Immigration and Economy

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. President Donald J. Trump declared his

intention to close the country from people who try move in to live and work in America. He

rationalized this by saying that such measure is being taken to protect the jobs and livelihood of

American worker as the U.S. and the worlds try to cope with various crises brought about by the

COVID-19 outbreak [ CITATION Rog203 \l 1033 ]. While this move is considerably bold and

counts as his “most wide-ranging attempt yet to seal-off the country from the world,” this is

hardly surprising.

When Trump first campaigned for the presidency in 2016, his main campaign message

was anchored and staked at his hard-line and extreme anti-immigration stance. Indeed, one of his

most popular statements reads, “We will build a great wall along the southern border. And

Mexico will pay for the wall. One hundred percent. They don’t know it yet but they’re going to

pay for it.” The statement drove his supporters into a wild frenzy, tapped on their long held

sentiments against immigrants, and in all probability, has ushered Trump into the White House.

Four years into his presidency and the 2020, admission rate of immigrants plummeted

[ CITATION Tor17 \l 1033 ]. By 2017, his administration proposed to limit refugee cap to 45, 000.

Young people, political refugees who sheltered in the U.S. for protection all worried about this

policy. All of these extreme and hardline measures were done in the belief that cutting down on

immigration would help bolster the economy and would “make America great again.”

This paper argues otherwise. Immigrant economy is beneficial to the American economy

and cracking down on immigrants and blaming them for the apparent decline in the quality of

life for Americans is a wrong analysis of the problem and of the solution. It rather provides a

convenient scapegoat to the errors and negligence of the country’s economic managers and
conceals the inherent flaws of an economic system that gives the majority of the country’s

wealth to a very small minority.

Contrary to Trump’s trope about how immigrants “rob” Americans of employment,

immigrants actually contribute in the creation of jobs. National Academies of Science,

Engineering and Medicine asserts that immigration in the U.S. has little to no effect on the wage

rates of native-born Americans. On the contrary, immigrants who engage in entrepreneurship

even create jobs. A whopping 5.2 million jobs in the formal economy is created by various

immigrant-owned businesses[ CITATION Unind \l 1033 ]. Blaming immigrant workers who are

significantly paid less than their native-born counterpart for the increasing unemployment rate is

a textbook tactic employed by the ruling class to pit the sectors of the working class against each

other and go blameless for the crisis that they have caused themselves.

Aside from this, immigrants are actually productive members of American society that

not only add to the American workforce but pay their taxes and contribute to the Social Security

Trust Fund. One of Trump’s most violent statement against immigrants goes, “(Mexicans) are

bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

However, contrary to the accusations of anti-immigrant groups, immigrants are also less likely to

engage in criminal activities than their native-born American counterparts [ CITATION Unind \l

1033 ]. Immigrants are associated with lower crime rates. This is why Trump’s offensive

language against immigrants are not just unpleasant. They are also wrong.

All of the fear to and hostility against immigrants in the U.S. are products of false,

unfounded, and misguided beliefs. The main problems is such mistake cause real danger to the

lives of innocent and hardworking immigrants and to their families. America’s greatness is
founded, not just on its native-born citizens, but also on the toil and sweat of immigrants who

dedicated their brain and brawn for the development of the nation.

References
Rogers, K., Shear, M., & Kanno-Youngs, Z. (2020, April 20). Trum plans to suspend immigration
to U.S. Retrieved from New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/us/politics/trump-immigration.html
Torbati, Y. (2017, December 8). Trum lifts refugee ban, but admissions still plummet, data
shows. Retrieved from Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trump-effect-
refugees/trump-lifts-refugee-ban-but-admissions-still-plummet-data-shows-
idUSKBN1E21CR
UnidosUS. (n.d.). 7 ways immigrants enrich our economy and society. Retrieved from UNIDOS
US: https://www.unidosus.org/issues/immigration/resources/facts