by Derek Graff

Created on: June 23, 2007

There is no question about the fact that we need stricter immigration policy in this country. There is no question that our border with Mexico needs to be more secure. The question is what to do with the millions of illegal immigrants we currently have in this country. Should we kick them out or help them on their way to citizenship? The answer lies in their necessity. Do we really need them or do we have enough people to cover the workforce? Now that the baby boomers are retiring, there is no doubt that we need the immigration worker influx to take over our low-paying jobs as younger and middle-age America takes the jobs the baby boomers left behind.

Many experts say that we don't need these immigrants because the baby boomers will be leaving upper management jobs that immigrants wouldn't be taking. This is true, but that's where all the middle management will go. The younger generations will be promoted at extreme rates that only the baby boomers had the numbers to fill. After all this promotion, there will be no one left at the bottom to actually run the business at the ground level. I am currently experiencing this now at my current job. Many of our managers at my job are leaving for higher paying, higher up jobs where baby boomers are retiring from. Because of this we have an overall shortage of workers. Unfortunately, we do not have the immigrant population to cover the absences, and many teens like me are forced to work longer hours. The immigration influx greatly benefits any areas where there are a big number of baby boomers retiring. They keep the economy going by saving businesses that may not have had enough workers due to the great number of retirees. By keeping these businesses open, they encourage competition throughout, lowering prices and putting money back in the consumer's pocket.
There is no doubt in my mind that we should work with these new immigrants to keep them in our country. They are a vital part of this work force now that the baby boomers are retiring. Although they will not take over the jobs the baby boomers had, they will be taking the many openings left at the bottom after everyone else has been bumped up. I believe that they will boost the economy through the roof through encouraging competition and pushing the average American into a higher paying, higher ranking job. If we force them out, then we will be setting ourselves up for a major loss in the long run

Learn more about this author, Derek Graff.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.