Numbers USA Analyses of the White House Immigration Reform Proposal

(March 30) The White House has begun to circulate details of a new immigration plan negotiated with Republican Senators. Our analysis here is based on the 23-slide PowerPoint show the White House has been giving Members of Congress the last couple of days, and on our interviews with Members who got the presentation. Under the plan:

Nearly all of the official 12 million illegal aliens would be allowed to immediately apply for a "Z visa," which would allow them to live and work legally in the United States for three years and be fully eligible for free, taxpayer-subsidized secondary education and emergency social services (i.e., what they broke the law to obtain – amnesty). All they have to do is pay a $2,000 fine and a $1,500 processing fee. How many billions of people in the world would gladly pay $3,500 for the chance to live and work in the U.S.?

Z visas are good for three years and may be renewed – indefinitely. The illegal aliens who hold these visas just have to pay the $3,500 every three years. But in order to get the first renewal, the illegal aliens would have to show progress toward assimilation by passing an English and civics test.

At any time, these illegal aliens may apply for a path to U.S. citizenship. The only thing that will slow them down is they will have to leave the country to be screened for security and will have to pay a $2,000 application fee and another $8,000 when their permanent residency is approved. The White House's PowerPoint slide states that nearly all illegal aliens are expected to eventually win this permanent residency and path to U.S. citizenship.

The plan is totally insensitive to the deterioration in the quality of life for most Americans who would see their communities forced to accommodate another 200 million people because of immigration by mid-century.

It also is nearly oblivious to the costs of low-skilled foreign workers to American taxpayers. U.S. citizens would incur trillions of dollars of costs. Inexplicably, it would dramatically increase the number of low-skill foreign workers in the country, even though an as-yet-unreleased Heritage Foundation study has found that each household headed by such a worker saddles Americans with a net of $22,000 extra in welfare and other government benefits.

However, the plan also includes some strong enforcement/immigration reduction measures that would end chain migration and the visa lottery, attempt to reduce future illegal immigration, and preclude new “guestworkers” from receiving green cards and having their family members accompany them.

White House sources have told the news media that they believe they have the 25 Republican Senators committed to the plan that are necessary to help the Democratic majority get an amnesty bill through Congress.

Phone your U.S. Senators and Representative today to tell them what you think about the plan.