UCLA's Dr. Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, Executive Director of the university's North American Integration and Development Center, makes the case that a legalization program on a large scale will be an economic boon to the country:
Legalization of the nation’s undocumented workers is now an economic necessity, as well as a
moral and civil rights imperative. Legalization increases short-term incomes, job creating consumption and net tax revenues in the low wage segments of the labor market, as well as sets the long-term foundation for an expanding middle class and a more sustainable economic recovery. The experience of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) is very instructive in this regard, producing both wage and consumption gains, and enhanced tax-revenue collection in the midst of a recession of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, as well as decades of very high rates of educational, home and small business investments by newly legalized families. If Congress and President Obama legalized the current 10-12 million undocumented persons in the U.S. an economic stimulus of $30-36 billion in personal income, 750,000-900,000 new jobs, and $4.5 to $5.4 billion in net tax revenue would result!
moral and civil rights imperative. Legalization increases short-term incomes, job creating consumption and net tax revenues in the low wage segments of the labor market, as well as sets the long-term foundation for an expanding middle class and a more sustainable economic recovery. The experience of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) is very instructive in this regard, producing both wage and consumption gains, and enhanced tax-revenue collection in the midst of a recession of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, as well as decades of very high rates of educational, home and small business investments by newly legalized families. If Congress and President Obama legalized the current 10-12 million undocumented persons in the U.S. an economic stimulus of $30-36 billion in personal income, 750,000-900,000 new jobs, and $4.5 to $5.4 billion in net tax revenue would result!
Jack, how about calling a mortgage company, saying you don't have a SSN (only ITIN) and asking to pre-qualify you for a mortgage? You will find out first hand.
Posted by: Legal and no longer waiting | February 01, 2009 at 09:35 AM
'The few illegals who actually can get a mortgage have to...fulfill much more stringent requirements than Americans.'
I am curious what requirements you're referring to, JoeF. Would you please provide a little detail?
Posted by: Jack | February 01, 2009 at 12:01 AM
@Tony: "Five million illegal alien homes have been foreclosed on since our recession began."
Care to provide a reference for that? I am sure you can not, because that is nothing more than complete and utter BS.
The real fact is that there have been way less foreclosures of houses owned by illegals. The few illegals who actually can get a mortgage have to provide a much larger down payment and have to fulfill much more stringent requirements than Americans.
So, unlike on the anti-immigrant sites that you apparently read, here you have to post true things, or your fake crap gets exposed as the anti-immigrant lie that it is.
Posted by: JoeF | January 27, 2009 at 08:16 PM
http://mediamatters.org/static/images/item/20081010-hudsnap.jpg
Looks like some of you have failed again. Hud later recanted the article due to MASSIVE pressure from liberals like yourselves.
Personally, I have no problem with amnesty (maybe we will get some tax money from them finally), however we need to fingerprint everyone and send the trash back.
Posted by: | January 27, 2009 at 04:37 PM
"Why do you think California went bankrupt?"
Why do you think Arizona is going bankrupt..non-white population is fast leaving the state..not just illegals. They have 300,000 unsold and foreclosed homes while the population is expected to increase by only about 100,000? Good try!
Posted by: George Chell | January 27, 2009 at 01:38 PM
"Beyond some optimum population density (the point at which over-crowding begins to crowd out per capita consumption), further population growth actually begins to drive unemployment and poverty as workers are added to the labor force faster than they can be productively employed. The U.S. is already well beyond that point."
Nonsense!! Try a country called the Republic of Singapore or a territory called Hong Kong. Despite economic crisis, unemployment is expected to reach a "high" of 4.5% this year whereas the less densely populated US unemployment is expected to reach a high of 9%.
Posted by: George Chell | January 27, 2009 at 01:36 PM
Tony, yes, of course, of 4 million foreclosed homes in the US in 2008 - homes in Detroit, Ohio, and upscale developments of Florida and California, - 5 million belonged to illegal aliens! I guess you get your data from out of space, roughly where you think the aliens are coming from. Good try!
Posted by: Legal and no longer waiting | January 27, 2009 at 11:51 AM
I believe the professor's numbers are a little askew. First of all the average American household has four family members in it. Five million illegal alien homes have been foreclosed on since our recession began. This number does not include the individuals renting apartments or rooms. I believe we are looking at 30 to 40 million illegal aliens.
Also does the professor really and truly believe all of them are going to pay to receive immigration status when they can continue to not pay taxes, receive welfare, free medical care and prison space? Why do you think California went bankrupt?
Just my thoughts
Posted by: Tony | January 27, 2009 at 09:46 AM
"American colleges do not produce graduates fast enough to meet demand such as in the medical field and with an aging population, where else are nurses and doctors are supposed to come from, CLONING???"
LOL! That would, of course, be wrong, because cloning would lead to population growth ;-)
Posted by: Legal and no longer waiting | January 27, 2009 at 08:07 AM
"further population growth actually begins to drive unemployment and poverty as workers are added to the labor force faster than they can be productively employed. The U.S. is already well beyond that point."
No one is talking about further population growth??? 10-12 million undocumented immigrants are already here, they have been part of the US society for many years. Many american workers even though they are unemployed are not applying for the jobs that are traditionally performed by these immigrants. If we were to add immigrants in fields where American colleges do not produce graduates fast enough to meet demand such as in the medical field and with an aging population, where else are nurses and doctors are supposed to come from, CLONING???
Posted by: Another Voice | January 27, 2009 at 07:02 AM
Pete Murphy, whose crazy theories will never get a Nobel Prize in economics.
Posted by: Legal and no longer waiting | January 27, 2009 at 06:56 AM
Dr. Hinojosa-Ojeda's arguments are based upon the theory that population growth translates into macroeconomic growth which is always beneficial on the microeconomic level. That is, everyone benefits. Nothing could be further from the truth. Beyond some optimum population density (the point at which over-crowding begins to crowd out per capita consumption), further population growth actually begins to drive unemployment and poverty as workers are added to the labor force faster than they can be productively employed. The U.S. is already well beyond that point.
Pete Murphy
Author, "Five Short Blasts"
Posted by: Pete Murphy | January 27, 2009 at 05:43 AM
Here in SoCal, where lots of Latinos live, the city of Santa Ana, with 75% of the population of Latino descent, is hurting badly because lots of people go back to their old country. Business is down, tax revenue is down, and the city is at least $28M in debt.
Posted by: Joe | January 26, 2009 at 06:06 PM
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/271180
"Dropping that population increase to 80,000 a year, fewer than 70 percent of whom could afford a home, the need would drop to less than 20,000 homes. And if the state's population growth is actually half of historical averages, which is what University of Arizona economist Marshall Vest has said, then just 10,000 homes are needed.
"Well, we built more than 10,000 units this year," Pollack said, meaning there has been no reduction in the excess inventory of homes on the market that has driven prices sharply down.
"So population is needed to absorb the excess supply.""
Posted by: George Chell | January 26, 2009 at 05:32 PM
Arizona's economic fiasco is far worse than the rest of the nation for precisely this reason.
Can you post some links on that?
When the crazy laws in AZ went in effect, I was thinking exactly the same thing that the state is shooting itself in the foot. But I have not seen any coverage of that in the media.
Posted by: Alix | January 26, 2009 at 04:21 PM
The corollary of the argument can be this: when it comes to the human law (the law of the US), and economics law, the law of economics always wins out. That is the main reason they gave amnesty to Geithner and made him the Treasury Secretary, although he clearly broke the social security laws and tax laws and broke the immigration law. Not confirming him would have meant Nouriel Roubini's dream come true...Dow at 6,000 and S&P at 500. A battered and heavily indebted country does not have the luxury of debating the legal issues..it will have to change its law to match the law of economics or it will perish! Arizona's economic fiasco is far worse than the rest of the nation for precisely this reason.
Posted by: George Chell | January 26, 2009 at 12:27 PM