Last week, Raul Hinojosa, a University of California, Los Angeles, economist, released a study that reviewed three possible immigration reform scenarios: comprehensive immigration reform, a temporary worker program only and an enforcement-only program based on deportation. The American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) officials shared their perspective with Congressional staff during a briefing reviewing the study.
The study found comprehensive immigration reform, that includes legalization and flexible future visa programs, will result in $1.5 trillion in economic growth during a 10 year-period. By contrast, reliance on a temporary worker program alone would result in significantly less growth, and a deportation-only approach would bleed $2.5 trillion from the U.S. economy over the same 10-year period.
ANLA’s vice president for government affairs, Craig Regelbrugge, emphasized three reasons why the Hinojosa study is an important contribution to the national discourse on how to fix America’s broken immigration system.
First, Hinojosa’s analysis is based not on hypothetical assumptions, but on actual historical experience with implementation of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), signed into law by President Reagan in 1987.
Secondly, other economic experts with considerably different views and methodologies – notably, the conservative Cato Institute – have reached essentially the same conclusions.
Finally, the study acknowledges that “getting it right” and not repeating some of the shortcomings of the IRCA legislation requires both a robust legalization program, and a future flexible visa program that can expand and contract with the economy.
“Most employers want an immigration and employment eligibility verification system that works, that has clear and bright lines for compliance, that achieves workforce stability now, accommodates growth in the future, and ensures a level playing field,” Regelbrugge said.