Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Immigration Roundup: Two States, Two Approaches

by Laura D. Francis

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In addition to being located at opposite ends of the country, Arizona and Maryland appear to be on opposite ends of the policy spectrum in terms of immigration laws. And two recent reports suggest that they could see widely differing economic consequences as a result.

A report from the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based libertarian think tank, claims that Arizona’s economy is hurting because of two recent state laws: one requiring employers to use the E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification program and revoking a business’s license for repeatedly hiring illegal immigrants, and the more controversial S.B. 1070, which gives more power to state and local police to enforce immigration laws and makes it a crime for an undocumented immigrant to seek or engage in work in the state.

The report claims that these two laws caused 200,000 undocumented immigrants to flee the state, causing slumps in the construction and agriculture industries because native-born workers haven’t stepped up to replace the immigrant workers who left.

On the other hand, a report from the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, claims that passage of the state’s Dream Act—appearing on the ballot in next month’s election—will benefit the state to the tune of $66 million for each group of undocumented students who take advantage of the law, if approved by voters. The law would grant in-state tuition to young, undocumented immigrants attending state colleges and universities who meet certain criteria.

The report claims that net benefits derive in part from additional taxes paid by undocumented immigrants who will earn more as a result of more education.

It remains to be seen what other states may do as Congress remains unable to pass a sweeping immigration measure, especially in light of the restrictions put in place earlier this year by the U.S. Supreme Court in Arizona v. United States.

In Other News:

• The Florida Supreme Court is mulling whether to grant a law license to an undocumented immigrant following oral argument in the case Oct. 2. Although Jose Godinez-Samperio’s attorney argued that he is eligible for the deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) program and will get a work permit and Social Security number, the justices were concerned that granting the license now would violate federal immigration law.

• House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) continue to press the Department of Homeland Security for more information on the DACA program, sending a letter about the background check process Oct. 2 followed by an Oct. 5 letter questioning whether adjudicators are pressured to approve applications. As of Oct. 10, 4,591 DACA applications have been approved out of 179,794 that have been accepted.

• Microsoft Sept. 27 proposed a plan to add 20,000 H-1B visas at a cost of $10,000 each and to recapture 20,000 employment-based green cards at a cost of $15,000 each in order to fund STEM education in the United States. But academic and Indian immigrant Vivek Wadhwa—whose report and new book claim that immigrant entrepreneurs are dying out in the United States—Oct. 5 said the plan is unworkable for struggling immigrant-led startups, and instead proposed a startup visa that would allow immigrants to work for the companies they start and to obtain permanent resident status after hitting certain milestones.

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