Legalization of illegal immigrants helpful for economy- Study

United States, January 9: Legalization of nearly 11 million illegal immigrants could give a big boost to the economy of US, states the latest study. 

The findings of this joint report reveal that such legalization would result in increased wage rates, increased consumption, new jobs and more tax revenue. The study has been done by two policy institutes. 

 Two institutes involved in the study are the American Immigration Council and the Center for American Progress. The current comprehensive immigration reform that legalizes illegal immigrants will bring in nearly $1.5 trillion towards gross domestic product of US over a period of ten years. 

The study analyses three different situations- namely- deporting unauthorized workers, temporary worker programs and legalizing current unauthorized population. While deportation would result in a loss of $2.6 trillion in GDP (gross domestic product) over a decade, on the other hand, temporary worker program would result in a profit of $792 billion and full legalization will be the best option for the betterment of US economy, finds the study.

 Meanwhile, as per other groups like the Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Center for Immigration Studies, unauthorized immigration should be controlled as it is harmful for the economy of US. 

 The President of US Barack Obama had in 2008 asserted that comprehensive immigration reform will be his topmost priority. But, in the present times, this issue remained sidelined probably due to health care reforms in Congress, weak US economy and the problem of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

However, it appears certain that immigration reforms are likely to be revived in Congress in the current year. 

  The conclusions of the present study- ‘Raising the Floor for American Workers’- are based on the results of Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 when nearly 3 million illegal immigrants were given a legal status in US. 

Author of the study Hinojosa Ojeda, who also is the founding director of the North American Integration and Development Center at the University of California (Los Angeles) says that despite enormous spending by the federal government on immigration enforcement programs, there has been increased number of unauthorized immigrants in US since 1990s from 3.5 million in 1990 to nearly 11.9 million in the year 2008.