| investment | 11 Aug 2010 |
| Immigration by Bruce Lefavi |
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To alleviate the financial strain on our government, some members of congress advocate changing the 14th amendment to deny citizenship for children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants. Senator Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, recently announced his support of such a change, saying the current laws enticed people to enter the country illegally and have children in order to qualify for benefits.
Undocumented workers account for a little more than 4% of the U.S. population. However, a recent study shows that their children account for nearly 8% of births. With one out of twelve children being born to illegal immigrants, amending the constitution could dramatically change the current trend.
Not everyone sees immigration as a threat. David Wessel, from The Wall Street Journal, suggests that the economies of developed countries will shrink over the next 40 years due to population decline, creating a reduction in the working pool. As many developed countries experience negative population growth, the U.S. may end up in a sweet spot and maintain growth because of immigration. If this is the case, immigration could be good for our economy over the long run.
I am inclined to think that if people want to come into this country, they need to do it legally. I don’t think that our population is decreasing at such a significant rate to support immigrants crossing the borders to have children. Moreover, if it ever came to that, we could very easily open our borders again. If you come into this country illegally, there should be consequences.
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