Set record straight on amnesty
Washington,
May 5 -
According to recent news reports, some House Democrats are urging the White House to take up comprehensive immigration reform, claiming it will help reduce the deficit and boost economic productivity. But if the Obama administration gives amnesty to the 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., it would create a massive entitlement program and hinder our long-term economic stability.
Illegal immigrants already strain the economy with education and healthcare costs. Giving them amnesty would not fix these problems. Instead, it would require American taxpayers to dole out billions of dollars in benefits, while allowing illegal immigrants to permanently keep the jobs they’ve stolen from citizen and legal immigrant workers.
The Federation for American Immigration reform estimates the total cost of K-12 education for illegal immigrant minors and U.S. born children of illegal immigrants is $28.6 billion per year. And if illegal immigrants gain coverage under Obamacare, it could cost taxpayers up to $30 billion.
Claims that a massive amnesty would somehow “save social security” are misguided. The current Social Security system is set up to pay out more in benefits to those with “very low earnings” than received from those individuals.
Because most illegal immigrants have very low earnings, their Social Security benefits would be greater than their contributions. According to numbers provided by the Social Security Administration, the legalization of five million illegal immigrant couples who work for very low wages would be a $500 billion blow to taxpayers. Amnesty for all twelve million illegal immigrants would increase this figure. Thus, amnesty would not “save” Social Security, but rather burden taxpayers indefinitely.
Some Democrats and amnesty-advocates claim the taxes paid by illegal immigrants will help bolster the economy. But again, these claims are not based in reality. Low-skilled workers usually don’t earn enough money to pay taxes, but they still receive a check from the IRS in the form of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Putting illegal immigrants on the IRS pay roll will actually cost the federal government money.
The cost to American taxpayers is not the only reason to oppose amnesty. There are nearly 16 million Americans out of work and an estimated eight million jobs are held by illegal immigrants. By simply enforcing current immigration laws, we could create millions of job opportunities for American citizens and legal immigrants.
But rather than enforcing our immigration laws, the Obama administration has all but abandoned worksite enforcement efforts. Arrests for deportation are down by 87 percent. And criminal arrests of illegal immigrants are down 83 percent. It is disappointing that the Administration refuses to enforce the laws passed by Congress, especially when enforcement could open up much-needed jobs for American and legal immigrants workers.
It’s no wonder Arizonans recently passed statewide immigration enforcement laws that mirror federal law. The people of Arizona—like the majority of Americans—are rightly concerned about the costs to taxpayers of illegal immigrants and the jobs that illegal immigrants take from citizens and legal immigrants. But if the Obama administration won’t enforce immigration laws passed by Congress, then the states have no choice but to act on their own.
It doesn’t matter how they try to spin it, comprehensive immigration reform will not reduce the deficit. But it will doom future generations to economic insecurity by deepening the deficit and disadvantaging American workers.
Democrats want amnesty for one reason—they think it will turn illegal immigrants into their voters. But any short-term political gain would be at the expense of every American and legal immigrant worker in the U.S. Amnesty would devastate the economy and further burden American families.
Democrats should set aside politics and put the interests of Americans first.
http://thehill.com/opinion/op-ed/96341-set-record-straight-on-amnesty-
