Ellis Island reformed

The subject of illegal immigration is one of the most divisive political issues this election year, especially among Republicans. In South Carolina, home of last week’s Republican primary, illegal immigration was polled as the second-most important political issue to voters, right behind “the economy” and — perhaps most surprisingly — in front of national security.\nBut illegal immigration should not be competing for the candidate’s attention. Issues such as national security, environmental policy and the economy should be what the candidates focus on, not illegal immigration. Why? Shouldn’t we be concerned when millions of undocumented people from any nation come into our country looking for work? \nYes, but we shouldn’t be concerned for the federal government.\nIf anyone should be heavily involved in the immigration debate, it should be the local governments, and here’s why: Immigration studies have shown that low-skilled immigrants often times do create a small financial strain on government expenses, but mostly at a local level, not a federal one. In fact, all immigrants — legal and illegal — create an incredible amount of wealth for the federal government. The IRS has a system that enables illegal immigrants who do not possess Social Security numbers to file taxes. And it’s important to note that two-thirds of all illegal immigrants pay Medicare, Social Security and personal income taxes.\nUnauthorized immigrants contribute massive amounts to our Social Security funds. According to a report by the Tribune News Service, illegal immigrants pay Social Security taxes through fake numbers, which means they will never be able to collect benefits in the future. In 2005, the revenue from these fake numbers — what the IRS calls “earnings suspense files” — added 10 percent to the Social Security surplus, and it is growing, by an average of $50 billion a year.\nBut all this good news seems to stop at the state and local level. One study, focusing on New Jersey, found that immigrant families have an average fiscal deficit that is 59 percent greater than the average native. This means they get more government services than they pay for through taxes. But this has to do with average native versus average immigrant salary. Demographically, immigrants use no more government resources than natives at the same income levels. In fact, some studies show they use less.\nSo the obvious question arises: How do we get rid of, or decrease, the financial deficit of a low-income demographic to which many immigrant families belong? While the answer is complicated, it should not involve building a wall on the Mexican border as some politicians have wanted to do in some form or another. The money it would cost to build a fence — and boy, would it cost a lot of money — would be better spent on the local level, with professional development programs for low-income and immigrant families. With increased professional skills and incomes, immigrant families would erase or decrease their local fiscal deficit. This way, they can contribute even more to the country so many desperately want to call home. And this benefits us all.