Introduction
In this paper, we are going to discuss such question as amnesty for illegal Mexican immigrants and possible implications of this policy. In particular, it is necessary to focus on the positive and negative sides of this phenomenon, and the consequences, which this approach would entail.
On the whole, this issue has been a subject of heated sociological, political and legal debate, and at the moment it still remains very acute. In this essay, we should compare scholarly views on this problem, namely we need to show how different authors regard this amnesty, given to undocumented people from Mexico. At first, we may analyze the article Amnesty to Illegal Aliens: Neither Compassionate nor Just by Edward Erler. The author argues against this policy claiming that this would worsen the economic situation in the country.
Arguments against amnesty for illegal Mexican immigrants
First, he states that in the overwhelming majority of cases, the main objective of people who come to the United States from Mexico is just to “take advantages of economic opportunities” available in America but to obtain citizenship (Erler, p 21).
Furthermore, the author refutes George Bushs hypothesis that this amnesty will make America more humane country. He points out that such policy is hypocritical in its very core, because there are many illegal immigrants from other states but they cannot receive such pardon unlike Mexicans. The question arises what made Bush administration so benevolent toward former Mexican citizens. Edward Erler is firmly convinced that this may turn the United States into some “magnet for further illegal immigrants” (Eller, 21).
The positive in favor of this policy
Nevertheless, the most crucial point of Edward Erlers argument is that the US government should not make such concessions to the Mexican President Vicente Fox. First, he states that this country harbors many alleged murderers, and the authorities are not willing to extradite them to the US. The question is why the United States should be so contractible to Mexico if this state refuses to help our country. In addition to that, Edward Erler believes that such notion this compassion for aliens will eventually mean cruelty to the natives who stay at the very bottom of social ladder and this only aggravate their position.
Therefore, according to Edward Erler, this policy leads to the downfall of American economy. It should be taken into account that this article was written in 2004 long before the world economic crisis, and, to some extent the scholar has predicted further scenario and ultimate outcomes.
Nonetheless, it has to be admitted that there are opposing views on this issue. For instance, according to such scholars as Shelby Gerking and John Mutti, under certain circumstances, immigration can be rather beneficial to the countrys economy. It should be taken into consideration that this research work was conducted at in early eighties and at that point the problem of immigration was not as urgent as it is nowadays, but scholars manage point out several very interesting details concerning the effects of immigration. First, in their opinion, the belief that aliens take away American jobs is not evidence-based (Gerking et al, p 76).
The thing is that many people overlook computerization of manufacturing process, which means that a great number of menial and low-skilled jobs are performed by machines. Therefore, some accusations are even groundless. Naturally, they acknowledge that inflow of immigrants plays only in the hands of large corporations or in other words employers but they state that leading companies will always find a way to cut operating expenses, for example by off-shoring their activities oversees. Their reasoning is mostly based on the assumption that inflow of immigrants may also bring qualified and skilled labor force into the country.
Discussion
Thus, it can be observed that scholars are not unanimous in their treatment of this issue. Judging from these articles, we may say that illegal immigration in general and amnesty to undocumented citizens still requires in-depth examination. As we have previously mentioned, too many problems are blamed on these people, but very often, this is just populism. In order to form an unbiased and unprejudiced judgment, it is necessary to study the impacts of this amnesty on economic, political and cultural situation in the United States. Additionally, if this policy is erroneous, it is of vital importance to devise certain strategies that may help to avoid complications. We also need ascertain the true motives of this benevolence toward Mexican immigrants in particular, because such attitude of the US government is not quite clear.
Conclusion
To conclude, the amnesty for illegal Mexican immigrants gives rise to heated debate in American society. On the one hand, we should stay that this will only stimulate the influx of many undocumented people from this country. But, it should be borne in mind that the United States can benefit by these people, especially if we are speaking about highly-skilled employees. Most importantly, too many people are inclined to blame them for all the problems while ignoring other important factors such as computerization and off shoring. On the whole, this issue still should be analyzed from various perspectives.
Bibliography
Gerking, Shelby D.; Mutti, John H. Costs and Benefits for Illegal Immigration: Key Issue for Government Policy. University of Texas Press. (61), 71-85. 1980.
Edward J. Erler. Amnesty for Illegal Aliens; Neither Compassionate nor Just. “The Washington Times” 21, 2004.