Last updated on: 6/30/2022 | Author: ProCon.org

Did You Know?

1. President Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA, also called the Simpson-Mazzoli Act or the Reagan Amnesty) in Nov. 1986, which is largely considered the biggest amnesty of modern American history. [1]
2. A Feb. 16, 2022, NewsNation poll found 70% of Americans support a path to citizenship and 30% oppose the policy. [2]
3. Though difficult to accurately count, the Department of Homeland Security estimated 11.4 million undocumented immigrants in the US in 2018. According to Migration Policy Institute estimates, there were about 11 million in 2019. The Center for Immigration Studies estimated 11.35 million in 2022. [3] [4] [5]
4. 95.8% of undocumented immigrants were employed in 2018, contributing a total of $20.1 billion in federal income taxes and $11.8 billion in state and local taxes. In doing so they created a $100 billion surplus in the Social Security program between 2004 and 2014, and a $35.1 billion surplus in the Medicare Trust Fund between 2000 and 2011, because they pay automatic payroll taxes, but cannot use the programs. [6]
5. Approximately two thirds of the undocumented immigrants have been in the US for over a decade. [7]

Sources

1.Evan Wyloge, “The Immigration Reform and Control Act: What It Is, Why It Matters,” asu.news21.com, Nov. 6, 1986
2.Rafael Bernal, “Poll: 70 Percent of Americans Support a Path to Citizenship,” thehill.com, Feb. 16, 2022
3.Bryan Baker, “Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2015–January 2018,” dhs.gov, Jan. 2021
4.Steven A. Camarota and Karen Zeigler, “Estimating the Illegal Immigrant Population Using the Current Population Survey,” cis.org, Mar. 29, 2022
5.Cecilia Esterline and Jeanne Batalova, “Refugees and Asylees in the United States,” migrationpolicy.org, May 13, 2021
6.New American Economy, “Undocumented Immigrants,” newamericaneconomy.org (accessed June 2, 2022)
7.Laura Collins, “Solutions for Undocumented Immigrants,” bushcenter.org, Jan. 19, 2021