Friday, January 16, 2015
Tweet[IWS] CBO: HOW CHANGES IN IMMIGRATION POLICY WOULD AFFECT THE FEDERAL BUDGET [15 January 2015]
IWS Documented News Service
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Institute for Workplace Studies-----------------Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor--------------------Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
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Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
HOW CHANGES IN IMMIGRATION POLICY WOULD AFFECT THE FEDERAL BUDGET [15 January 2015]
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/49868
or
http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/49868-Immigration.pdf
[full-text, 42 pages]
[excerpt]
During the past two years, the Congress has considered proposals to modify the nation’s immigration system. The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744), passed by the Senate in June 2013, addresses multiple facets of immigration policy, including changes to the existing visa system, improvements in border security and law enforcement, and changes to the status of people who currently live in the country without legal authorization. Other proposals have focused on one component of immigration policy—for example, improving border security or changing certain aspects of the visa system. Whether the proposals involve broad or narrow changes to immigration policy, they could have a variety of consequences for both citizens and noncitizens, for the federal government, and for state and local governments. This CBO report examines some of those proposals and how such changes would affect the federal budget.
When estimating the budgetary consequences of immigration reform, CBO considers various factors. Depending on the details of proposed legislation, changes to immigration policy could have a significant effect on the size and composition of the noncitizen population and, as a result, on rates of participation in federal programs and the payment of taxes. For that reason, when estimating the budgetary effects of proposals, CBO considers the demographic and labor force characteristics of foreign-born people, their eligibility for and participation in federal programs, their tax liability, changes in the economy, and a number of other factors. If proposals were combined into a single, more comprehensive immigration bill, estimates of the budgetary effects would take into account the complex interactions among the various provisions; the net effect would not be a simple summation of the individual effects.
Contents
Summary 1
What Are the Demographic and Labor Force Characteristics of Noncitizens? 1
How Have Recent Administrative Actions Affected Unauthorized Residents? 1
What Federal Benefits Can Noncitizens Receive and What Taxes Do They Pay? 2
How Might Proposals to Modify the Immigration System Affect the Federal Budget? 2
How Might Increased Enforcement of Immigration Law Affect the Federal Budget? 5
Characteristics of Noncitizens 6
Categories of Noncitizens 6
Demographic Characteristics of Noncitizens 8
BOX 1. UNAUTHORIZED RESIDENTS AND DEFERRED ACTION 9
Labor Market Characteristics of Noncitizens 10
Noncitizens’ Eligibility for Federal Benefits and Their Tax Liability 11
Federal Benefits 12
Tax Liability 15
Proposals That Would Change Noncitizens’ Status 16
Changing the Criteria for Admitting Lawful Permanent Residents 17
BOX 2. MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN IMMIGRATION POLICY 18
Changing the Visa System for Temporary Workers 20
Granting Legal Status to Unauthorized Residents 22
BOX 3. ESTIMATING THE EFFECTS OF THE DREAM ACT ON THE FEDERAL BUDGET 24
Proposals Related to Enforcement and Workplace Verification 27
Increasing Border Security and Internal Enforcement 27
BOX 4. EXISTING INTERNAL ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS 28
Improving Verification of People’s Eligibility to Work 30
Appendix: Recent Congressional Budget Office Reports on Immigration and
Selected Cost Estimates for Legislation Related to Immigration 33
Glossary 35
List of Tables and Figures 37
About This Document 38
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