Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Democrats In Congress Won't Consider A Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill With Path To Citizenship In 2021

Democrats in the U.S. Senate are attempting to pass a water down immigration bill that would allow 8M undocumented taxpayers to apply for a 5-year visa with a one additional renewable 5-year step without a path to U.S. Citizenship.

By H. Nelson Goodson 
Hispanic News Network U.SA.

November 2, 2021

Washington, D.C. - Once again, the Democrats regained control in the U.S. Congress and the White House with the eligible Latino vote in 2020. The Democratic Party including Joe Biden (D) who defeated Trump on November 2020 committed to pass a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill with a path to U.S. Citizenship for 11M undocumented taxpaying workers including essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now in November 2021, the Democrats in the U.S. Senate are attempting to pass a water down immigration bill that would allow 8M undocumented taxpayers to apply for a 5-year visa with a one time renewal for an additional 5-years without a path to citizenship.

The Biden plan includes $100B for immigration programs.

If passed, about 8M undocumented taxpayers would have access to a social security number and temporary protection status from deportation.

Democrats in Congress and Biden have no intention to fulfill their commitment in passing a Comprehensive Immigration Reform with a path to citizenship for more than 11M undocumented taxpaying immigrants residing in the U.S. today.

The U.S. Senate parliamentarian recommended not to include a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill for more than 11M undocumented workers because it would impact the federal deficit, despite the billions of dollars paid to the federal government by undocumented immigrants without getting a tax refund per year or any COVID-19 pandemic stimulus relief.

The Democrats in Congress and Biden were elected and won control with the majority of the Latino vote. Today, they expect the eligible Latino vote to accept their mere 5-year visa proposal without a path to citizenship, that's if the Senate parliamentarian doesn't oppose it and the Senate Dems can get a 51-50 vote that would include U.S. Vice President Pamela Harris's (D) vote.

Let's not forget, in 2008 former U.S. President Barack H. Obama was elected to the White House and the Democrats had already won the majority of Congress by committing to pass a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill, which they failed to do so, after they lost the majority and Obama later signed an Executive Order that created DACA to protect undocumented children from being deported.

Donald Trump (R/MAGA) when elected as U.S. President attempted to eliminate DACA.

Latinos and undocumented taxpaying immigrants should continue to fight for a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill, despite the unsuccessful attempts in the last 16 years and should not follow or accept the deception by Democrats in the U.S. Senate and Biden to accept a mere 5-year visa without a path to citizenship. 

There is no guarantee that the next U.S. president elect and the majority in Congress (which ever majority of political party takes control) will abide by the 5-year visa and attempt to end it by enacting federal legislation.

La Lucha continúa para una reforma de Inmigración Comprensiva, the fight for a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill continues. ¡Viva nuestra gente, Unidos Venceros!

For example (stats):

The Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy (ITEP) reported that,

• Undocumented immigrants contribute significantly to state and local taxes, collectively paying an estimated $11.74 billion a year. Contributions range from just over $550,000 in Montana with an estimated undocumented population of 1,000 to more than $3.1 billion in California, home to more than 3 million undocumented immigrants.

• Undocumented immigrants nationwide pay on average an estimated 8 percent of their incomes in state and local taxes (this is their effective state and local tax rate). To put this in perspective, the top 1 percent of taxpayers pay an average nationwide effective tax rate of just 5.4 percent.

• Granting legal status to all undocumented immigrants in the United States as part of a comprehensive immigration reform and allowing them to work legally would increase their state and local tax contributions by an estimated $2.18 billion a year. Their nationwide effective state and local tax rate would increase to 8.6 percent. (ITEP updated (2017) data of undocumented taxpayers in the U.S. link: https://bit.ly/39lbxBG)

• In Wisconsin, undocumented immigrants paid $21,7 million in personal income, $6.1 million in property taxes and $66.5 million in sale taxes in 2010 totaling at least $94.4M, according to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy study.

• Undocumented workers in Texas pay $11.6B annually in taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

• Undocumented immigrants paid $35B within 10 years to the Medicare Trust Fund even when they don't qualify for benefits. (HNNUSA/Hispanic News Network U.S.A.)

• The Social Security Administration reported that in the Earning Suspense File has $1.3T in taxes in earn wages, which most of it was collected from undocumented immigrants.  (The Atlantic)

• In 2014, Stephen Goss, the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration told Vice News that in the last decade, an estimated 11M undocumented immigrants reside in the U.S. and about 7M are unauthorized workers and 3.1M of those worked with fake or expired Social Security numbers and paid automatic payroll taxes to the federal government. In 2010, a $13B annual net contribution was made to the Social Security Trust Fund.

• In the last ten years (prior to 2017), unauthorized workers have paid an estimated $100B into the trust fund and most of the unauthorized workers will never benefit from their tax contributions later in life, according to Goss.  (HNNUSA/Hispanic News Network U.S.A.)

• Only 3.5% of undocumented immigrants make up a small segment of the total population in the U.S. and make up 5% of the labor force in the country (Pew Research Center)

• In 2015, Hispanics purchasing power reached $1.5T, an increase of 50% since 2010. Hispanic women control a majority of house spending. Women spend $3.3B in foot wear, according to the Nielsen report.

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