Our main purpose for our website is to create an environment where people are able to examine more closely the issue at hand. Although it is completely valid for people to hold their own opinions, we would like to argue for the opinion we have concluded about immigration, focusing specifically on labor. We have included a variety of media sources (political cartoons, statistics, etc.) as well as a variety of literary sources (background information, statistics, analysis and evaluation of particular literary texts, etc.) for the viewer to browse when thinking about the topic. We hope that visitors will take the time to look at a few of our sources to get a true sense of the facts about immigration. As the viewer is analyzing our argument, we want them to think that the sources we have gathered help support the overall argument and change their mind, if they do not share the same opinion as we do already.
In the United States today, we often hear many generalizations and statements made about immigrants both legal and illegal. These statements often have no basis and are the furthest thing from the truth. With an issue as important as immigration, it’s important we as citizens are informed about the facts and not the slander we hear on a day to day basis. Being that a political candidate in Donald Trump based the beginning of his campaign on the promise of ‘building a wall’ and keeping immigrants out, as well as the fact that citizens voted for him based on this promise alone made us want to create a website that was purely based on facts and studies. Statements such as “they’re taking our jobs!” are baseless and influence United States citizens into having a negative view on immigration that is misguided. We as a group wanted to create a website that someone could visit and truly become informed about the topic of immigration. We focused our research on historical context, economic impact, overall background information, and analysis through studies and statistics.
Through our website and our supporting information contained on it, we argue that immigration as a whole is a good thing that should be welcomed by Americans. Being that immigration is as polarizing an issue as it’s ever been in America’s history, we want to make an argument that is based upon studies and statistics that cannot be argued. We feel that this argument is important because it is different than simply taxes or another issue that doesn’t have the same impact on people’s lives as immigration does. With the issue of immigration, citizens have hatred and anger towards people seeking asylum and a place to survive for themselves and their family. With people’s lives and well-being at stake, it’s important that we as Americans are truly informed on the facts of immigration so that we can take an informed stance. We organized our site so visitors can navigate easily and find the relevant information they need to take an informed stance. We have one section with all of our articles and documents found through our research separated into four different subsections. We then have another section with relevant media that includes campaign ads in one subsection as well as visual tables with statistics in another subsection. We also have another section separating legal from illegal immigration so visitors can see the facts for both. While the issue is immigration, we tended to focus on immigrant labor being that immigrants and their economic impact are what most Americans are primarily worried about.
One popular general statement you may hear about immigration is that “immigrants are taking all of your jobs!”. However, through our bibliography sections, we prove baseless statements like this to be false. In fact, through our research we have proven through factual data that immigrants actually propel native-born workers into positions of higher pay. Another common claim every United States citizen has heard is that “immigrants take your tax dollars in aid from the government while they don’t work or do anything!”. However we provide sources with studies that show immigrants pay a net $80,000-$198,000 more in taxes than they collect in government services in their lifetimes. Since we all know how dry articles and documents filled with data can be, we also included visual statistics and tables that are more enticing. This way, visitors can also have a visual idea of the facts on immigration. Along with our visual presentation of immigration statistics, we used two campaign ads from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to give visitors a human side to immigration. The Trump ad is filled with the same baseless claims you hear every day, while the Hillary ad has a real immigrant family that shows the reality of immigration.
While our overall argument is that immigration is beneficial to the United States and that it should be welcomed, our true aim for visitors of our site is to inform them. We feel that by simply looking at the facts and realities of immigration, visitors will be able to see that an argument really shouldn’t even have to be made. If every visitor entered the website with a blank slate, they should leave the website with the idea that immigration is a good thing for the country, and they would have the information to back that idea up.
Sparshott, Jeffrey. “Immigration Does More Good Than Harm to Economy, Study Finds.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 22 Sept. 2016. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.
According to a recent study, the waves of immigrants that have come into the United States in recent decades have improved the economy over the long term and had little lasting impact on the wages and employment levels of native-born Americans. This study disproves the common claim that immigrants take the jobs of U.S citizens. According to the study, the economic growth of the United States over the long term would be ‘considerably dimmed’ without the contributions of immigrants.
Wharton, Penn. “The Effects of Immigration on the United States’ Economy.” Penn Wharton Budget Model. N.p., 27 June 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
Overall, economists generally agree that the effects of immigration on the United States economy are broadly positive. Although they may cause short-term dislocations in labor markets for native-born workers, both illegal and legal immigrants are unlikely to replace native-born workers or reduce their wages over the long-term. Evidence over the last few decades even suggest that immigrants actually have significant long-term benefits for native-born workers.
Carroli, Linda. “Out of the Melting Pot into the Fire: Writing Cultural Diversity into the Arts.” Meanjin, Vol. 53, No. 2, 1994, pp. 327-336.
Recently, an international conference on immigration absorption was held and attended by experts from around the world and main conclusions were made. One conclusion being that immigrants do not increase unemployment or decrease wages. Another main conclusion made was that in the past, large-scale immigration to the United States has benefited both the immigrants and the United States as a whole.
Furman, Jason, and Danielle Gray. “Ten Ways Immigrants Help Build and Strengthen Our Economy.” The White House. The United States Government, 12 July 2012. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.
The United States has been a nation of immigrants from day one, and immigrants have built America into the economic engine of the world. Small businesses owned by immigrants generate over $776 billion annually. Immigrants have started 25 percent of public United States companies. Between 1990 and 2004, increased immigration was correlated with increasing earnings of Americans.
Griswold, Daniel. “Immigrants Have Enriched American Culture and Enhanced Our Influence in the World.” Cato Institute. CATO, 18 Feb. 2002. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.
A recent NAS study found that the typical immigrant and their offspring will pay a net $80,000 more in taxes during their lifetimes than they collect in government services. For immigrants with college degrees, the net fiscal return is $198,000. The 1996 Welfare Reform Act has also made it more difficult for newcomers to collect welfare, and as a result immigrant use of welfare has declined over recent years. This evidence goes against the claim that immigrants are a drain on government finances.