Many people think that immigrants cause crime and steal American jobs. But are these accusations true? Well according to recent reports and data they are not true. All immigrants do not steal American jobs. In fact Chris George, a member of IRIS, says that immigrants usually take jobs that Americans do not want. For example, garbage collectors. Not many people want to wake up early and throw around trash for little pay. But immigrants who are desperate for jobs, money, and food, will do anything they can to succeed. Furthermore, Chris also stated that immigrants are actually great for the economy. According to Chris the amount of local businesses that immigrants usually open really help many areas. Also, studies show that immigrant families cost the government 57 billion dollars for the first generation of immigrants, but the second generation makes 30 billion dollars each year. In fact, by the third generation, they contribute 223 billion dollars a year to government funds.

The second accusation many people make is that immigrants increase crime rates. This is not true because over the years immigrant populations in New Haven and even the nation have gone up exponentially. However, according to the assistant police chief of New Haven, the crime rate of New Haven has actually gone down over the years. Do not forget the fact that New Haven is a sanctuary city which protects and therefore attracts immigrants. However, this demographic isn’t only limited to New Haven. According to The NY Times, although the immigrant population has gone up by 108% in the US, crime rate has actually dropped by 36% since 1980. Though many of the bad things we think of immigrants as are not true, that is not to say that we should stop every one of our immigration laws. According to Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), around ten terrorists are stopped from crossing the border everyday. That totals up to around 3650 terrorists per year. Furthermore, ICE states that the lack of immigration laws in 2001 is what allowed 9/11 to happen. Our immigration laws are in place to help people in need and stop terrorists, rather than takes jobs and cause crime.

Matthew Li and Eli Kleinman