ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Hispanic Minority: How Illegal Immigration Affects Prejudice

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION3

A HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION3

WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG?5

THE LOCAL EFFECT7

ILLEGAL HIRING OF IMMIGRANTS10

RACISM AND THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE11

IS SYSTEM BROKEN?12

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?16

CONCLUSION18

REFERENCES19

Hispanic Minority: How Illegal Immigration Affects Prejudice

Introduction

There are millions of people out of work in the United States due to the current economic conditions. Now whether they lack the skills or there are no opportunities for them, many people are forced to take low-paying, unskilled jobs just to make some money. At this point, immigration contributes for about 25 percent of the U.S. labor force and this is mainly because of low native birth rates and high levels of immigration. (Suarez-Orozco, M. M. 2000)

Effects of illegal immigration on the wage rate and the labor market

The reason that immigrants are able to find jobs in the United States and put a lot of people out of work is because they often take the low-paying jobs that most Americans don't want to do. Even though a lot of people may not like immigrants because they are putting them out of jobs, immigrants in this economy today are helping to keep inflation low, improve housing values, and benefit taxpayers. In other words, immigration helps provide an increase to the U.S. economy. The only people that are really being hurt right now by immigrants are those people without high school degrees (Massey, D. S. 2007). Every year they fight against immigrants for jobs and their wages just seem to keep getting lower. Hence, if more immigrants continue to enter each year seeking jobs, it decreases the amount of work available.

A history of immigration

There are two main reasons for Hispanic immigration to the United States of America: economic opportunities and escape from political persecution. Many Mexicans and Puerto Ricans moved in the country to escape poverty and to find a way to earn a living. The 20th Century Cuban migration, which began in 1959 when Fidel Castro took over the government of Cuba, especially for political reasons.

According to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Hispanics are a younger, less affluent and less educated group than the rest of the population. Their average age is about 23 Sixty-three percent of those under 30 in 1992 and 40 percent 18 years or younger. The median family income was $ 23,400. This was higher than the median for blacks, but lower than the rest of the non-Hispanic median of $ 35,200. Of the three groups - Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans - the Puerto Rican had the lowest incomes and the Cubans the highest. More than 23.4 percent below the poverty line in the early 1990s lived.

Various reports show that immigration continues to shape the New York City. Immigrant flows are at an all time high since the peaks at the turn of the century. Immigration to the city in the 1990-2000 periods stood at approx 13,000 annually, a 32 percent increase over the average of 86,000 in the ...