Do you think illegal immigrants help or hurt the economy?

MissKathleen

The approximately 40 million illegal immigrants in this country definitely hurt the economy.

They took away a lot of jobs like roofing and construction jobs from the American people. You used to see two white or black men putting on the roof. Now you see 14 illegal aliens on a roof - all making below minimum wage.

And most of their money gets sent back to Mexico. That hurts the economy also.

Illegals have put a real stand still on health care for millions of Americans. I had cervical cancer while I lived in South Texas. The doctor's office gave me an "emergency" appointment for 6 months away. They couldn't see or treat me and the entire building was filled with illegal aliens and their 8 to 10 children. And of course the mothers were all pregnant.

Well, I took my belongings in a bag and took the Greyhound bus to West Tennessee to live our the rest of my life. They gave me surgery immediately and today I am cancer free.

I would have died if I remained in South Texas.....)(

mynameischeese2001

I think they hurt, because we have to pay taxes for them. I also think it's not fair for immigrants that got their doumentation to be here. I know they take they jobs that we usually won't take. but if they get there doumetation I wouldn't have a problem.

Lamont Cranston

They definitely hurt the economy bec they don't participate in the taxation aspect and this hurts the ones who do pay taxes. Means the legals have to pay more taxes to support the scofflaws. You like to pay more taxes or what? I sure don't.

rabid_scientist

I'm not too impressed with the California report. California is a special case. Not every state has a Hollywood or a Silicon valley. These very lucrative industries have nothing to do with immigration activity. These industries can keep the average wage very high even with the influx of immigrants--especially because silicon valley in particular has so vastly grown since 1990.

I think LEGAL immigration probably helps our country economically, on the whole. Legal immigrants provide much needed skills. But illegal? If they are illegal, how can they pay any taxes? People forget that taxes are meant not only to fund social programs such as welfare, but to provide for the defense of the country, pave the roads, make community renovations, etc. If you don't pay taxes, you're not contributing anything to the protection or upkeep of the country.

There are some illegals (not all, but some) who are here only to send back as much money as possible to their family in their native country. That means they spend the barest minimum possible in this country, so we see minimal benefit to the dollars we are giving them. I understand the conditions of other countries are very hard, but I'm thinking only of the economy, since that was the question asked.

Sure, the cheaper labor lowers the price of goods purchased to some extent (but you can best be sure that the people at the top are pocketing some of the profit from paying the lowest possible wages), but they've also driven down the wages a person can make from such jobs. To say that Americans don't want certain jobs is just silly; at one time in my life I worked a minimum wage job. It was not my idea of a great job, but it was all that was available at the time.

And of course, there are the aspects already pointed out by others--everyone needs fire and police protection, and doctors will treat ANYONE if they are sick (they are required to treat any sick person by law, reguardless of ability to pay).

Overall, illegal immigrants hurt the economy.

dei48399

Hurt!

1. It drives wages down for low-skilled Americans (this could include Americans who have mental or physical challenges as well as lots of other people).

2. Those lower wages make it so that the government has to give more support to low-skilled Americans.

3. Illegal immigrants do NOT pay their share of taxes --- to educate their kids, etc. They are getting a "free handout."

bulabate

Hurts Badly! Lets not forget the low-life employers who should be kicked out with them or deported to the illegals home of origin for doing the crime! Maybe this wisea$$ employer could help-em fight in thier own country for equal access to Wealth!

wazwondring

Illegal immigrants are good for the economy.

"In a report released [by] the Palo Alto-based Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy presented a strong case that legal and illegal immigration, while incurring costs to the state, produce a net economic gain for the country.

The study focuses on the California economy since 1990, which is roughly when the numbers of illegals began to swell â€” approximately 86 percent of the estimated 2.4 million illegal immigrants in the state arrived since then. And they're continuing to come at a rate of nearly 100,000 a year, mostly from Mexico and Central America.

There are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

The report found that unemployment today is about identical to 1990 and that average wage levels in the state have soared during this period of increasing illegal immigration. Job growth also has remained strong.

In addition, illegal immigrants, rather than taking jobs from citizens, remain concentrated in a few relatively low-paying jobs, such as picking crops, construction labor, house cleaning and restaurant kitchen help.

The report says that despite the number of illegal immigrants working in these fields, wages and employment have not declined.

The report states, unsurprisingly, that the longer immigrants stay in this country, the better they and succeeding generations do, which is better for the national and state economy as well.

This report should become part of the debate over immigration policy. The report's conclusion that illegal immigration is good for the national economy should help the federal government acknowledge that states need help paying for educating, housing, policing and caring for illegal immigrants.

At the least, it should also provide evidence that Bush's guest-worker program, rather than being too lenient, makes solid economic sense.

If that doesn't sway the get-tough forces, consider this: If illegal immigrants are made criminals, or shipped back across the border, or if it was somehow possible to keep them out entirely, who would fill their jobs and keep the economy growing?"

Mendi8a

help, big time.

sloppy joe

Help. They are a vital part of this economy.. Simple facts they do a lot of manual labor and service jobs that other people just don't want

Ã¾roÂµÃ Ã¥mÃªrÃ¯Â¢Ã¥Ã±

They help the economy by working jobs most Americans wouldn't. So the food price is lower. But they hurt it also. They have to drive cars, and since they're illegal they can't get insurance. Imagine if they get in a car accident, and THE DON'T HAVE INSURANCE! That causes our car insurance rate to go up. Then they get sick, and they don't have insurance. That causes our medical insurance to go up. And children have to go to school. And we need money for schools right? So are taxes go up. I heard about 10,000 Chinese people are coming in ILLEGALLY every MONTH! That's alot.

get on with it

It helps the rich get cheap labor. It helps the rich line their pockets by being able to pay low wages.

weasered

help. all the money they make here is spent here. exporting jobs also means exporting the welfare to maintain that workforce (healthcare, insurance, ect). the lack of jobs by the employers that export mean the locals cant afford their wouldbe employers' goods & services putting strain on wouldbe employers. the welfare programs that the locals arent paying into are funded (by force) from other communities putting strain on their systems. keep the jobs here, do away with socialism & police/protect ourselves so that we're not so paranoid about accepting immigrants.
besides, borders are there to keep other governments out not people. borders provide NO protection. we, the people, are the only ones that can police & protect ourselves... suspicious that we arent allowed to though.

gary_the_cheater

it's not their fault. they're just taking the jobs that are available to them. what's hurting the economy is the government that ignored the problem for 30 years, so you have 20 million of them and all these low-wage industries are dependent on them. if americans don't want to pick lettuce or work in meat packing plants they should have moved these businesses south to mexico and encouraged some other industry to replace it. not turn a blind eye to employers that cheat on their taxes and violate the labor laws.

JayPetey

Help. They work harder, and for less, therefore we make more, more efficiantly

tewfik

contrary to common popular belief, they do help the economy. Often they do produce value and get very little in return. Then being generally paperless, they can't benefit from any social advantages, costing even less to the society. They're more to pitty than to blame.

But hey, isn't everyone (or almost) in america and immigrant?

Star Crossed

Mostly hurt

sara_pk1

Hurt the economy. Although some pay taxes, the taxes paid out by illegal immigrants are far less than the tax$$ it takes to pay for food stamps, education, college tuiton, and medical care they demand.

boston857

Short-term....It helps for the following reasons:

1/ KEEPS PRICES OF GOODS/SERVICES LOW. Cheap labor keeps the cost of our services/products low. We are culture driven by spending but are not interested in paying market value for our stuff/services...

2/ There will always be a need for unskilled workers. We are predominantly a manufacturing economy and labor i.e. unskilled labor is very important. We are being outdone by other manufacturing economies because the cost of producing goods in the U.S. is to high to market them abroad. The domestic market is not enough.

3/ Imported cheap labor frees our citizens to pursue higher skilled and better paying jobs....this is the theory anyway but the deterioration in our education system has rendered us impotent to foreign competition in this area. They unfortunately do a better job of growing/reinforcing talent abroad.

4/ Creates much needed diversity in our culture. We are an assimilated culture...whether intentional or unintentionally. This is what it means to be an American. You do not belong to a group of pple but to a place/an idea.

In the long-term it hurts because:

1/ Race relations are not our strong point...we are unable to be unified as a country since we still speak in terms of racial/ethnic groups....

2/ We REMAIN a manufacturing economy which is expensisve since it is capital intensive. This means that we either have to fund our investments or borrow money from abroad. We currently rely on direct foreign investment to maintain us.....not good in the long-term. The future is to shift to a service economy....but we need to change how we perceive education....reinforce hard sciences and professional skills again.

3/ Compromises the effect of public services. I strongly suspect that our hospitals are not overrun by illegals since the documentation required to get this services may not be available to an illegal. However, even if we keep those not entitled to public services out of the system, we run the risk of creating a "3rd world" class of pple with no access to healthcare and such; this is a ripe environment for epidemics of controllable/curable diseases, which is in turn a greater cost to the health care system.

vman198

They do and they don't. You have the law-abidding tax payers and they you have the goverment cheaters.

soccerstar11

i think they hurt the economy.

latngurlnoct

We help the economy!!! If it wasnt for us, You wouldnt eat tacos!!

curveddude

hurt

Smashing Pumkie pie

H E L P !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JUST THINK
HOW MANY PRODUCTS They BUY A DAY!!!!

Kind_Heart

Hurt. I don't look down upon people from other countries wanting to live in American, we're a free country and we pride ourselves in being American! But there are certain requirements that need to be met b4 you can live here freely if your foreign. Those people coming in as illegally take jobs other poor Americans can be working.

PinkKitty

ok fine i will admit it, some of us dont pay taxes but for the most part we immigrants help the economy. and sadly we are helping the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. but come on people admit it... immigrants do jobs that whites dont want to do, right. so i stick by my decision that we help the economy, we make it possible to get things fixed like roads and buildings while paying minimum and people should realize that everyone is equal
SOONER OR LATER THIS "ISSUE" IS GOING TO TURN SIMILAR TO THE BLACKS BEING TREATED UNFAIRLY, WE ARE GOING TO END UP BEING TREATED AS A LOWER RACE, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE NOT, WE ARE AS GOOD AS ANYONE ELSE WHETHER IT BE BLACK WHITE ASIAN OR WHATEVER.

DEBO

Hurt! It is time we take care of our own people. Instead we are paying for them.

pnai08

neither..it brings both positive and negative effect in the economy...based on wat wev study in american history so far some of d illegal immigrants are hardworking and take watever kind of job u offer...they dont complain lyk some american citizens...but then on the other hand, it can hurt the economy coz they take the job of american pipol...so wats left for them(amrcn pipol)? none.

MaRy

What kind of answer is hurt?! Its obvious we (legal or illegal immigrants) help the economy...

basefootballa1113

hurt....they are taking a lot of landscaping companies down

jeni

Mostly hurts the economy - one example: public school. Illegal children are allowed to attend public school - the public school is not allowed to ask or research to find out if they are illegal or not. They usually get free breakfast and lunch as well as after school care and a free education - paid for by yours truly. Their parents don't pay a dime.

richietcfan

They kill it.

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