The legalization of an estimated 12 million undocumented workers would benefit the American economy, according to Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, UCLA associate professor for the Chicana and Chicano Studies department.
Hinojosa-Ojeda presented his findings on immigration reform to congressional leaders in Washington in a series of briefings on Jan. 7.
The report focuses on research that illustrates a positive economic impact that would occur with the legalization of undocumented workers. Hinojosa-Ojeda, who also presented his report to economists from various think tanks in a panel discussion broadcasted on C-SPAN, said research for the report was conducted for a number of years.
This research found that the legalization of undocumented workers would create a $1.5 trillion economic boom while enforcing current immigration measures would lead to a greater recession, said Juan Contreras, a research assistant for the North American Integration and Development Center and a fifth-year American literature and culture student, who works closely with Hinojosa-Ojeda.
“The report is intended to set the tone for the current immigration debate,” Hinojosa-Ojeda said. “(The report) makes it very clear that the issue of high unemployment should not be used as an excuse to not pursue immigration reform.”
Included in the report were a number of findings that promote comprehensive immigration reform. However, the part of the report that talks about the $1.5 trillion in additional gross domestic product over a 10-year period has received the most significant amount of attention.
Contreras said the report will pressure lawmakers because the study shows that comprehensive immigration reform is the most intelligent way of reforming the current immigration system.
Carlos Manuel Haro, postdoctoral scholar in residence for the Chicano Studies Research Center, said that research like that conducted by Hinojosa-Ojeda is very important and encourages the participation of others at UCLA. Hinojosa-Ojeda’s report and participation in panels discussing immigration reform and the downtrodden economy has linked two topics of recent national interest.
“It’s understood that there are millions of people in the United States that have come here and are without documents,” Haro said.
“They are important and integral to the economy of the United States and you simply cannot remove 12 million people from the United States and expect that there will not be an economic impact,” he added.