13 JULY 2021

MEMO: Citizenship for Immigrants is Economically Smart and Viable via Budget Reconciliation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As reported by the AP, Democrats and advocates are moving to deliver a path to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, farmworkers and essential workers via the budget reconciliation package. Due to its budget impact, as well as its ability to boost economic growth and create jobs, budget reconciliation is an appropriate legislative vehicle to pass immigration solutions, with both historic precedence and bipartisan overwhelming support from the American people.

“2021 is the year to deliver citizenship for immigrants and their families who stepped up to support our country throughout the pandemic while contributing to our economy. A path to citizenship for immigrant workers is not only supported by the vast majority of Americans, it is critical for the country’s continued economic recovery and our efforts to rebuild our communities’ infrastructure,” said Sergio Gonzales, Executive Director of Immigration Hub. “It’s clear, Republicans aren’t interested in a bipartisan exercise, let alone governing responsibly so the country as whole can make a bold comeback. Senate Democrats are taking commendable steps, using every tool at their disposal to deliver on immigration to energize our economy and leave no worker behind on our path to recovery.” 

The House, earlier this year, passed H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act and H.R. 1603, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act-- bills that would create a path to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, and farm workers. Republicans have made no commitments to support these bills in the Senate and the bills have been blocked by Republicans for two decades. With a simple majority vote, Democrats can finally deliver on the will of the American people by including a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, farm workers, and essential workers in the American Families Plan budget reconciliation package.

The Case for Immigration in Budget Reconciliation

  • Citizenship boosts economic growth, creates jobs and increases wages for Americans. Providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, farm workers, and essential workers would boost GDP by a cumulative total of $1.5 trillion over 10 years, create over 400,000 new jobs, and increase wages for all American workers by $600. Undocumented immigrants would also contribute an added $149 billion of spending power each year if they were U.S. citizens. This added income could result in an additional $39 billion in combined federal, payroll, state, and local taxes each year. A reconciliation bill with a path to citizenship included will have large-scale economic benefits for all Americans.

  • Strong bipartisan support: Voters across the political spectrum support creating a pathway  to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. An overwhelming majority of Americans support providing a pathway to citizenship to undocumented immigrants over deporting them (79% to 21%). That includes base Republicans who prefer citizenship over deportation by a 61% to 39% margin. Another poll found that 70% of Americans support fixing our immigration system and 75% of voters agree that we need a humane, orderly process to provide asylum claims and a chance for a fair hearing when dealing with migrants at the border. In the same poll, voters want to see solutions and actions. 71% of voters agree that politicians have been talking about immigration reform for 30 years, nothing permanent has been done, and they want to see progress.

  • A path to citizenship for immigrant workers should qualify for a budget bill because immigration has an important budgetary impact. In the short term, immigration reform has a budget impact of approximately $126 billion. While long-term economic impacts may not be considered in the analysis of whether a proposal is included in the package from a parliamentary perspective, immigration has long-term economic benefits for U.S. workers and the country as a whole and is critical for the country’s economic growth.

  • The Senate has included immigration in reconciliation before. In 2005, the Republican-controlled Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan reconciliation bill that increased the number of immigrant green cards. The budget reconciliation process has been used multiple times throughout history for major legislation including health care, benefits and tax legislation. 

  • Democrats can use reconciliation to pass urgent legislation such as protection for Dreamers and others. Despite the interest of the American people in commonsense immigration solutions, Republicans continue to obstruct efforts by Democrats in Congress to deliver citizenship for these individuals. Democrats must ensure that a pathway to citizenship is a part of the budget reconciliation in order to achieve a recovery that is truly equitable and inclusive for all regardless of immigration status.

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.