
will always reach struggling Mexicans. History has shown that it is nearly impossible to
keep someone out of another country. Facts have shown that Mexicans do bring more
good than harm in immigrating and it is costing the U.S government more harm in trying
to keep than out rather than just letting them in and giving them the chance that so many
other races of people have gotten. This is not an issue that will go away and it is
important for people to be wary of the dynamics of the situation.

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References
Portes, A. (1995). The economic sociology of immigration: Essays on networks, ethnicity,
and entrepreneurship. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Massey, D., & Durand, J. (2002). Beyond smoke and mirrors: Mexican immigration in an
era of economic integration. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Borjas, G. J.. (1994). The Economics of Immigration. Journal of Economic
Literature, 32(4), 16671717. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2728791
Romero, D. (2015, July 2). Heres a fact on Donald Trumps Mexico bashing. La Weekly.
Retrieved October 19, 2015, from http://www.laweekly.com/news/heres-a-factcheck-of-donald-trumps-mexico-bashing-5754639
Mexico. (2015, October 15). Retrieved October 19, 2015, from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html
Immigration Team, C. (2014, October 23). The Facts on Immigration Today. Retrieved
October 25, 2015, from
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/report/2014/10/23/59040/t
he-facts-on-immigration-today-3/
Krogstad, J. (2015, July 24). 5 facts about illegal immigration in the U.S. Retrieved
October 19, 2015, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/24/5facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/
Passel, J. (2004, March 1). Mexican Immigration to the U.S.: The Latest
Estimates. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/mexican-immigration-us-latest-estimates
Jackson, A. (2012). Mexico to USA Migration. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from

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https://geographyas.info/population/mexico-to-usa-migration/

Jorge Quezada