By Amber L. Blasingame, Associate
Attorney
Immigration reform, such as the
DREAM Act, may not be the ultimate solution to our economic woes, but it could
be a starting point. Whether it
increases our national revenue or we break even, the economic benefit of the
DREAM Act and similar legislation far outweigh the alternatives.
In January 2012, the Immigration
and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director, Kumar Kibble, informed the House
Judiciary Subcommittee that deportation costs the government $12,500 per
person. This includes the arrest,
detention, litigation, and removal of an immigrant. A majority of these costs are paid from tax
revenue. The Department of Homeland
Security memo published on June 15, 2012, granting deferred action to
individuals who entered without status as children, estimated that 800,000
undocumented aliens could be eligible for the new benefit. Since June 15, 2012, the government has
revised the number of potentially eligible beneficiaries to 1.4 million. Removing all 1.4 million individuals could,
therefore, cost the government as much as $175 million according to Deputy
Director Kibble’s report.
Legislation such as the DREAM Act
requires that the immigrant “pay into the system.” Even the memo offering deferred action to
potential DREAMers would require that the undocumented immigrant pay processing
fees at every stage and provide evidence of eligibility for the benefit. Instead of the US taxpayer supporting an
undocumented immigrant through the process, the undocumented immigrant supports
herself through the process and
contributes to the greater economy. A
recent White House blog cited a report from the Congressional Budget Office
that the 2010 version of the DREAM Act could reduce the deficit “by $2.2 billion
over ten years because of increased tax revenues.”
DREAMers epitomize our hope for
the future of this country. The DREAM
Act as previously written required that the undocumented immigrant enroll in
post-secondary school at her expense or enlist in the military. The new memo requires that the beneficiary be
enrolled in school, have graduated at least from high school, or be a veteran
of the armed forces. At present the Census
Bureau reports that “only 16 percent of the resident population holding a bachelor’s
degree or higher” are immigrants, but immigrants account for “33 percent of
engineers, 27 percent of mathematicians, statisticians, and computer scientist,
and 24 percent of physical scientists,” in the United States, as cited by the
White House. Given the chance, potential
DREAMers could increase those numbers substantially, which would increase
revenue for both private and public schools nationwide. At present many undocumented individuals who
entered as children and earned their education through US schools are unable to
enroll in postsecondary institutions because they lack proof of lawful status
or are unable to pay non-resident tuition rates. Immigrants benefiting from the DREAM Act
would not only “pay into the system,” but would be required to positively
contribute to the future of our communities and our nation’s welfare.
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