Throughout its history, the United States has secured its position as a refuge for immigrants from all corners of the world. For many centuries, millions of immigrants have inhabited the nation's shores to take advantage of the greater economic opportunities and freedoms that America enjoys as a free and democratic society. Public and academic debates have suggested that illegal immigrants contribute both positively and negatively to the United States, forcing policymakers to grapple with finding the best mechanisms to address the problem. Illegal immigration also poses serious questions about the country's economy and how to address the growing demand for cheap labor while providing adequate jobs and economic opportunities for American citizens. The nature and extent of illegal immigration in the United States make it a highly sophisticated issue, which continues to attract the attention of academics, policymakers, and the public (Medrano, 2012). This article will attempt to analyze whether or not immigration is beneficial to the US economy. An Overview of Illegal Immigration Although recent evidence has suggested a decrease in illegal immigrants living in the United States, the number of undocumented individuals in the country is estimated at at least 12 million people. Migration, documented or not, is fueled by both push and pull factors within and outside given societies. Studies have shown that political factors, poverty, crime, violence and corruption push migrants from their home countries, and the promise of economic opportunities where employers are looking for low-wage workers pushes their migrants to nations developed like the United States (Orrenius &......middle of paper......bined. In other words, revenue collection from undocumented people is said to be greater than the total expenditure to provide fundamental services to undocumented immigrants who do not meet the requirements to be admitted to government (Orrenius & Zavodny, 2012). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that unauthorized immigrants contribute more than $15 billion to Medicare and more than $7 billion to Social Security annually collected by undocumented immigrants to state and local governments through employment, taxes and purchases. Therefore, in a sense, illegal immigrants are very beneficial to the US economy considering their overall input and output of the US government. However, the federal government should continue to establish policies to curb illegal immigrants as too many such policies would eventually outweigh the benefits..