In a file photo, people gather for a protest for immigration rights on the Green in Morristown. Wind of the Spirit, along with a coalition of faith based and human rights groups, sponsored the rally in observation of International Workers Day and the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.
By Matthew I. Hirsch
Since the Nov. 6 election, renewed attention has been focused on the issue of immigration reform and opposing sides seem to be inching toward some kind of compromise.
Why this sudden tack into the current of controversy? One: Republican leadership recognizes that shifting demographics helped President Obama win re-election and it doesn’t want to be the “party of no” on immigration. Two: Both parties understand that the public sees Congress as a pit of petty partisanship and immigration as an issue that has the potential for a bipartisan bill they can all claim as their own.
Though these are good reasons for compromise on immigration, there are at least five other good reasons for supporting immigration reform.
1) The current system actually contributes to illegal immigration. Most Americans don’t realize that it takes years for a person with a green card to bring a spouse to the U.S. As a result, some separated spouses obviate the law by entering the U.S. illegally or by overstaying. Similarly, it takes years for a U.S. employer sponsoring a foreign professional or skilled worker to bring that person in “the right way.” Instead, faced with the pressing demands of ripening fruit, unkempt hotels or uncut grass, employers hire the undocumented. Reform is needed to align supply with demand.
2) Legalizing the undocumented will help to reduce the deficit. Everyone complains that the undocumented don’t pay taxes. In fact, they contribute to government revenues in many ways, including sales, gas and “sin” taxes; lottery tickets; fees for licenses and applications; rent, which is used to pay real estate taxes. And they commonly have Social Security and Medicaid contributions withheld, often under mismatched Social Security numbers. (This means that they put into that system, but don’t take out — to the tune of $7 billion per year.) Allowing the undocumented into the system would yield substantial increases to federal, state and local coffers in income taxes and FICA contributions.
3) Immigrants, whether legal or undocumented, bring new life to old cities. These new immigrants are often thrifty and hard-working, and move quickly from renting to homeownership. Soon, their neighborhoods see small shops, groceries and restaurants open, catering to the tastes of the community. While the sights, sounds and spices of these changing neighborhoods might roil some of the earlier settlers, without these new groups, many city neighborhoods would be left lifeless and impoverished.
4) Immigration restriction has a high social cost for “blended” families. There are an estimated 12 million undocumented in this country. Many of them have U.S. citizen spouses and children. Deporting them or creating conditions that make their existence here untenable hurts those citizen family members and drives them toward dependency. With a wage earner in the household, these families have a better chance at economic stability and upward mobility. Without a wage earner, the children are faced with the negative challenges of single-parent households, lower income, more reliance on government support and higher likelihood of falling prey to drugs, gangs, teen pregnancy and dropping out.
5) Economics favor legalizing the undocumented. No one thinks it is possible to deport the undocumented. Estimated costs of removal exceed $200 billion. In these days of record deficits, no one in Washington thinks this is a good idea. As for self-deportation, i.e. increasing pressure through restriction, this is self-defeating. Just ask the people of Hazleton, Pa., or other cities that decided to drive out illegals with tough laws.
In short, the vast majority of the undocumented are here to stay. In contrast, while no one would argue that the undocumented do not impose costs in such areas as law enforcement, medical care and education, on balance, the economic impact would be substantial and favorable, by some estimates adding $1.5 trillion to the GDP over the next decade.
These are just some of the reasons to get behind comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship.
Other aspects of reform are less controversial. Yes, we want to secure the border against threats and we want to promote respect for the law. But we also want to create an immigration system that helps America be stronger, more vital and more competitive.
We want to attract and retain the "best and brightest" and not erect barriers that discourage them from staying in America. We need immigration laws that recognize the demands of our economy in such areas as hospitality, health care and agriculture.
We also need laws that unite families and do not force eligible immigrants to wait a decade or longer to come to America legally.
For some Americans, immigration feels like a threat — to culture, to jobs, to ways of life.
This is not an unusual sentiment or a new one. Ultimately, it will be up to our lawmakers — in both parties — to look beyond the politics of fear and to summon the courage to enact reform, which is in America's national interest.
Matthew I. Hirsch teaches immigration law at Widener Law School. He serves on the board of the American Immigration Council and is past chairman of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.