The effect of immigration on the economy is a major topic discussed among much of the nation. It is said to have both positive and negative effects that cancel each other out. Many agree that immigration brings a gain to the economy. James Smith gives an explanation of how the immigrants increase the economy, yet still may have negative effects for some people:

At the most basic level, immigrants increase the supply of labor and help produce new goods and services. But since they are paid less than the total value of these new goods and services, domestic workers as a group must gain. On the production side, immigration allows domestic workers to be used more productively, specializing in producing goods at which they are relatively more efficient. Specialization in cons

The benefits and downfalls of the immigration workers both play a big part in today's debate over immigration. It is clear that each side of the debate has both good and bad points.

Some argue that while immigrants help the growth of the United States economy, the effect is very small. According to David Lagesse, a recent study says "immigrants contribute as much as $10 billion in economic growth each year, largely because they help keep prices lower. But the effect is small on a United States economy that produces nearly $8 trillion" (1). It has also been argued that the poverty rate of the United States has been negatively effected by immigration. Peter Brimelow agrees, saying, "because many immigrants are relatively unskilled, their poverty rate is significantly higher at 18 percent, compared to the 12.1 percent poverty rate for the native-born" (11).

The fiscal impacts of immigration are obviously very dependent on several different factors, and hard to classify as either good or bad.

Immigrant workers also play a role in the economy. There has been a debate within the last few years involving the computer industry and immigrants. Many companies feel that there are not enough skilled people in the United States to fill the demand for computer programmers. They also argue that these companies do not give Americans the chance to work in these positions, and are unwilling to retrain older programmers. They want only people trained with the latest computer skills, and look to foreigners to fill these demands. Roy Beck explains that "industry officials counter that American programmers often don't have the specific skill needed for a new task and that companies like to be able to scout the whole world for somebody who can step right in and do the job" (141). Beck also argues that for other businesses, "the preference for foreign workers is no accident; they are looking for people who will work for less money and put up

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