As of January 1, 2009, there were approximately 31 million immigrants in the United States. According to the Department of Homeland Security, slightly more than half of them are naturalized citizens, and approximately one-third lack proper authorization.
Immigration, taken as a whole, is an enormous contributor to the wealth of our society. According to a 2007 report by President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), U.S. natives gain an estimated $37 billion a year from the presence of immigrants.
The CEA also reported that immigrants to the U.S.:
• contribute more to productivity and less to crime than the native-born
• tend to complement rather than replace U.S.-born workers, and
• have a long-term positive impact on public budgets
Unauthorized Immigrants
The basic problem with the way the debate is framed by anti-immigrant groups is that “legal” and “illegal” immigration are supposed to be different, unrelated phenomena. Numerous studies of immigrant populations have determined that unauthorized immigrants share many, if not most, characteristics with authorized immigrants. In fact, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that half of all unauthorized immigrants were authorized to enter the country, and only became classified as unauthorized after they either failed to renew or violated the terms of their visas.
There are commonly estimated to be about 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States, although the highest estimates put the number closer to 20 million. This group, by its very nature, tends to represent the poorest, least educated, and least well-connected of the foreign-born workers. Yet even within this skewed category, studies have failed to demonstrate that the net economic impact of undocumented immigrants is anything other than positive for the US economy. While they are among the lowest paid workers in the country, they receive significantly less in services and support from the government than other comparable groups.
Fiscal Impact of the Undocumented
Contrary to right-wing rhetoric, unauthorized immigrants pay taxes: state and federal payroll taxes as well as local sales, excise and property taxes. At the federal level, the fiscal impact of unauthorized immigrants is both positive and significant, particularly for the finances of the Social Security system. This is a notable example, because while many of the contributions of unauthorized immigrants go unrecorded, the accounting method of the Social Security Trust Fund clearly registers the overpayment of the undocumented, which amounts to an annual surplus of $7-8 billion. Since the 1980s, this fund has grown to over $500 billion, and represents a significant portion of the total social security trust of about $2.5 trillion (New York Times).
At the state and local level the impact of undocumented residents is more mixed. The Congressional Budget Office, in its survey of the impact of unauthorized immigrants on state and local coffers, found the net effect to be minor. Furthermore, where certain localities are adversely affected, the economic effect is comparable to that which occurs in many low-income and rural areas regardless of their immigrant populations; i.e., economic costs are concentrated, while economic benefits are externalized.
Conclusions
So what is the take-away? The immigration system, except in specific localities, is not really “broken” in any way that negatively affects the native-born. Immigration continues to play an overwhelmingly positive role in America’s public life. Where reform is necessary is in the extension of the rights of the undocumented.
Moreover, the problems attributed to undocumented immigrants are the same problems faced by all working-class Americans: exploitation, poverty, lack of political rights, and discrimination. These problems are the result of disenfranchisement, and will not be solved by policies designed to increase the exclusion and isolation of immigrants.
What, then, is the road forward? It is the same for immigrants and non-immigrants, documented and undocumented: build the institutions of democracy and civil society- labor unions, voting blocs, political education societies, and direct action groups. History tells us that the native-born must not exclude immigrants from these political vehicles- the result is divided, uncoordinated action, and ultimately, a weaker society, a weaker democracy, and a weaker America.
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