Recent Updates #9

A very widely discussed (and controversial) issue in today’s economy is immigration. Daily, there are new stories and reports regarding immigration and what President Donald Trump has been doing regarding this issue. In summary, President Trump’s policies are very much based on nationalism, which basically means to take interest and support in one’s own country, rather than others. This also can go as far to exclude other nations around the world and solely focus on oneself. This is the idea behind all that Trump does, being that he strives to protect Americans and places strict rules on those in outside nations. His program is called “America First”, which obviously refers to this nationalistic view.

According to an article by Kimberly Amadeo titled, “Donald Trump on Immigration”, it states that Trump’s policies focus on the following six topics:

-       Completion of the border wall with Mexico.

-       Deport immigrants who arrived in the United States as children. They are currently protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

-       Restrict travel and work visas from eight countries.

-       Increase screening of refugees while cutting the staff needed to do so.

-       Review the H-1B visa program.

-       Curb legal immigration.

Now, there are obvious pros and cons to these six things and his immigration policies have sparked a lot of discussion and disagreements between political parties. Obviously, Trump’s focus is on America and Americans, which all in all, is extremely important and it should be one of the top priorities for a president to protect American people and their jobs. This is the argument that most people make when they support Trump’s policies, and it is one that is in some ways true. However, there are people on the other side who make the opposing argument that it is important to take in people from other nations because it is morally right, and in my opinion, that is just as high of a priority, so I understand the arguments on both sides. (This, of course, does not take into consideration the terrible conditions that immigrants are facing right now, and simply is focusing on policies.)

Taking all emotion and morality out of the situation and focusing solely on the economy, immigration in general is really beneficial to an economy.  More people working increases the labor force and adds to human capital, which both greatly contribute to economic growth. Along with that, immigrants bring in a lot of new ideas and are entrepreneurs, which of course increases businesses and the market in general. So, although it is thought that immigrants take jobs out of the hands of Americans, there are benefits to the economy as well.

Therefore, it seems as if immigration should be allowed for not only for moral reasons, but also because it grows the economy. These trade policies, although maybe implemented for American protection, which is important as well, may actually weaken our economy and should be reconsidered for everyone’s best interest.

Source:

Amadeo, Kimberly. Donald Trump on Immigration. 2019. The Balance, The Balance, www.thebalance.com/donald-trump-immigration-impact-on-economy-4151107.