Immigration to New York City. Is it needed?

            Immigration is an essential part of numerous cities across the country, New York City being one of the major ones with more than 3,000,000. Immigrants make up about 40% of the New York City population, 18% of which being illegal. On May 1st, 2006, all immigrants, both illegal and legal, across the country stayed home. In cities like New York, which consist of huge immigrant populations, it was nearly impossible to function. “Meatpacking plants will shut down. Markets won’t open. Trucks won’t roll. (CNN.com).” Stores weren’t able to open since there weren’t enough workers to operate the business for the day. This became known as “A Day Without Immigrants”. This day is just proof that the city of New York would not be able to function without immigrants, since they make up such a large population.

            Many Americans believe that illegal immigrants should be deported since they came into the country without any papers or documentation. They make up such a huge part of immigrant population that it would affect the city greatly. Without immigration in New York City, as proven on May 1st, 2006, business would be forced to close. This would damage the economy and eventually cause it to crash. There were 2.9 million illegal immigrants in 2000 in New York City, all of which wanted to work. However, a lot of the money that illegal immigrants earn in America while working gets sent back to their home countries, giving money to the workers family to support themselves and eventually come over to America. This doesn’t benefit our economy as much as it could, but it still keeps us going.

            Throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, immigration in New York has changed majorly. Millions of immigrants came to American between in the 1900s, when they went through Ellis Island, through today. Immigration shaped different areas and cultures of New York City. “Jacob Riis observed in 1890 that a map of New York City, colored to designate nationalities’ would show more stripes than on the skin of a zebra’ (Appleby). When immigrants in the 1890s moved to America, they would often settle in with others from the same nationality. This allowed the families to keep their cultural traditions and share them with people from the same background. This brought different cultures into America which helped lead to the path of cultures today. These communities formed famous areas of New York City that are today known as Little Italy, Chinatown, and the Lower East Side.

            With heavier population in large cities like New York in the 1890s, new means of everyday lifestyle had to be created to keep from overpopulation. Skyscrapers became a new form of building up opposed to building out, which allowed for more space. Subways were also built during this time as a form of mass public transportation, underground so street space was not wasted. This also gave immigrants building jobs, helping them and the economy. The city needed immigrants to work, even in the nineteenth century. On the contrary, this time period in New York City had a very high right of pick pocketing and crime. Of course, with the flood of new immigrants, they were blamed by Americans for the new high crime rates. Also, with the overpopulation, it became harder to keep the city clean. “Improper sewage disposal contaminated city drinking water and triggered epidemics of typhoid fever and cholera” (Appleby). This created a new problem of hygiene and keeping the city clean, which was changed and improved to keep people safe. If it wasn’t for the millions of new residents of NYC, this never would have happened.

            Mayor Bloomberg of New York City has his own opinion of immigration and what he thinks of it. He agrees that the city will collapse without immigrants and supports them wholeheartedly. “He thinks that amnesty should be given to those illegal immigrants already in the country” (Scott, Andy). Amnesty is an “official pardon for people who have been convicted of political offenses” (Google). Bloomberg believes in immigration and that illegal immigrants should be forgiven and just become documented. He also thinks that border control is impossible, and I think he’s right. It’s nearly impossible to completely block the borders of our country and prohibit someone from getting in, legally or not. Bloomberg also thinks that there should be an easier way to get citizenship, which is difficult. Immigrants must apply by filling out papers as well as taking a test, which for a high school student born in the country is difficult to pass.

            Immigrants make up a huge part of New York City. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, millions of immigrants moved to New York City, particularly Manhattan, both legal and illegal, and that helped shape the way the smallest big city is today. In the 1890s, immigrants started moving here and formed areas like Little Italy and the Lower East Side. This brought new foods and cultures over to New York, which is one thing New York is greatly known for. The new overpopulation during that time period led to pollution, which led to new health improvements, as well as skyscrapers and subways to allow for more space, which are today two big factors of New York City. Today, the three million immigrants in NYC have jobs and are earning a living. Without these immigrants, businesses would be forced to shut down and the city would not be able to operate and function. Manhattan is only 13.4 miles long by 2.3 miles wide, consisting of over three million immigrants from all over the world, with numerous different cultures. Without these three million people, as seen from “A Day Without Immigrants”, New York City would not be able to function, and therefore, collapse.

Works Cited
"Amnesty." Google. Google. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://www.google.com/#hl=en>.
Appleby, Joyce Oldham. Urban America/Immigration. The American Vision. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2005. 467. Print.
CNN.com, Brad Lendon. "U.S. Prepares for 'A Day Without an Immigrant' - CNN." Featured Articles from CNN. 01 May 2006. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2006-04-28/us/boycott_1_immigration-law-illegal-immigrant-latino-movement-usa?_s=PM:US>.
Scott, Andy. "Bloomberg on Immigration." 2012 Presidential Candidates. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://2012.presidential-candidates.org/Bloomberg/Immigration.php>.