May 12, 2006
by Mike
Franc
Americans, the most recent CBS/New York Times poll found,
hold a nuanced set of views on immigration reform.
The percentage saying that the level of legal immigration should remain the
same or increase now stands at 59%, the highest level ever recorded. Over half
(53%) believe illegal immigrants work in the sort of gritty jobs that
native-born Americans shun. An even larger percentage (61%) wants to give
illegals who have lived and worked here for two years or more a chance to apply
for citizenship rather than be deported. Two-thirds say they oppose building a
700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.
Yet nine out of ten believe that, on balance, illegal immigration poses
serious problems that Congress must address. What explains these seemingly inconsistent
views?
The answer lies in the question that elicited the strongest response. Asked
whether illegal immigrants strengthen the economy because they “provide
low-cost labor and spend money” or harm it because they “don’t all pay taxes
but can use public services,” an overwhelming 70% said they believe illegal
immigrants create a drain on our economy.
According to Heritage Foundation welfare expert Robert
Rector, the overwhelming majority of Americans has it right. Rector
reviewed the economic literature on the fiscal effects of immigration and found
that the skills level of those awarded citizenship is a crucial factor in
assessing their fiscal impact. It’s positive for immigrants with some college
education, mixed for those with a high-school degree, and negative for
high-school dropouts. “This is important,” Rector notes, “because half of adult
illegal immigrants in the U.S. … have less than a high-school education.”
Indeed, Rector reports that over the past four decades the educational level
of new immigrants has fallen steadily relative to that of native-born
Americans, as have their wages and the rate at which their children and grandchildren
achieve economic success. Coupled with very high levels of out-of-wedlock
birthrates (among foreign-born Hispanics, for example, the rate is 42.3%), the
current illegal population fits the classic profile of a group that, if offered
a ready route to citizenship, will consume billions more in welfare benefits
than they will contribute in taxes.
The historical pattern whereby new immigrants claim fewer welfare benefits
than native-born Americans reversed itself about three decades ago as the size and
reach of the welfare state grew. In just the last five years, enrollments in
welfare programs have skyrocketed. Medicaid enrollment has grown by 50%, Food
Stamps by 49% and Pell Grants by 33%. The earned income tax credit program now
provides generous subsidies (over $35 billion annually) to more than 21 million
low-wage workers.
Not surprisingly, legal immigrant households are now 50 percent more likely
to receive welfare benefits than are the native-born. Immigrants without a
high-school degree, moreover, were two and a half times more likely to enroll
in these programs. “This underscores,” Rector concludes, “the high potential
welfare costs that may be associated with proposed amnesties to illegal
immigrants.”
How high? The leading congressional plan to resolve the impasse over illegal
immigration, introduced by Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Mel Martinez
(R-Fla.), would offer amnesty and, ultimately, citizenship to between 60% and
85% of the 12 million illegal population at an annual cost that Rector
estimates at between $11.4 billion and $16 billion.
And this estimate only looks at the illegal population already here. With
citizenship comes the unrestricted right to bring one’s spouses, minor children
and even parents to America, each of whom would be eligible for citizenship.
And that, in turn, confers the unrestricted right to avail oneself of all
welfare programs that have ensnared millions in the poverty trap.
Overall, the “family chain migration” envisioned in the Hagel-Martinez
proposal could cost additional tens of billions per year, much of it in
emergency room and hospital costs borne by Medicaid.
It gets worse. Under Hagel/Martinez, 325,000 new visas would be issued
annually for “guest workers.” Nearly all of these workers and their families
would become eligible for -- you guessed it -- welfare benefits. The fiscal
consequences of allowing each guest worker to import an entourage of relatives
could rival those of the amnesty program itself.
The legislation that Senate may soon consider would create no fewer than six
channels through which tens of millions of additional immigrants could enter
the U.S. and become citizens, a disproportionate number of whom fit the
demographic profile of our current welfare population. If lawmakers want future
immigrants to be net contributors to rather than a net burden, they must make
immigration policy favor workers with higher levels of education and better job
skills.
Mr. Franc, who has
held a number of positions on Capitol Hill, is vice president of Government
Relations at The Heritage Foundation.
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© 2006 Townhall.com