Bloomberg View (Editorial)
February 25, 2016
A
big part of the case against President Barack Obama's immigration
policy, led by Texas, is that it imposes undue costs on states. But as
the Supreme Court considers
the policy -- arguments are expected in April -- it ought to consider
the benefits as well.
Two
new pieces of research detail those benefits. For undocumented
immigrants, Obama's plan would raise incomes and decrease poverty. And
for state and local governments,
the changes could increase tax revenue by more than $800 million.
Obama's
executive actions on immigration would provide temporary relief from
deportation and enable qualifying immigrants to gain work authorization.
Issued in 2014, they
are designed for parents of legal residents and undocumented immigrants
brought to the U.S. as children. A federal court temporarily blocked
the program in February 2015, an appeals court upheld the ruling in
November, and last month the Supreme Court agreed
to hear the case.
Texas
and 25 other states argue that Obama's plans impose vague but
"substantial costs" -- for health care, law enforcement, education, even
issuing driver's licenses.
This argument falls apart when you look at U.S. Census data, as
researchers at the Migration Policy Institute and Urban Institute did.
The
vast majority of the 3.6 million undocumented immigrant parents
eligible for the program have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade,
and roughly 85 percent of their
minor children are U.S. citizens. If the parents were authorized to
work, average annual family income would rise by 10 percent, or about
$3,000. Poverty among these families would decline by about 6 percent.
Nor would this cost Americans jobs, because most
eligible men are already in the work force.
None
of this should come as a surprise. Numerous studies have found that
legal work status or citizenship for undocumented immigrants would
unleash entrepreneurial energy
and free immigrants to invest in businesses, homes or simply their own
human capital to elevate their station. New York, California and 13
other states argue that their economies would gain if undocumented
immigrants gained lawful employment.
Since
2013, when the House of Representatives failed to follow the Senate and
pass comprehensive immigration reform, roughly 11 million undocumented
immigrants have been
in limbo. Many of these immigrants are working. They just aren't
working in properly regulated workplaces, with regulated pay. Too many
are unable to fulfill their economic potential and live under the
persistent threat of deportation.
Before
the Supreme Court accepts the dubious economic arguments put forth by
Texas and its peers, it should look long and hard at the voluminous
evidence that rebuts it.
Keeping people in limbo, it turns out, is expensive.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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