Immigration reform and economic growth Research Paper

Immigration reform and economic growth - Research Paper Example nding immigration reform are also provided via an interview with Tamar Jacoby, the president and CEO of Immigration Works USA, and an immigration policy columnist for the LA Times. Essentially, this research paper hypothesizes and demonstrates that comprehensive immigration reform can both satisfy the American economy’s need for workers – especially in sectors like agriculture, construction, and the service industry – and at the same time establish a legal framework to regulate the inflow of migrants to the U.S. II. Background The importance of immigration reform to the U.S. is highlighted by Jacoby in a semi-structured interview with the researcher. In her capacity as an immigration policy columnist and the president and CEO of Immigration Works USA, Jacoby notes that immigration is a very important issue for the U.S., particularly in the campaigns leading up to recent 2012 presidential election. Moreover, other countries have been making significant progress in tegrating immigrants in a way that promotes multiculturalism and, in doing so, have integrated immigrants more acceptably into the national workforce with the results that immigrants in other countries are increasingly becoming productive members of the community. In this regard, according to Jacoby, the U.S. has a lot of room for improvement and growth in terms of immigration reform and its socio-economic improvement. Jacoby’s observation of the significance of immigration reform in the U.S., and the room for improvement, is supported by the background facts. With the 2012 presidential elections approaching, the focus on the dire state of the U.S. economy took center stage. Both sides were more fixated on short-term solutions such as tax reductions, improving infrastructure, reducing government... This paper offers a comprehensive review of current immigration policy of the United States, and adduces arguments in favor of the immigration reform. This paper demonstrates this need for economic reform by tracing the history and current developments in immigration policies and laws and their consequences for the U.S. economy and the lives of illegal immigrants. For the most part, illegal immigrants take on unskilled jobs, particularly in domestic and agricultural industries that Americans are unwilling to take. However, as a result of their illegal status, they are denied the protection that legal workers are guaranteed and thus are often exploited and underpaid. The current immigration policy and laws in the U.S. focus on border control and enforcement as opposed to taking an approach that would legalize immigrants and thus improve wages offered to low-skilled workers The U.S. has always premised its economic policies on the free movement of goods and capital. The free movement of services and people via immigration reform cannot be distinguished from the free movement of goods and capital. It is in economic interests of the U.S. to reform immigration policies in a way that focuses on opening paths to immigration, Reforms should accord amnesty to those immigrants who have been living in the U.S. for at least five years, provided they are not threatening national security. Those who have been living in the U.S. for at least three years would be subject to removal with an opportunity to re-enter the U.S. legally.