Kemmy 1

Seamus Kemmy
John Helton
WRC 1023
January 30, 2012
Undocumented Blessing
Often referred to as a Land of Opportunity, the United States
throughout its history has been a shelter for emigrants seeking a new
life in a land where opportunity for hard work offers the possibility of a
more comfortable life. Since the second half of the 20th century, the
United States has seen millions of undocumented workers cross the
border in search for such opportunities. In recent decades, the issue
has been typically viewed in a negative light, as most Americans feel
illegal immigrants place a negative strain on the economy and support
stricter immigration policies as a result. Despite the common
animosity towards the issue, and hosts of opposition, many economists
argue that the millions of undocumented workers living in the United
States provide a positive boost for the American economy. Because of
the relative novelty of the issue, opinions vary among experts and are
often biased. Illegal immigrants in the work force have a positive effect
on the United States economy because they fulfill job shortages,
contribute to the economy through consumption, and support social
programs through tax payment.

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When looking at the American job market, Ramanujan Nadadur,
publisher in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, divides it into two
sectors: the primary sector and the secondary sector. The jobs in
the secondary market are classified as temporary, providing little or no
opportunity for promotion or increase in income. Often referred to as
unskilled labor, the secondary job market consists mostly, but not
exclusively, to jobs in agriculture, construction, and manufacturing.
Because of the unstable nature of these jobs, most native-born
Americans tend to gravitate towards jobs in the primary market where
their educational skills are required and they receive higher income.
While demand for jobs in the primary market is high, especially in
times of unemployment, there is a shortage of jobs in the secondary
market where unskilled labor is needed. Illegal immigrants, being
uneducated more often that not, are essentially qualified for only jobs
in the secondary market, thus having little effect on competiveness in
the primary sector. Nadadur observes, scholars have argued that
illegal immigrants perform jobs that no US worker will fill; as a result,
these scholars hold that reducing the illegal immigrant population
would be devastating to the US economy (1041). While there is a
high unemployment rate in the United States, most Americans, even in
the lower class, are not running to occupy tomato fields or applying for
custodian positions; rather, they seek employment in doctors offices
and in business management.

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On the surface it appears that it would be logical to assume for
every job opening an illegal immigrant fills, a capable native-born
American is displaced. While there may be a growing number of
immigrants in the workforce, there is also a shrinking number of
unskilled natives in the secondary sector. There is an inverse
relationship between the number of college degrees earned by nativeborn Americans and jobs sought in the secondary sector by these
students. As the number of college degrees earned by natives
increases each year, so does the shortage of jobs in agriculture,
construction, and other secondary sector jobs (Nadadur 1044). But
most critics of illegal immigration are not advocating for college
graduates; rather opponents are promoting the low number of
unskilled high school dropouts, whom they claim are the ones most
affected. They claim that lower class natives cannot find jobs because
illegal immigrants have flooded the secondary sector. Furthermore,
opponents assert that illegal immigrants drive wages down for natives
by taking their jobs at lower pay.
However, the fact that illegal immigrants occupy the same kind
of jobs that unskilled natives may, does not mean they are necessarily
competing for same jobs. Ethan Lewis, journalist of Choices magazine,
states, A misconception of some policymakers is that each immigrant
who gets a job displaces one U.S.-born worker. Because the scale of
the U.S. economy is not fixed, however, this extreme position is

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unwarranted (51). Because illegal immigrants are actually filling a
shortage of jobs in the secondary job sector they are not directly
competing for jobs with native-born Americans. For example, in cities
where high concentrations of illegal immigrants are not found, there
are natives filling jobs in the secondary market. While there may be a
small amount of natives displaced, the competition is confined to the
unskilled natives and is less severe than it appears on the surface. If
legislators were to pass a policy expelling all illegal immigrants, there
would be a job shortage in the secondary market that not even native
residents could fulfill. Evidence of such consequences has already
been felt in Georgia, the nations third largest watermelon producer,
where in 2011 the state passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Enforcement Act. Greg Asbed and Sean Sellers, publishers for The
Nation, witnessed first hand the rotting of the fruit crops. They testify,
millions of pounds of watermelons were left to rot in the fields this
summeralong with peaches, blackberries and cucumbersas many
of the most dependable and experienced farmworkers steered clear of
Georgia and headed north for friendlier states, prompting an epic farm
labor shortage in Georgia and desperate howls from its planters. (24).
Illegal Immigrants are often demeaned for sucking up American
resources and contributing nothing in return. A common conception
about illegal immigrants is that, after taking jobs away from Americans,
they take their earnings and spend it back in their native country.

Kemmy 5
Jeffery Bowman and C. Ames Cushman, argumentative writers, declare,
Since many of these undocumented workers do not pay taxes on their
wages, they contribute nothing to the public services they enjoy while
living in the United States. What opponents forget, when using this
argument, is that illegal immigrants are not just holding onto their
income in the United States. After all, these people need a place to
live, food to eat, and other resources to survive: which translates into
capital gain for the American economy. Lewis points out, Immigrants
are not just workers after all, but consumers, and immigrant demand
for products and services expands employment (51). By some
estimates the amount of contribution to the economy from illegal
immigrants is no small number. Nadadur finds, Hinojosa (2005)
estimates that 90 per cent of the wages that the undocumented
population earns are currently spent inside the US. As a result, he holds
that the total consumptive capacity of illegal immigrants remaining in
the US is around $450 billion (qtd Nadadur 1046).
Much of the debate surrounding illegal immigration stems from
the inability to gauge accurate numbers of the effect they have on the
economy. Evidence shows that the flow of undocumented workers
entering into the job market increases each year, thus adding to the
level of difficulty to produce precise numbers (Hayes). Possibly the
strongest claim opponents hold against illegal immigrants is that they
impose a heavy cost through their tax and social program

Kemmy 6
contributions, or lack thereof. Many argue that illegal immigrants,
through their use of American education and health care, generate a
cost that overweighs any benefit they might have to the economy.
Bowman and Cushman allege, Undocumented immigrants do not pay
the taxes that American citizens pay, but still take advantage of many
public services, such as public hospitals and public schools. The total
fiscal costs that illegal immigrants generate through their use of public
services is hard to gauge, but it appears at the state level illegal
immigrants impose net cost (Nadadur).
Although opponents may be accurate in claiming that illegal
immigrants impose a cost through public services, but perhaps they
are directing their claim in the wrong direction. Before shouldering the
blame to illegal immigrants, both sides should analyze how funds are
allocated between the state and federal levels. If resources were
managed more efficiently perhaps the burden to bear would be
lessened. Furthermore, challengers of illegal immigration are
inaccurate in their claim that immigrants do not pay taxes or fees for
social programs. Nadadur suggests, immigrants do pay taxes; 66
per cent of undocumented migrants reported that their employers
withheld Social Security taxes from their pay and 62 per cent that
employers withheld income taxes (1049).
While the issue has always played a role in American society,
illegal immigration continues to be a growing concern for many

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Americans. Due to its inherent nature it remains a difficult issue to
gain clear insight on the full effects that it has on the country. Despite
the difficulty and common animosity, it appears that illegal
immigration has a positive effect at least on the economy. Given the
amount of jobs occupied by illegal immigrants that, without their
presence, would be unoccupied, in addition to the amount of money
they expend into the economy through consumption and taxes,
America indisputably is a beneficiary of undocumented workers. Any
future legislation, which undoubtedly will come about, regarding the
presence of illegal immigrants in the United Sates should take into
consideration how and by whom this country was founded: the hard
work and dedication of people from all ethnicities.

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Works Cited
Asbed, Greg and Sean Sellers. "Self-Inflicted Wounds." Nation 293.18
(2011): 24-26. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Feb.
2012.
Bowman, Jeffery, and C. Ames Cushman. "Counterpoint: Amnesty
Promotes Illegal Immigration." EBSCOhost. UTSA, 2011. Web. 03 Feb.
2012.
Lewis, Ethan. "The Impact Of Immigration On American Workers And
Businesses."

Choices: The Magazine Of Food, Farm & Resource

Issues 22.1 (2007): 49-55.

Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Feb.

2012.
Nadadur, Ramanujan. "Illegal Immigration: A Positive Economic
Contribution To

The United States." Journal Of Ethnic & Migration

Studies 35.6 (2009):

Feb. 2012.

1037-1052. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3