Capitol Hill will probably not take up immigration reform this year.
Even many in Congress who support reform don’t want to tackle the issue until after what will likely be contentious mid-term elections.
“We are going to go back, finish the healthcare bill, finish the job bill, then of course you have the 2010 election,” said U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo.
According to the American Immigration Council, the sooner Congress passes something the better.
“We support comprehensive immigration reform, because we believe that the immigration system is badly broken and that the dysfunctional system does a disservice to all of us, because it weakens the nation’s ability to prosper and grow and be competitive in the 21st century,” said Mary Giovagnoli, director of the American Immigration Council.
The nonprofit, nonpartisan, pro-immigrant organization established by leaders of the American Immigration Lawyers Association released a report last week that claims legalizing the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants already in the United States through comprehensive immigration reform would add $1.5 trillion to the nation’s gross domestic product over the next decade, generate billions of dollars in additional tax revenue and consumer spending and support hundreds of thousands of jobs.
The report states that a comprehensive immigration reform plan that creates a legalization process for undocumented workers and sets a flexible visa program dependent on U.S. labor demands would raise the salary for all American workers.
Undocumented workers often make less than minimum wage and don’t complain because of deportation fears.
Comprehensive immigration reform would take away the cheaper labor pool, reform advocates say, and increase salaries for everyone.
Americans for Legal Immigration, on the other hand, believes “amnesty” for illegal immigrants would mean the “destruction of the United States of America” and considers the report a “desperate political propaganda attempt,” said William Gheen, the organization’s president.
“We resent the fact they are trying to bribe Americans, make Americans believe there is some money to be had here if we go along with this,” Gheen said.
The opposite is true, he said: For there to be a significant positive impact on the U.S. economy, more undocumented immigrants need to be arrested.
“Probably to the magnitude of 50 times the amount they are doing now,” Gheen said. “There is virtually no significant immigration enforcement right now in America today, and there’s been no significant immigration enforcement in the last eight years.”
Steve Ahlenius, president and CEO of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, advocated a middle ground: A simpler guest worker program that does not include amnesty.
“In our country there is an expectation to let people play by the rules,” he said. “I think the idea that someone has come into the country illegally and then all of the sudden they get to go ahead of the line to become a U.S. citizen … it is against of our sense of fair play.”
However, immigrants and new workers are vital in the United States, where a large component of the workforce will be retiring in a few years but there are few new workers to take their place.
“Right now it takes five working people to support the one person that is retired,” Ahlenius said. “Well, in the next 20 years, they are projecting that is going to drop to three people supporting the one person that is retired.”
And it is doubly important that those workers are in the United States legally.
“With illegal immigrants, we have an underground economy where they are not paying taxes,” Ahlenius said.
According to the American Immigration Council, the temporary worker program generates 0.44 percent of the nation’s GDP — about $792 billion over the past 10 years.
In contrast, continuation of an enforcement-only policy would result in a loss of $2.6 trillion in GDP over 10 years, the council’s report states.
The U.S. Border Patrol’s budget has increased 714 percent since 1992, and fewer Mexicans are coming into the United States due to the contraction of the U.S. job market with the onset of the recession in December 2007, according to the report.
The statistics presented indicate the cost per apprehension in 2008 for the Border Patrol was $3,102 — nearly five times the $630 it cost in 2000.
Despite the unlikelihood of passing immigration reform this year, pro-immigration organizations plan to continue with their lobbying efforts across the nation.
The Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance — a pro-immigrant group here in the Lone Star State — plans to have its statewide convention on immigration on Feb. 20 in Austin.
From 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, the Rio Grande Valley Equal Voice Campaign is offering a panel discussion on the Christian tradition and immigration at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, 2209 Kendlewood Ave., McAllen.