Pros And Cons Of The US Immigration System

Conor Oberst had once said, “how we treat the undocumented, says a great deal about us as a person and whether or not we’ll continue to fulfill the fundamental American promise of equality and opportunity of all.” Regulation for deportation was first written in the Alien Act of 1798, where the president could deport any “alien” who is considered threatening. As the time progressed, immigration was seen less favorable because of the fear that inhabited after both World War I and the 1918 Bolshevik revolution in Russia. As a result, this century has created another type of immigrant, illegal immigrants. Now the government has put these “illegal” people to an unjustifiable expulsion. These outcomes have revealed that deportation has violated Article

However, the criminal justice system and the immigration system gradually combined into forming an enforcement task force. This task force not only lacks the basic procedural protection but also leads to people going through deportation without committing any criminal acts. The Human Rights Watch points out, “ in 2011, the immigration detention system-which has increasingly become like the criminal system-held over 400,000 people, most of whom were not facing criminal charges; it has held about 3 million people over the past decade” ("Within Reach: A Roadmap for US Immigration Reform," 2015). In addition, combining the criminal justice system and immigration system can cause disruption towards communities with or without illegal immigrants. Much of the media are concentrating on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE, and their detainees, but what the media doesn't reflect is that not all detained illegal immigrants have conducted a criminal act. So, communities are doubting the protection the government provides. Richard Smith from San Francisco Chronicles explains, “ mixing a deportation system that does not respect due process with a criminal justice system whose iniquities are increasingly recognized hurts efforts in communities like mine to overcome a

The National Bureau of Economic Research discusses that “undocumented workers contribute about 3 percent of the private-sector gross domestic product, or about $5 trillion over a decade” (Picchi, 2016). By deporting these illegal immigrants, the U.S GDP will gradually go down and affect those who are legal. Even the spending by immigrants on food, shelter, and health can expand the economy. However, if Donald Trump does fulfill his promise of deportation, the cost of actually deporting the illegal immigrants will cause damage towards the economy. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “... even as those new workers help to spur the economy, the U.S. would lose the spending revenue generated by those undocumented immigrants who had been deported, since the vast majority of undocumented immigrants are working and spending their income” (Severe, 2017). If mass deportation does occur, it will cost millions to billions of federal money and most of the blue-collared jobs will be difficult to