Immigration Argument Analysis

Many countries have various cultures primarily composed of one type of race, background, or nationality. This can be seen in Germany, France, Russia, China, Japan, Mexico and many others. The United States of America is very different from these countries in that it is a "melting pot." The term "melting pot" has been associated with the United States as a way to describe that there are many cultures within the country which "combine" together. One may question why the immigrant history of this country is one of the qualities that make it so special. Still, large numbers of individuals from other countries come to the US every year to seek benefits and to find better living conditions. According to John J. Savant’s argument “Imagining the Immigrant”,

The Heritage Foundation determined that the net cost to taxpayers per illegal immigrant household was $28,000 when access to government programs was considered. But illegal immigrants actually contribute much more money to the government than they receive in benefits, and therefore are not a social burden. Illegal immigrants pay millions of dollars into Social Security that they will never collect. They also pay state income, sales, and property taxes for which they receive few benefits. Beadle (2012) explains the federal government would accrue $4.5 billion to $5.4 billion in additional net tax revenue over just three years if the 11 million undocumented immigrants were legalized. And individual states would also benefit. Texas, for example, would see a $4.1 billion gain in tax revenue and the creation of 193,000 new jobs if its approximately 1.6 million undocumented immigrants were

This is unfair to those who are following the law and have to watch law-breakers get rewarded. Why should they wait in line another day?” John Savant (2009) makes it clear that this is an argument that is often used to counter legalization and states, “We hear it argued, for example, that granting amnesty and a path to citizenship for illegal aliens encourages disrespect for the law—a legitimate concern within the context of normal civic life. What this argument does not address, however, are the social and economic circumstances that significantly alter the normal civic context—for example, the abnormal circumstances that lie at the heart of major migration movements. Even in very modest circumstances, people prefer their home turf and the comforts of custom to the trauma of dislocation and the uncertainty of the unfamiliar.” (p. 15). He uses this statement to show that illegal immigrants come to America because they have to, not because they want