Is the Gang of Eight Plan "Amnesty"?

A study of other recent amnesties indicates that it is

The "Gang of Eight" senators argue that their bill (S.744) is not an amnesty because illegal immigrants would have to pay a fine and fulfill other requirements as a condition of legalization. Yet seven recent tax and parking-ticket amnesties imposed conditions and payments on those who violated the law, and in every case these programs were considered to be an amnesty by elected officials, the public, and the media. Like the Schumer-Rubio immigration bill, each of the amnesties discussed below set aside the normal penalty but still required payments.

Examples of recent amnesties:

In 2012 Rhode Island offered what the state government and media outlets explicitly called a "tax amnesty". The state even created the website www.TaxAmnesty.ri.gov to promote it. The amnesty allowed certain taxpayers to pay overdue taxes plus seventy-five percent of interest due by November 15. The remaining interest and civil and criminal penalties were waived.

The town of Huntington, N.Y., just completed a parking ticket program described as an amnesty by the town board, town supervisor, and local media. To qualify for the amnesty, past due tickets issued January 1, 2005, or later had to be paid by April 30, 2013. The person had to pay the ticket value plus any penalties, but could do so at a 40 percent discount.

In 2009 Louisiana ran what the state itself called a "tax amnesty", even setting up a "Tax Amnesty Website". The media also referred to it as an amnesty. The program covered past due taxes from 2001 or later. If taxes owed and 50 percent of interest were paid during the two-month amnesty period, the remainder of the interest plus civil penalties were waived.

More examples here

Members of the Senate's Gang of Eight have argued that S.744 is not an amnesty. On his website promoting S.744, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) states that, "No one gets amnesty". He argues that because the beneficiaries have to meet requirements and pay fines it is not an amnesty. He even states, "no undocumented immigrant is rewarded with anything". Similarly, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) argued in a National Review opinion article, "This bill ensures that no illegal immigrant will be given amnesty or rewarded for illegal behavior." When asked if the bill was amnesty in a recent interview Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) stated, "not at all." Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also claimed in a recent interview that the bill is not amnesty.

Despite claims to the contrary, S.744 is similar to the tax and parking ticket amnesties discussed above. The normal penalty for being in the United States illegally is that the alien must leave the country. Under S.744 this penalty is set aside and illegal immigrants who arrived prior to January 1, 2012 are given legal status and can remain in the country. They must also pay a fee of $500 initially, and undergo a background check. Like all the amnesties discussed above, S.744 includes conditions and payments. If S.744 is not an amnesty, then none of the tax and parking ticket amnesties discussed above are amnesties, even though everyone involved with them considers the programs to be amnesties.

"The Schumer-Rubio immigration bill is an amnesty, and those who claim otherwise are not being honest with the American people," said Steven Camarota, Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies.

View the Senate bill, CIS Senate testimony and commentary  here

The above is a press release from from Center for Immigration Studies. 1522 K St. NW, Suite 820,  Washington, DC 20005, (202) 466-8185 fax: (202) 466-8076.  Email: center@cis.org. Contact: Marguerite Telford, 202-466-8185, mrt@cis.org.  The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution which examines the impact of immigration on the United States.  The Center for Immigration Studies is not affiliated with any other organization






There Are No Jobs Americans Won't Do

Native-born dominate virtually all occupations

Supporters of the Schumer-Rubio amnesty argue that the bill's large increase in future legal immigration will have little impact on the employment of natives because immigrants do only jobs American's don't want. But a detailed analysis of 472 separate occupations by the Center for Immigration Studies shows there are only a tiny number of majority-immigrant occupations (legal and illegal immigrants combined). Thus, there are really no jobs that Americans won't do. Further, the Center found no occupations in which a majority of workers are illegal immigrants.

Co-author Steven Camarota, the Center's Director of Research, notes, "When more educated and affluent Americans argue that immigrants only do jobs Americans don't want, what they often mean is immigrants do jobs that they personally don't want. They forget the millions of their fellow Americans who do precisely these same jobs."

The millions of native-born Americans and legal immigrants already in the United States who work at low-paying and difficult jobs unfortunately do not seem to be represented in the legislation, which calls for a massive increase in immigration. The Schumer-Rubio bill creates a new guestworker program for less-skilled immigrants, it increases family immigration for a number of years, a large share of which is less-skilled, and creates new categories to admit additional less-educated workers.

The complete report can be viewed here. Among the findings:

Of the 472 civilian occupations, only six are majority immigrant (legal and illegal). These six occupations account for 1 percent of the total U.S. workforce. Moreover, native-born Americans still comprise 46 percent of workers even in these occupations.

Many jobs often thought to be overwhelmingly immigrant (legal and illegal) are in fact majority native-born:

- Maids and housekeepers: 51 percent native-born
- Taxi drivers and chauffeurs: 58 percent native-born
- Butchers and meat processors: 63 percent native-born
- Grounds maintenance workers: 64 percent native-born
- Construction laborers: 66 percent native-born
- Porters, bellhops, and concierges: 72 percent native-born
- Janitors: 73 percent native-born

There are 67 occupations in which 25 percent or more of workers are immigrants (legal and illegal). In these high-immigrant occupations, there are still 16.5 million natives - accounting for one out of eight natives in the labor force.

High-immigrant occupations (25 percent or more immigrant) are primarily, but not exclusively, lower-wage jobs that require relatively little formal education.

In high-immigrant occupations, 59 percent of the natives have no education beyond high school, compared to 31 percent of the rest of the labor force.

Natives tend to have high unemployment in high-immigrant occupations, averaging 14 percent during the 2009-2011 period, compared to 8 percent in the rest of the labor market. There were a total of 2.6 million unemployed native-born Americans in high-immigrant occupations.

Some may think that native-born workers in high-immigrant occupations are mostly older, with few young natives will-ing to do such work. But 34 percent of natives in these occupations are age 30 or younger, compared to 27 percent of natives in the rest of labor force.

It is worth remembering that not all high-immigrant occupations are lower skilled. For example, 36 percent of software engineers are immigrants, as are 27 percent of physicians.

A number of politically important groups tend to face very little job competition from immigrants (legal and illegal). For example, just 10 percent of reporters are immigrants, as are only 6 percent of lawyers and judges and 6 percent of farmers and ranchers.

We find that there are no occupations in the United States in which a majority of workers are illegal immigrants.

Illegal immigrants work mostly in construction, cleaning, maintenance, food service, garment manufacturing, and ag-ricultural occupations. However, the overwhelming majority of workers even in these areas are native-born or legal im-migrants.

Although illegal immigrants comprise a large share of workers in agriculture, farm workers are only a tiny share of the total labor force. Consistent with other research, just 5 percent of all illegal immigrants work in agriculture.

View the Senate bill, CIS Senate testimony and commentary here.

The above is a press release from from Center for Immigration Studies. 1522 K St. NW, Suite 820,  Washington, DC 20005, (202) 466-8185 fax: (202) 466-8076.  Email: center@cis.org. Contact: Marguerite Telford, 202-466-8185, mrt@cis.org.  The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution which examines the impact of immigration on the United States.  The Center for Immigration Studies is not affiliated with any other organization