US Economy with Mexican Immigrants Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

US Economy with Mexican Immigrants - Essay Example It is estimated that the country’s nominal GDP was nearly $14.7 trillion in 2010 and this figure constitutes almost a quarter of global nominal GDP. A high level of output per capita is another prominent feature of the US economy. The US economy normally maintains a stable GDP growth rate and a low unemployment rate. Approximately 30% of the world’s millionaire population resides in the United States. Over the last decade, Mexican immigration to the United States has increased considerably. In contrast, as compared to non-Mexicans, Mexican immigrants get citizenship and employment in the United States at a slower rate. Many hold the view that Mexican migration to the United States has adversely affected the working conditions of lower-skilled workers who had already resided in the country. Immigration history Borjas reflects that the number of legal immigrants permitted in the United States increased notably from 2.5 million in 1950s to 9.1 million in the 1990s during the past few decades; and at the same time, there was also a considerable increase in the volume of illegal immigrant population in the United States (2). The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) 1986 was a milestone in the US immigration history as it granted amnesty to roughly three million illegal immigrants present i n the nation. According to Borjas, the size of illegal immigrant population in the United States rose to 5 million by 1996 and eventually to 10.3 million by 2004 despite higher levels of border enforcement (2). The marked increase in the size of immigrant population over the past few decades can be directly attributed to the US immigration policy changes. Mexican population also played a crucial role in raising the size of the immigrant population in the United States. Studies show that there was an average of 30,000 legal Mexican immigrants migrated to US each year during 1950s and this figure represented 12 percent of the immigration flow. In the beginning of 1990s, the average number of legal Mexicans immigrants to the United States increased to 225,000; this population size constituted 25 percent of US immigration flow. The illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States also largely increased during this period. In 2004, the population of Mexican-born persons illegally residing in the United States constituted 57 percent of the total illegal population in US that time. In addition, data indicated that around 400,000 Mexican immigrants (both legal and illegal) entered the United States each year during the 1990s (Borjas, 2007,). Policy changes According to Borjas, Mexican immigrant workers dominated agriculture and many nonagricultural sectors in the United States. Approximately, immigrant workers from Mexico constituted 3.5 percent of US labor force. A study conducted by the National Agricultural Worker Survey (NAWS) reflects that 77 percent of the US farmworkers were Mexican-born during the period 1997-1998 (Borjas, 269). This situation affected the United States since the increased immigration from Mexico threatened the livelihood of US native workers. Hence, in order to prevent the increased immigration flow from Mexico, the US government brought certain immigration policy changes. Mainly, US government passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) in order to regulate the growing size of illegal immigrants to the country especially from Mexico. As per the provisions of the Act, the government would legalize the illegal immigration before 1st January 1982 and offer