What's at Stake for the State: Undocumented Californians, Immigration Reform, and Our Future Together
The legalization of illegal immigrants would benefit California, where they comprise 7 percent of the overall population, 8 percent of the adult population, and 9 percent of the workforce, both economically and socially, a report from the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration argues. The report, What's at Stake for the State: Undocumented Californians, Immigration Reform, and Our Future Together (51 pages, PDF), examines the diversity of California's undocumented population and the implications for national immigration reform policy, including the extent to which high-tech industries will be able to recruit skilled workers, agricultural labor flows are stabilized, and family reunification is maintained. The report projects that legalization with a path to full citizenship will increase aggregate annual income by nearly $1.5 billion in Los Angeles County, by $803 million in the Bay Area, and by $474 million in the Central Valley. Funded by the California Community, Silicon Valley Community, Y&H Soda, and James Irvine foundations, the report recommends a number of actions to prepare for eventual legalization, including stepped-up efforts to boost the educational attainment, health insurance coverage, and English language proficiency of undocumented immigrants.
