I am firmly committed to the enactment of comprehensive immigration reform. Until we bring out the twelve to eighteen million undocumented immigrants out of the shadows,

they will continue to exist in an underground economy where they pay no taxes. We spend money everyday providing critical care to these undocumented individuals when they visit our emergency rooms. These local hospitals do not get any Medicare or Medicaid match for such expenses.

It makes sense to legalize them and then secure our borders. Through the billions of dollars they send home yearly, they keep their countries’ economies afloat and less of a burden on ours. Lastly, their kin will more than likely stay home as the remittances provide them with the means to start businesses and take care of their families. Consider for a moment some statistics compiled by the IMMIGRATION POLICY CENTER:

Legalization increases government revenues by bringing ALL workers into the tax system.

• The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that $66 billion in new revenue over 10 years would have been generated if the 2006 immigration reform bill, which would have legalized most of our undocumented population, had passed.
• New legal immigrants to the U.S. would provide a net benefit of $407 billion to the Social Security system over 50 years, according to a study by the National Foundation for American Policy.
• The "underground" construction workforce in New York City represented $342 million in lost tax revenue in 2005 because of employers who paid workers “off the books,” according to a study by the Fiscal Policy Institute.

Workers with legal status earn and spend more.

• Undocumented workers who were legalized in 1986 paid more in taxes and spent more because their wages increased by roughly 15% after five years. "Enforcement-only" policies are expensive and don’t work.
• Even though spending on immigration enforcement has skyrocketed, the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. tripled to 12 million between 1990 and 2008.
• The CBO estimated that a mandatory “E-Verify” employment-verification program would decrease federal revenue by $17.3 billion over 10 years because more workers would be paid "off the books."
• Trying to deport 10 million undocumented immigrants would cost at least $206 billion over five years, according to a study by the Center for American Progress.

Legalization adds to immigration’s economic benefits.

• The White House Council of Economic Advisers concluded that immigration increases the U.S. Gross Domestic Product by $37 billion each year.
• 9 in 10 native-born workers experience wage gains because of immigration, according to a Giovanni Peri study.
• Latino buying power totaled $951 billion in 2008 and is expected to increase to $1.4 trillion by 2013.
• Asian buying power totaled $509.1 billion in 2008 and is expected to increase to $752.3 billion by 2013.
• 1.6 million Hispanic-owned firms provided jobs to 1.5 million employees and had receipts of $222 billion, in 2002.
• 1.1 million Asian-owned firms provided jobs to 2.2 million employees and
• The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that $66 billion in new revenue over 10 years would have been generated if the 2006 immigration reform bill, which would have legalized most of our undocumented population, had passed.
• New legal immigrants to the U.S. would provide a net benefit of $407 billion to the Social Security system over 50 years, according to a study by the National Foundation for American Policy.
• The “underground” construction workforce in New York City represented $342 million in lost tax revenue in 2005 because of employers who paid workers “off the books,” according to a study by the Fiscal Policy Institute.

Workers with legal status earn and spend more.

• Undocumented workers who were legalized in 1986 paid more in taxes and spent more because their wages increased by roughly 15% after five years. “Enforcement-only” policies are expensive and don’t work.
• Even though spending on immigration enforcement has skyrocketed, the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. tripled to 12 million between 1990 and 2008.
• The CBO estimated that a mandatory “E-Verify” employment-verification program would decrease federal revenue by $17.3 billion over 10 years because more workers would be paid “off the books.”
• Trying to deport 10 million undocumented immigrants would cost at least $206 billion over five years, according to a study by the Center for American Progress.

Legalization adds to immigration’s economic benefits.

• The White House Council of Economic Advisers concluded that immigration increases the U.S. Gross Domestic Product by $37 billion each year.
• 9 in 10 native-born workers experience wage gains because of immigration, according to a Giovanni Peri study.
• Latino buying power totaled $951 billion in 2008 and is expected to increase to $1.4 trillion by 2013.
• Asian buying power totaled $509.1 billion in 2008 and is expected to increase to $752.3 billion by 2013.
• 1.6 million Hispanic-owned firms provided jobs to 1.5 million employees and had receipts of $222 billion, in 2002.
• 1.1 million Asian-owned firms provided jobs to 2.2 million employees and had receipts of $326.4 billion, in 2002.

That is why I will wage a tireless fight for Comprehensive Immigration Reform once I get to the US Congress. Please join me in this campaign and help me reform our broken immigration system.