President Obama’s new DREAM relief policy would allow undocumented youth who qualify to request temporary relief from deportation, making them eligible to receive work permits and a social security number.
Learn MoreFacts
Good for Workers and Honest Employers
Legalization Would Level the Playing Field for Workers and Honest Employers
- Most undocumented immigrants in this country are working outside the system in a shadow economy that artificially depresses wages, allows unscrupulous employers to cheat the system, and exposes workers to abuse and labor violations. One of the most horrific examples of this underground system is the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant: after the plant was raided in 2008, the public discovered that the undocumented workers employed there had been exploited by low wages, health and safety violations, and even physical abuse.
- Reports have shown that under the Bush Administration, these unscrupulous employers have not been penalized for unfairly exploiting workers. A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified cases in which the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor inadequately investigated complaints about employers who failed to pay minimum wage and overtime. Another GAO report found a marked decrease in Wage and Hour Division enforcement actions during the Bush administration.
- Under a legalization program, undocumented workers would be made legal and subject to all wage and labor laws that govern the workplace. This would result in improved wages and labor standards for all workers.
Legalization Would Lift the Wages of All Workers
- According to a report released in December 2009 by the Center for American Progress and the Immigration Policy Center, comprehensive immigration reform that includes a legalization program would increase the real wages of less-skilled legalized workers by $4,405 per year. Higher-skilled workers would see a yearly wage increase of $6,185 per year.
- These increased wages would result in increased consumer spending which would support 750,000 to 900,000 jobs in the U.S.
- This report found that the alternative to comprehensive immigration reform, mass deportation, would result in widespread job loss.
- An analysis done by the Drum Major Institute of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act, found that the bill’s legalization program would allow undocumented workers to earn legal status, creating a workplace that enables effective enforcement of U.S. wage and hour laws, workplace safety standards and other labor regulations. This would ultimately benefit all working people who rely on these protections.
Previous post: Editorial - Pricey fence won’t fix immigration woes
Next post: Good for Taxpayers
Right now, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) is meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) to talk about immigration reform. Immediately following the 2012 elections, Speaker Boehner said to ABC News “This [immigration] issue has been around far too long…A comprehensive approach is long overdue, and I’m confident that the president, myself and others can find [...]
Learn MoreOpponents of immigration reform are getting ever wackier. On Monday, we wrote about a protest in Kansas that took place over the weekend at Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s house. The peaceful protest (you can see video here) left pairs of shoes at Kobach’s doorstep, to signify all the individuals and families that he and [...]
Learn MoreSince the CBO score applauding the economic merits of immigration reform came out yesterday, Sen. Jeff Sessions has been working hard to try and discredit the score by claiming that its analysis is all wrong. “CBO did not provide enough information to assess the assumptions it made about the educational background of illegal immigrants and [...]
Learn MoreEl Comité Judicial de la Cámara de Representantes de Estados Unidos inició hoy el proceso para reformar la ley de inmigración con un enfoque en la aplicación de la ley que los demócratas denunciaron como intentos para criminalizar a los indocumentados. El Comité, controlado por los republicanos, aprobó un proyecto de ley del legislador republicano [...]
Learn MoreUn informe de la Oficina de Presupuestos del Congreso reveló el martes que la reforma migratoria bipartidista será beneficiosa para el crecimiento económico de Estados Unidos. El reporte señala que el proyecto S. 744 que debate el senado reducirá el déficit en $197 mil millones en los próximos 10 años, dato que contrasta con los [...]
Learn MoreThe Senate Gang of 8 immigration bill received good news yesterday when the CBO reported that the legislation would save the country $197 billion in its first decade, and an additional $700 billion in the next 10 years after. Here’s a roundup of some of the commentary today on what the score means: From Ezra [...]
Learn MoreThe CBO score on the Senate Gang of 8 immigration bill shows that immigrants are a gain, not a drain, for our nation…
Learn MoreArizona Republic: House’s Boehner Calls Bill Lax on Border Security By Dan Nowicki Des Moines Register: Iowa Poll: 54% of Iowans Favor Creating Path to Citizenship By Jens Manuel Krogstad Washington Post: ICE Director John Morton Stepping Down By Josh Hicks New York Times: Immigration Bill Would Slash Deficit, Budget Office Finds By Ashley Parker [...]
Learn MoreThe following is a statement from Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice, reacting to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scoring of the Senate’s immigration bill: The CBO score shows that there are now 197 billion reasons for Congress to do the right thing and pass immigration reform this year, and 700 billion more reasons over [...]
Learn MoreCongratulations, Jeff Sessions–you got your wish! For weeks now, the junior Senator from Alabama — and leading anti-immigrant voice in the Senate — has been complaining about the upcoming Congressional Budget Office score for the Senate Gang of 8 bill. The CBO usually scores a bill for 10 years, which Sessions didn’t think would be [...]
Learn More
