By Stephen Dunne, Esq.
The United States is a nation of immigrants which historically always had a liberal U.S. immigration policy. During the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, immigration to the United States was essentially open, and, at times, immigrants were even recruited to come to America to help with the settlement of undeveloped areas of the country. Until the 1920’s, no numerical limits on immigration existed in America.
What happened? Racial theories based on junk science began to influence U.S. immigration policy. The U.S. House Judiciary Committee employed a eugenics consultant, Dr. Harry H. Laughlin, who asserted that certain races were inferior. Within a short time, the Immigration Act of 1924 set new numerical limits on immigration based on “national origin.” Taking effect in 1929, the law imposed annual immigration quotas for the first time, essentially closing the door to many immigrants.
The United States, a nation of immigrants, has continually been dependent on successive waves of immigration to grow it economy. It is in large part thanks to these immigrants that the United States has prospered over the past few centuries.
I am not an economist but I am an Irish immigrant who has owned and managed a landscaping company, a real estate company and presently, a law firm and it seems to me that this country needs a multifaceted solution to solve our current economic crisis and Immigration Reform could very well be part of that solution.
According to most calculations, twelve million illegal immigrants (12,000,000) reside in the United States. Assuming that a two thousand dollar ($2,000.00) application fee is charged to twelve million illegal immigrants (12,000,000) that would generate approximately twenty-four billion dollars from this one time application fee that could be used to stimulate the U.S. economy.
More importantly, the twelve million illegal immigrants would now be paying taxes for the first time and assuming that each individual is taxed in the 15% tax bracket and earning an annual income of $25,000.00, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would collect $3,750.00 per person which would amount to forty-five billion dollars per year in new taxes from these immigrants.
Immigration reform would stimulate the U.S. economy by generating sixty-nine billion dollars in application fees and taxes in the first year alone and forty-five billion dollars each year thereafter. Now that’s a stimulus package!
It goes without saying that Immigration Reform needs to be addressed immediately as an integral component of a strategic plan to resuscitate the stagnant US economy.
Bio: Attorney Stephen Dunne is originally from Dublin, Ireland. He has a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and sociology from Pennsylvania State University, a Juris Doctor from New England Law in Boston. He also served in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Sergeant in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Dunne’s legal practice, which is based in Philadelphia, focuses on immigration, estate planning, family law, DUI’s and bankruptcy law. Mr. Dunne is actively involved in community service initiatives, volunteering weekly at the Philadelphia Irish Immigration Center, Philadelphia Senior Law Center, Pennsylvania Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project, Philadelphia Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program and the Immigrant Migration Service of Philadelphia.