How Would Build Back Better Affect Immigrants?
Budget Reconciliation and a Pathway to Citizenship
This week, the US House joined the US Senate in passing a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation resolution that includes critical immigration reform measures. While not final, the action Congress took is an important step in the process. And though the details are scarce, the plan calls for a path to citizenship for undocumented people who came to the country as children (a group sometimes referred to as “Dreamers”), refugees and asylum seekers who fled their home countries for humanitarian reasons, and some essential workers. Budget and economic legislation might not be the place advocates thought immigration reform would come from, but as a data-driven organization, we at the Colorado Fiscal Institute know that it makes perfect sense.
Immigrant Contributions to Colorado’s Economy
Immigrants supercharge the economy and drive prosperity in every part of the country, especially Colorado. A path to citizenship for all the people without documentation who want to call America home have a major positive effect in several economic and fiscal areas.
Immigrants Power Core Colorado Industries
According to 2019 American Community Survey data from the US Census Bureau, of the 190,000 Coloradans without documentation, about 100,000 are workers. These workers are the lifeblood of industries that define Colorado and shape our shared prosperity—outdoor recreation and tourism, farming, ranching and food distribution, care giving, restaurants and hotels, and construction. Those industries don’t work without immigrant workers.
Undocumented Immigrants and Frontline Work
This was never truer than during the pandemic. It’s estimated that 78,000 undocumented immigrants were on the front lines, helping our state fight the pandemic in critical infrastructure roles.
Though the virus has resurged due to the Delta variant, economic recovery is still on the horizon. Now is the time to recognize the contribution of undocumented immigrants in Colorado and the country, to value the essential roles they play in our economy and our communities, and open a path for them to fully contribute.
Impact of Immigration Status on Workers and Their Families
As we look to “build back better,” we must include a path to citizenship for all immigrants, particularly working people who are supporting their families and communities. Workers who gain legal status see between an 11-15% increase in earnings, as legal status makes them less vulnerable to wage theft and other forms of workplace abuse. In fact, recent studies show that immigrant inclusion boosts wages for all workers and the places most accepting of immigrants saw the highest wage growth. Increased earningshave been found to contribute to greater family stability, productivity and the physical and mental well-being of children.
Impact of Citizenship on Our Economy
Immigrants have also always been entrepreneurs, and are more likely than their US-born counterparts to start main street businesses. Creating a pathway to citizenship for immigrants would mean more small businesses and more jobs in every part of the state. Citizenship for undocumented immigrants would create an estimated 159,000 new jobs annually across the country.
Economic Growth
As jobs are created and families earn more, overall economic activity increases, creating a virtuous cycle of growth and prosperity across the state. Nationally, creating a path to citizenship would boost GDP by as much as $1.7 trillion in the next 10 years.
Increased Tax Revenue
Finally, greater economic activity leads to increased tax revenue for cities, states, and the federal government. That means more revenue to invest in the physical and social infrastructure the White House and Congress are proposing in reconciliation. Going forward, it also means more security and solvency for Social Security and Medicare—programs that we all rely on now or in the future. Here in Colorado, undocumented immigrants already pay $140 million a year in state and local taxes. Granting legal status would mean an additional $33 million in tax revenue to state and local governments every single year.
Creating Path to Citizenship is Building Back Better
Creating a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants is not just the right thing to do, it’s the fiscally smart thing to do. And the time is now. Bringing these workers out of the shadow economy and allowing them to fully share their talents and skills is good for immigrant workers and their families, good for business and local economies, good for state and local governments, and good for the federal treasury. It’s essential for our economic recovery and our future economic resilience that we create a path to citizenship for all immigrants.
