Immigration is a hotly debated topic in the United States. Some believe this is detrimental to the economy as a whole and negatively affects our overall wages. Others argue that it keeps the economy moving in a positive direction and increases wages over time for Americans. On Thursday, April 17, 2014, we debated this topic in class to shed light on both sides of the debate. Both sides used case studies, articles, quotes, and data to prove their point. The United States is historically a country of immigrants. Since the first British settlers arrived on the eastern shores of the United States in the 1600s, North America has seen a large and steady influx of immigrants. They were motivated by the promise of a new and better life for themselves and their families. Over the past 400 years, there have been successive waves of immigration that have waxed and waned over time. Historically, most immigrants came from European countries, with waves arriving in the United States by specific region and country. In the 1800s, there was a mass migration of Irish, German, British and French immigrants. The largest group, the Irish, escaped the potato famine which left Ireland in a terrible state of poverty and starvation. These groups sought a better life despite Europe's difficult economic and social times and were drawn to the United States by the hope of land, freedom, opportunity, and jobs. Subsequent technological improvements in the late 1800s and early 1900s led to a decline in transatlantic fares. Many Slavs, Greeks, Hungarians, Poles and more than 4 million European Jews came here during this time in search of a better quality of life, better jobs and more opportunities...... middle paper......use jobs are too physically demanding and tedious, such as those of field, factory, or landscaping workers, or because they simply aren't paid enough for the average American. This base of low-wage workers is imperative to our country’s economic growth. Many restaurants would not exist without the cheap labor of cooks. California's fertile valley would be less productive and more costly to run without cheap immigrant labor. Wages have been found to decline slightly for native-born workers in the very short term for specific demographics, but in the long term, overall immigration is a net benefit to the economy and to everyone in it. compose, born in the country and non-indigenous. born the same. It provides the solid foundation needed for a strong and prosperous economy, creating a positive net gain on native wages in the long term..