Bloomington and Monroe County officials are following the progress of comprehensive immigration reform with interest and concern. On July 10, 2 p.m., at the Monroe County Courthouse, representatives from the mayor’s office, the county commissioners, city council, and county council will share their reasons for urging Congress to finalize an immigration bill this legislative session.
To emphasize the importance of including strong, enforceable protections for undocumented workers and guestworkers, Indiana AFL-CIO president Nancy Guyott and White River Central Labor Council president Jackie Yenna are scheduled to join the press conference.
“Local government leaders are united in our concern for the welfare of all our residents, including new immigrants and non-citizens,” says Bloomington mayor Mark Kruzan. “More broadly, we understand how worker-friendly immigration reform promises to strengthen our national, state, and local economies.”
According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, “both the acquisition of legal status and citizenship [would] enable undocumented immigrants to produce and earn significantly more.” The resulting productivity and wage gains “ripple through the economy because immigrants are not just workers—they are also taxpayers and consumers… This increased consumption boosts business sales, expands the economy, generates new jobs, and increases the earnings of all Americans.”
The Congressional Budget Office projects that the bipartisan Senate immigration bill (S744), which includes a pathway to citizenship and some worker protections, would decrease the federal deficit by $135 billion over the next 10 years.
On the other hand, enforcement-only policies are costly and inefficient. According to a study by the Immigration Policy Center, “a mass deportation and zero-immigration policy would decrease U.S. GDP by $2.6 trillion over 10 years.”
“On humanitarian grounds and with our community’s self-interest in mind, we urge Representative Todd Young to publicly support a comprehensive immigration bill with a pathway to citizenship and strong worker protections,” says county council president Geoff McKim. “And we urge him to ask Speaker Boehner to call the bill for a vote.”
