IPC: The Non-Existent Problem of Non-Citizen “Voter Fraud”

The following report comes from the Immigration Policy Center.  The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy arm of the American Immigration Council. IPC's mission is to shape a rational national conversation on immigration and immigrant integration.

In Oregon,  anti-immigrant hardliners like to make ludicrous claims that there is widespread voter fraud by non-citizens.  The following report shows that their claims are just fear-mongering and nothing more.

Chicken Little in the Voting Booth: The Non-Existent Problem of Non-Citizen “Voter Fraud”

Election experts tend to agree that modern-day voter fraud is a very rare occurrence in the United States, primarily because it is so irrational. The potential payoff (a vote) is not worth the risk of jail time, thousands of dollars in fines, and—in the case of non-citizens—possibly deportation. The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law succinctly summarizes this point in a 2006 fact sheet: “Each act of voter fraud risks five years in prison and a $10,000 fine—but yields at most one incremental vote. The single vote is simply not worth the price. Because voter fraud is essentially irrational, it is not surprising that no credible evidence suggests a voter fraud epidemic.” As an October 18, 2010, story in the National Journal points out, “a five-year investigation by the Bush Justice Department…turned up virtually no evidence of widespread voter fraud.” Nevertheless, anti-immigrant activists are fond of pretending that fraudulent voting by non-citizens is a national epidemic.

Read more »

New Study reveals the economic benefits of Immigration Reform

On Thursday, the Immigration Policy Center and the Center for American Progress released a groundbreaking report on the economic benefits of Immigration Reform.

According to an article at Immigration Impact, the report contrasts the economic benefits of comprehensive reform with the damage that would be done to the U.S. economy by a “mass deportation” campaign to remove all unauthorized immigrants from the country and effectively “seal the border” to future unauthorized immigration.

The report, Raising the Floor for American Workers, claims that immigration reform will raise the GDP in the United States by over $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years. In contrast, if the federal government were to actually attempt the implementation of a "fanciful, deportation-only scenario", the likely result would be “$2.6 trillion in lost GDP over 10 years, not including the actual cost of deportation,” as well as "widespread job losses throughout the U.S. economy".

The results from the study send a clear message to Congress that in order for the U.S. economy to recover, passage of comprehensive immigration reform legislation needs to be part of the strategy.

To read the full report link here or go to http://tinyurl.com/ydxrjxa

Related News:
CNN: Legalizing unauthorized immigrants would help economy, study says

Read more »

U.N. Report finds Migrants Give More than They Take

Yesterday a report was released by the United Nations about migrants. The conclusion: Migrant workers benefit both the countries they move to and the ones they leave behind.

According to an article by IPS Global News Agency, a report out from the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) said that perceived negative burden of migrants on host societies does not correspond to reality and that concerns are often exaggerated by politicians. Negative effects, the report says, "are generally small and may, in some contexts, be entirely absent".

Among other things, the UNDP also found that low as well as high-skilled migrants make a positive contribution to the host country's economy and often become the main investors in their countries of origin, even when it is hit by financial crisis or natural disaster. This, they say, forms a development buffer that protects national economies.

To read the full article on the report, visit Common Dreams by linking here.

Read more »