The Heritage Foundation has a new report out looking at the cost of immigration reform. The report puts the cost of immigration reform at a whopping $6.3 trillion. I won’t go into all the reasons they list but let’s say it seems they believe that as soon as undocumented workers become citizens, they will immediately claim means-tested benefits. Not only is this offensive, it’s flat out wrong.
As just one example, Heritage starts its calculations with the assumption that undocumented workers are under-educated with poor earning potential. Remarkably, it then goes on to assume that future generations of undocumented workers will continue to be low-earners. The study states, “[T]her children of unlawful immigrants are likely to remain a net fiscal burden on U.S. taxpayers.” In fact, educational attainment of second generation immigrants exceeds the first generation by a substantial margin.
At the same time as deriding undocumented workers and their future generations as uneducated, the Heritage study claims that undocumented workers and their families are an unfair drain on public education systems. So, what is it? Children of undocumented workers will be uneducated and poor earners or they will be a drain on the education system (and therefore be educated and increase their earning potential)?
And, you don’t have to take my word for it-in 2006, Heritage released a report touting the economic benefits of comprehensive immigration reform stating, “An honest assessment acknowledges that illegal immigrants bring real benefits to the supply side of the American economy, which is why the business community is opposed to a simple crackdown.”
Beyond Heritage’s own words, several conservative groups have also touted the economic benefits of immigration reform. The Manhattan Institute released a brief in February that stated,
“Immigrants increase economic efficiency by reducing labor shortages in low- and high-skilled markets because their educational backgrounds fill holes in the native-born labor market. However, the share of immigrants in the U.S. workforce has declined since its 1991 peak. Increased immigration would expand the American work-force, and encourage more business start-ups. Businesses ranging from Apple Corporation to apple growers would be able to find the workers they need in America.”
The American Action Forum, a group “dedicated to keeping America strong, free and prosperous,” released a study in April that said immigration reform would reduce the deficit by $2.7 trillion. In particular:
… the rates of entrepreneurship among immigrants are higher than among the native born population, raising the possibility of greater innovation and productivity growth in the aftermath of immigration reform. Finally, the combined effect of these impacts on economic growth would allow greater productivity growth through the embodiment effect on quality of capital goods.
Cato has an 11-point takedown of why the Heritage study is flawed, including some significant flaws in the way the Heritage numbers were calculated:
In contrast to that economic reality, immigrant wages, gross domestic product, and government welfare programs are unrealistically static in Mr. Rector’s study. His study largely ignores the wage increases experienced by immigrants and their descendants over the course of their working lives, how those wages would alter after legalization, and the huge gains in education amongst the second and third generation of Hispanics.
In reality, undocumented workers help make our economy work. Providing a pathway to citizenship would help bring them out of the shadows and openly into the workforce. Studies have shown that within five years of gaining legal status, previously undocumented workers experienced a 15.1 percent increase in their average inflation-adjusted wages. That increase means more revenues for state and Federal government and a stronger economy with more people with increased purchasing power.
The Heritage study is an ugly example of trying to demonize a population that has been underpaid and exploited for our own economic means. Immigrants have literally built our economy and country. Comprehensive, just immigration reform will be a big boost to our economy. It’s the right thing for our economy and for our society.