Immigrants fuel economy

By Alan Jenkins and Juhu Thukral

McClatchy-Tribune

During their recent meeting, President Obama and Gov. Janice Brewer of Arizona agreed to disagree about Arizona’s controversial immigration law.

But there may be issues, from basic values to bread-and-butter economics, where Americans can find common ground on immigration.

Nearly everyone agrees that our current system is badly broken and serves no one well, whether native-born or immigrant, documented or undocumented. In fact, the only real beneficiaries of the status quo are unscrupulous employers looking to hire workers whom they can exploit and underpay.

With common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform, more immigrants will be able to contribute to this country, promoting an economic recovery in which every American can share.

After all, immigrants do their part — and then some — to fortify the economy by generating jobs and contributing to tax revenues. As the President’s Council of Economic Advisers has reported, immigrants pump at least $37 billion a year into the economy, to the benefit of native-born Americans and newcomers alike. Foreign-born Americans account for one in 10 self-employed business people, and these businesses will be part of the engine of our economic recovery.

But what about unauthorized immigrants? This much is known: They come here to work hard and participate in the economy. Undocumented men have the nation’s highest workforce participation rate: 94 percent are working or looking for jobs, compared to only 83 percent of native-born men. The large majority of undocumented workers pay taxes: the Social Security Administration estimates that three-quarters of unauthorized immigrants pay payroll taxes, even though they aren’t eligible for Social Security.

The real problem is that it’s almost impossible for most undocumented workers who have lived, worked and paid taxes in this country to become legal. Sensible, workable immigration reform would provide a system for these workers to comply with the law and regularize their status.

Working in shadows

Fixing the broken system will help all working Americans, especially those whose wages are driven down by employers exploiting undocumented workers. Because undocumented workers currently live and work in the shadows, they too often are not covered by laws ensuring a minimum wage, overtime pay, job safety and civil rights protections.

With so many workers who can be compelled to submit to substandard wages and working conditions, millions of native-born workers and legal immigrants find that their job security, pay scales, health coverage, and retirement income are in jeopardy. Immigration reform will be good for all workers, whether newcomers or native-born.

Comprehensive immigration reform must offer fairness and accountability for all. Better control of our borders is important, and must come primarily through improved technology and coordination, rather than building walls or militarizing border communities.

To be effective, reform must be combined with a workable system of legal immigration, including for undocumented workers who register, pay a fee and any back taxes, and who begin to learn English. Converting today’s 12 million undocumented immigrants into full-fledged contributors to our country and our economy is a crucial part of the solution.

Research by the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at the University of Southern California finds that creating a process for California’s 1.8 million unauthorized Latino workers to earn legal status could bolster Social Security and Medicare taxes by an additional $2.2 billion a year. The study estimates that the ensuing combination of higher earnings, higher taxes, and higher overall spending would result in a total gain for California of $16 billion a year.

If our nation’s leaders reach across their philosophical divides, they’ll find that common-sense immigration reform is a win-win proposition — for the native-born, for immigrants, and for our national interest.

Alan Jenkins is executive director and co-founder of The Opportunity Agenda and Juhu Thukral is the group’s director of law and advocacy in New York. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.