The United States of America is widely known as a “melting pot” country. The metaphor of a “melting pot” describes countries or societies that consist of many different cultures and people coming together as one. 

America was built on immigration. The origin of American immigration goes all the way back to Christopher Columbus, a colonizer who migrated to America while the country was inhabited by Native Americans. 

Over time America hosted an increasing number of immigrants which has led this country into becoming one of the world’s largest superpowers, a term regarding the superiority of America on the global scale. Immigration has been beneficial for American society and the economy both in history and today. 

Almost 60 million people, more than one fifth of the population in America, are immigrants or second-generation immigrants, according to the Social Sciences Research Council. Immigrants from all over have come to America for a variety of reasons such as: economic and educational opportunity, seeking safety from crime and violence, or for family benefits.

There have been many immigrants that have made great historical impacts on the country. The famous scientist Albert Einstein was an immigrant from Germany, and the creators of the infamous YouTube Steve Chen immigrated from Taiwan, and Jawed Karim immigrated from East Germany. 

According to the Council of Foreign Relations, as of 2022, immigrants have founded around 55% of United States start-up companies valued at $1 billion or more. The creator of Levi jeans, Levi Strauss, was an immigrant from Germany and now his company is worth $6.89 billion, according to Stock Analysis.

One of the most common ways that people immigrate to America is through a work visa. There are approximately 140,000 work visas given to immigrants every fiscal year, according to the U.S. Department of State. While some may think that others coming into America can be bad for the economy, immigrants actually help fuel and stimulate the U.S. economy.

Immigration expands labor, increases consumer spending, and has the potential to create new jobs. Immigrants also pay their fair share of taxes to the American government. In 2023, immigrants alone paid over $651.9 billion in taxes, according to the American Immigration Council.

There are rumors that immigrants produce more crime and trouble in the United States than American born citizens. In the September 2024, ABCs Presidential Debate, current president Donald Trump furthermore pushed this harmful narrative when he shouted out, “They’re eating the cats! They’re eating the dogs!”

While this baseless claim did spark outroar there was no actual evidence pointing to this being true. Not only were the immigrants not eating household pets, but according to a study done by Northwestern Now, there have been no significant links to immigration and crime rates. In fact, according to the study, immigrants are far less likely than U. S. born civilians to commit crimes.

Deporting mass amounts of immigrants would harm the United States economy in drastic ways. Mass deportation would lead to reduced economic growth for the country. According to Council of Economic Advisers chief economist, Ernie Tedeschi, immigration has been responsible for at least a fifth of the 8.2% growth in real gross domestic product since the end of 2019.

Mass deportation would also take money out of taxpayers’ pockets. It is estimated by the American Immigration Council that the mass deportation the government has suggested could result in up to $315 billion being spent.  

When talking about these statistics, it is easy to lose the sentiment that immigrants are people. Immigrants are parents, grandparents, mothers, fathers, and deporting these people has a bigger impact than just money. It is only fair that through hard work and dedication these people should be allowed to immigrate to America, especially when there is little harm being done.

It is immoral and unjust to throw families out of the country for simply being from another. Immigration is not dangerous, or a hazard to our country. America was built on immigration and still thrives from it to this day.