By: Lizaury Rodriguez Marine
A group of more than sixty economists urged President Joe Biden to create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in his economic and infrastructure plan, arguing it would “raise U.S. wages, productivity and tax revenue.”[1]
The economists, which include President Barack Obama’s former top economist Jason Furman and David Kallick of the Fiscal Policy Institute, made the proposal in a letter to the White House.[2] The economists argue that legalizing millions of immigrants, especially those in jobs considered essential during the pandemic, would strengthen the economy while providing them with workplace protections.[3] As of 2018, there is an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.[4] As of 2017, approximately 7.6 million undocumented immigrants worked in the U.S. as of 2017, which accounts for nearly 5% of all U.S. workers.[5]
The economists believe that a broad path to citizenship would benefit the economy but acknowledged that relief for essential workers is especially important.[6] A significant number of undocumented immigrants work in essential jobs and other industries that are at risk for job loss during the pandemic.[7] “Offering them the chance to earn citizenship will help to ensure that the economic recovery reaches all corners of society, including those that have disproportionately been on the front lines of the pandemic and yet left out of prior relief bills, and establishes a more stable and equitable foundation on which future economic success can be built,” the economists wrote in the letter.[8] Millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States already pay millions in taxes per year using an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), even though they do not have a social security number.[9] On average, between 4.4 million and 4.6 million people filed taxes using an ITIN each year from 2012 to 2015.[10] Undocumented immigrants play an integral role in the U.S. economy.[11] Creating a path to citizenship is vital to the economic recovery of the country.[12]
In his first few days in office, President Biden unveiled the US Citizenship Act of 2021, an immigration bill that, among other things, provides an eight-year path to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented immigrants if it becomes a law.[13] The letter demonstrates a willingness among administration allies to break up Biden’s proposed immigration overhaul into smaller pieces, in order to get key parts passed into law.[14] Adding a route to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, however, could complicate passage of the infrastructure bill because most congressional Republicans regard such proposals as improper “amnesty” for people who migrated to the U.S. without authorization.[15]
“The Covid-19 pandemic has made plain how our public health and economic fates are inextricably tied together, and how harmful shortcomings in one part of our economy affect us all,” the economists argued in the February 11 letter.[16] “The inverse is also true: conferring citizenship will bring expansive benefits to communities across the country, not only for the individuals directly affected, but for the larger systems — families, and the workforce — that they comprise.”[17]
[1] Jordan Fabian, Biden Urged to Legalize Migrants as Part of Infrastructure Plan, Bloomberg (Feb. 12, 2021, 2 AM), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-12/biden-urged-to-legalize-migrants-as-part-of-infrastructure-plan?utm_source=url_link.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] See Randy Capps, et. al, Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States: Stable Numbers, Changing Origins, Migration Policy Institute (Dec. 2020), https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/mpi-unauthorized-immigrants-stablenumbers-changingorigins_final.pdf.
[5] See Jens Manuel Krogstad, et. al, A majority of Americans say immigrants mostly fill jobs U.S. citizens do not want, Pew Research Center (June 10, 2020), https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/10/a-majority-of-americans-say-immigrants-mostly-fill-jobs-u-s-citizens-do-not-want/.
[6] See Fabian, supra note 1.
[7] See Immigrant Essential Workers are Crucial to America’s COVID-19 Recovery, FWD (Dec. 16, 2020), https://www.fwd.us/news/immigrant-essential-workers/ (Out of the U.S. essential industry workforce, undocumented immigrants make up 11% of agricultural workforce, 9% of housing & facilities industry, 6% of food services and production, 4% of transportation workforce, 2% of health industry, and 2% of other sectors).
[8] See Fabian, supra note 1.
[9] The Facts About the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), American Immigration Council (July 1, 2020), https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/the_facts_about_the_individual_tax_identification_number.pdf.
[10] Fact Sheet: Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), National Immigration Forum (July 1, 2020), https://immigrationforum.org/article/fact-sheet-individual-taxpayer-identification-numbers-itins/#_ftn7.
[11] See Immigrant Essential Workers are Crucial to America’s COVID-19 Recovery, supra note 7.
[12] See Immigrant Essential Workers are Crucial to America’s COVID-19 Recovery, supra note 7.
[13] See Shelby Brown, Biden’s immigration reforms could put 11 million people on the path to US citizenship. What to know, Cnet (Feb. 2, 2021, 6:54 PM), https://www.cnet.com/how-to/bidens-immigration-reforms-could-put-11-million-people-on-the-path-to-us-citizenship-what-to-know/.
[14] Fabian, supra note 1.
[15] Fabian, supra note 1.
[16] Fabian, supra note 1.
[17] Fabian, supra note 1.
