National immigration issue has minimal effects in Bloomington

Arizona’s recent legislation regarding immigrants has brought illegal immigration and strong opinions into the limelight.

But how does the issue affect college town Bloomington?

“I’m not aware of the exact reports or studies, and I can genuinely say ‘I don’t know,’” Monroe County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Bob Miller said.

Miller said an illegal immigrant would most likely look for a low wage occupation in something such as agriculture or food service.

Although Bloomington has many restaurants and campus food courts, Miller said he doesn’t believe Bloomington would draw a lot of illegal immigrants.

Although illegal immigrants might accept lower paying jobs, according to npr.org, illegal immigration has both negative and positive impacts on different parts of the economy.

Since illegal immigrants often push down wages for low-skilled workers, the rest of the community can benefit from paying lower prices for purchases.

However, a negative impact comes on government expenditures ­— illegal immigrants drain on government spending because they don’t pay income taxes.

Bloomington Common Council at-large representative Susan Sandberg said the City of Bloomington does not have any laws that deal with illegal immigration directly.

Indiana’s legislators, however, must follow the language of national laws
regarding the issue.

“I don’t think the city does have a stance,” said Larry MacIntyre, assistant vice president for University Communications, adding that the University doesn’t have an official stance on the issue either, but individual board members might have their own opinions.

Although Bloomington might not have an official stance, the city took action against Arizona’s legislation.

This summer, the City of Bloomington announced a boycott of the state of Arizona.

The City Council agreed not to buy goods or services from Arizona or send city officials to seminars. Sandberg said these boycotts were also done for the sake of discouraging racial profiling.

Although illegal immigration is not an issue that seems to deeply affect Bloomington, Miller said cities in general traditionally don’t play a big role in legislating the issue.