Judge Andrew Hanen’s injunction order, issued Monday, makes certain eligible
illegal immigrants won’t get permission from the federal government to seek
lawful employment, and will have to continue working without legal papers.
The states who filed the lawsuit claimed such an action would cause “undue
burden” to their finances.
“Regardless of the reasons behind the actions or inaction of the executive and
legislative branches of the federal government, the result is that many states
ultimately bear the brunt of illegal immigration,” wrote Judge Hanen in his
preliminary injunction issued Monday.
But if the main reason for opposing legalization of nearly 5 million illegal
immigrants comes down to costs, could states actually win out if these
immigrants are allowed to pay the same taxes as legal American residents and
citizens?
At least one study points to this as a solution.
immigrationinfographicA 2013 study conducted by the Institute on Taxation and
Economic Policy found that allowing illegal immigrants the legal opportunity to
work would actually increase state and local tax revenues by over $2 billion,
added to the already $10.6 billion in revenues they contributed in 2010.
For many states facing the danger of tax fatigue, maxed-out budgets and mounting
unfunded liabilities caused by rising pension costs, allowing the legalization
of certain illegal immigrants could give some much-need help to state finances.
Texas, for example, claimed in the lawsuit against the federal government that
Obama’s plan would “impose substantial costs on its budget” by allowing
thousands of immigrants the opportunity to apply for driver’s licenses. It
claims it would lose “several million dollars” on the drivers licenses to be
processed.
Considering Texas’ 1 million illegal immigrants make up close to 10 percent of
the state’s labor force, it is more than likely any shortfall would be picked up
by additional tax revenue collected by giving these workers legal status.
The study estimates Texas would pick up more than $91 million once illegal
immigrant workers are given legal papers.
“We know that undocumented immigrants already pay six or seven percent of their
income in state and local taxes, simply because they buy things and they rent or
own homes, and sales and property taxes are paid automatically,” said Matthew
Gardner, ITEP’s executive director, in a statement attached to the original
report. “With legalization, both wages and tax compliance will go up, resulting
in substantial new revenues for states, especially from the income tax.”
As for the injunction, it seems only the Supreme Court will be able to have the
final say on whether Obama’s plan will ever be put into action.
“In reaching this conclusion, Judge Hanen believed that a wholesale, categorical
exemption from immigration law is not an exercise of prosecutorial discretion
but instead a suspension of the law, which the Supreme Court has made clear is
inconsistent with the president’s duty to ‘faithfully execute’ the laws,” said
Elizabeth Foley, law professor at Florida International University.
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She told Watchdog.org the injunction can now only be reversed by
an upper appellate court, either the Fifth District Court, or more
likely, the Supreme Court.
“The preliminary injunction essentially is a mechanism to
‘maintain status quo’ until the court can rule on the underlying
legal claims being made,” she told Watchdog.org.
The deferred action plan would have continued to beef up security at
America’s borders but also allow temporary work authorizations for
illegal immigrant families with children who were born in the
nation’s borders, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services.
This follows a similar executive action issued in 2012, allowing
illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children
and are currently enrolled in school or volunteering in the military
to stay in the country and avoid deportation.
Immigrants’ rights group across the country are similarly dismayed
by the court order.
“Now millions of people must continue waiting to apply for temporary
status to live and work in the U.S. with their families without fear
of deportation,” said Mary Meg McCarthy, executive director of
Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center, an
immigration law firm. “Families and communities are desperate for
relief from the fear of deportation they face every day under our
country’s broken immigration system.”
Many leading Republican politicians and anti-immigrant groups,
however, celebrated the freeze on allowing immigrants to gain lawful
status.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called the ruling a “huge victory” and
House Speaker John Boehner called on Senate Democrats who disagree
with the president to push for defunding the Department of Homeland
Security, which would carry out the order.
“Judge Hanen’s ruling preventing the Obama administration from
proceeding with a plan to grant amnesty and work authorization to
millions of illegal aliens is an important victory for the integrity
of U.S. immigration law, American workers and taxpayers, and for our
constitutional system of government,” said Dan Stein, president of
the Federation for American Immigration Reform, in a statement.
“President Obama’s attempt to allow broad classes of illegal aliens
the right to live and work legally in the United States, under the
guise of discretionary authority, is nothing more than a blatant
end-run around the Constitution.”
[This
article courtesy of
Watchdog.]
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