Report Shows Legalization of Undocumented Immigrants Would Benefit U.S. Economy

That is what a new report out from the Immigration Policy Center says.

According to their report titled, The Economics of Immigration Reform: What Legalizing Undocumented Immigrants Would Mean for the U.S. Economy, without Comprehensive Immigration Reform the United States cannot experience full economic recovery.

Research included in the report found that:

Legalization increases government revenues by bringing more workers into the tax system.

Workers with legal status earn and spend more.

“Enforcement-only” policies are expensive and ineffective.

Legalization increases immigration’s economic benefits.

Among other things, the report shows that legalization would increase tax revenue; whereas "enforcement only" policies have served to force undocumented labor underground causing a a decrease in revenue.

What about those that already pay taxes into the system? The report states that "between one-half and three-quarters of undocumented immigrants now work “on the books” and pay federal and state income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes", however are ineligible to receive the benefits they are paying for.

This is report is just another piece of evidence why Congress needs to be swift in passing Fair and Just Immigration Reform this year.

To read the full report, please link here, or visit the Immigration Policy Center at www.immigrationpolicy.org

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He's successful and undocumented

American Public Media did a story yesterday on Marketplace about a small businessman who runs a car repair shop in Minneapolis who doing rather well these days, as customers try to extend the lives of their beaters. The businessman has a big obstacle to success -- he's an undocumented immigrant from Mexico.

Millions of undocumented immigrants are in similar positions which makes passage of just and humane immigration reform a top priority for the new Obama Administration.

For the Podcast (audio) of the complete report, link here

For a full text of the story, link here.

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Coalition Files Complaint Against Measure Targeting Employers, Undocumented Immigrants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 11, 2008

Contacts:
Marcy Westerling, Director, Rural Organizing Project, (503) 543-8417 or (503) 543-3647
D. Michael Dale, Executive Director, Northwest Workers' Justice Project, (503) 357-8290
Meg Heaton, Staff Attorney, Northwest Workers' Justice Project, (503) 525-8454
David Fidanque, Executive Director, ACLU of Oregon, (541) 954-7731
Brian Willoughby, Communications Director, ACLU of Oregon, (503) 502-7675

Coalition Challenges Measure 5-190

Anti-Immigrant Law Exceeds Columbia County Jurisdiction and Violates State Law
ST. HELENS, Ore. – A coalition of social justice groups and business owners is formally challenging Measure 5-190, an anti-immigrant law recently passed by voters in Columbia County. The ACLU of Oregon and Northwest Workers’ Justice Project, on behalf of the coalition, filed the complaint today in Columbia County Circuit Court.

Our Complaint for Declaratory Relief contends that Measure 1-590, which would fine employers for hiring or employing undocumented immigrants:

•Exceeds the powers of Columbia County as granted by the state of Oregon;
•Violates the Single Subject requirement of the Oregon Constitution; and
•Is preempted by existing state laws, as well as land-use statutes and regulations.

The coalition includes Rural Organizing Project, Columbia County Citizens for Human Dignity, Columbia County business owner and resident Gary Liao, CAUSA Immigrant Rights Coalition and others.

“The measure, as written, contains errors, omissions, confuses jurisdictions and oversteps its bounds,” said Columbia County business owner Gary Liao. “Can a county government, for example, rescind a city- or state-given license? And fairness for all concerned requires action at the federal level. What would this nation look like if every local jurisdiction passed unique and contradictory laws seeking to enforce federal immigration policy?”

On Nov. 4, 2008, Columbia County voters passed Measure 5-190, which imposes fines of up to $10,000 and threatens the loss of business licenses for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

“Clearly, there has been a vacuum of leadership on immigration reform at the federal level,” said Marcy Westerling, Director of the Rural Organizing Project in Scappoose. “The proper response to that frustration is not to enact a mismatched patchwork of local laws seeking to usurp federal authority on this issue. Such an approach is misguided and unmanageable.”

Even Columbia County Counsel Sarah Hanson has issued a public statement saying the measure has “numerous legal flaws and … [is] unlikely to survive a legal challenge.”

Similar measures in Hazelton, Pa.; Farmers Branch, Texas; Escondido, Calif; and other jurisdictions already have been struck down.

Proponent Wayne Mayo, a local building contractor, has said he modeled the measure on Arizona’s Legal Worker Act. While that law has passed some court scrutiny, it still faces continued challenges regarding its constitutionality. Already, the state there has spent more than $75,000 in legal fees defending the law and has budgeted $2.6 million this fiscal year for enforcement and notification.

Mayo’s law also relies on E-Verify, a federal database designed to check employees’ names against Social Security records. That database has proven to be very flawed and ineffective. One transposed digit or misspelled name could flag longtime citizens as “illegal.”

Attorneys handling the case are: D. Michael Dale, Steven Goldberg and Meg Heaton for Northwest Workers' Justice Project; ACLU Cooperating Attorneys Bruce L. Campbell and Elisa J. Dozono, both of Miller Nash LLP; Stephen W. Manning of the Immigrant Law Group; and Chin See Ming, Legal Director for the ACLU of Oregon. The complaint asks the court to declare Measure 5-190 invalid and award reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.

The Impact on Business in Columbia County

While our complaint challenges the authority of counties to enact such laws, the coalition also is concerned – especially during this time of economic recession – that Measure 5-190 is fundamentally bad for business. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce – not often allied with social justice organizations – has staunchly opposed similar local measures because they are preempted by federal law and violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Measure 5-190 will also create a dangerous climate of suspicion in all the communities that make up Columbia County. “Foreign”-looking or “foreign”-sounding citizens will be put under a public microscope, and businesses that have never employed undocumented immigrants – and never would – may be forced to defend themselves against unwarranted accusations. All businesses owners and all job applicants in Columbia County will be at the mercy of this cumbersome, unconstitutional law.

For more information, visit www.timesaretoughenough.com

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No Match Rule Would Damage Oregon’s Economy, Study Shows

A new study released yesterday from The Coalition for a Working Oregon (CWO) predicts a significant reductions in economic output and job loss in the state if the federal “No Match” rule is implemented.

According to the study, the threat to Oregon’s economy is significant if the federal law takes effect and could cause a loss of 173,500 jobs in the short-term, or 7.7% of Oregon’s workforce along with a reduction in statewide annual production of up to $17.7 billion.

The long term effects could be a loss of 147,000 jobs, an annual reduction in state output of up to 14.7 billion, a tax loss of $656 million and an overall economic loss of $7.2 billion.”

The Coalition for a Working Oregon further said in their press release yesterday that an enforcement-only approach such as the “No Match” rule is particularly damaging to Oregon’s labor-dependent industries because it provides no mechanism to replace workers removed from the system. And that the only way to fix our broken immigration system is for the federal government to pass comprehensive reform.

Other points included in the report shows that departure of Oregon’s undocumented workers due to the no match rule would not likely to have a significant effect on Oregon’s unemployment rate. Mismatch in skills, education and location between undocumented workers and Oregon’s unemployed would make it extremely difficult for jobs being done by undocumented immigrants to be filled.

As for tax revenues, the study also showed that the departure of undocumented immigrants from Oregon would lower state and local tax revenues by an estimated $400 million to $656 million per year.

The Coalition for a Working Oregon is comprised of 20 Oregon employer groups who represent over 300,000 Oregon workers. The complete copy of the report can be downloaded at http://www.oregoncanwork.org/.

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Undocumented Immigrants Are Taxpayers, Too

As Tax Day 2008 comes to a close, it is important to challenge one of the common myths that undocumented immigrants take advantage of human services while doing nothing to support our economy. In addition to working some of the hardest, most essential jobs, immigrants contribute to the economy by paying the same state and federal taxes as everyone else.

Research from the Immigration Policy Center shows that between one-half and three-quarters of undocumented immigrants pay federal and state income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes. In addition, all residents of the United States regardless of their legal status pay sales taxes on food and goods at stores and property taxes, even if they just rent housing.

The Oregon Center for Public Policy estimated in 2006 that undocumented immigrants in Oregon paid state income, excise, and property taxes, as well as Federal, Social Security and Medicare taxes, which totaled "about $134 million to $187 million annually.” In addition, “taxes paid by Oregon employers on behalf of undocumented workers total about $97 million to $136 million annually.” And Although they pay tax dollars to Oregon State, undocumented workers are ineligible for the Oregon Health Plan, food stamps, and temporary cash assistance.

So the next time someone tells you that undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes or contribute their fair share to the economy, remember that the facts show that they actually do.

For more information on Undocumented Immigrant Taxpayers, see the articles below:

It's Tax Time! Immigrants and Taxes: Contributions to State and Federal Coffers

Assessing the Economic Impact of Immigration at the State and Local Level

Undocumented Workers Are Taxpayers, Too

Undocumented Immigrants as Taxpayers

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