Within the past week, both UCLA and USC have come out with studies that suggest that legalizing undocumented immigrants could help boost the economy because if legalized, as their earnings would rise along with spending.
USC economist Manuel Pastor’s study suggests that amnesty for the undocumented would increase the state and local tax base in California by $350 million in the short run, and the report from UCLA Professor Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda shows that comprehensive immigration reform would add $1.5 trillion into the US economy over the next decade. We should note that Hinojosa-Ojeda used the popular Reagan immigration reform program of the 80s as a model for his study.
I do think that these comments from two Pitzer College professors are worth noting though:
“Jose Calderon, a professor of sociology and Chicano studies at Pitzer College in Claremont, said that undocumented workers in certain industries do bring downward pressure on wages.
‘But it is not the immigrant that it is to blame,’ Calderon said. ‘The way to eliminate this downward pressure is by giving undocumented workers labor protection. As you reduce the exploitation of wages and improve the working conditions, more equality will be created between immigrant workers and resident workers.’
Adrian Pantoja, an associate professor of political studies at Pitzer College, said a $16 billion boost is small considering the California economy is nearly $2 trillion.
Pantoja said the larger economic benefits of legalization are based on the assumption that undocumented immigrants will become more educated and earn higher degrees.
‘If that’s what’s going to happen, then the economic benefits are going to be significant,’ he said. ‘But we don’t know. The big question we’re grappling with in the field of Latino studies is whether Latinos will be moving into the middle class or will they become part of the underclass. We don’t have a good answer for that.’”
While now is probably not the ideal time for the immigration debate to heat up because of the recession (as we have discussed before here), I do think that over the long term we have more to gain by regularizing undocumented immigrants, especially if we are able to invest in them and avail them the opportunity of other legal workers. The whole class issue of Latino immigrants and whether the undocumented will move into the middle class or become part of the underclass is unknown, but legalized Latinos can help influence whether that happens through community involvement, activism, and the mentorship of newer arrivals.
8 responses so far ↓
1 jammer // Jan 13, 2010 at 4:08 pm
People moving about to find a better life has always been with the human species and no artificial boundries are going to stop people shopping around for a better place to live. The sooner we recognize that fact and pass commonsense laws and put programs that accommodate this fact in place the sooner alot of these problems go away. Take the politics, the racism, the greed out of the equation and a commonsense answer will follow.
2 Reyfeo // Jan 13, 2010 at 11:41 pm
We heard this when Reagan gave amnesty in the 80′s…didn’t stop them from piling up, AGIAN!
…what makes you think if we do it again that 20 years from now we won’t be back inthe same place.
Is it your point that we let everyone in?
3 BettyM // Jan 14, 2010 at 11:16 am
In finding a “better life” most people look at education as a way of moving up. Interesting articles.
4 IE // Jan 14, 2010 at 7:20 pm
Reyfeo, I’ll answer that question for you.
Yes, I say we let Latino immigrants in. The way I see it, if we can let Wall Street rape our Government trough, then we should let Latino’s, hell why not let all immigrants in. Most immigrants are hard working people trying to provide a better life for their families.
My mom was an immigrant. My aunt was an immigrant. My uncles are immigrants.
Because of their hard work and sacrifice, I’m a Navy Veteran working on my MBA. My sister is an Army Veteran and has a Masters. My cousin is applying to grad school. I could go on. So yeah, Reagan did a good job with his Amnesty.
You think that the problems the U.S. is facing is to be blamed on immigrants. We have an education system in shambles. We have a government who’s sole purpose is re-elections.
Anyhow, yeah let them all in.
5 What the ... // Jan 14, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Manuel Pastor’s study that the undocumented would increase California’s task base in the short run, would be true. But only in the short run as we would then dismiss those who have attained citizenship through amnesty for again, cheaper labor. The problem is, we continue not to address the border situation. It is also appears that Jose Calderon’s logic is skewed when his answer to the problem is to give greater labor protection to immigrant workers and resident workers. If you are on the road to citizenship, I would call you an American candidate; and not use convoluted and vague terms such as immigrant worker and resident worker. It’s simply one or the other. Giving labor protection via the Union Cartels, who control wages with a vengence, have had free reign under the protection of the ONADA administration; this would economically be a downword turn. Union protection means exploitation of the worker via their control. Without control of the worker, they cannot monopolize the labor market. Labor cartels have artificially increased the wage from 24-28% over the what the private sector has earns, thus directly impacting the economy and what’s left of the free market. Unfortunately, one must allow the free market, based on supply and demand, to determine the wage in order for the economy to be stable and strong. Again, in Adrian Pantoja rationalization in the assumption that undocumentated workers would be motivated for higher learning would be an oxymoron. Many latinos’s who attained higher learning were from second or third generation Americans. The best way for Latino’s to assimilate, is for Latino leaders to cease the tone that Latino’s are altogether different from mainstream American’s. This creates divisiveness and continued racism. I’m Latino but American first. Demand it, it’s in your US Constitution and Bill of Rights. If I fail to identify with that, then I must make my own country, such as Mexico better, sometimes revolution is the answer. Freedom and Liberty is not without cost.
6 Reyfeo // Jan 15, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Good post What The…
7 Greenconsciousness // Jan 16, 2010 at 2:52 am
This is politically motivated and false studies. See the Center for Immigration studies:
http://www.cis.org/topics/currentnumbers.html
The recovery from the recession of 2001 has been described as ?jobless.? In fact, an analysis of the latest Census Bureau data shows that between March of 2000 and March of 2004, the number of adults working actually increased, but all of the net change went to immigrant workers. The number of adult immigrants (18 years of age and older) holding a job increased by over two million between 2000 and 2004, while the number of adult natives holding a job is nearly half a million fewer. This Backgrounder also finds that the number of adult natives who are unemployed or who have withdrawn from the labor force is dramatically higher in 2004 than it was in 2000. These findings raise the possibility that immigration has adversely Affected the job prospects of native-born Americans.
http://www.greenconsciousness.org/weblog/#1081215517239922223
8 Latinos & the MA Senate Election // Jan 22, 2010 at 6:04 pm
[...] for undocumented youth. He basically espouses the tough on immigration line without considering the relative benefit to the economy that immigrants have been proven to [...]
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