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Eakinomics:The Potential of Immigration Reform

Immigration reform has been bandied about since the very start of the Biden Administration. Indeed, the House has now passed two pieces of immigration reform, the Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. Both bills offer a path to legalization for certain groups of immigrants by creating new categories and reforming old ones.

But as I argue in a recent op-ed, legalization should be the first move rather than the final objective. Conservatives have to insist that the core visa system be infused with a vision for growth that builds a globally competitive 21st century labor force. Immigrants already have the higher labor activity rate when compared with native born citizens. They are also more likely to start a business. In fact, nearly 20 percent of self-employed workers in the United States are foreign born. Diverse skill sets and talents from across the world have spawned innovation and job creation in this country for years, despite that under 10 percent of visas are awarded based on economic criteria. Think of the effects of making business central to the decision to award an immigrant visa.

This argument is central to an effective immigration reform. But it is often hard for some to grasp. To illustrate what is at stake, consider the graph (below). It contains three long-run projections of gross domestic product (GDP). The central (blue) line is built off the main population projections by the United States Census, combined with the Congressional Budget Offices long-term economic projections.

The bottom (red) line, however, is the projected GDP under a scenario that has zero future immigration. This has striking implications for the future population of the United States. By 2060, the population is over one-fifth (21 percent) smaller than in the main projection. The reduced pace of population growth translates directly into a smaller labor force, reduced employment and lower national income. The cumulative difference between a United States with immigration and one without is $140 trillion in additional GDP.

But the gain could be even greater. Suppose that visas are granted on the basis of the potential to contribute to the economy (see one example of such a reform here). The result would be greater growth in not only the size of the population, but also its productivity. The top (gray) line illustrates the additional GDP that would result from the additional productivity.

That pro-growth impact is the foundation of conservative approaches to immigration reform. As Congress considers major immigration changes, this potentially bipartisan approach should be on the table.

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Daily Dish: The Potential of Immigration Reform - AAF - American Action Forum

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo, visited Laramie Wednesday to offer praise and encouragement to the students and faculty of Slade Elementary for their Blue Ribbon achievement a program that recognizes public and private K-12 schools and their academic excellence.

Following that presentation, Barrasso commented on more politically pressing issues regarding immigration and his recent visit to the Donna processing facility in Texas.

Its heartbreaking and its overwhelming, Barrasso said.

He and 17 other Republican senators traveled to the southern border to see firsthand the immigration crisis that has allegedly worsened under President Bidens administration. Barrasso said he witnessed nearly 4,000 individuals, many minors and many keeping warm under insulation blankets.

Jesse Moreno, border patrol agent for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, confirmed in a brief phone conversation on Thursday that the Donna facility is built to accommodate approximately 1,000 and under COVID restrictions, 250. As of Tuesday, it is currently accommodating 4,100.

There are reasons that we have asylum laws, Barrasso said, claiming many of the migrants currently seeking entry into the states arent for political or safety issues.

Barrasso said he spoke with several border patrol personnel and even observed a night patrol where he witnessed traffickers and smugglers on the other side of the river taunting border agents. He also claimed, per the patrol officers, the Remain in Mexico program was successful because they were forced to wait for adjudication outside the border.

John Sandweg, former acting director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during President Barrack Obamas administration, stated the Remain in Mexico program and Title 42, both programs adopted under the Trump administration, created an anomaly in the amount of immigrants waiting in Mexico for asylum.

I think thats playing a big role and artificially increasing the (Biden) numbers, Sandweg is quoted on CNN Politics.

However, the fact remains that approximately 9,700 migrants crossed the border in February, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, and average 500 unaccompanied migrant children under the Biden administration. Experts say these numbers will likely surpass those in 2019 during the same interval of time considering there are already 7.49% unaccompanied migrants as of 2021 year-to-date data compared to 8.25% in 2019.

Those are the Biden numbers, Barrasso said. He added that as a result, approximately one-third of patrol personnel perform patrol duty to keep out traffickers and smugglers.

Two-thirds are now working as escorts or day care personnel, Barrasso said for unaccompanied migrant children. Here lies the biggest problem, according to Barrasso.

Our immigration system does need reform, Barrasso said in a 2019 address to the Senate, and again Wednesday. But for Barrasso, reformation comes after security.

The first thing we have to do is secure the border, he said, More are coming every day.

As for reformation, the caseload is expanding exponentially and currently backlogged by over 1.3 million cases, according to data configured by TRAC, a non-partisan information site about U.S. federal immigration enforcement.

According to the Honorable Dana Leigh Marks, U.S. immigration judge in the Department of Justice, moving the immigration court systems outside of a law enforcement agency (Department of Justice) would help speed up immigration/asylum cases processes.

Barrasso responded to this fact by referring to a recent proposal introduced by Lindsey Graham which would end the abuse of the asylum system and establish refugee application and processing centers outside of the States. The legislation is known as the Secure and Protect Act of 2021 (S.1494).

Earlier this year, Wyoming State Senator Anthony Bouchard publicly announced his intentions to run against Representative Liz Cheney in the 2022 Republican primary.

When asked if he thought Bouchard had a reasonable chance running against Cheney, Barrasso said its too early to say.

When I was re-elected in 2018, I had five others who ran against me who wanted to have me fired so they could have the job, Barrasso said while laughing.

He added there are 14 months between now and election and a lot can happen during that time.

He said that in the meantime he is working diligently with Cheney and Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo, on long-term income possibilities.

Currently the state is fighting President Bidens oil and gas moratorium, which according to the University of Wyoming Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute, could cost the state nearly $12.9 billion in tax revenue.

We have a delegation of three people [and] we are working fully closely together on energy issues, Barrasso said.

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Barrasso weighs in on immigration reform | News | wyomingnews.com - Wyoming Tribune

In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, the crew discusses a package of changes to voting rules signed into law on Thursday by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, and compares them with other Republican proposals around the country that could make voting more difficult. The Georgia law contains a number of controversial provisions, including giving more authority over the state elections board to the state legislature (instead of the secretary of state) and banning volunteers from giving food or water to people waiting in line to vote.

The gang also looks at the challenges facing the Biden administration in dealing with the surge of migrants at the southern border and immigration reform more broadly. There does not appear to be a general consensus among Democrats about how to address immigration reform. And in the near term, the U.S. is seeing the largest increase in migrants at the southern border in 20 years, according to the secretary of Homeland Security.

You can listen to the episode by clicking the play button in the audio player above or bydownloading it in iTunes, theESPN Appor your favorite podcast platform. If you are new to podcasts,learn how to listen.

The FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast is recorded Mondays and Thursdays. Help new listeners discover the show byleaving us a rating and review on iTunes. Have a comment, question or suggestion for good polling vs. bad polling? Get in touch by email,on Twitteror in the comments.

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Politics Podcast: Democrats Are Struggling On Immigration Policy - FiveThirtyEight

CALDWELL Last year brought a perfect storm of perils for farmworkers in the United States, with the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme heat and smoke from wildfires.

Teresa Romero, the third president in the history of the United Farm Workers since its inception in 1962, said in a speech Tuesday to University of Idaho students and staff, that the last year and beyond has revealed a need for immigration reform, wage reform and protections from employer abuse for farmworkers.

The universitys College Assistance Migrant Program brought Romero to speak in recognition of National Farmworker Awareness Week. Romero spoke to the group of attendees over Zoom.

{div class=page title=Page 1}{div class=layoutArea}{div class=column}Teresa Romero is the first immigrant woman to become president of a national union in the United States. She is the third president of United Farm Workers since its inception in 1962.{/div}{/div}{/div}

Field workers cannot shelter-in-place or work from home, Romero said. They are essential workers, they must go to their jobs to feed America, unfortunately they are still not treated as essential workers (by) the federal government.

Romero said the federal government has not done enough to hold agriculture employers accountable for their workers safety.

In April last year, the farmworker labor organization sued the state of Washington over what it claimed to be deficiencies in COVID-19 protections for domestic and seasonal workers. The lawsuit led the state to issue new guidelines for worker housing.

After a year of struggling to avoid COVID-19 while on crowded transportation systems, in multigenerational housing and trying to balance child care as working parents, Romero said there needs to be some relief for workers.

For Romero, this work is personal.

It is because I am a Latina and an immigrant, she said.

Romero is the first Latina and first immigrant woman to become president of a national union in the United States. She replaced Arturo Rodriguez as the organizations president in December 2018.

Romero is passionate about helping women immigrants in the agriculture industry, because she sees herself in them. She came to the United States from Mexico nearly 40 years ago while in her early 20s in search of a better life, she said. She didnt speak English, but pushed herself to learn seven new sentences per day in her first years in the United States.

As president of the labor organization, Romero has focused on making agriculture work equal between men and women. This equality is as a way to ensure women are no longer enduring verbal, mental and sexual abuse while at work, Romero said in her bio provided to the University of Idaho.

FARM WORKFORCE MODERNIZATION ACT

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The bill, that has yet to be introduced in the Senate, would provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented agriculture workers and their families if they stayed in U.S. agriculture. It would also make changes to the H-2A program, which brings foreign workers to work in U.S. agriculture fields for part of the year.

It would free farmworker children from the fear of seeing their undocumented parents going to work in the morning and not knowing if they will return home at the end of the day because of the constant threat of deportation, Romero said.

Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, was a co-sponsor of the bill that had support of over 30 Idaho agricultural groups. However, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said he would not support that version of the bill in the Senate. Hes working on a Senate version of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.

Crapo has said in the past that he wont support amnesty nor giving advantage or benefit toward citizenship for anyone who crosses the border illegally, according to a March 24 email from Crapos office. Those entering must get in the end of the line and following the legal process by applying for a green card, permanent status or citizenship.

The Senate is out of session for more than a week, but a spokesperson from his office said Crapo wants to improve the situation with farm employers and workers. They said Crapo would be working on revising the path to citizenship component of the bill.

Rachel Spacek is the Latino Affairs and Canyon County reporter for the Idaho Press. You can reach her at rspacek@idahopress.com. Follow her on twitter @RachelSpacek.

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United Farm Workers leader calls for immigration, wage reform in University of Idaho speech - Idaho Press-Tribune

Weve all heard of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, but how was it established? What is currently going on with the policy?

Lawyer, University of Idaho alumnus and DACA recipient Luis Cortes Romero provided answers during a keynote awareness event last week.

Cortes Romero is a partner at Immigrant Advocacy and Litigation Center in Seattle where he practices immigration law and advocates human rights.

There is one really important thing that happened with the DREAM Act, Cortes Romero said. It put a name to a certain population of the immigrant community, the people who were brought over as kids and were raised in the U.S., Dreamers.

According to Cortes Romero, the DREAM Act gave migrants a sense of identity and purpose.

Back in 2001, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act was proposed, but never passed the Senate. It wouldve granted undocumented immigrant students temporary legal status.

Fast forward to 2005, and student groups began to utilize activism to gain momentum, eventually forming the largest youth-led community, United We Dream.

In 2008, former U.S. President Barack Obama ran a campaign promoting immigration reform. Near the end of Obamas first term, the public become aware of reports that his administration was deporting more immigrants than any other president in the history of the country, according to Cortes Romero.

People no longer bought Obamas pro-immigrant rhetoric. Dreamers and immigration activists began referring to Obama as Deporter-in- Chief and staged protests outside his headquarters.

Later in 2012, Obama announced new immigration policy, DACA, which would protect young, undocumented immigrants from deportation.

DACA is not a green card and its not citizenship, Cortes Romero said. You get basic building blocks of life, a work permit, a social security number and thats basically it.

First, individuals submit an application, a process requiring an extensive amount of personal information. Afterwards, applicants visit an immigration office where their photos and fingerprints are taken and a thorough background check is conducted.

The fate of DACA was challenged in 2017 after the Trump Administration said they would end the DACA program.

Cortes Romero was a lead lawyers on a lawsuit against former U.S. President Donald Trump to prevent DACA from ending.

He couldnt end the program just like a light switch, essentially that is what he was doing, he was just turning it off and on, Cortes Romero said. Thats not how you end government programs, people rely on this.

After winning the case, Cortes Romero found himself arguing for the continuation of DACA inside the U.S. Supreme Court. There he found support from 143 businesses including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks and Twitter, which rely on DACA recipients as part of their workforce.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of DACA recipients in 2020, blocking the Trump Administrations plan to end the DACA policy.

Now, the House of Representatives has passed the American Dream and Promise Act.

If passed by the Senate, theAmerican Dream and Promise Act would provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and undocumented immigrants.

While being a DACA recipient has become more common and accepted, Cortes Romero said, there is still progress to be made.

Date updated in photo caption

Evelyn Avitia can be reached at [emailprotected] or on Twitter @Eavitia_

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What is DACA? Immigration lawyer breaks it down during DACA Awareness Week - Argonaut