Overwhelming Public Support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Contributed by Aaron Hall, Senior Attorney

The latest poll by Gallup finds the American public strongly supportive of the immigration reform being discussed by Congress and the White House. Included in the results are the following:

• 72% support allowing those here illegally to become residents or citizens if they meet certain requirements;
• 85% support requiring employers to verify new hires are legally in U.S.;
• 71% support increasing the number of visas available for those with advanced degrees in technology and science;
• 68% support increased government spending on security measures and enforcement at U.S. borders.

The CNN Article on this poll also points out that a majority of Republicans polled support these measures, including 59% of Republicans favoring the chance for those here illegally to become legal residents or citizens.

With broad-based support in the public and a sense of urgency from Congress or the White House, the atmosphere appears to be ripe for Comprehensive Immigration Reform to succeed this year where previous attempts had failed.

For further reading:
The CNN article on public support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The Gallup Poll

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Securing our Borders Before Status for Undocumented Immigrants: Problem Solved?

Contributed by Kim Tremblay, Associate Attorney

Last week, a group of senators from both parties announced a plan for comprehensive immigration reform.  The tentative plan states that the United States’ borders will have to be secured before undocumented immigrants are permitted to pursue permanent residency and embark on a path to citizenship.

This week, Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) published its statistics for fiscal year 2012.  The highlights include that attempted illegal border crossings have been dramatically reduced in the last few years.  In 2012, CBP thwarted 365,000 illegal border crossings.  This figure represents a 78% decrease since 2000 and a 50% decrease since 2008.  Of course, these figures represent only the number of people who were caught crossing the border, not the actual number of people who illegally crossed into the country.  Individuals may be using more successful strategies to avoid detection.

However, a significant force behind a likely overall decrease in crossings is probably the increase in resources devoted to border security.  Indeed “Under this administration, DHS has dedicated historic levels of personnel, technology, and resources to the Southwest border. CBP has more than doubled the size of the U.S. Border Patrol since 2004.”[1]  CBP’s budget last years was $11.7 billion, representing a 64% increase since 2006.[2]  

How much more secure should our borders be?  The dramatic decrease in illegal crossings illustrates that it is already difficult to enter the country illegally and that our borders are secure enough.  Americans need to think seriously about whether expending more tax dollars on border security will be worth the return on the investment at this point.    

  

For more information: 

See “Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform”

Senators Schumer, McCain, Durbin, Graham, Menendez, Rubio, Bennet, and Flake

CBP’s Fiscal Year in Review: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/national/02012013_3.xml

AILA, Border Security: Moving Beyond Past Benchmarks (1/30/13)

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[1] CBP’s Fiscal Year in Review: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/national/02012013_3.xml.

[2] AILA, Border Security: Moving Beyond Past Benchmarks, 1 (1/30/13).

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Comprehensive Immigration Reform and a Date with the Tax Man?

Contributed by Aaron Hall, Senior Attorney

A bipartisan group of Senators and the White House have each come out to give the principles for comprehensive immigration reform.  Advocates for reform hope that a bill is presented to Congress in the coming months.

 One of the common principles between the plans is the idea that undocumented immigrants will have to pay back taxes before getting legalized status.  A Politico story questions how back taxes from the undocumented would be calculated and collected and whether the IRS would even want to use its resources to try to collect such taxes.

 

[T]he reality is that between 50 and 70 percent of illegal immigrants who work already pay taxes.  But even if the IRS was able to track down income history for the 30-50 percent of illegal immigrants that don’t pay taxes, Treasury would likely spend more processing the back taxes than it brought in, says Steven Camarota, the director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that supports limiting immigration.

 

Many of those already paying taxes do so using authentic ITIN numbers provided to people by the IRS regardless of immigration status.  For those who have not been paying taxes, it is unclear whether a reform would attempt to assess an exact amount owed for past years of work or whether it would use a flat amount.  Regardless about how much the back taxes would actually bring in, the provision is politically popular and likely to be in the final bill in one form or another.

 

Further reading:

Senate principles for Immigration Reform

President’s principles for Immigration Reform

Politico Story on back taxes.

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